By Gregory Simpkins Throughout history, people with strong beliefs have often taken their beliefs too far, provoking an opposite reaction...
By Gregory Simpkins Since the Scramble for Africa in the 1880s, and in fact even before then, various foreign nations have had an abiding interest in...
By Gregory Simpkins During the last decade, the international economic order has been in significant turmoil – from the immediate and ancillary impacts of the Russia-Ukraine...
By Gregory Simpkins Within hours after taking office, US President Donald Trump set about dismantling Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programming in the US government. Needless...
By Gregory Simpkins With the Trump administration’s effort to curtail foreign aid, ostensibly due to concerns about corruption and misdirection of funds, US relations with the...
By Gregory Simpkins The United States and Israel have floated the idea of moving Palestinians from Gaza to East Africa so that peace will allow for...
By Gregory Simpkins The destruction of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is just about complete. Even Prosper Africa, administered by the agency and created...
By Gregory Simpkins The so-called Scramble for Africa refers to the cooperative effort by European powers to exploit the people and resources of the continent of...
By Gregory Simpkins Seeing the photos and video of erstwhile colleagues given only 15 minutes to clear out the desks and offices they left behind when...
By Gregory Simpkins Over the years I have worked on analyzing international politics, economics and social issues, I have found that not only is each situation...
By Gregory Simpkins When Donald Trump won re-election as President last November, there were some in Africa and the Diaspora who expressed continued bitterness over his...
By Gregory Simpkins The first two weeks of the second administration of US President Donald Trump were chaotic to say the least. A wave of executive...
By Gregory Simpkins M23 Rebels Gain Ground in Eastern DR Congo The Rwandan-backed March 23 Movement (M23) rebels, who are steadily gaining territory in eastern Democratic...
By Gregory Simpkins Over decades of working on African issues – analyzing governments and economies and working with businesspeople wanting to enter African markets – it...
By Gregory Simpkins On his way out of the White House, President Joe Biden pardoned, among others, the Honorable Marcus Mosiah Garvey who had been convicted...
By Gregory Simpkins The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) has long enjoyed bipartisan support, but partisan squabbles appear to have doomed its long-term extension during the...
By Gregory Simpkins Making arrangements to travel often begins early in the year, especially if it involves international travel. The Business Insider Africa website has rated...
By Gregory Simpkins In the latest episode of Real Talk Habari, the directors of The Habari Network—Oscar Sekyewa, Ryan Elcock, Emmanuel Musaazi, and Gregory Simpkins—dive deep...
By Gregory Simpkins For all of my adult life here in the United States, I have constantly heard how the African Diaspora in America (especially those...
By Gregory Simpkins France, one of the European colonial powers that divided up the African continent at the infamous Belin Conference of 1885, is on the...
By Gregory Simpkins As I have written about previously, the international community has discussed what to do about climate change for decades. Many promises of help...
By Gregory Simpkins As I have written previously, South Sudan is critically placed in the geopolitical context. For example, waters that form the White Nile River...
By Gregory Simpkins When we read articles about the economic health of countries, we often encounter one recurring item: Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It supposedly describes...
By Gregory Simpkins When Abiy Ahmed became Prime Minister of Ethiopia in April 2018, the country had been ravaged by a protracted conflict with its neighbor,...
By Gregory Simpkins Debt is a cancer that eats away a government’s ability to manage its economic affairs. It prevents governments from providing required social services,...
By Gregory Simpkins By the time this is posted on our website, there will be only days until the 2024 national elections in the United States....
By Gregory Simpkins When President Joe Biden promised during the December 2022 African Leaders Summit to visit Africa before his term ended, many observers probably thought...
By Gregory Simpkins As the international community moves toward an energy future featuring renewable energy, the source of critical minerals and the location of their processing...
By Gregory Simpkins While the international community focuses on Israel’s war with Hamas and now Hezbollah, the Ukraine-Russia conflict and speculates about a possible struggle involving...
By Gregory Simpkins As I have written about previously, as many as four billion people globally experience water shortages for at least one month a year,...
By Gregory Simpkins The pan-African publication African Arguments asked a very pertinent question in its September 10 issue: When will African leaders resist the neocolonial summons?...
By Gregory Simpkins Most of the world is experiencing a population decline. According to a August 31 article in the New York Post, for the first...
By Gregory Simpkins In recent decades, women throughout the African Diaspora and the rest of the world have struggled to attain some level of equity in...
By Gregory Simpkins During the African democratization wave in the early 1990s, I was privileged to be part of the U.S. effort to encourage the move...
