Author: Opinion

Opinions by contributors are views of respected thought leaders in the respective industries they operate in. The Exchange is a close partner with each of the various opinion contributors.

President MackySall

“Flatten the curve.” Do you remember that phrase? It was on everyone’s lips back in the spring, when the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic began rampaging across the world in earnest.

At the time, the idea was that the best way to combat the germ known as SARS CoV-2 was to go home and stay there long enough for hospitals, clinics, and other medical facilities to build up the capacity needed to handle the expected flood of new patients. Most of us expected that this departure from routine would be a temporary thing. We hoped it wouldn’t last long — that we’d be able to return to our normal routines after a brief disruption, with confidence that all necessary safeguards were in place.

Of course, it didn’t turn out that way. We spent far more time than we expected sheltering in place, unable to visit friends and family, attend school, or …

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Understanding the various Mergers and Acquisitions across Africa - The Exchange

On 9th September 2020, US-based blockchain investor, Digital Currency Group (DCG) bought Naspers-backed South African cryptocurrency exchange Luno[1] and Transactions Capital, which took a $109M position in WeBuyCars also from South Africa.[2] According to Bloomberg, WorldRemit acquired Soundwave for $500M on 25th August 2020.[3]

In late July, Network International, a Dubai-headquartered enabler of commerce bought Africa’s leading online commerce platform, DPO Group, for $288M.[4] But it all started in January when Circles Gas acquired KopaGas’ proprietary technology for $25M.[5] These are signs of the times – the EXITS are finally here. But it been a long time coming since 1999 when Mark Shuttleworth had the first exit of selling Thawte to Verisign for $575M.[6] Since then, there have been spates of private equity or “financial exits”, like Visa’s acquisition of Fundamo for $110M,[7] and others that have not being disclosed. The …

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On March 15th this year the government announced a raft of measures to curb the pandemic brought about by COVID-19. Among the measures were that government employees and businesses were to be shut, a minimum number of people maintained and the rest to start working from home except for those providing essential services. 

 It is now five months down the line and the initial excitement that a new formula had been found of remote working from home has become a damper and many CEOs have realised it is not workable. During this time into a pandemic that rapidly reshaped how companies operate and which is nowhere in sight in ending, an increasing number of executives now say that remote work, while necessary for safety much of this year, is not their preferred long-term solution once the coronavirus crisis passes. 

Some companies had even vowed

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While many company executives focus on product development and budget cuts, forgetting that the company success will largely depend on customer satisfaction. As we wrestle with Covid-19 pandemic and global recession, how companies interact with their customers is more vital than ever before making customer experience as the key ingredient that will determine the success of any company. 

Most research carried out in 2020 such as Adobe Digital Trends, ranks customer experience at the top a head of digital marketing, video marketing and even social media. A survey by Deloitte in 2017 on Global Contact Center, found that 88 percent of companies now prioritize customer experience in their contact centres. Companies offering better customer experience earned between 4 and 8 percent more than their competitors as seen in SmartInsights and Temkin Group 2019. Brands that create a company culture focused on customers help their employees work together to

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None of us particularly like money-lenders and few of us would want the stress and unpleasantness of being the type of money-lender that proliferates in cities like Kampala – leeching returns of 10% a month against assets pledged by desperate borrowers.  The reason that these bloodsuckers can exist is that access to credit on reasonable terms, or at all, from banks is still so difficult to get for most businesses.  

Also Read: Mobile money loans affecting banks’ lending – report

The fact is that there are some great businesses that cannot grow and often struggle to survive because cash-flow is such a huge problem. In Europe many businesses use “factoring” to improve their business cash-flow and reduce the time they spend trying to collect money. But the truth is that the banks that provide this service are so selective about the businesses they deal with and the invoices they process

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VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity) in Sub-Saharan Africa presents challenges to doing business that are distinct and unique to each market in the regionSuch issues as political and economic risk which affect business decisions and hamper business growth in some climes, language barriers and cultural distinctions which affect communication and understanding in trade and currency value disparities all create opportunities for solutions through strategic government relations.  

Also Read:Coveting larger markets: Ethiopia’s bid to join WTO

Forbes®, in defining the meaning of the acronym, explains that ‘Volatility’ refers to rate of change at a market or global scale. The more volatile the market is, the higher its chances of change. ‘Uncertainty’ deals with the level of confidence with which the future can be predicted. Where the market situation is uncertain, there is greater difficulty to predict and anticipate a market shift. ‘Complexity’, which refers

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The Nigerian economy may see a dip into recession, announced by the World Bank, in 2020, the worst the African country has seen in 40 years. This was largely due to the effects of the fall in the global price of oil, a commodity the nation's economy is heavily reliant on, and the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, that nearly crippled not just Nigeria’s, but the global economy.  

But these challenges were not the only catalysts for Nigeria’s imminent recession, issues around insecurity, infrastructural deficit, trade barriers, and power supply challenges all form a crude mix that has managed to drive the country down this very path.  

Since the election of the Buhari’s administration in 2015, a lot more focus has been placed on driving local content and boosting local production, particularly in the agriculture sector. This was also in line to make the Nigerian economy

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The second half period of 2020 has been marked with persistent bearish sentiment exacerbated by the financial performance amidst uncertainty in economic and business recovery in the pandemic era. On a year to date (YTD) basis, the NSE-20 and NASI have posted negative returns 34.2% and 22.2%, respectively. However, there have been outstanding performers that bucked the general market trend. Absa NewGold ETF (a security whose value is pegged on the value of global price of gold) is up 39.5%; Kenya Airways (+86.8%) on a buy-out fueled price rally; and Olympia Capital (+21.9%). The key index counters are all negative with the key banks (Equity, KCB and COOP) sharply lower, on average by 41% YTD while Safaricom and EABL have retreated 12.1% and 22.4% YTD, respectively.  

Also Read: Understanding Stock Market Liquidity in African Exchanges

The bearish market coupled with uncertainty around resolution of the Covid-19 pandemic, has shifted investors’

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My July op-ed focused on the increased M&A activities in Africa under Covid-19. Network International announced the acquisition of Africa’s leading online commerce platform, DPO for $288M on 28th July 2020, confirming my analysis that we are going to see more M&A activities going forward.”

According to Keet van Zyl, Managing Partner of Knife Capital (which turned ten last week), who managed Mark Shuttleworth’s ‘Here Be Dragons’ Fund – this is likely the largest tech acquisition in Africa since Shuttleworth sold Thawte to Verisign for $575m in 1999″. SoftBank, which had a $16.5B loss in Q1, returned to a $12B net profit in Q2, courtesy of the merger and partial sale of its stake in Sprint to T-Mobile, as well as a recovery in its $100B vision fund portfolio. This means global M&A is also picking steam in the “valley of coronavirus” as Masayoshi Son put it.

Under COVID-19, …

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Signing Ceremony of the AfCTA in Rwanda in 1998 - The Exchange

Most economists see structural transformation as one of the main routes to Africa’s sustainable development. What it means is changing the share of agriculture, manufacturing and services in an economy. It is a central aim of the African Union’s Agenda 2063.

With this aim in mind, economists and policymakers need to know what determines structural transformation. They have flagged factors like demand for goods and services, trade policies, financial development, institutional quality and economic integration.

But researchers haven’t closely examined the way economic integration through trade and finance influences structural transformation.

I therefore set out to study African countries’ integration with the rest of the world and the effect of that integration on their structural transformation. This study provides fresh evidence about whether integration is good for Africa. It also unearths the right levels of integration necessary to increase structural transformation.

Trade and financial integration are both about countries exporting …

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