Category: Africa

Source: APO

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The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in collaboration with the Government of Zimbabwe launched a technical cooperation programme to enhance national capacity to support meaningful youth engagement in agrifood systems through policy support, leadership development and institutional strengthening.

FAO provides technical support to the Government of Zimbabwe to ensure that youth are meaningfully integrated into agrifood systems as key actors in productivity, innovation, and food security. This project builds upon the experiences of the FAO in Zimbabwe including the Green Jobs for Rural Youth Employment. It represents a crucial step in addressing the youth-related knowledge and skills and policy gaps identified in previous initiatives.

FAO highlights the urgency of creating 10–12 million new jobs annually in Africa and positions agrifood systems especially given their rapid growth and high potential for value addition as key to unlocking youth employment. Drawing on FAO Investment Guidelines for Youth in Agrifood Systems, the approach emphasizes integrating youth perspectives throughout the project cycle. The approach encourages recognizing youth as a diverse group with varied needs, capacities, and aspirations, and calls for collaboration among public, private, and civil society actors to create enabling environments.

“This project is set to inform and shape future priorities for collaboration between the Government of Zimbabwe and FAO on youth-related matters. By fostering this collaboration, the project aims to create an enabling environment that supports more effective interventions for youth engagement in agrifood systems, ultimately empowering young people to take a leading role in transforming these systems for the better,” said Patrice Talla, FAO Subregional Coordinator for Southern Africa and Representative to Zimbabwe.

This milestone comes at an opportune time when the country is starting to operationalize the second phase of the Agriculture and Food Systems and Rural Transformation Strategy (AFSRTS 2.0) with a particular focus on mainstreaming and integrating youth in agrifood systems.

“Mainstreaming youth is not an optional add-on; it is the fundamental strategy for achieving resilient, productive, and transformed agrifood systems and rural communities. The Government of Zimbabwe will provide visionary leadership, enact enabling policies, prioritize budget allocation for youth mainstreaming initiatives within Strategy 2.0, and ensure coordination across ministries,” said Mr. Jairos Mandizadza, Director – Gender Mainstreaming, Inclusivity and Wellness in the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development in his keynote address.

As part of its commitment to enhancing youth participation in Zimbabwe’s agrifood systems, the FAO-led project will initiate a consultative and participatory process to support the development of a comprehensive national strategy that integrate youth issues. The approach is designed to engage a wide spectrum of stakeholders, from primary producers to tertiary institutions and development partners while ensuring that the strategy is grounded in local realities and informed by diverse perspectives.

As the project gains momentum, young people across Zimbabwe are expressing optimism and a renewed sense of purpose.

“With this project we are energised, motivated, by being heard, valued, seen and more importantly included, we are no longer participants but change makers and this proves that there is nothing for us which can be done without us,” said Getrude Chambati, Secretary for the World Food Forum Zimbabwe Chapter.

The process of project implementation will include a combination of face-to-face stakeholder consultations, strategic planning meetings, and a desk review of existing work by other partners in the sector. This blended methodology will ensure that the strategy builds on past efforts while introducing fresh, youth-centred insights. The project ultimately aims to support Zimbabwe in formulating a National Youth Investment Plan and a Youth-inclusive Agrifood Systems Strategy, laying the groundwork for sustainable and inclusive agricultural transformation.

The inception meeting provided the platform to key stakeholders, including youths to review and provide input on how the draft AFSRTS 2 can integrate more youths issues. This was achieved through breakout sessions where participants were put into groups to review and update pillars of the AFSRTS 2. During the launch key stakeholders had the opportunity to appreciate the current youth in agrifood systems frameworks and policies at national, regional and international levels.

Going forward, the project is poised to play a transformative role in shaping Zimbabwe’s agrifood landscape by supporting the development of a robust national strategy and targeted investment plans for youth. By enhancing the capacity and skills of both young people and agriculture ministry personnel, FAO is committed to strengthening governance and leadership frameworks that support youth inclusion. This marks a pivotal step toward building a more resilient, inclusive, and future-ready agrifood system, driven by the energy, innovation, and potential of Zimbabwe’s youth.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO): Regional Office for Africa.