By Gregory Simpkins For more than a decade, Western nations have pressured African governments and societies to accept lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LBGTQ) rights...
By Gregory Simpkins For nearly half a century, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), established with the Treaty of Lagos in 1975, has endeavored...
By Gregory Simpkins African and Caribbean nations and organizations are increasing collaborating. For example, the African Export-Import Bank has opened a Caribbean office in Barbados. The...
By Gregory Simpkins The transition of colonies in the developing world have been difficult over the years to say the least. In this phase, colonial powers...
By Gregory Simpkins The international community has been discussing and debating the issue of climate change for decades. In the United States, the dichotomy was climate...
By Gregory Simpkins I was blessed to have been involved with the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) from when it was a legislative proposal while...
By Gregory Simpkins The Republic of South Africa has long been considered the hub of the wheel of the southern Africa region. It is the most...
By Gregory Simpkins The prevailing world economic order since the end of World War II, established by the major powers at that time, is coming unraveled....
By Gregory Simpkins Summertime is a prime season for tourism, and there are Americans who will want to visit Africa, this year again, or for the...
By Gregory Simpkins For more than a year now, the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) coalition has been pressing hard for replacement of the...
By Gregory Simpkins The South China Morning Post reported on March 29, 2024 that by 2050, it is projected that only a quarter of countries in...
By Gregory Simpkins There has been significant discussion within Africanist circles about the multiplying coups in Africa, the ongoing conflicts and several other issues. However, there...
By Gregory Simpkins Following what has been described as intense negotiations, the U.S. government has agreed to withdraw its drone base from Niger. This base is...
By Gregory Simpkins After a few years of discussion about what renewal of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) would look like, Senators Chris Coons...
By Gregory Simpkins When then-Senegalese president Abdoulaye Wade congratulated his opponent on his victory and peacefully stepped down following the 2012 election, he was internationally praised...
By Gregory Simpkins In a May 2000 issue with a lead article headlined “Africa: The Hopeless Continent”, The Economist magazine unleashed a flood of discussions about...
By Gregory Simpkins The global environment is changing at an accelerating pace. The post-World War II arrangements have broken down to be replaced by an emerging...
By Gregory Simpkins Many of us are familiar with Africa as a concept, though not necessarily as distinguishable, individual nations nor Caribbean nations as more than...
By Gregory Simpkins Although half a world apart, lower-income South Africans and Americans are facing increasing challenges to their economic wellbeing due to the influx of...
By Gregory Simpkins In the late 1800s, European nations consolidated their colonization of Africa at an 1885 conference in Berlin to ensure that each colonial power...
By Gregory Simpkins There has been significant discussion over the past year about replacing the U.S. dollar as the world’s reserve currency. The dollar has held...
By Gregory Simpkins The seismic shift in the world order is causing many economic and political changes. The determination to replace the U.S. dollar as the...
By Gregory Simpkins It is said that necessity is the mother of invention but that desperate times call for desperate measures. Well Ethiopia has a desperate...
By Gregory Simpkins I have been blessed to be a part of some important developments involving African issues: the creation and extension of the African Growth...
By Gregory Simpkins Since I was a young boy, Africa has fascinated me. Some of my early friends were from Liberia, and I grew up feeling...
By Gregory Simpkins In December 2022, the Biden Administration convened a summit with African governmental leaders, as well as African and American businesspeople and civil society...
By Gregory Simpkins December 10th is commemorated as Human Rights Day in honor of the proclamation of the Universal Declaration Of Human Rights by the United...
By Gregory Simpkins We live in a time of great upheaval worldwide, and according to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), there has never...
By Gregory Simpkins The African ‘coup train’ keeps on rolling with the latest coup attempt in Sierra Leone. This time, however, the coup was thwarted before...
By Gregory Simpkins Djibouti is viewed as a small country on the northeastern edge of the African continent. It is little known globally despite its advantageous...
By Gregory Simpkins “The world is aflame in conflict.” How often do we hear some version of that? It is, of course, quite true, but the...
By Gregory Simpkins Since its signing into law in 2000, the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) has been the main trade program for the United...
By Gregory Simpkins I recently came across an intriguing headline in the New York Times: “The World Is Becoming More African.” The point being made is...
By Gregory Simpkins It probably escaped the notice of most people that the International Criminal Court (ICC) in October 2023 declined to prosecute Maxime Mokom, a...
By Gregory Simpkins Investors, especially American investors, are overly cautious in terms of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Africa. They require extra assurance of the viability...
