Author: Albert Nangara

• Digitization of logistics and compliance with sustainability policies will shape the future of logistics in African markets.
• Digitalization involves the development of digital platforms that match supply to demand, whether it be courier apps that deliver groceries or platforms that coordinate freight delivery.
• Sustainability significantly overlaps with compliance and regulatory requirements. This means stricter regulations on emissions from logistics vehicles, monitoring of cargo ship pollution, and other issues.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused massive damage to global supply chains, with challenges including route congestion and blockages, a global shortage of key logistics components including shipping containers, lack of space in warehouses, a spike in transportation costs, and substantially increased demand for goods around the world, post-lockdown.

Supply chain stability is also under question due to increased tensions as the Russian-Ukraine war drags on.

According to The Africa Logistics, measures to heal and strengthen ailing chains include digitizing parts of the supply …

According to Frontiers, AI has been recognized to have a wide potential to reduce human workload or increase human capabilities in complex scenarios, but today it is evident that AI also has an important role in transforming our life by promoting more efficient existing services or new services.

AI is already contributing to a large spectrum of applications in Africa’s aviation and air traffic systems, providing support to its managers (airlines/airport managers, air traffic management) and operators (pilots, air traffic controllers, airport operators, flow controllers).

Governments are focusing on contactless travellers’ experience hence there have been innovations in biometric authentication at airports. For instance, Kenya ruled out paper verification of COVID-19 test results and vaccination certificates upon arrival, sparking local airlines’ adoption of electronic verification processes.…

By 2023, the value of Africa’s legal cannabis market could be at least US$7.1bn across nine key African countries if they legalize recreational and medical use, according to The African Cannabis Report from industry analysts Prohibition Partners. Worldwide, the Covid-19 lockdown period saw record-breaking sales of cannabis in multiple regions. Global sales of CBD (an active cannabis ingredient frequently used as a natural remedy), medical cannabis, and adult-use (recreational) cannabis topped US$37.4bn in 2021, and could rise to US$102bn by 2026, says the firm.

According to African Business, natural and situational advantages have attracted investor interest in Southern Africa. In mid-March, Akanda, a London-headquartered firm that owns the Bophelo Bioscience & Wellness cultivation campus in Lesotho, announced the completion of its initial public offering of 4m shares on the Nasdaq Capital Market.

Cannabis Business Africa, in an article published as far as February 13, 2021, said SilverLeaf Investments is aiming …

ZICTA has since reiterated that the members of the public should at all costs desist from buying already registered SIM cards as such is against the law and anyone found wanting risks being prosecuted.

Chaaba revealed that so far, ZICTA has encountered situations where innocent people have been implicated in investigations due to owning SIM cards that were once used by criminals.

ZICTA confirmed with Zambian Business Times that the SIM cards that will not be claimed within 90 days after deactivation will be allocated to other new users. The Authority has since appealed to members of the public to take time to regularise their SIM card registration to avoid losing their contact numbers and for the country to have a clean database.…

• The economy is now projected to grow by 4.6% during 2022, a downward revision from the original 5.5% projection
• Reserve money stock has increased to ZW$33.6 billion as of June 30, 2022.
• Merchandise exports and imports increased by 33% and 15% to US$3 516.5 million and US$3 746.8 million. Exports are expected to reach US$7.3 billion
• The country is doing well in terms of budget transparency and is now ranked third in Africa, after South Africa and Benin.

Zimbabwe’s Finance and Economic Development Minister, Mthuli Ncube, presented the 2022 supplementary budget on Thursday amid skyrocketing inflation that has since eroded this year’s national budget.

This is the first time that Minister Ncube has presented a supplementary budget since he was appointed Finance Minister by President Emmerson Mnangagwa in 2018.

The economy is now projected to grow by 4.6% during 2022, a downward revision from the original 5.5% projection, and follows …

• The 2022 edition of the Top Companies Survey Awards was sponsored by the Financial Gazette and Old Mutual Zimbabwe
• Delta Corporation has been crowned the company of the year
• This year’s theme was ‘Innovating for Growth in a VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous) Environment’

The Top Companies Survey is an annual event held to honour top-performing companies on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) and the best performers in the insurance and banking sectors.

According to an article by StartupBiz dated July 26, 2022, the vision behind this initiative is best summarized by what Old Mutual once said: “Since the launch of the Top Company Survey, the survey has proved invaluable in promoting transparency, good corporate governance, ethical conduct, and corporate social responsibility as well as providing a platform for networking among corporate leaders and other guests”.

The 2022 edition of the Top Companies Survey Awards was sponsored by the …

As far back as June 28, 2017, This Day Live said another point to note is that USSD is very important within emerging economies, where the cost to access data services is increasing. Despite the growth of smartphone penetration and 3G/4G coverage, the data access cost is a key factor in deciding how information is consumed.

Meanwhile, the continued reliability of USSD will enable mobile service providers and financial institutions more opportunities to satisfy new market segments, add more value to the customer, and meet underserved customer needs.

In a related article by Myriad Connect published January 29, 2018, the core benefit of USSD is that it doesn’t rely on a data connection to operate, thereby helping reach the billions of people in areas where network coverage is at its most basic or for sectors of the population for whom a data connection is too expensive to access.

So long …

The Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Acupuncture Centre at the Parirenyatwa Hospital in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, has started training on TCM and acupuncture for the first batch of local health workers to meet the growing demand for Chinese medicine in the country.

According to Xinhua, the centre was established in 2020 as part of efforts to offer Zimbabweans affordable medical treatment and has in recent months seen a multitude of patients seeking medical attention free of charge

Zhu Wei, a TCM doctor and chief of the centre, said the three-month program aims to train a group of local health professionals who can provide an alternative medical option to Zimbabweans.…

Last week, the biggest power generation plant in Zimbabwe, Kariba South, was generating only 758MW against an installed capacity of 1 050MW.

Hwange Power Station was generating 411MW against an installed capacity of 920MW.

Completing Unit 7 in November this year and Unit 8 at Hwange Power Station by March next year will add 600MW to the grid and help ensure reliable and sustainable supplies to meet growing demand.

Meanwhile, ZESA can now legally incorporate drones in its service delivery. This announcement was made at an event the national power company held to mark its acquisition of a Remotely Piloted Aircraft Operator’s Certificate (ROC).…

In September last year, the government started making quarterly token payments of $100,000 to each of the 16 Paris Club creditors as it sought ways to extinguish the mounting debt.

As of the end of May, Zimbabwe had made $8 million in token payments to multilateral banks and $4.8 million to the Paris Club creditors.

The article added that Zimbabwe is already defaulting on active loans from China, which is affecting the disbursement of funds for ongoing projects, the debt management office said in the report.…