Source: APO

The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group (www.AfDB.org) has approved a €100 million loan to support Morocco’s inclusive solidarity-based agriculture program, focused on empowering women and young people.

The project aims to generate sustainable economic opportunities for women and youth, boost food security, and strengthen the resilience of small-scale farming against climate change. It will stimulate entrepreneurship through tailored financing and incentive mechanisms and by bolstering technical and financial support systems.

The program will also facilitate the deployment of new agricultural production and service infrastructure, helping to anchor women in local value chains, strengthen their skills, and boost their productivity. These actions will encourage the emergence of women entrepreneurs across agriculture, agro-processing and digital technologies. It will support the new roadmap for employment by promoting rural entrepreneurship.

“Women who have the ambition to undertake and succeed in agriculture are our priority,” said Achraf Tarsim, head of the African Development Bank country office in Morocco. “Through this new operation, we will support them step by step to build a modern, inclusive and resilient agriculture, capable of revealing the full potential of those who aspire to innovate and create value and employment in their territories.”

Aligned with Morocco’s priorities, the program will support the implementation of the Green Generation 2020-2030 Strategy, Morocco’s plan for transforming agriculture into a more inclusive, sustainable and efficient sector; the National Solidarity Agriculture Program, and the National Youth Entrepreneurship Program.

For more than 50 years, the African Development Bank Group has supported the Kingdom in a partnership based on a shared and integrated vision of development. Over the period, the Bank invested nearly €15 billion in more than 150 high-impact projects in strategic sectors such as transport, water, energy, agriculture, social protection, governance and finance.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Development Bank Group (AfDB).

Media contact:
Fahd Belbachir
Principal Communication and External Relations Officer
media@afdb.org

About the African Development Bank Group:
The African Development Bank Group is Africa’s premier development finance institution. It comprises three distinct entities: the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Development Fund (ADF) and the Nigeria Trust Fund (NTF). On the ground in 41 African countries with an external office in Japan, the Bank contributes to the economic development and the social progress of its 54 regional member states. For more information: www.AfDB.org

Source: APO

Kaspersky Managed Detection and Response experts (www.Kaspersky.co.za) have observed a cyber espionage attack on an organisation in Southern African and have linked it to the Chinese-speaking  APT41 group. Although the threat actor has shown limited activity in Southern Africa, this incident reveals that the cyber attackers have targeted government IT services in one of the countries in the region, attempting to steal sensitive corporate data — including credentials, internal documents, source code, and communications.

APT (Advanced Persistent Threat) is a category of threat actors known for carrying out concerted, stealthy, and ongoing attacks against specific organisations, as opposed to opportunistic, isolated incidents that account for most cybercriminal activity. The adversaries’ techniques observed during the attack in Southern Africa allowed Kaspersky to attribute it to the Chinese-speaking APT41 group with a high confidence. The primary goal of the attack was cyber espionage, which is typical for this threat actor. The attackers attempted to collect sensitive data from the machines they compromised within the organisation’s network.

It is noteworthy that APT41 typically has been showing quite limited activity in the Southern African region. APT41 specialises in cyber espionage and targets organisations across various industries, including telecommunications providers, educational and healthcare institutions, IT, energy, and other sectors, with known activity in at least 42 countries.

Based on Kaspersky experts’ analysis, the attackers may have gained access to the organisation’s network through a web server exposed to the Internet. Using a credential harvesting technique – known in professional terms as registry dumping – the attackers obtained two corporate domain accounts: one with local administrator rights on all workstations and another belonging to a backup solution, which had domain administrator privileges. These accounts allowed the attackers to compromise additional systems within the organisation.

One of the stealers used for data collection was a modified Pillager utility, designed for exporting and decrypting data. The attackers compiled its code from an executable file into a Dynamic Link Library (DLL). With it, they aimed to gather saved credentials from browsers, databases, administrative tools, as well as project source code, screenshots, active chat sessions and their data, email correspondence, lists of installed software, operating system credentials, Wi-Fi credentials, and other information.

The second stealer used during the attack was Checkout. In addition to saved credentials and browser history, it was also capable of collecting information on downloaded files and browser-stored credit card data. The attackers also used the RawCopy utility and a version of Mimikatz compiled as a Dynamic Link Library (DLL) to dump registry files and credentials, as well as Cobalt Strike for Command and Control (C2) communication on compromised hosts.

