A story with a happy beginning

Sierra Leone is set to open its first stock exchange. This is exciting news considering that this is their first exchange and also it was not too long ago that the country was engaged in a brutal war. This is a great sign that despite all odds, Africa continues to prosper.

Check it out:
http://www.africanews.com/site/list_messages/22904

Good news for Ethiopia

From a posting on the AngelAfrica site:

Ethiopia announced perhaps the first sub-sovereign corporate bondaimed at the diaspora. A release by the Ethiopian Ministry of ForeignAffairs says that the bond launched on December 23rd will providefunds to the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCO) forinvestments which will increase power supply to the nation, where only27 percent of the people currently have access to electricity.The government-guarante ed bond will be issued for a minimumdenomination of US$500, maturing in 5, 7 or 10 years (with interestrates of 4%, 4.5% and 5% respectively) . The interest earned would befree of income tax. The news that companies in developing countriesare starting view migrants as a potential source of external (hardcurrency) finance is indeed noteworthy.


Check out:


http://peoplemove.%20worldbank.%20org/en/content/%20ethiopia-%20announces-%20first-diaspora-%20corporate-%20bond

The new year so far

The new year has started on a chaotic note for the Palestinians and Israelis, cholera is still killing many in Zimbabwe, and the political future of Guinea remains uncertain. On the upside, the Bush government has authorized emergency supplies shipments to Darfur and the Obama administration starts its term in a week and a half or so which brings new hope for change in US foreign policy.

For 2009, I look forward to following world events and continuing to make a difference.