Author: Caroline Muriuki

Angola’s reforms in the oil sector including at national oil company Sonangol , are already yielding positive results, with 30 per cent of the company set to be privatized by 2022.

Sector reforms are set to be supported by an investment campaign drive by Africa Oil & Power including the Angola Oil & Gas Conference & Exhibition on June 2020, at the Talatona Convention Center.

The conference will be a global drive which will present opportunities to a targeted audience of relevant investors.

H.E. Diamantino Pedro Azevedo, Angola’s Minister of Mineral Resources and said that the government had made noteworthy progress in its efforts to restructure the oil and gas sector.

Also Read: EU and UNCTAD seek more coffee aroma from Angola

Angola’s initial achievements include significant reduction of costs at the national oil company (NOC) Sonangol which has led to the government decision to list up to 30 per …

Airtel was ranked as the leading data speed provider with slightly above 14 megabits per second (Mbps) a report from the latest Quality of Service study (QoS) released by the telecom regulator.

According to the Uganda Communications Commission, the Quality of Service study (QoS was carried out to determine telecom performance in success, blocked call rates and dropped call rates and data speeds described as throughput (speed).

The report indicates that telecoms in Uganda registered the highest speeds in rural areas and slower speeds in the urban and peri-urban.

Also Read: Data, mobile money steer Airtel’s revenue growth

From the study, the Airtel network was the quickest in nearly every jurisdiction.
For instance, in an area where Airtel had an average speed of 14mbps, MTN was slightly above 4mbps and 3mbps.

Last year, Airtel Africa embarked on an exercise aimed at boosting the company’s infrastructure to upgrade its internet. The …

Revenue from data and mobile money drove Airtel Africa’s operations, boosting the company’s overall revenue by 9.9 per cent.

The Airtel’s revenue grew to $2.5 billion for the nine months ended December 31 from $2.2 billion in 2018.

According to data from the telecom, Airtel Africa realised a 3.9 per cent increase in voice revenue, 39 per cent in data and 40.4 per cent in mobile money during the period.

“We are also increasingly seeing the success of our strategy to lead in the roll-out of modernised 4G networks, with more than 40 per cent increase in data revenues for the quarter… our mobile money offer as well as increasing the distribution footprint have helped gain further acceptance of Airtel money,”  said Mr Raghunath Mandava, chief executive officer, Airtel Africa.

Also Read: Telkom dislodges Airtel with Kenya’s lowest call charges across networks

In the nine months ended December 2019, Airtel …

At least seven million people in Uganda will still be living in extreme poverty by 2030, according to a study by Brookings Institute.

The study contained in the Foresight Africa 2020 reveals that Uganda will not able to achieve the number one Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) which seeks to eliminate extreme poverty by 2030.

The study highlights priorities for Africa in 2020 to 2030. Dr Brahima Coulibaly, the Africa Growth Initiative at the Brookings Institution senior fellow and director, said by 2030, Africa will have 397.9 million people living in extreme poverty, out of which 7.6 million will be in Uganda.

Also Read: Will events in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, bring financial and political freedom this decade?

He said that by 2030, all Sub Saharan Africa countries, are expected to make some progress towards SDGs. However, by 2030, 18 countries out of 44 will get less than halfway to the …

Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) limited some products from custom warehousing at the port of entry which forced a drop in warehouse leasing activity during the second half of 2019.

This is according to a Knight Frank report which pointed out that impact by statutory directives saw varied activity in the retail segment of real estate, during the period URA issued a list of goods that would not be eligible for customs warehousing at the point of entry.

According to the report, the net effect of this meant that traders would have to import goods, pay taxes immediately and then transport them to the final destination.

Also Read: Uganda leads EAC in ease of forex access

“The change in operations will no longer allow traders to keep certain items in bonded warehouses,” the report reads in part.

Some of the lists of goods included building materials, sugar, wines and spirits, motor …

Africa’s economies are growing strongly, but growth alone cannot meet the needs of the continent’s poorest citizens, because “nobody eats GDP,” said Akinwumi Adesina, the President of the African Development Bank during the 2020 African Economic Outlook.

According to the 2020 African Economic Outlook, Africa’s economies are growing well, higher than the global average. The report anticipated a steady rise in growth in Africa from 3.4% in 2019 to 3.9% in 2020 and 4.1% in 2021.

According to the report, these figures do not give all the details. Because across the continent, the poor are not seeing the benefits of strong growth. Comparatively, few African countries posted substantial declines in extreme poverty and inequality, which remain higher compared to other regions in the world.

The report also revealed only 18 of 48 African countries with data, had inclusive growth.

Also Read: African Development Bank approves $22m to Egypt

“Growth must …

MTN, the South African telecoms group has said it will invest $1.6 billion in Nigeria days after Nigeria backed down on a $2 billion tax demand.

In a meeting with the president of Nigeria Muhammadu Buhari, a team of four top executives from MTN group and MTN Nigeria said they will invest the money over the next three years.

“MTN announced a capital investment programme of $1.6 billion over the next three years to strengthen and expand its network and operations in the country,” said the company in a statement after the meeting.
Nigeria’s President said, “that the Federal Government of Nigeria is committed to providing an enabling environment for businesses to succeed”.

Also Read: MTN Cameroon gets mobile money accreditation

MTN hopes that the peace pact will mark the end of four years of disputes with Nigeria, which at one time was threatening a fine of $5.2 billion, cut …

UAE has prioritised its relations with African countries based on mutual respect and common interests in order to achieve their country’s goals for development, progress and prosperity said his Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.

Over the past years, UAE has made progress in this goal deepening its overall relations with African countries, he added.

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed made this statement during a meeting at the Emirates Palace with Roch Marc Christian Kabore, President of Burkina Faso, who was visiting the country.

Also Read: UAE targets Kenya in a new chamber partnership

During the meeting, both heads of states discussed their bilateral relations and ways of improving and developing them in various areas. They also discussed the situation in the Middle East and Africa and regional and international issues of common concern.

The Emirati leader further added that the relations between the UAE …

Uganda leads East Africa in ease of access to foreign exchange, according to Absa Africa Financial Market Index 2019.

According to the index, Uganda scored 70 out of 100 points compared to Rwanda with 66, Kenya with 65 and Tanzania with 60. Burundi was not surveyed.

Foreign exchange access continues to be a pillar growth across the African continent.

Also Read: Uganda Umeme secures $70m loan for investment

The Absa Africa Financial Markets Index highlights economies with the clearest growth prospects and evaluates financial market development in 20 countries.

The index seeks to show how economies can improve market frameworks to meet investor expectations and sustainable growth.

“Uganda performs strongly … with almost the same score as top-ranked South Africa. It has a high level of foreign reserves relative to net portfolio investment flows and enough reserves to cover more than four months of imports,” said Mr Jeff Gable, the …

African Development Bank (AfDB) approved a $22 million Senior Loan to help corporate leasing company (Corplease) expand its lending to SMEs in Egypt.

The decision signalled confidence in the growing local market and in Egypt’s economy as a whole.
Out of the $22 million, African Development Bank will mobilize $7 million from the Africa Growing Together Fund (AGTF), a co-financing fund, established with the People’s Bank of China.

Corplease is a leading non-bank financial institution that provides diverse leasing products and services to SMEs and larger corporates, through sale, direct leasing and leaseback, as well as structured finance products. to address funding constraints in the private sector in Egypt, corp lease seeks to provide alternative financing through leases.

Also Read: African Development Bank $1m grant to Burundi

“The need for leasing products in Egypt is growing consistently on an annual basis to meet the acute demand by small, medium and …