“Interestingly, as one of their C2 communication channels besides Cobalt Strike, the attackers chose the SharePoint server within the victim’s infrastructure. They communicated with it using custom C2 agents connected with a web-shell. They may have chosen SharePoint because it was an internal service already present in the infrastructure and unlikely to raise suspicion. Moreover, in that case, it probably offered the most convenient way to exfiltrate data and control compromised hosts through a legitimate communication channel,” explains Denis Kulik, Lead SOC Analyst at Kaspersky Managed Detection and Response service.

“In general, defending against such sophisticated attacks is impossible without comprehensive expertise and continuous monitoring of the entire infrastructure. It is essential to maintain full security coverage across all systems with solutions capable of automatically blocking malicious activity at an early stage — and to avoid granting user accounts excessive privileges,” comments Denis Kulik.

To mitigate or prevent similar attacks, organisations are advised to follow these best practices:

• Ensure that security agents are deployed on all workstations within the organisation without exception, to enable timely incident detection and minimise potential damage.
• Review and control service and user account privileges, avoiding excessive rights assignments – especially for accounts used across multiple hosts within the infrastructure.
• To protect the company against a wide range of threats, use solutions from the Kaspersky Next (https://apo-opa.co/44EI2e3) product line that provide real-time protection, threat visibility, investigation and the response capabilities of EDR and XDR for organisations of any size and industry. Depending on your current needs and available resources, you can choose the most relevant product tier and easily migrate to another one if your cybersecurity requirements are changing.
• Adopt managed security services by Kaspersky such as Compromise Assessment (https://apo-opa.co/4m8aElL), Managed Detection and Response (MDR) (https://apo-opa.co/4m6do37) and / or Incident Response (https://apo-opa.co/44VsAsP), covering the entire incident management cycle – from threat identification to continuous protection and remediation.  They help to protect against evasive cyberattacks, investigate incidents and get additional expertise even if a company lacks cybersecurity workers.
• Provide your InfoSec professionals with an in-depth visibility into cyberthreats targeting your organisation. The latest Kaspersky Threat Intelligence (https://apo-opa.co/3TQbRlK) will provide them with rich and meaningful context across the entire incident management cycle and helps them identify cyber risks in a timely manner.

A detailed analysis of the incident is available on Securelist (https://apo-opa.co/46mfGGS).

Kaspersky Managed Detection and Response service monitors suspicious activity and helps organisations respond swiftly to minimise impact. This is a part of Kaspersky Security Services, a team delivering hundreds of information security projects every year for Fortune Global 500 organisations: incident response, managed detection, SOC consulting, red teaming, penetration testing, application security, digital risks protection. 

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Kaspersky.

For further information please contact:
Nicole Allman
nicole@inkandco.co.za

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About Kaspersky:
Kaspersky is a global cybersecurity and digital privacy company founded in 1997. With over a billion devices protected to date from emerging cyberthreats and targeted attacks, Kaspersky’s deep threat intelligence and security expertise is constantly transforming into innovative solutions and services to protect individuals, businesses, critical infrastructure, and governments around the globe. The company’s comprehensive security portfolio includes leading digital life protection for personal devices, specialized security products and services for companies, as well as Cyber Immune solutions to fight sophisticated and evolving digital threats. We help millions of individuals and over 200,000 corporate clients protect what matters most to them. Learn more at www.Kaspersky.co.za. 

Source: APO

Electrifying public transport is no longer just an aspiration for Africa—it is rapidly becoming a reality. On Wednesday, 23 July 2025, stakeholders from across the continent and beyond will convene virtually to explore the path forward in a high-impact webinar where industry experts discuss “The Future of Public Transport Electrification in Africa: Opportunities, Trends and Challenges.”

The webinar will focus on unlocking practical solutions and scalable models to accelerate the shift to zero-emission mobility—particularly electric buses and paratransit systems, which form the backbone of Africa’s urban mobility landscape.

Key Themes:

• Energy and Charging Infrastructure
  Practical strategies for grid preparedness, depot-based and on-route charging, and strengthening public-private collaboration.
• Innovative Procurement Models
  An exploration of models such as leasing, pay-as-you-go, and city-led ownership—what’s working, and where?
• Electrifying Paratransit
  Addressing one of Africa’s most vital and informal transport systems—minibus taxis and other modes—and how e-mobility can integrate meaningfully into this space.

