access to speak and costs vary from continent to continent we ask how does africa face the challenges of the digital age. and europe marks equal pay day but figures show equality is still a long way off we ask why. but how to do business in africa i want to go jones and thanks for tuning in and we are starting with what looks like another battle in a long fight to stop firms from bribing african authorities for winning lucrative contracts we're talking about the trial of the bourbon group which got underway in the french city of must say today a french group specializes in providing marine services for the oil industry and apparently it played the system very well using judicial indifference in some african nations now the group is accused of bribing public officials in three african countries. really an hour after proceedings began the court was suspended

the defense lawyers for the bourbon group claimed they hadn't been given enough time to examine the hundreds of pages in the trial dossier at the center of the trial is mark shockey former text director of the durban group he says the company had an ingrained culture of bribery in order to secure contracts and gain tax breaks for. me at the forefront of this case when actually i'm just a simple employee i'm not part of their world since i arrived at durban a group about what i was seeing there i immediately noticed that there was organized fraud i say well organized scientifically organized. the case came to light in two thousand and twelve when customs at most a airport opened a suitcase which had come from lagos nigeria two hundred fifty thousand dollars were hidden in the lining not shift key was arrested when he came to collect his baggage. boban group executives claim they knew nothing about the money he says is

being set up the court will decide on tuesday where the trial can proceed. some four billion people and now it is online that's according to estimates by the i.t. you alliance for affordable internet but having access to the internet doesn't necessarily mean that everyone has the same opportunities to use it now for instance watching a football match on your smartphone no problem in europe or the u.s. where mobile data transmission is usually fast and affordable compared to the average income in asia you have to reach much deeper into your pockets paying over one and a half percent of your monthly average wage for a gigabyte of data volume. in latin america football mad latin america that is it's cheaper to buy a ticket will the stadium rather than watching a game online in africa watching a football match on

a smartphone is an absolute luxury the mobile data costs you almost nine percent of the average monthly income so where does this leave african companies and their online business opportunities it is a challenge. to take these open kitchen in johannesburg is something special those who easier are constantly surprised there's a different cook in the kitchen every day always offering a new creation the emphasis is on healthy food. eric van both came up with the idea three years ago he sees a growing cut from a base for healthy food. he'd like to be able to deliver too but to do that he'd need high speed internet and cheap mobile data. so you have the internet and you have why you need to have a town where you can provide for your customers that are sitting you also maintain the business when it comes to that point of sale all over the story it's part of

your trouble because it's quite expensive. right. from south africa to west africa. young people looking at their phones maybe a common sight on the streets of. but only one third of the canadian population is online mobile access to the network it's often unstable even in the capital. that's a headache for small companies like stimulus technologies. define who and his seven employees offer network marketing services. applications you always have to think about. and it's. so easy how fast. we have. and people in east africa have their own share of problems take uganda if you're

looking to send a message or post a photo on instagram you have to be prepared to pay up since july of last year the government's been cashing in on every click in the three months following the introduction of the so-called tax the number of social media users fell by three million. clearly bega has been importing cosmetics mean united states for the past three years much of her business takes place online in the o t t tax is a big issue for her right now he's. just a you just like the points as they used to and yes that was like biggest marketing place so you have to kind of look for other ways of marketing. to cover up for that here living through the social media of the internet is clearly begun and runs every killer store in the capital kampala for many africans buying in person is still the easier option. now the global solutions initiative is currently meeting

in berlin it's an international body proposing policy responses to major global problems. with its president dennis noah to talk about the digital challenges africa face. this is so how important is high speed internet for the economic development for africa absolutely vital but the thing to remember is that even if africa gets a huge amount of access to high speed internet it still hasn't solved the problem it needs to adjust in terms of human capital to the challenges of the twenty first century. so how big is the potential for digitization on the african continent right now the potential is enormous because there is relatively little internet penetration and it's clear in today's economy that you need access to internet in

order to get access to international trade to communicate and get knowledge and therefore the potential is enormous how it's to be realized is an open question he mentioned it needs more than just technological access so what would be the big game changer for africa. the big game changer for africa would be a strategy that shows how human beings. not only the techies but the average citizens can find a footing in the world that is in demand and that requires social skills combined with technical skills so you need digital literacy but you also need perspective taking empathy the various things that are required in the world of today to connect with customers and africa has a big job but not only in acquiring the physical infrastructure but also the human

capital to make these human qualities evident so is this something that the african startup scene can achieve by itself the african startup scene can achieve a lot of governments in africa will need to get together to provide the infrastructure it is necessary and for there to be in education and training program system that unites africa rather than separates it those are the big challenges of tomorrow and those are the challenges that are addressed in the global solution solvent. people across south africa have been told to expect more power cuts this week a state electricity company eskom struggles to cope with capacity shortages the embattled firm has experienced repeated faults of power stations ranging from low water levels to diesel fuel shortages problems were compounded on sunday after electricity imports from site clone had to mozambique stopped south africa's

president cyril ramaphosa has pledged to invest one point six billion dollars a year into the company that is if he is reelected in may. but everyone talks about gender equality here in europe but are we also walking the walk not when it comes to equal pay men and women nowadays often pursue the same kind of careers from taxi drivers to doctors and nor yes but one men and women doing the exact same jobs at the end of the month their paycheck difference vast here in germany there's a gender pay gap of up to six percent room for improvement. in berlin it pays to be a woman well today it does the city's transport operators have given female passengers twenty one percent off the aim is to raise awareness of the gender pay gap. is that the unfair yes it's unfair. but we have to point out that it's much much less fair that women in germany earn on average

twenty one percent less for the same work as their male counterparts the common view of the men police but it's a little more complicated than mass women often work in professions that are morally paid as kindergarten teachers for example and every second woman in germany only works part time because they're looking after children or other dependants that means they earn less under less likely to pursue a career. but even when women and men in germany work in the same jobs their salaries are often different the gender pay gap there is six percent. that makes germany one of the lockers in the european union only in the czech republic and dystonia is the salary gap between men and women greater. trade unions were right in force in germany today to highlight their frustration over the continuing inequality. a champion worth

a million bucks in fact a bit more than that belgian raising pitch and armando was auctioned to this past weekend for an absolute world record amount of one and a quarter million euros more than doubling the previous record in the field amanda is the champion long distance flyer raced by the first short family. in the west flanders province where pitch and breeding is popular he will soon fly for his new owner a chinese buyer who remained anonymous. and that is business africa here on d w for me and the team in berlin as always thanks for keeping us company.

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under a small phoenix in my lips. where i come from roggio remains uninformed count me soft transmitting news and forum ish and when i was young my country was drawing huge confidence the more the problem of people most people would cause them. to see. if one's mind soul to true in one of the not just scotch you'll say so as not everyone in that column. listen to those updates. nothing has been from inside my known copy out into a month or more of them so long even thought i caught us i was

a twit and for me to hold. my choice in this card because given the way told transmitted to the troops. and it isn't a question how much and i want. to talk to. some degree it's clear the sex phone operator who wrote her master's thesis on the foot taito for her to repeat. not to turn on well it gets more ridiculous from their kooky double the true list treatment from our street. five minutes to venezuela's crisis in a fight to get aid into the country with a convoy of i don't support. an exclusive point alongside venezuelan journalists. a close look at the country's catastrophic conditions

on the way to colombia a show. starts march eighteenth. this is news live from the manhunt under way in the dutch city of track star following a deadly shooting at trial the suspect a turkish border is reported to have targeted a relative over a family dispute three people killed the five others were. also on the program remembers the victims of the christ church attack.

their history has before.