Month: July 2020

For many in Africa, the concept of an electric vehicle is still new, by the time these futuristic automobiles become popular in Africa, land rights in the Congo may very well be buried deep in the cobalt mines.

 Did you know, the Democratic Republic of the Congo produces more than half of the world’s supply of cobalt? You probably did not, neither did I. Here is another fun fact, did you know cobalt is the mineral that powers your phone battery, your laptop battery and most all your rechargeable batteries?

I bet you were also not aware that this bluish mineral that is found in a dull brownish ore of dirt is used in hospital labs for imaging, for cancer radiotherapy and even for sterilizing medical equipment.

Cobalt is also in the component that stores solar energy in the solar panels that have now become popular solution to Africa’s energy …

The British Chamber of Commerce Kenya (BCCK) has unveiled its inaugural Integrity Index showcasing local companies and how they fair on the integrity test. It features a selection of companies based in Kenya, that have a track record in working with integrity with organizations in Kenya and British Chamber of Commerce Kenya (BCCK) members.

These companies which cut across various sectors including horticulture, ICT, real estate, recycling and water and showcases a new trend in Kenya where Integrated has been prioritized. In the past, Kenyan private sector has been labeled as the hub for corrupt under dealings and this list shines a new light Into Kenyan private sector.

The Index is part of the Business Integrity Initiative (BII) pilot programme, which is run by BCCK in partnership with the UK Department for International Development (DFID), the UK Department for International Trade (DIT) and the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) …

The emerging digital ecosystem is a crucial multiplier of this growth, evident during the coronavirus pandemic…

Tanzania became the first East African nation to reopen its schools, businesses and ports of entry, charting a new path in the management of the Corona Virus.

As of May 18, Tanzania reopened its airspace for international arrivals and the World is responding.

Only three days after it announced its reopening its airspace, local media reported that a chartered airplane landed at the Kilimanjaro International Airport on May 21. The plane had on board four Greek nationals.

Previously, the tourists would have had to go into a 14-day mandatory quarantine but not anymore. Now anyone entering the country only needs to go through a simple temperature check upon arrival. Other measures include having all arriving flights present an Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) so as to allow the Tanzania’s Immigration Department and Airport Authorities to identify high-risk passengers.

All non-APIS compliant flights will now be required to notify their passengers …

There has not been a more demanding time for Africa to adopt modern agriculture methods than now. In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, food security in Africa is threatened at all levels and farming activities have nearly been brought to a standstill.

African farmers lost market as borders closed and flights were grounded to curb the spread of Covid-19. As a result the, pandemic severely affected the agriculture value chains from supply of inputs to transporting the end product.

Africa now finds itself more in need of modern farming methods to increase production in a cost effective manner. However, while attempting to increase production, African farmers must also mitigate the effects of climate change by adopting climate smart agriculture.

There is need to use improved seed varieties even in the backdrop of the side effects of using hybrid seeds. Improved seed varieties are more resistant to disease and poor …

U.S. dollar is muscling it up against gold, but the precious metal just wont let up, not with the threat of a second Covid-19 outbreak as new cases emerge.

In Africa, the big gold miners, Tanzania is one of the countries that made some good money out of the increased demand for gold during the height of the Covid-19 global pandemic. However, over the past month, World market prices for gold declined slightly due to decrease in global demand as economies begin to stabilize

Actually, the prices for several selected commodities were lower in the year ended March than in the preceding month with the exception of Arabica coffee,” reports the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) monthly economic review.

As economies start opening up, Tanzania gold export is expected to remain strong however gold futures reported a second loss in a row at the end of June. This slight dip by …

The Republic of South Sudan’s path to economic recovery has not been an easy one, however, the country’s 2017 decision to join the African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI) has been a positive step in the right direction.

ATI, a multilateral provider of investment and trade credit insurance, offers insurance against political and commercial risks, by attracting foreign direct investments into the region. 

In just a few short years, ATI’s support for the country is valued at over US$500 million.

Albert Rweyemamu, a Senior Underwriter at ATI, shed some light on the organisation’s work with South Sudan, which has largely focused on the oil/ gas and power generation sectors.

Since South Sudan became an ATI member country in 2017, how has your approach to the country changed? 

AR: Generally, ATI supports limited projects in non-member states as we cannot confer our Preferred Creditor Status (PCS), which offers protection against political …

Amid strong demand for automotive vehicles, several domestic and foreign manufacturers are planning to expand their production bases in Tanzania. Government of Tanzania also prioritizes the automotive segment as a key revenue generator and is encouraging flow of FDIs in automotive industry – Tanzania Automotive Market, Size, Share, Outlook and Growth Opportunities 2020-2026 (Report)

Tanzania is one of the most promising and fastest growing automobile markets in the region. Tanzania automobile industry is supported by multiple factors such as labour availability, R&D efforts, geographic advantage and government support.

With positive outlook for economy and greater household purchasing power, the automobile sales in the country are set to witness strong surge in sales.

Meet Mr. Edwin Mac Temba the CEO of Mac Auto Express Garage in Dar es Salaam. He gives The Exchange an exclusive breakdown of how the subsector is performing, how it survived during the corona virus outbreak and …

The year started out as very promising, Nigeria’s crude oil and gas export sales revenue hit a record USD434.85 million in January. That was apparently the best the sector would do this year. It is estimated that the country’s oil revenue is likely to decline by 80 percent this year.  In fact oil export volume is projected to fall to 1.3 million barrels per day.

For a country where oil represents 90 percent of the country’s exports, 30 percent of bank credits and 50 percent of fiscal revenues, an 80 percent fall (USD17 billion) spells doom not only for the sector but the economy as a whole.

The prediction is made by the country’s high profile and member of the Economic Advisory Council, Mr. Bismarck Rewane in a report titled: “Making Hay While the Sun Has Set.”

“The federal government is struggling with the reduction and elimination of subsidies without …

Zimbabwe is on the verge of another economic cramp that is bound to be far worse than what it has been suffering for the last decade.

Already, the nation has been on an indefinite national lock down for the third month running, and now, the pandemic is really taking a dire toll on the economy. Well, it is not the Coronavirus effect that is bound to doom Zimbabwe into an economic crunch (yet again).   Rather, it is the country’s tendency to simply print money whenever it deems fit; if only life were so easy!

Zimbabwe, like all other countries, is looking to cushion its business sector from the coronavirus crunch. However, the way Zimbabwe is looking to fund its proposed US$ 998.34 million (ZW$18 Billion) stimulus package is if anything, questionable, if not downright inadvisable, or to be blunt, shall we just go ahead and call it, rudimentary?

Well, how …