Latest news with #Rwanda-based
Hindustan Times
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Want to live in the US? It's nearly impossible if you are from these 10 countries
The United States has one of the harshest immigration laws in the world. Things have become more stringent after the Trump administration has conducted crackdowns on hundreds of undocumented immigrants living in the US. Only last month, ICE agents deported hundreds of illegal immigrants to El Salvador, with regular federal task force operations ongoing. Currently, immigration to the US remains one of the biggest challenges for nationals of some countries. 10 countries have been identified in a recently released study carried out by Brooks Law Firm. The study takes into account the immigration difficulties faced by countries while immigrating to the United States. Key metrics of the study include B visa refusal rate, passport power, Green Cards issuance and immigration-based online searches. On the basis of the scores, the study has ranked some countries from where it is nearly impossible to immigrate to the United States. ALSO READ | Who is Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, Mexican immigrant Judge Hannah Dugan is accused of helping? The higher the score on the chart created by the Brooks Law Firm, the higher the immigration difficulty faced by the citizens of the respective nations. For starters, Rwanda has been named as the country from where immigration to the United States is the hardest. Rwanda-based nationals face the highest visa refusal rates and limited Green Card allocations, according to the report. Algeria came in second in this list. There are eight other African nations that comprise of the top 10 list for immigration difficulty. Gambia, Benin, Uganda, and Kenya are some of the African countries that have made it to this list. Interestingly, Kenyans have the highest interest in immigration to the United States, based on the online searches for relevant queries conducted by Kenyan nationals. While African nations kept the streak of being the top countries, Uzbekistan emerged as the sixth country in this ranking. Uzbekistani citizens face a nearly 65% visa refusal rate, as per the report. Here is the complete list: Rwanda Algeria Guinea Burundi Senegal Uzbekistan Gambia Benin Uganda Kenya
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Africa's creative economy is attracting more investors
The growing global reach of African music, fashion, and sporting talent is drawing more investors to back the continent's thriving but underfunded creative economy. Valued at nearly $59 billion, Africa's creative economy represents less than 3% of the $2 trillion global industry. Spotting a gap in a lucrative market, several new investment groups are funding African startups in sectors spanning from sports, music, and entertainment to fashion and film. Last week the African Business Angel Network (ABAN) unveiled an investor network targeted at sports and creative startups on the continent in partnership with organizations including entertainment media company Trace. 'Africa's sports and creative industries have the potential to be economic giants, but they need capital that understands their unique value,' said ABAN CEO Fadilah Tchoumba. Pan-African tech incubator CcHUB has launched hubs in Lagos and Nairobi aimed at enabling access to grant-funding and facilities for creators including podcasters, TV producers, and filmmakers. Joy Ujenyu, program manager at CcHub's Creative Economy Practice, told Semafor that the growing global popularity of African cultural exports offered hard 'evidence' to investors of the potential of the African creative economy. 'As output improves, there is going to be an improved investor risk appetite,' she Nzeukou, founder of Playbook — a sports media platform focused on Africa and the Middle East — told Semafor that programs such as NBA Africa's tech accelerator and the Rwanda-based growth accelerator Jasiri, together with lenders like the African Development Bank, were helping drive investment into Africa's sports and creative industries. But she said these investments alone would not be enough to spur growth. 'Ensuring that budding companies have the relationships, visibility, and most importantly, the talent is equally important,' Nzeukou told Semafor. Afreximbank, a pan-African financial institution, announced in October that it would increase its funding to the Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) program from $1 billion to $2 billion for the next three years. The decision to double funding came from 'a marked surge in demand across Africa's creative sectors', the bank said. The funding boost is specifically meant to support infrastructure including the construction of sports stadiums, fashion manufacturing hubs, music arenas, and film production facilities. Accelerating investment into Africa's sports and creative industries is crucial to ensure the continent retains its vast sporting and creative talent, allowing it to reap the economic benefits of this talent instead of it draining overseas. Currently, for instance, the continent's top sports stars turn out for clubs abroad due to an underdeveloped sports ecosystem in Africa. Similarly, many of the biggest names in African music are signed to international music labels in Europe and the US, and make much of their touring revenue in international markets. Meanwhile filmmakers too often need Western backers and distribution platforms to effectively produce and monetize their work. For perspective — Africa was the fastest-growing music market in the world in 2023, growing at 25% from the previous year according to the global recording music body IFPI — with South Africa driving strong growth in paid streaming revenues. But the continent still accounts for less than 2% of global music revenues. Capitalizing on the rising global consumption of African culture through creative industries would inject much-needed cash into local economies, create jobs, and support the emergence of new talent. Marie Lora-Mungai, a veteran African creative economy and sports investor, told Semafor there was 'no longer a funding gap for the creative sector' on the continent, saying that the funding ecosystem had become 'richer and more diversified.' Instead, she argued, there was a dearth of companies to invest in. 'Investors are struggling to find deals in which to deploy their available funding. Too many creative sector companies are still informal or semi-formal.' There is a big 'opportunity for consolidation' in the fragmented ecosystem, she government last year unveiled a plan to generate $100 billion annually from the creative economy and create 2 million jobs.
