Author: Kang'ethe Njoroge

• Deal Source Africa connects African businesses online with investors, transaction advisors and Impact Funds.
• Experienced transaction advisors will link with businesses to provide professional support along their fundraising journey.
• During the pilot phase, the program enabled 94 businesses to connect with 18 investors in deal rooms. 

A new programme seeking to connect African businesses online with investors, transaction advisors and Impact Funds has been unveiled in Ghana at the West Africa Deal summit. The programme, Deal Source Africa, comprises a digital platform that connects investors with businesses, in-person and virtual deal rooms where businesses can meet investors.

Deal Source Africa seeks to bridge the $331 billion funding gap for African SMEs. Top on target will be SMEs with high growth potential and offering solutions that help meet their business needs.

It also includes Impact Fund showcases where investors can meet African venture funds and other local capital providers.

Deal Source

• Mars Wrigley plans to roll out a fresh entrepreneurial initiative in Tanzania in 2024 and Rwanda, in 2025.
• The programme has already registered great strides in Kenya where it has been running since 2013, benefiting 1,600 traders, including 700 women. 
• Wrigley now says it will recruit another 1,000 entrepreneurs in Kenya before the end of the year, bringing the total to 2,600.

Mars Wrigley, the world’s leading manufacturer of chocolate and chewing gum, has revealed plans to expand its entrepreneurial programme into Tanzania and Rwanda in regional expansion drive. As part of the company’s innovative distribution model, the Maua programme targets low-income consumer market in the region. 

Speaking at the company’s factory and head office in Machakos County, Kenya, during at a ceremony to mark the tenth anniversary of Maua, Mars Wrigley General Manager, Sub-Saharan Africa, Ismael Bello said the company will roll out the initiative in Tanzania in 2024 …

• Key staff in Eswatini and Zimbabwe have gained critical skills on how to harness Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
• The training will be rolled out in Kenya, Seychelles, Rwanda, and DRC starting June, this year. It is critical for helping businesses identify and compare emerging opportunities in Africa.
• The programme equips staff with integrated and reliable trade intelligence on international market performance and opportunities as well as market access conditions.

Staff from over 80 companies and public agencies in Eswatini and Zimbabwe have gained critical skills on how to harness opportunities under Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The training was undertaken by the African Trade Observatory, one of the five operational instruments of AfCFTA charged with driving intra regional trade of small businesses.

The online dashboard is critical for helping businesses identify and compare emerging opportunities across the continent. It provides integrated and reliable trade intelligence on international …

• Data centres are IT facilities that manage big organisations’ data. They house state-of-the-art computing infrastructure with very powerful machines. 
• The new facility will be built on a part of the former Trade Fair showgrounds site, one of the key central locations in the city. 
• This new facility is part of Africa Data Centres’ continental expansion plans spanning 10 of Africa’s major economic hubs. 

Africa Data Centres, the largest network of interconnected data centre facilities on the continent, is set to open West Africa’s largest facility in Ghana in the next 12 months. The firm announced it will shortly start construction on its newly acquired land in Accra, Ghana. 

The new facility has been designed for an initial 10MW, which can expand to 30MW depending on demand. It will be the largest facility in West Africa to date, outside of Nigeria.

“We continue to bring internationally recognised services and products through …

• Utility Kenya Power has started implementing the fourth phase of the Last Mile Connectivity Programme (LMCP) which will benefit an additional 280,473 Kenyan households.
• The company has invited bids for turnkey contractors, who will undertake the electrification
  project in 32 counties in Kenya at a total cost of $193 million.
• This phase will see deployment of 940 new transformers, maximisation of 3,735 existing transformers, and set up of associated power lines target counties.

Kenya Power has started preparations to implement the fourth phase of the Last Mile Connectivity Programme (LMCP), which will benefit an additional 280,473 Kenyan households.

