Author: Giza Mdoe

Vodacom Tanzania fell Sh103.8 billion short of its second quarter target and the company blames it on what it says is ‘the impact of mobile money transaction levies.’

In its latest annual report, Tanzania’s largest telecom, subscription wise, said compared to the same period last year, its second quarter earnings this year, that Sh956.515 are over one percent lower.

Not only was the income low, but the company had projected much higher earnings this year in excess of Sh1.06 trillion. However, much to the dismay of its investors and stakeholders, the company was almost 10 percent off target in this year’s second quarter earnings.

So what happened, how did the largest telecom company fall so far off its projections? And no in just one area, the company’s annual report concedes that Vodacom suffered drop of revenue in at least four of its top six revenue channels.

Vodacom, the only publicly …

NSE market update: On Wednesday, Sep 7, investors proved their confidence in Kenya’s new president William Ruto as the Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE) shot through the roof to record the highest single day raise in over four and a half years.

Local media confirmed the NSE market gained Sh102.6 billion describing the leap as ‘the biggest single-day jump in four-and-a-half years.’ This jump comes in the wake of settling election dust that saw the NSE stumble, fall and now, rise up again.

Sector pundits and political analysts agree that this huge gain is a clear signal of investor’s confidence in the fifth president of Kenya.

In fact, the last time the NSE scored a similar single-day gain was way back in 2018 when there was an almost mirror effect of the political situation. Back then, the NSE market had all but collapsed during the election turmoil but as soon as …

The Tanzanian Parliament recently passed a US$ 294 million budget to fund the country’s Ministry of Water projects for the 2021/22 financial year.

The hefty sum is expected to go a long way to solve the country’s ever mounting water shortage issues, however it is not enough and the private sector must chip in.

Delivering his budget speech in the Tanzanian capitol of Dodoma during the budget hearing, the Tanzania Minister for Water, Jumaa Aweso acknowledged external in put in helping Tanzania address its water shortages especially in rural areas.

The minister acknowledged international development partners that are supporting the country but was also keen to cite the need for private sector input.

Speaking in the August House, the minister cited the importance of both private sector participating in bridging the country’s water shortage through various channels e.g. CSR projects where they operate and also the importance of observing environmental …

A balanced meal, three times a day, a basic need few in Africa can afford. A three-course meal, a luxury most of the rest of the world enjoys, on a regular basis.

Did you know, Africa has a 50 year plan of what the continent will become half a century from now? It’s called Agenda 2063. The Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union

To achieve this vision, the AU Assembly recognizes that its true power is in its people, the 1.4 plus billion people. The AU central focus on this Africa Day is how best to utilize its top resource. The AU admits that for the continent to achieve its Vision 2063 then it must focus on it’s people; “…the potential of its populations, in particular, a human capital well-nourished citizens and in good health with a particular emphasis on women, adolescents and children.”

“Human …

Among other things, through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Japan has supported the Enhancement of the Private Sector Assistance (EPSA) for Africa initiative, which has been successfully implemented over three phases since 2007.

According to the AfDB media report, Japan has contributed approximately $5.2 billion to investments in sovereign and non-sovereign operations through this initiative.

The report also points out that Japan subsequently invested another $86.9 million in technical assistance and capacity building. Further still, at the just ended TICAD 8, Japan reiterated its funding commitment for the fifth phase of EPSA.…

As of 8^th April, 2022, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) officially joined the East African Community (EAC) opening a slew of opportunities for both sides.

The Treaty of Accession was inked in Nairobi, Kenya overseeing by the then EAC Chairperson former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta alongside several other Heads of State of the EAC and of course the President of DRC, H.E. Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo.

• The East African Community has agreed to speed up Congo-Kinshasa’s ascension into the bloc
• DR Congo will open a new 90 million strong market to the EAC
• With input from the DR Congo, the East African Community will form a new mechanism to handle natural resource management

With the ascension, the DR Congo has up to the end of this month (29^th September, 2022) to complete its internal constitutional processes to ratify the Treaty and submit to the EAC Secretary General. …

There are increasingly more and more ‘outbreaks’ of non-communicable diseases in Africa and more so in sub-Saharan Africa.

These lifestyle ailments are ironically a symbol of increasing income among the population. As more and more African countries rise from low-income to middle-income status, statistics show a correlation with the rising number of people suffering from non-communicable diseases.

The reason is simple; when you rise in income, people do not increase their eating of the vitamin-rich greens they used to eat when they could not afford unhealthy but yet prestigious red meat; no, they change their diet to gabble up the ‘rich man’ foods, unwittingly damaging their health.

A local paper puts it into perspective; ‘People’s eating habits are shifting from food rich in starchy staples, vegetables and fruits to a more westernized diet high in sugar, saturated fats and oils’ the recipe for non-communicable diseases.

The troubling fact is that …

On the backdrop of increasing global demand for cashew nuts, the government of Tanzania is now subsidizing agro-inputs for farmers of the crop.

According to global market trends, demand for edible cashews is on a drastic rise riding on the back of increased consumer consciousness of the nut’s high nutrient value. Cashews are consumed whole as a snack but due to the increased market response to its high nutrient value, producers are now increasing their value chain through various products.

• Tanzania issues free agro-inputs to cashew nut farmers
• The world cashew market growing rapidly
• China government launches national campaign for daily consumption of nuts

Cashews can nowadays be found in almost all of your daily treats in energy bars, cookies, chocolates, and even ice creams. Grown across several continents, demand for cashew is highest in Asia where it is used as the main ingredient in various dishes as well as …

• Fuel price rise across EAC
• National Assembly hears public outcry on the rising cost of living
• Governments working on solutions to lower fuel prices

Prices of essentials are increasing rapidly across the East Africa Community (EAC) from basic home needs like food and water to fuel and transportation, inflation has hit the region hard.

According to the Tanzania National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the cost of food in Tanzania increased 6.60 percent in April of 2022 over the same month in the previous year.

NBS also contends that the country’s Annual Headline Inflation Rate for the month of April, 2022 increased to 3.8% from 3.6% recorded in March 2022.

According to NBS, Headline Inflation Rate measures inflation when all items in the fixed Consumer Price Index (CPI) basket are included.

“The increase of headline inflation explains that the speed of price change for commodities for the year ended April 2022 …

• AfCFTA testing new tool to measure ease of trade among African countries
• Early test results indicate major gender parity issues
• AfCFTA secretariat to seek national policy change to ease cross border trade

So you wish to invest in Africa, with 51 countries to choose from, what factors are going to guide your decision? Once you have overcome that huddle, comes another matter to address and that is ‘how easy is it to do businesses between said African countries?’

The second part of the question is what we will focus on here, how easy is it to do business between and among various African countries.’ There already exist several trading blocs and free trade zones etc and finally the largest of them all the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has finally been passed and is in action.

So what does this mean for investors, for businesses seeking to trade between …