Author: Albert Nangara

Albert is an experienced business writer specializing in stock exchanges, financial markets and technology. He has a deep understanding of the dynamics of the global economy and a keen interest in analyzing investment trends, market trends, and the impact of investments on stock prices especially in the Southern African region.

Heineken in Namibian beer grab. www.theexchange.africa

The regulator said retailers would be free to allocate up to 10% of chilled space/refrigerators in each beverage cooler owned by NBL or Distell Namibia in any on- and off-consumption outlet in Namibia.

“This allocation right will apply only to products manufactured or packaged in Namibia by Namibian-owned and Namibian-controlled companies. The existing NBL commercial policy must be amended, and the merged entity will educate its employees and inform the market of the new changes to its commercial policy,” the conditions read.

The commission said it identified entry barriers as a concern, particularly the ability of small Namibian companies to enter the market.

NBL’s commercial policy prohibited retailers from placing other products in NBL-branded refrigerators. After the merger, the likelihood of this policy being enforced could deter or limit the entry of Namibian-owned and Namibian-controlled undertakings into the market.…

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South African Space Agency to add 20 more antennas to its Hartebeesthoek Array of Antennas. www.theexchange.africa

The agreement allows Liquid to leverage the Ka-band capabilities of the Eutelsat Konnect satellite to provide broadband Internet services to businesses in Uganda, South Sudan, and the eastern regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Liquid becomes the first ground gateway provider for Eutelsat Konnect in Sub-Saharan Africa, broadening broadband coverage and creating new business opportunities in Africa. It is Eutelsat’s long-standing partner.

Under a long-term contract that was renewed and extended in 2021, it operates the Ku-band resources of the EUTELSAT 7B satellite to provide VSAT services in sub-Saharan Africa.…

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Liquid Cloud Brings Amazon Web Service Direct Connect to Business Customers Across Africa. www.theexchange.africa

FastConnect will be offered at current Africa Data Centre (ADC) facilities all over the continent for Liquid Cloud’s co-located clients in addition to organizations using Liquid CloudConnect as a service. An organization’s on-premises applications and Oracle Cloud Fusion Applications will be connected through this solution, improving the user experience. Businesses may move massive volumes of data safely, economically, and effectively with FastConnect via Liquid CloudConnect.

Whether on-premises or co-located through ADC facilities around the continent, Liquid will assist its customers in achieving simplicity, enterprise-class security, and seamless operations.

In July, Liquid also launched its first Cyber Security Fusion Centre in Johannesburg in a bid to eliminate silos and enhance threat visibility leading to deeper collaboration across teams and increased cyber resiliency.…

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Brazil's Ebanx expands into Africa with an eye on mobile money. www.theexchange.africa

Much like it did in South America, EBANX wants to centre its strategy on collaborations and partnerships with global merchants. The company processes payments for Uber, Airbnb, and over 1,000 digital companies throughout Latin America.

In a statement, the CEO and co-founder, João Del Valle, explained that although Africa’s digital economy is still nascent, its exciting potential motivated his company’s decision. “Africa’s fast-growing digital economy is only in its early days, and it’s projected to grow up and to the right for the next few decades. Together with local players, EBANX will be a catalyst to realize the many benefits of a digital economy even faster.”

“Expanding our solutions to African countries speaks directly to EBANX’s mission of creating access, and having Pipefy as a merchant makes this moment even more special to us, expanding solutions and services throughout regions full of opportunities,” Paula Bellizia, the President of Global Payments …

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Cellulant Partners with Orange Money for Wallet Transfers in Botswana. www.theexchange.africa

Customers can also buy airtime and access other mobile network operator services using their Visa or Mastercard debit and credit cards through Tingg, Cellulant’s digital payments platform.