By Gregory Simpkins Africa was the world’s cradle of civilization, and the people who left over the millennia (as well as those who remained) offered new...
By Gregory Simpkins For the past several years, African governments and their non-African supporters have lamented the continuing exclusion of African governments from seats on international...
By Gregory Simpkins The Conference of the Parties (COP) is the decision-making body of the United Nations effort to combat climate change. It has met every...
In North America, we have taken clean water for granted until recent events in Flint, Michigan, and East Palestine, Ohio, brought into question the safety of...
By Gregory Simpkins The current wave of coups in Africa demonstrates a disdain for following through on democratic governance in Africa – mostly by impatient military...
By Gregory Simpkins Since African nations began the road to independence in the 1950s, there have been about 100 coups in which militaries overthrew elected governments....
By Gregory Simpkins At the recent 123rd National Black Business Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, I told a panel audience that I have been blessed to be...
By Gregory Simpkins One of the biggest stories in recent weeks has been the ongoing evolution of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), this...
By Gregory Simpkins It has been my great honor to work on the goal of connecting the elements of the African Diaspora for more than a...
By Gregory Simpkins Since the coup in Niger last month, sanctions have been levied against the new regime, borders have been closed and now that the...
By Gregory Simpkins The coup virus in Africa continues to infect nations – even those that had seemed somewhat immune. Niger has been considered a beacon...
By Gregory Simpkins In my time in and out of the U.S. government, I have seen and heard much about the value of women entrepreneurs. Years...
By Gregory Simpkins A century ago, Jamaican Diaspora leader Marcus Garvey established what he hoped would be a global economic partnership between the Africa Diaspora in...
By Gregory Simpkins I debated with myself long and hard and consulted colleagues before writing this blog because I know it is a sensitive and contentious...
By Gregory Simpkins Over the past 40+ years working on Diaspora issues, I have had the privilege of working with numerous Black-owned businesses and organizations. Many...
By Gregory Simpkins Africa, as with the rest of the developing world, continues to be impacted by events on the international stage – from the Ukraine-Russia...
By Gregory Simpkins Now into its second year, the war ignited by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine drones on. After billions of dollars in weapons and financial...
By Gregory Simpkins There has been a lot said and written about industrialization in Africa, including assigning blame as to why the continent lagged behind other...
By Gregory Simpkins Members of the African Diaspora in North America are justifiably concerned about racism in our backyard, so to speak. The existence of “Karens”...
By Gregory Simpkins Recently, I wrote about the current drive to replace the U.S. dollar as the world’s reserve currency. A reserve currency is defined as...
By Gregory Simpkins Summer in America is prime vacation season. The United States has numerous attractive travel destinations – from Hawaii to Puerto Rico from Los...
By Gregory Simpkins All too often, the international media and even those considered to be Africa experts focus on the crises that are evident in African...
By Gregory Simpkins The current conflict in Sudan is the result of unintended consequences of a previous ruler’s protection scheme, a struggle for power and control...
By Gregory Simpkins God has blessed Africa with abundant human and natural resources. Human resources often leave their home countries for more promising opportunities elsewhere, but...
By Gregory Simpkins In December 2010, an incident in Tunisia sparked a youth-led revolt that had an impact far beyond the country’s borders. The so-called Arab...
By Gregory Simpkins Shifts in alliances are quickening as U.S. allies are moving toward the nations seeking to undo what they say is American hegemony over...
By Gregory Simpkins There has been increasing talk about a New World Order created by the alliance primarily of China and Russia, along with other nations...
By Gregory Simpkins If you live in a developed world country, you have the luxury of getting up each morning and having clean, abundant water to...
By Gregory Simpkins Early in March this year as in every year, the world celebrated International Women’s Day, when women are recognized for their achievements without...
Freedom House, in its Freedom in the World 2023 report, states that democracy and governance declined around the world for the 17th consecutive year but that...
By Gregory Simpkins The aftermath of the Nigerian elections has become quite contentious, although fortunately not widely violent. There are numerous accusations of malfeasance by the...
By Gregory Simpkins It was predicted that Nigeria’s 2023 elections would demonstrate significant progress in political plurality in the country. It has not thus far. It...
By Gregory Simpkins When the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) was founded in 1961, the intent was to advance the interests of developing countries and avoid Cold War...
By Gregory Simpkins Two decades ago, The Economist magazine labeled Africa as hopeless. “At the start of the 19th century, Freetown (Sierra Leone) was remote and...
By Gregory Simpkins Over the centuries, the natural blessings of Africa seem to have been more apparent to outsiders than even the rulers of African countries....
