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Al Etihad
6 hours ago
- Al Etihad
Fearless female entrepreneur rises from UAE with game connecting back to African roots
2 July 2025 00:32 KUUMAR SHYAM (ABU DHABI)Born in Ethiopia, raised in the Netherlands, and now thriving as a serial entrepreneur in Dubai, Kanessa Muluneh has built a career by spotting overlooked problems and transforming them into profitable latest project, Rise of Fearless, is a made-in-UAE, Africa-focused blockchain game that combines history, economic empowerment, and cutting-edge technology – and it's already gaining traction across the continent and diaspora.'I always knew that Africa, the Middle East, and Asia had potential,' Muluneh says. 'Western media often paints a negative picture, but when you come here, you see growth, innovation, and resilience.'Moving to Dubai three years ago was more than a change of scenery for Kanessa; it was a return to her roots. Having spent her childhood in Europe as an immigrant, she visited Ethiopia again as an adult and reconnected with her heritage in a profound way. 'The smell, the feeling, the sound, the language – everything just clicked. It felt like answers to questions I didn't even know I had,' she visit coincided with her networking with the UAE business community in trying to grow her fashion brand Mulu. 'I saw that UAE nationals were the largest investors in Ethiopia. They taught me about the African infrastructure, how things worked – including the challenges, like hard currency shortages or delivery nightmares.'Even if she would not have been told, she would have noticed anyways. And her solution, go eyes are always on the lookout for problems. After all she made her first couple of millions – the proverbial most hardest challenge – by finding a problem and solving it, all at the age of 20 in her first job as a fresh medical the hospital, she found that many female medical workers had to leave work to care for sick family members. She proposed a system where doctors could consult from home by redirecting hospital calls and accessing medical files by colleagues, she invested 8,000 euros in rerouting and file inventory. By 22, she sold that company for over €1.2 million. Her father immediately advised her to invest half of it for future and spend the other half wisely. Yet she couldn't resist splurging away the rest, so much that she had to plead with father to dip into the saved money for paying instalments for the luxury car she had brought. TikTok to Tech Her medical job was only to appease her parents. But technology excited her more. Muluneh started educating others – and herself – through a TikTok account in her mother tongue. While improving her language fluency, she shared lessons on blockchain, NFTs, and crypto. That platform evolved into a successful along she began investing in small African ventures – some as little as $500 – which later developed into full-fledged businesses. Eventually, the idea emerged to build a play-to-earn game to inspire Africa's younger generation. 'They don't want to be doctors or lawyers anymore,' she says. 'They want to be content creators, business owners. We wanted to give them a platform for that.'Muluneh found developers from the Filipino blockchain gaming community and began building her team – now more than 10 strong – in Dubai with roles spanning from game developers to marketers. 'Every business I build is about marketing first. If it doesn't sell, it's not a business,' she result: Rise of Fearless, a free-to-play, mobile-first Web3 game, deeply embedded in Ethiopian history. 'The game is based on the Battle of Adwa – when Ethiopians defeated the Italians. That moment shaped the African Union,' the founder wear traditional attire and resemble real Africans – a deliberate move to challenge the western-centric design in mainstream games. 'Current game characters for Africans don't look like us. This one does.'It is not just about Ethiopia as Kanessa has launched the game in South Africa and Kenya, with plans to expand to Ghana, Rwanda, Nigeria, and Mauritius. 'People say I'm limiting myself by focusing on Africa,' she says. 'But Africa has 1.5 billion people – and it can connects with the population largely in Asia too.'Rise of Fearless is built on blockchain, with plans for its own tokenomics and NFT system. Players can buy, sell, and trade in-game items – including rare NFT outfits – with real monetary value. 'For example, let's say there's only one rainbow-colored outfit in the whole game. If your character has it and becomes popular, its value increases – just like in real markets.'She also launched Mulu, a plus-size fashion brand that thrived during COVID. 'Sales were crazy,' she says, thanks to online fitness classes and socially distanced meetups – all cleverly used to market her products. She's now relaunching Mulu in the UAE, expanding it from plus-size to all sizes, focusing on family the end of 2025, Kanessa aims to compete with giants like Fortnite. 'That game donated $20 million in two weeks during COVID – from a free-to-play model. That's the potential we're looking at.' With Rise of Fearless, she's doing more than building a game – she's helping build a digital economy for Africa with global potential from the confines of UAE.