Moderator:

Prian Reddy, Senior Programme Manager: Zero Emission Buses (Africa), C40 Cities

Expert Panel:

• Hans van Toor, Strategy & Innovation, Roam
• Moses Nderitu, Managing Director, BasiGo
• Justin Coetzee, Founder, GoMetro

Why You Should Attend:

• Hear real-world insights from cities and transport operators already rolling out electric buses.
• Learn about infrastructure readiness, energy strategies, and funding models fit for African cities.
• Explore how electrification can include and uplift paratransit and informal transport sectors.
• Connect with the experts and decision-makers shaping Africa’s low-carbon transport future.

This event is designed for public officials, transport authorities, urban planners, mobility innovators, infrastructure investors, and all professionals interested in the continent’s clean, just energy transition.

Join us for a crucial conversation that will help define the next phase of Africa’s transport transformation.

Date: Wednesday, 23 July 2025
Time: 10:00 WAT / 11:00 SAST & CAT / 12:00 EAT
Register here: https://apo-opa.co/44GYAlJ

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of VUKA Group.

Additional Information:
Link to Webinar: https://apo-opa.co/44GYAlJ 
LinkedIN: https://apo-opa.co/4f24pxt 
Website: https://apo-opa.co/40vphHw 
Draft Programme: https://apo-opa.co/4f0Nxr4

Source: APO

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The Portfolio Committee on Sport, Arts and Culture notes with appreciation the success of South African teams in the sporting front particularly the Under 20 who have become champions after 13 years.

The Chairperson of the committee, Mr Joe McGluwa, said it was not easy to resist bragging about successes that the South African teams have registered against all odds.

“The Norton and Foote led Baby Boks were a shoe in against New Zealand in Italy. They made their intent very clear from day one. The result was so predictable, and many South Africans knew the boys will be champions,” said Mr McGluwa.

He added: “It seems the Dr Erasmus factor is rubbing off across teams at international platforms and they are representing South Africa very well. I am speaking on behalf of the committee when I say congratulations and May this success last long into the foreseeable future.”

South Africa beat New Zealand in the Under 20 Championship 23-15, a feat last achieved in 2012. Baby Boks are landing on Tuesday morning at OR Tambo International.

In equal measure Mr McGluwa congratulated Banyana Banyana who are well set in defending their title when they set up a clash with Nigeria at the Africa Women Cup Championship. South Africa won 4-1 on penalties. The Springboks also thumped Georgia in Mbombela on Saturday. “To these achievements we can only say No DNA just RSA.”

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of South Africa: The Parliament.

Source: APO

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The Office of the President has today announced the appointment of Ambassador Ian Madeleine as the new Principal Secretary for Foreign Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Tourism.

Ambassador Madeleine holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Education, specialising in history and politics, from the Edith Cowan University in Perth, Australia. Additionally, he holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Tsinghua University in Beijing, China.

Ambassador Madeleine joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in July 2011, holding various positions and responsibilities during his 14 years in the foreign service.

On 21st July 2021, he was appointed as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Seychelles.

In his most recent position, he was serving as the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Seychelles to the United Nations, while concurrently being accredited to United States of America, Canada and Cuba.

The appointment will take effect as of 1st August 2025.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of State House Seychelles.

Source: APO

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The Office of the President has today announced the appointment of Ambassador Vivianne FOCK TAVE as the new Seychelles Ambassador to the United Nations in New York. She will concurrently be accredited to the United States of America (USA) and other countries under the jurisdiction of the Seychelles Permanent Mission in New York.

Ambassador Fock Tave holds a Master’s Degree in Economics from the Technische Universität Berlin, Germany. Since joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in July 1996, she has held various positions in the Ministry, including Ambassador to the European Union, several European countries, the Holy See, the United Nations Office at Geneva, the People’s Republic of China, Japan and the Republic of Korea.

In her most recent position, she was serving as the Principal Secretary for Foreign Affairs since May 2021.

The appointment will take effect as of 1st August 2025.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of State House Seychelles.