By Gregory Simpkins For more than half a century now, Black History Month has been celebrated in the United States each February. This celebration can be...
By Gregory Simpkins In the United States, the annual struggle over exceeding the debt limit has begun early. Republicans in the House of Representatives pledge to...
By Gregory Simpkins In a speech during the December 2022 US-Africa Leaders’ Summit, US President Joe Biden promised to support African development through the African Union’s...
By Gregory Simpkins For more than two decades now, Americans have held polarized views about the integrity and accuracy of votes in our national elections. As...
By Gregory Simpkins Now that the New Year is upon us, we in the African Diaspora need to plan for joint action to better ensure that...
By Gregory Simpkins The Biden Administration pledged to listen at the recent US-Africa Leaders’ Summit, but said it also would demonstrate its interest in a robust...
By Gregory Simpkins Being left out of industrialization for so long has been an obstacle for emerging markets in Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean...
By Gregory Simpkins For two decades, the United States has held a trio of conferences that used to be considered summits: the African Growth and Opportunity...
By Gregory Simpkins I have worked on analyzing Africa issues for more than 40 years, and during that time, I have constantly heard appeals for humanitarian...
By Gregory Simpkins The global population recently reached 8 billion people. Sometime early on November 15, the eight billionth person – a baby girl in a...
By Gregory Simpkins When the Marvel Studios film Black Panther hit theaters in 2018, it created a couple of sensations. The first, of course, was that...
By Gregory Simpkins The announcement of a so-called “permanent” cease-fire agreement in Ethiopia’s Tigray war sparked optimism among those outside Ethiopia, as well as those clinging...
By Gregory Simpkins Pollution has been significantly diminished in developed countries due to the use of less polluting energy sources such as unleaded gasoline and natural...
By Gregory Simpkins Since the days of African independence, the continent has been bedeviled by internal and external conflicts. There have been coups like the recent...
By Gregory Simpkins For more than a century, members of the African Diaspora in America and the Caribbean have made efforts to create linkages with our...
By Gregory Simpkins It has become fashionable in the developed world community to criticize Africa for the lack of unity among its component members, as evidenced...
By Gregory Simpkins While eyes around the world are on Russia – because of its war on Ukraine, which is negatively affecting Africa and elsewhere, the...
By Gregory Simpkins Much has been written and said about how the world’s big powers have squeezed Africa into the middle of their global conflicts –...
By Gregory Simpkins I attended the first Global Africa Business Initiative (GABI) in New York recently. It was well produced and well attended, and I got...
By Gregory Simpkins A lot of attention has been given to China’s involvement in Africa, and of course, the ongoing participation of Europe’s former colonial powers...
By Gregory Simpkins Between 1870 and 1900, the so-called “scramble for Africa” resulted in almost all the continent coming under European colonial control. The United Kingdom...
By Gregory Simpkins Agency is defined as “the sense of control you feel in life, your capacity to influence your own thoughts and behavior, and the...
By Gregory Simpkins Elections play a significant part in the establishment and maintenance of representative democracy worldwide, but all too often, the entirety of the process...
By Gregory Simpkins There has been a lot of discussion about the African Diaspora and its importance in US-Africa trade and general relations. However, just counting...
By Gregory Simpkins The Biden Administration is about to release its Africa policy within days of this writing. Most U.S. Administrations do this at some point,...
By Gregory Simpkins The Biden Administration has released its U.S.-Africa policy document, and it looks a lot like the previous ones issued by American Executive Branch...
By Gregory Simpkins I have written previously about Nigeria being the “essential nation” in Africa. According to the Congressional Research Service (CRS), successive U.S. Administrations have...
By Gregory Simpkins I count myself blessed to have been involved in the creation of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and nearly a dozen...
By Gregory Simpkins The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) June Global Trends reported that by the end of 2021, the number of people displaced...
By Gregory Simpkins As the world rightly focuses on the Ukraine-Russia conflict, which has inflicted such misery on other countries, there is a growing conflict that...
By Gregory Simpkins On April 23, 2021, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken proudly announced the appointment of Jeffrey Feltman as the U.S. Special Envoy for...
By Gregory Simpkins On May 30, 2019, the framework agreement establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) entered into force, But this continental body still...
By Gregory Simpkins The Corporate Council on Africa recently hosted a briefing in Washington by United Nations High Representative for Infrastructure. Raila Odinga, a Kenyan politician...
By Gregory Simpkins Many people who are not familiar with international affairs see situations as strictly black and white; villain and victim. While there is some...