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Recent tariff announcements have caused significant disruption across global markets and economies. Subsequent changes and postponementsincluding negotiations between major economies like China and the U.S.offer a welcome step towards resolution. But the initial uncertainty has already prompted impacted countries to diversify their trade partnership from long-standing trade allies in order to reduce dependence on a single market. In the short term, this volatility has created a significant headache for business leaders grappling with the costs and pricing of goods and services. However, this very uncertainty also presents unique opportunities, especially for emerging markets, particularly in Africa, to forge new trade relationships and strengthen their economic positions. A rare opportunity for Africa to forge its own path On one hand, escalating trade restrictions could further marginalize developing economies. On the other hand, they present a rare moment for Africa to forge its own path and build a future anchored in the open flow of trade, ideas, innovations, cross-border collaboration, and digital empowerment within its borders. Fortunately, private and public sector leaders on the continent have been actively putting in place measures to further grow trade within itself, both as a powerful engine for economic expansion and as a vital strategy to protect against external shocks such as tariffs. With the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) now gaining momentum and a growing digital economy taking shape, the continent has the tools to chart its own course. The AfCFTA has already significantly increased intra-continental trade since its official commencement on January 1, 2021. According to Afreximbanks Africa Trade Report 2024,[1] intra-African trade rose to $192.2 billion in 2023, a 3.2% increase from the previous year, despite global economic challenges. The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa anticipates a 35% increase[2] in intra-African trade by 2045, after AfCFTA is fully implemented. Challenges to increasing intra-African trade Despite the promise of AfCFTA, significant barriers continue to hinder robust intra-African trade, whether through traditional channels or digitally enabled transactions. These challenges include fragmented payment systems, inconsistent regulatory frameworks, and complex cross-border logistics. This has contributed to Africa’s historically low intra-African trade, which was about 18% of its total trade in 2022, compared to 59% for Asia and 68% for Europe.[3] Payments are trades lifeblood Africa must be able to trade with itself quickly, affordably, and securely. When payments move across borders with ease, so do goods, ideas, services, opportunities, and people. This is not just about convenience or merely advocating for fintech adoption; it is about the transformation of how we trade. A trader in Nairobi selling goods to customers in Accra must be able to receive payment as easily, if not easier, than if they were in London or New York. Similarly, a major multinational looking to tap into Africa’s young and growing consumer base needs payment systems that handle complex, high-volume transactions just like in their home markets. The future of intra-African trade depends on our ability to make such transactions as intuitive and reliable as the click of a button. When paying and getting paid for intra-African trade becomes seamless, we will see faster growth of regional value chains, a more efficient distribution of locally manufactured goods, and the emergence of more African brands competing globally. Essentially, with the necessary support for an open economy in Africa, we increase not just the volume but also the value of trades within Africa, building economic resilience for shared prosperity. What we must do First, we must ensure payment system interoperability so that businesses can transact seamlessly across borders, without the hindrance of friction or currency barriers. This is critical because, while African countries have developed efficient local payment networks tailored to their needs, these systems do not interact well across borders, limiting our potential to trade more internally and withstand global economic shocks. Second, we need to align policies across governments to create an environment where innovation thrives and cross-border commerce flows effortlessly. This includes, but is not restricted to, a review of policies on customs and barriers to trade, and logistics (inter-country shipping, freight, and flights). Lastly, a critical step involves significant investment in physical infrastructure, particularly in addressing inadequate transportation networks (roads, rail, and ports) and resolving unreliable energy supplies. Together, these efforts will reduce the continents external dependency, making it easier for businesses to grow within Africa and beyond, creating an economic firewall that protects us from external shocks. Now is the time to double down on openness, not retreat from it; Africas future depends on it. Olugbenga “GB” Agboola is CEO of Flutterwave.