Tingg by Cellulant is at the forefront of ensuring digital financial solutions are available across the continent. Tingg, which integrates 211 banks in Africa, is a one-stop payment aggregator for multinational corporations, mid-caps, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Tingg enables merchants to receive, view and reconcile all their payments through a single platform or their system by integrating Tingg’s Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), eliminating the need to subscribe to multiple providers’ payments and, in the case of mobile money, mobile network operators (MNOs) and banks.…

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The informal sector in Zimbabwe must show will and readiness to formalize. Vendors selling in Harare, Zimbabwe. www.theexchange.africa

Zimbabwe’s dual economy, the formal and informal sectors, have become two distinct economies in Zimbabwe. With the former vulnerable to complex tax regimes and inconsistent monetary policies, the latter has no regard for both.

In some circles, the informal sector has been referred to as the grey economy, shadow economy, underground economy, parallel sector, and the cash economy.

  • Econet Life, an EcoCash Holdings Zimbabwe insurance unit, has launched a unique micro-pension fund product that allows people in the informal sector to save for retirement
  • The new product, called Dura/Isiphala Pension Fund, was launched in Kariba at the weekend and is expected to drive the uptake of pensions by workers in the informal sector
  • Meanwhile, on March 27, 2019, President of Nigeria Muhammadu Buhari launched the Micro Pension Plan (MPP) as part of his administration’s efforts to ensure that Nigerians who worked hard during their active years in service of their
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Mobile science laboratory to bring science to life for North-West learners. www.theexchange.africa
  • Recognizing the vital role of education, students and their families across sub-Saharan Africa have started using educational technologies to supplement formal schooling during times of disruption.
  • Mobile laboratories (mobile labs) bring scientific tools and techniques right to the school parking lot, allowing students access to experiences far beyond what many schools can provide.
  • In Chad, a mobile school offers nomad children hope. Chad’s nomads make up almost a tenth of the country’s population and many children in the community hardly get an education.

Countries and organizations are taking perceptible actions for Inclusive Education to succeed internationally as well as in individual African countries. Internationally, countries adopted several treaties in support of Inclusive Education. Inclusion has become a global issue while in different countries we can find many stated intentions and written policies to move towards its achievement.

In Africa, a few examples include South Africa’s Department of Education White Paper …

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How to build your future with Digital Technology. www.theexchange.africa

The ZSE’s 2020 research found that individual Zimbabweans made a meagre amount of contributions to the regional capital market. A few of the obstacles mentioned are a lack of understanding of the investment process and the notion that it is the realm and preservation of the wealthy in society.

According to an article by Mail and Guardian published May 25, 2022, this survey prompted the bourse to launch ZSE Direct, a product that would make access to the market straightforward even for first-time investors.…

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Namibia and Botswana discard the use of passports. www.theexchange.africa

Once fully embraced by all Member States, the free movement of people within Africa is expected to have many important positive effects, including an increase in intra-African trade, commerce, and tourism; easier labour mobility; knowledge and skill sharing within Africa; the promotion of pan-African identity, social integration, and tourism; an improvement in trans-border infrastructure and shared development; the encouragement of an all-encompassing approach to border management; and the promotion of the rule of law, human rights, and shared development

Nationals of Namibia and Botswana will no longer require passports to travel between the two nations after the presidents of those nations decided to open their borders to one another.

The declaration was made at the opening ceremony of the Botswana-Namibia binational commission at the Gaborone International Convention Center by Namibian President Hage Geingob.…

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Portugal Schengen visa.. www.theexchange.africa

The head of the Portuguese government was speaking in Maputo at a joint press conference with the President of the Republic of Mozambique, with whom he met as part of the 5th Luso-Mozambican Summit.

The Autorização de Residência para Actividades de Investimento – first introduced in 2012 and commonly known as the ‘Golden Visa’ – is a residence permit that provides qualifying non-EU / EEA / Swiss citizens and their families with full rights to live, work and study in Portugal.

According to The Portugal News, an alternative to the Golden Visa is the Portugal Passive Income Visa – also known as a D7 Visa – which provides residency status to non-EU / EEA / Swiss citizens, including retirees, who intend to relocate to Portugal and are in receipt of a reasonable and regular passive income. The D7 Visa is aimed at those who intend to live in Portugal, so …

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