Author: Joseph Kangethe

Allianz reports that the overall group equity value is estimated to be more than US$2.1 billion, and the new business is likely to rank in the top three in the majority of the areas in which it operates. Initially, Sanlam will retain a 60 per cent stake in the joint venture, with Allianz holding a 40 per cent stake and the option to purchase an additional nine per cent at a later date Insurance penetration in Africa is considerably lower than the global average, standing at 2.78 per cent in 2019 compared to 7.23 per cent globally Only about 1…

These AWS Local Zones deliver single-digit millisecond latency performance at the edge of the cloud to hundreds of millions of people globally Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS) has revealed plans to launch an AWS Local Zone in Nairobi, Kenya This year, Amazon plans to launch an additional 32 AWS Local Zones in 26 countries globally reaching millions of users Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS) has revealed plans to launch an AWS Local Zone in Nairobi, Kenya. The company infrastructure will join 16 existing AWS Local Zones across the US. This year, Amazon plans to launch an additional 32 AWS Local…

CertiK, a blockchain security firm, reports that the amount exploited in the first four months of 2022 surpasses the total amount stolen in 2021 (US$1.3 billion) and 2020 (US$516 million) combined. The month of March alone beats 2020 by US$203.2 million.

The decentralized finance (DeFi) space has been stained with hackers, exploiters and scammers. Over US$1.6 billion worth of crypto has been stolen from users in the first quarter of 2022, the highest ever recorded.

CertiK revealed the statistics on May 2; the month of March recorded the highest stolen value of US$719.2 million.

The UK-based investment company has built a market-leading research strategy to facilitate decisions involving property investment. The investor simply chooses what would be suitable for them; the company gives a step-by-step guide on choosing the right property to purchase in the United Kingdom. 

This strategy gives the investor the power and confidence to ask the right questions for profitable property investment in the country.

According to Mark Pearson, Baron & Cabot’s primary goal is to ensure the property investment process remains transparent and straightforward, even as the demand for property investment rises among African investors. 

Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, has not been spared either. Food staples are scarcer in Nigeria than ever before as the government tries to deal with a record inflation rate, indicating that the country may be in danger of experiencing a food crisis. Staple food costs have risen for a third year as Africa’s most populous nation succumbs to the onslaught of causes that are pushing an estimated 200 million people into poverty.

Because it relies on oil imports, Nigeria, a major petroleum producer, has a very fragile economy. Nigeria has been left vulnerable as oil prices have surged to a historic high. Increased political instability, the consequences of climate change, and the COVID-19 aftermath have all harmed Nigeria’s economy, sending the value of its currency down even more against the dollar.

As a result, the poverty rate in the country has remained at around 50%. According to the UN’s food organization, millions of people currently experience food insecurity, which is anticipated to rise this year. Nigeria now has the world’s greatest number of impoverished people. As many as four out of every ten individuals live below the poverty line, which means they earn less than $1 a day.

The race to adopt cryptocurrencies is hitting new ceilings in Africa as their popularity increases, despite hostile policies from several governments in the continent.

One of the main reasons investors across the globe are seeking to diversify traditional assets in Africa into cryptos is to counter rising fiat inflation, with a majority of crypto investors and traders believing that crypto coins and tokens are safer and more secure than traditional investments such as gold, oil, stocks, liquid cash and real estate.

The roles that these cryptos and alternative coins play in society are not well defined, but they have a vivid description as each day passes as to which purposes they serve.

President Buhari of Nigeria is keen to complete critical infrastructure projects as elections approach next year.

One of these projects is the Lagos light rail train project, which has gathered dust for decades. The project is back in motion, with the state government optimistic that the first phase of the Blue Line – one of the two lines to form the Lagos Rail Mass Transit (LRMT) system – will be operational this year.

Power infrastructure is a crucial area of interest. The country is rushing on the six-year multi-billion-dollar pact with German company Siemens to expand and revamp the dysfunctional national grid to unlock at least 25,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity by 2025.

On the renewable energy side, the government is working on the 3,050 MW Mambilla Hydropower Project in Taraba, which has dragged on for over 40 years despite significant budgetary allocations.

Many exports from Ghana to the US benefit from duty-free tariff preferences under the American Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) programme. Exports from Ghana to the US that have enjoyed AGOA preferences include yams, apparel and cocoa (beans, powder or paste).

Ghana has exported US$131 million worth of yams to the US since 2012, avoiding a standard import duty of 6.4 per cent under AGOA. Cocoa exported to the US has amounted to US$2.5 billion over the last two decades.

Miss Rosa Whitaker, the President and the CEO of the Whitaker Group (TWG), is significant to the success of AGOA in Africa, facilitating the export of over 9,000 agricultural and manufactured goods to the United States.

Whitaker advocates for African countries to research what the US market is demanding and be alert to new opportunities. She pointed out the success of Ghana’s cocoa in the United States, saying that the processed cocoa powder manufactured at the US$100 million Cargill plant is now being offered to global food manufacturers under a made-in-Ghana label.

The trio bought bitcoins worth KSh5 billion (US$43 million) in the UAE, the United States and several other European countries, including at Kenya’s crypto exchange platform, BitPesa The three Nigerians were linked to Ksh25.6 billion (US$220 million) moved into Kenya between October and November 2020 The Nigerians involved in the scandal are Mr Olubunmi Akinyemiju, Mr Eghosasere Nehikhare and Mr Olufemi Olukunmi Demuren From the US-based exchange Binance, the three bought cryptocurrencies worth $36,353,728 (Sh4.2 billion). They also went ahead to buy bitcoins worth $7,246,582 (Sh839.5 million) from Busha On April 27, 2022, a report of a multi-billion dollar money-laundering…

Crypto experts predict that Ethereum (ETH) will surpass bitcoin (BTC) in market cap, and new market entries could look at the former as a better purchase. There is confusion among traders between buying, selling or holding (HODL) bitcoin A whopping 67 per cent of the experts in the panel agree that it is an excellent time to buy bitcoin, arguing that the currency is experiencing its lowest price for this year Many people, especially those interested in joining crypto trading as newbies, are utterly confused about whether to buy crypto in these bearish conditions. Bitcoin, specifically, has been experiencing a…