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Barclays launch Africa Anti-Poverty Effort
allAfrica -- Around 60,000 people in Kenya, Ghana, Tanzania and Uganda will soon have access to financial services through Barclays' commitment to the Business Call to Action (BCtA) a global initiative aimed at supporting the private sector's efforts to fight poverty. Barclays' pledge is part of the bank's three-year, £10 million Banking on Change initiative, which seeks to improve the quality of life for poor people by extending and developing access to basic financial services in 11 countries in Africa, Asia, and South America, working in partnership with CARE International and Plan International. "Extending access to banking and financial services within low-income communities allows poor people to manage their money more efficiently and effectively and creates new opportunities for inclusive economic growth," said Natalie Africa, Programme Manager of the Business Call to Action...

Pepsi creates bottle from 100% plant material
Geek.com -- Regardless of your preference for Pepsi or Coca-Cola, if you buy it in bottles then that isn’t great for the environment. The petroleum-based plastic used to create them can take decades to breakdown and can’t easily be recycled. Coca-Cola has already started experimenting with using renewable material in its bottles which make up around 30% of each bottle. But Pepsi has gone a step further and managed to make a new plastic bottle consisting of only plant materials, therefore breaking the link and reliance on petroleum. The new bottles use a mix of switch grass, pine bark, corn husks, and a number of other renewable materials. Importantly, Pepsi has managed to make the new bottle indistinguishable from the old one so it will have no impact on marketing or brand recognition...

Nobel Prize campaign for African women
APO -- The Italian Cooperation is working with over 30 local authorities and hundreds of personalities from the Italian and international institutional, cultural and entertainment worlds and civil society on a campaign to promote the group candidacy of African women for the Nobel Peace Prize. The Nobel Peace Prize for African Women (NOPPAW) campaign sponsored by Solidarietà e Cooperazione Cipsi and ChiAma l'Africa with the support of the foreign ministry's DGCS and Minister Franco Frattini, is organising dozens of events around Italy to spotlight African women's growing role in the continent's daily life. "African women are the continent's compelling leaders, both in daily life and in social and political activities," asserted Guido Barbera, President of Solidarietà e Cooperazione Cipsi. "Africa stands on their feet. Female entrepreneurs, politicians, promoters of rights, health, peace and co-existence; it is impossible to imagine the future of Africa without picturing the many ordinary women who carry the weight of this land every day, taking on its tragedies and bearing its hopes"...

Laptops to boost Africa's e-literacy
Media Club SA -- The image seems to come straight out of a science fiction novel; a class of 50 pupils with no teacher in sight, each being taught by their very own laptop on their desk. This utopian vision could be a reality in the near future as the African Union (AU) and the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) organisation signed a memorandum of understanding in February 2011 that's aimed at providing primary school children across Africa with laptops. OLPC’s vice president of global advocacy Matthew Keller and Lidet Tilahun,vice president of the organisation’s international outreach, met with members of the AU at the union’s headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to confirm their commitment to the two-year deal. Keller said that the partnership is yet another significant step toward ensuring children around the world have access to world-class education. He believes the AU is dedicating itself to a world where children become the agents of change...