Zawya
7 hours ago
- Zawya
Visit of Foreign Secretary Shri Vikram Misri to Mauritius
Foreign Secretary Shri Vikram Misri paid an official visit to the Republic of Mauritius on 01 July 2025. This was his second visit to Mauritius as Foreign Secretary. 2. The visit followed the telephone conversation between Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and the Prime Minister of Mauritius, H.E. Dr. Navinchandra Ramgoolam, on 24 June 2025, during which the two leaders discussed the ongoing cooperation across a broad range of areas and reaffirmed their shared commitment to further strengthen the Enhanced Strategic Partnership between India and Mauritius. 3. During the visit, Foreign Secretary called on the President, H.E. Mr. Dharambeer Gokhool, the Prime Minister, H.E. Dr Navinchandra Ramgoolam, the Deputy Prime Minister, H.E. Mr. Paul Berenger and the Foreign Minister of Mauritius, H.E. Mr. Dhananjay Ramful and met key Mauritian leaders and officials. 4. In his meeting with the Prime Minister of Mauritius, Foreign Secretary reiterated the invitation of Prime Minister Modi to PM Ramgoolam to visit India. Both sides held discussions on the entire range of bilateral cooperation. Foreign Secretary sought guidance to further strengthen the special and close ties and conveyed India's continued commitment to the development, progress and prosperity of Mauritius. As part of the commitment to work together to address challenges faced by Mauritius on account of increase in drug-addiction and related social issues, Foreign Secretary handed over specialized anti-drug equipment to FM Ramful. 5. The visit is part of continued high-level exchanges between two countries and reflects the importance India attaches to its relations with Mauritius. In line with our Neighbourhood First policy, Vision MAHASAGAR and our commitment to the Global South, the visit reaffirmed the continued commitment from both sides to deepen the multi-dimensional bilateral partnership for the prosperity and development of both countries and the larger Indian Ocean Region. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of External Affairs - Government of India.
Zawya
7 hours ago
- Zawya
North Africa: Green Climate Fund approves a record $300 million for Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)-designed projects in Papua New Guinea, Saint Lucia and the Sahel
The Green Climate Fund (GCF) has approved projects worth more than $300 million that will protect forests in Papua New Guinea, promote sustainable fisheries in Saint Lucia, and help grow Africa's Great Green Wall. The initiatives, designed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), were greenlighted at the 42nd meeting of the GCF Board, held in the Papua New Guinea capital from June 30 to July 3. It represents the highest-value batch of such approvals to date. 'Through sustainable forestry management, fisheries transformation and land restoration, these FAO-designed projects will make a significant difference to the lives and livelihood of these vulnerable communities, especially in the current global context of overlapping and complex crises due to climate extremes and other shocks,' said FAO Director-General QU Dongyu. 'FAO appreciates the unwavering trust that the GCF and Member Countries place in FAO's professional capacity to provide the required technical expertise to strengthen resilience and safeguard the livelihoods of the most vulnerable,' he added. 'The FAO-GCF partnership continues to be critical for the climate investments in agrifood systems required to deliver science-based concrete solutions to countries and communities where they are needed most, leaving no one behind.' All three approvals were outcomes of successful FAO-led GCF readiness projects, as well as other long-standing technical collaborations, which unlocked the resources countries needed to pursue more ambitious climate projects. Papua New Guinea FAO has supported the country to design a high-impact climate project, within the framework of GCF's pilot programme for results-based payments, that will direct investments worth $63.4 million into Papua New Guinea's sustainable forest management activities. This substantial GCF investment recognizes the Government's achievements in reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 17 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO₂e) during the 2014-2016 period – comparable to taking over 3 million cars off the road for a year. Funding for the project falls under the initiative known as REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation), and will support the Government's efforts to conserve forests and implement the National REDD+ Strategy 2017–2027. Papua New Guinea has been an advocate for the REDD+ global process since its very inception in 2008. The country has kept forest conservation and reducing emissions from the forest sector high on the national and global agenda including through