Month: August 2019

Silafrica, a leading packaging supplier to East Africa and surrounding regions and trusted supplier to some of the largest food and beverage brands like Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Diageo, Heineken, Unilever, and others, has become the first African-based company in the packaging industry to join the Pledge 1% movement.

Pledge 1% is a global movement that encourages and empowers companies of all sizes and stages of growth to give one percent of either their profit, equity, staff time or product to any charity of their choosing.

This global campaign is dedicated to creating a new normal, whereby giving back is integrated into the DNA of companies, regardless of their size. Comprised of more than 8,500 companies in over 100 countries, it encourages and challenges these companies to pledge one percent of equity, profit, product and employee time to their communities.

With headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya it has manufacturing hubs in Kenya, Tanzania, …

Emerging liquefied natural gas and helium producer, Renergen, on Wednesday said it had signed a US $40 million loan agreement with the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) for a gas project in the Free State province.

Renergen’s principal asset is its 90 per cent shareholding in Tetra4, which holds the first and only onshore petroleum production right in South Africa, giving it a first-mover advantage on the distribution of domestic natural gas.

OPIC is the United States government’s development finance institution that mobilizes private capital to help solve critical development challenges and advances the foreign policy of the United States and national security objectives.

Renergen said this loan would provide access to the capital required to construct the first phase of the Virginia gas project.

It also said this was a major endorsement of the project by the US government, and the increasing importance of securing helium, with significant supply …

South Africa’s trade and industry deputy minister Nomalungelo Gina and Tunisian secretary of state for foreign affairs Sabri Bachtoji have committed to strengthening bilateral economic relations in order to increase trade and investment between their two countries, the government said on Wednesday.

During a meeting in Pretoria, the two emphasised the need to establish a framework and create a conducive environment for the two countries’ business communities to work together.

“Our countries have enjoyed historically strong political ties but it is incumbent upon us to strengthen our economic ties and increase economic cooperation between our countries,” Bachtoji said.

“As the government, we need to work together in setting up a framework and creating an environment that will encourage our business communities to explore the economic opportunities that are available in both countries.”

He said a number of sectors in the Tunisian economy were teeming with opportunities that South African companies …

Envoys representing member states voted in a secret ballot giving Kenya the nod to contest at the UN polls next year in June…

UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) run and managed CDC, the mission is to support the building of businesses throughout Africa and South Asia, to create jobs, and to make a lasting difference to people’s lives in some of the world’s poorest places.

The public limited company has been working with various entities in the continent to develop structures for harnessing renewable energy in East Africa. This has been necessitated by the rising energy needs in the region as well as need for cleaner green energy worldwide.

In 2017, CDC invested in a joint venture alongside the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED) and Industrial Promotion Services (IPS) to develop and finance power projects in sub-Saharan Africa, mobilizing project funding of over US$ 1billion.

The platform’s flagship development project is the creation of the 147 MW Ruzizi III hydropower project to be located in the Great Lakes region (Rwanda, …

The 2019 FinAccess Household Survey noted that mobile money has been instrumental in deepening financial inclusion…

Africa needs more than US$1.4 trillion in funding to be able to effectively address the growing housing crisis, Pan African housing development financier, Shelter Afrique has said.

Shelter Afrique Chief Executive Officer Andrew Chimphondah was speaking in Nairobi after the Company signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI), which will see HFHI assist Shelter Afrique in mobilizing capital for affordable housing.

“Research from our Centre of Excellence (CoE) shows that the overall shortage of housing in Africa is estimated now to be 56 million housing units. Out of this, more than 90 per cent or 45 million units are in the affordable housing bracket. This means that for Africa to fully address the issue of affordable housing shortage, at an average construction cost of 25,000 dollars per unit, the continent requires at least 1.4 trillion US dollars excluding the cost of the …

A lobby group consisting of organizations that advocate for sustainable agriculture is pushing for the immediate withdrawal of harmful pesticides in Kenya.

These are pesticides containing active ingredients that are toxic to human health and the environment, and that threaten food security and affect food safety in the country.

According to the group, at east 32 per cent of pesticide active ingredients that are currently registered and being sold in products in Kenya, have been withdrawn from the European market, due to their serious potential impact on human and environmental health.

The group comprises the Route to Food Initiative (RTFI), Biodiversity and Biosafety Association of Kenya (BIBA-K), Kenya Organic Agriculture Network (KOAN) and Resources Oriented Development Initiatives (RODI).

READ ALSO:Obstacles to food tourism development in Tanzania

Informed by a White Paper on pesticide use in Kenya that was commissioned by the RTFI, the organizations are calling for the withdrawal …

African nations that have been slow to develop disposal facilities while mountains of trash pile up at sites will begin receiving support from the Japanese government in the form of waste disposal management and human resources cultivation.

A nation with a high level of garbage disposal expertise, Japan is expected to declare its support for countries at the Seventh Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD7) taking place in Yokohama from Aug. 28. Japan will also show what waste management initiatives African nations will be able to take in the short term while keeping down costs.

In some African nations, waste produced by households and other places is not separated, and trash is often piled up at disposal sites with no planning or structure. Management of the sites is not thorough, and many impoverished people residing nearby make a living as “waste-pickers” who collect scrap metal and other items from …

One million Africans are set to benefit from emerging digital training organized by the United Africa Blockchain Association (UABA). UABA, a non-profit organization based in South Africa is committed to promoting the adoption of blockchain technology in Africa.

According to the announcement, UABA plans to use a Train the Trainer model through boot camps and hackathons to reach out blockchain and crypto community in African. These exercises are scheduled to start in September 2019 and will target mainly women and youths.

The sessions will initially be held on a weekly basis in Johannesburg, South Africa. The organizers also plan to set up this training in Cape Town. Eventually, UABA plans to partner up with other organizations to help expand this training to other African countries such as Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Ghana.

The training will take two main parts. The first part is dubbed as …