Author: Joseph Kangethe

The former Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) chairman, Babatunde Fowler, announced Nigeria’s decision to tax digital transactions in 2019. The new legislation dubbed The Finance Act (2021) was signed on December 31, 2021.

A section on Nigeria’s Finance Act focuses on capturing value from non-resident technology companies and calls them to act as VAT collectors for digital goods and services traded within Nigeria. The minister for finance, budget and national planning, Zainab Ahmed, said during the presentation of the 2022 budget that the taxable digital platforms include apps, high-frequency trading, electronic data storage, online advertising, and several others.

In addition, Meta had already issued a notice on December 9, 2021, before releasing the new financial regulation, saying that Meta ads in Nigeria would be subject to a value-added tax (VAT) at the applicable local tax rate. The VAT applies to advertisers whose “Sold to” country on their business or personal address is set to Nigeria. Meta has 26.10 million users in Nigeria in early 2022, equivalent to 12.2 per cent of the population in Nigeria.

Thomas James, Agritech West Africa’s project director, said that the rising demand for food and the targeted food growth in Ghana and West Africa requires innovation and mechanization in agriculture patterns. This could be done by adopting new and modern agriculture technologies, machines, crop care practices, irrigation, warehousing and storage facilities.

Ghana has invested heavily in mechanisation in agriculture, importing Tractors, Spares, Implements, Agrochemicals and Irrigation setups worth US$1 billion. Annually, Ghana imports over 10,000 tractors and their associated implements and parts.

The seminars, pre-fixed meetings and conferences in the exhibition will help Ghanaian and West African agriculture-based companies an opportunity to network with manufacturers and suppliers from across the globe.

There were more than 3,000 delegates that participated in the conference this year, boosting trade and investment ties between the continent and the UK.

The UK government is also mobilizing support from the United Kingdom Export Finance (UKEF) to boost exports to Africa. Prime minister Boris Johnson’s administration, provided support worth US$3.04 billion in 2021.

In West Africa, the support has been directed towards a range of significant infrastructural projects, construction of major roads, environmental and social work, medical services and technological equipment.

Another study by PureProfile, an advertising agency company, surveyed investors responsible for around US$700 billion assets under management. The results showed that twenty-five per cent of investor managers expect Africa’s internet industry to increase by 51 per cent in the next three years.

Over 71 per cent of professional investors expect the affordability of mobile phones in Africa to improve by 2025. Currently, the mobile phone economy accounts for an average of 6.8 per cent of monthly incomes. Ninety-seven per cent of all professional investors believe that the Coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the demand for mobile phones.

World Mobile is compounding its unique hybrid mobile network supported by low altitude platform balloons in Zanzibar, which it plans to roll out throughout the continent. The company is already in discussions with government officials in Tanzania, Kenya, and other territories underserviced by traditional mobile operators.

The 2022 edition of AIM will be focusing on the crucial role that Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs) are playing in the global investment arena.

In collaboration with KPMG, British-Dutch multinational professional services network, AIM aspires to utilize the AIM Global 2022 Investment Awards to recognize the best performing Investment Promotion Agencies IPAs across the globe.

KPMG firms work in 145 countries and territories, with over 236,000 employees. With three lines of services – financial audit, tax, and advisory – KPMG is helping global organizations mitigate risks and grasp opportunities, thus driving positive, sustainable change for clients, people, and society.

The Nigerian Minister also praised Equatorial Guinea, saying that the Western African country has a massive record of world-class gas processing and liquefaction infrastructure already in Punta Europa and allocating investment funds for development.

Minister Obiang Lima said that Equatorial Guinea was in line to be an essential player in the African energy market.

“New, fast, and competitive sources will be a major determinant of success,” he said. “This strategic collaboration breaks down geographical boundaries and allows gas delivery from Nigeria to Equatorial Guinea’s Punta Europa facilities, extending their life and providing access to the regional and global energy markets.”

Through the agreement, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and its joint venture partners will put into monetary use gas that would have otherwise been stranded offshore due to the absence of infrastructure.

Many investors are getting more and more cautious about the stability of business environments and the risks that come with them.

Small and Medium enterprises are now poised to play a crucial role in stabilizing and fixing the global economy. SMEs substantially outnumber big shareholding companies and create more job opportunities. They are inherently entrepreneurial, substantially contributing to the shaping of innovation globally.

All the creators and participants of the Annual Investment Meeting agree that SMEs are the centre and the life of emerging and developed economies. Small and Medium Enterprises are also critically important for driving global economic growth and achieving global Sustainable Development Goals.

The National Project for Developing the Egyptian Countryside is an initiative estimated to cost US$1.11 trillion. This project will impact at least 1,350,366 households. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said in January 2021 that the project would be completed in three years. US$519.28 million of the total funding will come from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

The government that took power in 2014 inaugurated a series of projects to reignite Egypt’s economy. As a result, Egypt’s planning minister, Hala al-Saeed, expects the country’s economy to grow to 5.6 percent in the FY2021-22. Prime Minister, Mostafa Madbouly, referred to Haya Karima as an “icon” project that will help Egypt rebuild its economy and better the lives of more than half the population in Egypt.

Ethiopia is the biggest Wheat producer in Africa, producing about 5.1 million tonnes in the 2020/2021 financial year. Russia’s restriction on the importation of Wheat has created a business gap in the African market and all over the globe.

Russia and Ukraine account for more than 70 per cent of Egypt’s imported wheat demand. In 2019, wheat imports from Russia to Egypt were worth US$2.55 billion, and Nigeria’s imports amounted to US$394 million. Other countries that import Russian Wheat include Sudan, Senegal, Tunisia and Morocco. Ethiopia will hold talks with Egypt and Sudan in March 2022 over the Nile waters’ use. Both countries are importers of Wheat, and production in Ethiopia could fulfil the demand from these two countries without exerting pressure on their production.

The DRC is facing one of the deadliest and longest-running civil war crises The precariousness of the 2023 elections heightens uncertainty in the Democratic Republic of Congo The DRC has over eighty million hectares of arable land and nearly four million hectares of irrigated land The country has less than 600 millionaires, most of which have made their wealth by mining natural resources and raw materials The population in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will see another year of high expectations and broken promises. The DRC is facing one of the deadliest and longest-running civil war crises. The wars…