Category:
E-Commerce
YouTube is reportedly giving creators more leeway about what they say in videos, easing up on some of the rules it has set in the past. The user generated video platform owned by Alphabet has adjusted its exception rule, which will allow videos that might have been removed nine months ago for promoting misinformation to remain on the platform. The New York Times reports that if a video is considered to be in the public interest or has EDSA (educational, documentary, scientific, artistic) context, up to 50% of it can be in violation of YouTubes guidelines for misinformation or showing violence, versus 25% before the policy change. That change, which was reportedly made about a month after Donald Trump was elected, but was not publicly announced, followed pandemic-era rules that saw a video of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis that shared some Covid misinformation removed from YouTube. The new rule change could benefit creators whose videos blend news and opinion. YouTube’s spokesperson Nicole Bell, in a statement, told Fast Company, “These exceptions apply to a small fraction of the videos on YouTube, but are vital for ensuring important content remains available. This practice allows us to prevent, for example, an hours-long news podcast from being removed for showing one short clip of violence. We regularly update our guidance for these exceptions to reflect the new types of discussion and content (for example emergence of long, podcast content) that we see on the platform, and the feedback of our global creator community. Our goal remains the same: to protect free expression on YouTube.” Free expression is the reason other social media companies have given in relaxing or eliminating their content moderation programs in recent months. X long ago handed over the responsibility of flagging inaccurate content to its users. Meta eliminated its fact-checking program in January, shortly after Trump took office. Trump and other conservatives have long accused social media sites of “censoring” conservative content, saying content moderation, as practiced by social media companies, was a violation of their First Amendment rights to free speech. YouTube said it regularly updates its Community Guidelines to adapt to content on the site. Earlier this year, it sunsetted all remaining COVID-19 policies and added new ones surrounding gambling content. Changes, it said, are reflected in its Community Guidelines Transparency Report. The new rules largely revolve around content that is considered in the public interest. This is defined as videos where the creators discuss a number of issues, including elections, movements, race, gender, sexuality, abortion, immigration, and censorship. The Times reported it had reviewed training material that gave examples of videos that might have been flagged and taken offline in the past that are now allowed. Included among those was one that incorrectly claimed COVID vaccines alter people’s genes, but mentioned several political figures, increasing its “newsworthiness.” (That video has since been removed for unclear reasons.) Another video from South Korea involved a commentator saying they imagined former president Yoon Suk Yeol turned upside down in a guillotine so that the politician can see the knife is going down. The training material said the risk for harm was low because the wish for execution by guillotine is not feasible. The policy change is, in some ways, a big shift for YouTube, which less than two years ago announced a crackdown on health information. That same year, though, it also said it would stop removing misinformation about past elections, saying the policy could have the unintended effect of curtailing political speech.” YouTube has been criticized in the past for not doing enough to curb the spread of misinformation, ranging from everything from 9/11 “truthers” to false flag conspiracy theories tied to mass shootings. Some reports have even suggested its algorithm can lead some users down a rabbit hole of extremist political content. YouTube says it still actively monitors posts. In the first quarter, removals were up 22% compared to the year prior, with 192,856 videos removed for violating its hateful and abusive policies. The number of videos removed for misinformation was down 61% in the first quarter, however, in part because of the removal of COVID-19 policies.
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E-Commerce
Almost every article youre going to read about Apples just-announced iOS 26 operating system for the iPhone is going to focus on its new Liquid Glass design. And dont get me wrongthat design certainly looks refreshing (and is strangely reminiscent of the wax soda bottle candies I loved as a kid). iOS 26s Liquid Glass interface features transparent and reflective UI elements that allow the content behind buttons, toolbars, and icons to show through. But what Im most excited about, when it comes to iOS 26, is something else. It’s a lot less flashy, but it’s arguably more useful to the 90% of iPhone users out there who couldnt care less about the new look, or artificial intelligence improvements, for that matter. Im talking about the people who still use their iPhone as a phone. You knowto make phone calls. Because iOS 26 includes the most significant upgrades to the actual phone call functions of the iPhone weve seen in yearsand it’s about time. iOS 26s new design is nicebut not waiting on hold is nicer Weve all been there: calling the bank or doctors office or customer service hotline only to be immediately placed on hold, listening to the same background music for what seems like an eternity, waiting for an actual human being to pick up at the other end. If theres one experience that will put even the most patient person in a foul moodthis is it. [Photo: Apple] Thats why a new feature of the Phone app in iOS 26 is my favorite feature out of all the new ones Apple announced today. Called Hold Assist, it solves a real-world problem nearly every iPhone userscratch that, any phone user since the dawn of the telephone erahas faced. With Hold Assist in iOS 26, you never need to wait on hold again. Now, when you call a phone number and are placed on hold, you can tell your iPhone to stay on the line and wait for you instead of having to do it yourself. The iPhone will kill the hold music and allow you to continue using your device as normal, alerting you as soon as a live person comes on the line. Extra bonus: not having to wait on hold for hours means no more hearing that hold music playing in your head at night while trying to fall asleep. Whos calling and why? Let your iPhone worry about that Another drawback of telephones is that anyone with your number can call youincluding cold callers, spammers, and bill collectors. Oftentimes, these people will try to obfuscate their phone numbers, so you need to pick up to see who is on the other end of the line. But thats where another great new feature of the Phone app comes in: Call Screening. [Photo: Apple] In iOS 26, if the phone app receives a call from an unknown caller, it will answer the call itselfyour phone wont even ring. The iPhone will then wait until the caller has shared their name and the reason for their phone call. Only then will it let your iPhone ring. When it does, youll see the name of he person and the reason for their call displayed on your screen, enabling you to decide if you want to pick up the call or give it a miss. This feature takes the anxiety and uncertainty out of answering phone callssomething nearly everyone has felt at some point. Making the phone in smartphone great again In addition to Hold Assist and Call Screening, iOS 26 is also adding several other new features to the Phone app, including the ability to live translate a phone call with someone who speaks another language into the language you speak, and a completely redesigned calls screen that makes it easier to see your recent calls and quickly make a call to your favorite contacts. And, yeah, I get it: being excited about these kinds of features seems a bit baffling. After all, its 2025, and making calls on a phone feels so twentieth-century. Our phones are now internet browsers, cameras, gaming devices, and AI assistants. But companies have focused on innovating those modern features of the smartphone for so long, theyve often neglected trying to improve the main thing our phones were initially designed for. Despite the amazing capabilities of our phones in the twenty-first century, the need to make and receive phone calls has not gone away. Not everyone uses their phone to converse with a chatbot, edit videos, or manage their wallets, but nearly everyone still relies on it to make calls. So, while it may seem like a dull area for innovation, the calling experience remains one of the most universally used aspects of our phones, and therefore anything that improves upon it is something worth picking up for. iOS 26 is now available for developers. The operating system will become available to general users as a free download this fall.
Category:
E-Commerce
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