Dying from Sickle Cell will soon be a thing of the past

Agios Announces FDA Orphan Drug Designation Granted to Mitapivat for Treatment of Sickle Cell Disease CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Nov. 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: AGIO), a leader in the field of cellular metabolism to treat cancer and rare genetic diseases, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted orphan drug designation to the company’s

What the New Public Charge Rule means for the Diaspora

On February 5, 2020, U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) announced new policy guidelines and revised forms in connection with the Trump administration’s highly contested Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds final rule (“Final Rule”). The new guidelines and forms became effective nationwide on February 24, 2020. Background USCIS published initially published the Final Rule in

Tips for Diasporas to Develop Good Money Management Habits

You know your finances could use some serious TLC, but you’ve been putting it off… and off… and off. When you finally do sit down to think about it, you immediately become overwhelmed. When it comes to money management, finding a place to start can be difficult. Which goal do you attack first? Before we

Africa, Unchained: Blockchain and the Limits of Leapfrogging

“Slave to a label but I own my masters.” – Pharaoh Munche Growing up in Nigeria in the 80s and early 90s, the simple task of making a phone call was an adventure. This was the era of analog telecommunications and rotary phones, and the capacity of the telecommunications network was quite limited. Phone calls

African Countries Most At Risk From A US Fed Rate Increase

Most of the world expected the U.S. Federal Reserve to raise interest rates today for the first time in nearly a decade, impacting the global economy. Many emerging markets have good reason to worry, CNNMoney reports. Emerging-market companies and governments borrowed heavily in dollars over the last decade because rates were low. Investors eagerly poured money into emerging markets like

An Investment Banker’s 54 Christmas Wishes For African Economies

If I could be Santa and give gifts to each of my African friends, here’s what I’d wish for each African country in 2016: 1. Algeria – continued success in economic diversification. 2. Angola – a tremendous bump in the oil price. 3. Benin – an easy process to coalition-building before the presidential election in 2016.

Black Tax: Why African Millennial Are Hiding Their Income From Relatives

African youth are slowly shaking off a long unwritten law that had their parents support relatives and friends in exchange of similar favors in the futures. The so called “black tax”– the extra money that black professionals are coughing up every month to support their extended families — has seen several black students from the continent’s

PUTTING INNOVATION IN AFRICAN LOGISTICS AT THE CENTRE OF REGIONAL ECONOMIC GROWTH

During recent years, the African story has been built around oil, mining and the sale of commodities; as well as foreign direct investment from global businesses, institutional and sovereign investors. Underpinning this has been a hidden but growing logistics sector, forming the backbone for industrial development and becoming a fast-growing industry in itself. Economic growth

The truth about Africa’s rising middle class

Opinion on Africa’s middle class opportunity is divided. Earlier this year, Nestlé announced its disappointment with the scale and growth of Africa’s middle class, and cut its regional workforce by 15%. Only a few months later, however, AB InBev’s takeover of SABMiller – one of the largest proposed corporate takeovers ever of a UK-listed entity