Day: August 11, 2017

Why European companies need a long-term strategy in Africa

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The history of Europe in Africa goes far back in time when the Roman Empire annihilated the ancient Carthaginian civilisation that is now Tunis, Tunisia. During the modern period, the African continent has been colonised and controlled by all major European countries like Britain, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal and Spain. It wasn’t until the 1950s that the former colonial powers started to let go of their grip on Africa by giving independence to their former colonies. Today, it is with a mixture of fear and awe that Europe…

How this Algerian entrepreneur is recycling plastic waste

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Unemployment rate in Algeria increased to 10.5 percent, reaches almost 27 percent of the youth, and 20 percent of women, according to figures released by the International Monetary Fund in 2016. Besma Belbedjaoui, 33, an Algerian graduate holding a diploma in genetics and molecular biology and another one in communication and marketing, faced the fate of many Algerians, when she kept on searching for a job during two years, with no luck. At this point, she decided to create a startup that would be useful to her country. During her daily…

‘Find me beyond your hate’: The challenge behind calligraffiti artist Karim Jabbari’s mural

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When calligraffiti artist Karim Jabbari picks up a paintbrush, a spray can or a light-painting pen, regardless of the wall or intangible space in front of him, he breathes new life into a centuries-old art form. “In my work, I’m trying to redefine how we see and how we perceive the Arabic calligraphy,” Jabbari explained to me as we headed up into the sky a few metres (correction: four storeys!) on a mini-forklift at the site of his latest mural in Montreal. “People are getting really away from it, and I wanted to bring it…

Tunisia: ambiguous answers and obscure language about GFH’s Financial Harbor

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It is no longer “Tunisia Financial Harbor”, originally designed “with the ambition to become the financial hub opening on Africa, positioned in the heart of the Mediterranean and offering excellent transport connections (…) and will offer access to human capital, investment opportunities from international markets to Africa and vice versa “. It is now, according to the title of CEO granted by the promoter GFH to Lotfi Ezzar, the “Tunis Bay Project Company”. Clearly, it is a simple but gigantic real estate project. The external infrastructure, financed by the Tunisian…

Tunisian beachside town fights industrial pollution

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Next to a palm grove, a blackish mud flows into the sea. After years of living with industrial pollution, residents of Tunisia’s Gabes are fighting back. Close to the Chott Essalem beach and in front of a rare coastal oasis, the state-owned Tunisian Chemical Group (GCT) has been processing phosphate since the 1970s. The authorities say the plant pumps 14,000 tonnes of phosphogypsum into the sea every day. On top of the toxic mud, the factory also pumps phosphoric acid into the air. “In the past, our town was clean,”…