support from FAO and the UN-REDD programme. The investments seek to promote a virtuous cycle of emission reductions by promoting agroforestry, sustainable fuelwood and charcoal production, community pole and timber plantations, the restoration of natural forest, and more. The project will place special emphasis on the social dimension, prompting benefit sharing, encouraging stakeholder engagement, and strengthening both local and national capacities. Papua New Guinea's tropical rainforests – of which three-quarters are primary forests – cover 78 percent of the country's land, making it a global biodiversity hotspot. The forests are home to 191 species of mammals, and 750 species of bird. They also serve as vital carbon sinks, storing large amounts of carbon in above-ground biomass and soil. Saint Lucia The FISH-ADAPT project in Saint Lucia, with an investment of $16.7 million, has been designed to reduce the risks that climate change poses to the fishing and aquaculture sectors in this Small Island Developing State located in the eastern Caribbean Sea. The project aims to transform Saint Lucia's fisheries sector by making fishing safer and more productive despite a changing climate. It will foster a circular economy to help reduce waste, enhance resource efficiency, and promote livelihood diversification for more resilient communities. Fish value chains and markets will be strengthened; coastal fish grounds and aquaculture systems will become more climate resilient; and fishers will have more diversified incomes. The initiative will put in place agrifood solutions that build sustainability and resilience to improve efficiency, safety and productivity in the fisheries sector. These include empowering fishers and aquaculture farmers by enhancing access to weather data, upgrading landing sites and promoting sustainable offshore fishing. Saint Lucia's geographic position and socio-economic dependence on the fisheries sector make it especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Fisherfolk who rely on the sea for their livelihoods are finding it increasingly difficult to adapt to a changing climate and declining fish stocks. Increased air temperature and changing rainfall patterns have also been affecting inland aquaculture. Considering these challenges, FISH-ADAPT will target approximately 75,000 beneficiaries – about 41 percent of the population – including marine fishers, sea-moss farmers, fish vendors and processors, and inland aquaculture farmers. The Sahel The Scaling-Up Resilience in Africa's Great Green Wall (SURAGGWA), with an investment of $222 million, will support livelihoods of agropastoral and pastoral communities living in the Sahel's semi-arid regions, who are extremely vulnerable to climate change. The initiative is FAO's first multi-country proposal and the largest funding request ever submitted on behalf of its Member Countries. It builds on the extensive work done by FAO on the Great Green Wall initiative, in particular the Action Against Desertification Programme. The initiative will seek to scale up successful land restoration practices using a diversity of native species to increase livelihood resilience while also sequestering carbon. It will develop value chains for climate-resilient and low-emission non-timber forest products, supporting the livelihoods and food security of vulnerable communities. Another key aspect of the project will be to strengthen national and regional Great Green Wall institutions to ensure the sustainability and coordination of interventions and monitoring of restoration results as well as mobilizing additional resources including through climate change adaptation and mitigation financing mechanisms. The SURAGGWA Programme will advance the African Union's ambitions to transform Sahelian landscapes by restoring 100 million hectares of degraded land and creating 10 million jobs. Working with smallholder farmers and pastoralist communities, it will also build resilience and contribute to climate change mitigation through carbon sequestration in restored lands across the eight participating countries (Burkina Faso, Chad, Djibouti, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria and Senegal). A quarter of the 100 million people who live in the Sahel rely on pastoralist livelihoods. Poverty, social tensions, and climate change put additional strain on herders and farmers who already compete for limited resources and land. Agriculture, livestock and forestry activities are the foundation of their economies and more than 70 per cent of rural communities depend directly on rainfed agriculture. The FAO–GCF partnership The new approvals raise FAO's GCF portfolio to over $1.8 billion, with climate investments delivering sustainable agrifood system solutions to the countries and communities where they are needed most. You can read more about FAO's partnership with GCF here. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
