Business Africa
Mali: Natural juice start-up
Bottles of Zabbaan juices made in Mali and all-natural, named “Le Prince”, are displayed in various stores in Bamako.
Aissata Diakite’s juices are part of an all-natural health startup which the 28-year-old Malian launched in December 2017, blending traditional flavours with an engineer’s eye for detail.
The idea of launching a range of entirely natural fruit juices using locally sourced products from the African savanna came from her childhood in Mopti, a region in central Mali through which the Niger River flows.
Congo made ships
For several decades now, ships that the Belgian colonists had left on Lake Kivu are no longer in use. Since then, several ships are being built by the Congolese themselves.
These ships are built, either in Goma or in Bukavu, the two big cities on the shores of Lake Kivu. Aside from the materials that are imported from Europe and Asia, the workforce is 100% Congolese; from engineers to welders, fitter and turner and mechanics, all Congolese citizens trained in the Congo by Congolese.
01:00
Pix of the Day, 5th November, 2026 - Across the world
01:22
UN peacekeeping head meets leaders of rebel coalition in eastern DRC
01:15
NGOs urge Malian authorities for transparency on abduction of Mountaga Tall
01:09
Ebola fatality rate in DR Congo tops 50% as death toll reaches 5,372
00:55
Ebola deaths top 5,000 as fear of continent-wide spread mounts
00:53
Tshisekedi seeks Putin's help against Rwanda-backed rebels