The utility has invited bids for turnkey contractors who will undertake the electrification project in 32 counties at a total cost of $193 million. This phase of the LMCP project will entail the installation of 940 new transformers, and maximisation of 3,735 existing transformers. Further, target zones will benefit from the set …

• Cloud-based HR management platform ElevateHR Africa has appointed Kennedy Nyabwala as CEO. 
• ElevateHR recently secured early-stage funding from From Here Ventures. 
• Nyabwala, who has ten years of experience in the tech startup space, joins from MarketForce.

Cloud-based HR management platform ElevateHR Africa has appointed Kennedy Nyabwala as the new CEO following its early stage funding by From Here Ventures. 

Nyabwala has ten years experience in the tech startup space having worked in leading tech companies in Africa. Previously, he was Global Head of Logistics at MarketForce, and he’s founder of one of the leading logistics startups in Africa, Bwala. 

Taking Elevate HR into new heights

His career journey started as a brand ambassador with OLX. He quickly rose through the ranks to be the Head of Insights in Africa. Kennedy then joined Copia Global as the Head of Strategy and Customer growth and later founded logistics startup Bwala 

“We are …

• Tech giant Microsoft plans to expand its Airband partnerships to provide high-speed internet access to people in Latin America and Africa.
• Microsoft is also targeting Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala and Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda with high-speed internet.
• Limited access to broadband means that people have fewer opportunities to develop the digital skills necessary in digital economy. 

Microsoft plans to expand its Airband partnerships to provide high-speed internet access to nearly 40 million people across Latin America and Africa.

In Africa, Microsoft Airband Initiative General Manager Vickie Robinson says firm will extend partnerships in Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda. Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala will be targetd in South America. This marks significant progress in the firm’s mission to extend high-speed internet access to 250 million people globally. The deal will primarily target populations in unserved and underserved areas. Across Africa, about 100 million are set to …

• Global NPL and distressed assets present a promising opportunity for investors looking to diversify their portfolios.
• A forum at the Annual Investment Meeting explored how rising interest rates are creating opportunities for distressed debt investors. 
• Key speakers discussed the different asset classes, including real estate, corporate, and consumer debt.

Investors have been urged to capitalise on investing in distressed assets and non-performing loans to grow their portfolios. According to experts at the Annual Investment Meeting (AIM), non-performing loan (NPL) investing is becoming a popular strategy for investors seeking high returns.

The conference, which was held in two panels examined the current global economic environment and how rising interest rates are creating opportunities for distressed debt investors. 

According to Harvard Business School, distressed debt investing is the process of investing capital in the existing debt of a financially distressed company, government, or public entity. 

Why having partners is a must

The …

• Grey’s expansion in the East African Market follows $2 million seed funding of the West African company.
• Grey CEO AIdorenyin Obong says the Kenya office will help the firm navigate its planned operations across East African Community. 
• The company has also privately launched Grey Business, a borderless business banking for startups. 

Nigerian Fintech startup Grey has picked Kenya as its East African hub as it expands operations into the largest economy in the East African Community. The move follows $2 million seed funding the West African company raised as it eyes Uganda and Rwanda in the near future.

Already, the firm’s platform is live in Tanzania and Kenya with over 300,000 users. Grey CEO AIdorenyin Obong says opening offices in Kenya will help the firm navigate the markets in the East African Community. 

“Kenya’s Diaspora remittance is very vibrant as remittance inflows to Kenya have increased tenfold in the last …

• The forum offers a unique chance to shape global investment policies by tackling the challenges to international investment. 
• The forum will offer policymakers and other stakeholders an opportunity to identify solutions and reach a consensus on climate finance and investment priorities.

UNCTAD World Investment Forum Executive Director James Zhan has announced the launch of ‘UNCTAD World Investment Forum 2023’. Taking place under the theme ‘Investing in sustainable development’, the forum, which will be held in October will bring together government leaders, global CEOs and other investment stakeholders.

Zhan stated that the UNCTAD World Investment Forum is the foremost global platform dedicated to investment and development. The forum is aimed at coming up with strategies and solutions for the challenges faced by global investment and development. 

Climate finance and investment priorities

It also offers a unique chance to shape global investment policies by tackling the challenges to international investment resulting from …