Author: Opinion

Sahera Sumar is the epitome of what a global citizen represents. Having travelled to over 25 countries and delivered programs to diverse industries, sectors and cultures, Sumar has become a beacon of strength, knowledge and hope for women all over the world. Equipped with her passion for capacity building and her expertise in leadership, talent and organisational development, Sumar is set to embark on her next big project. The project; Worldwide SHEroes, will see successful global leaders engage, empower, enable and mentor women leaders; sculpting them into women who are admired or idealised for their courage, outstanding achievements, or noble…

On 1 January 2021, trade began within the African Continental Free Trade Area (‘AfCFTA’). After years of preparation, and being postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, AfCFTA becomes the largest free trade area in the world based on the number of participating countries since the World Trade Organization (‘WTO’) was formed and connects some 1.3 billion people across the African continent. Among many other key developments under the AfCFTA, member states have agreed to remove 90 per cent of tariff lines on non–sensitive products within five years for developing countries and within ten years for least developed countries. The AfCFTA…

With a favorable geographical position on the westernmost point of Africa, an abundance of natural resources, and strong political leadership and stability, Senegal is set to transform its economy through the development of its energy sector. The country is endowed with vast natural resources, including significant natural gas reserves and renewable energy sources, and has committed to the diversification of its energy mix to meet rising energy and electricity demand.  With a clear presidential vision in which the energy sector is seen as a key driver of economic growth, H.E. President Macky Sall is pursuing increased investment in Senegal’s growing…

The first quarter of 2021 ended on a great note as two African fintech businesses gained unicorn status, a rare fit amidst a ragging global pandemic that is finally being aggressively tackled by the speedy supply of much-needed vaccines. Such is the African story – a trail of surprises in the midst of uncertainty. On 18th March 2021, Airtel Africa announced it had received a $200M investment from TPG’s Rise Fund at a valuation of $2.65B making it the latest African unicorn[1]. Exactly a week before, March 10th, 2021, Flutterwave from Nigeria also announced a $170M investment from Avenir Growth…

Insurance uptake in any sector is always influenced by the insuring public’s awareness about insurance. Other factors are secondary to the fact.  A recent high profile insurance round table session discussed insurance penetration based on secondary factors like introduction of affordable products in the market, introduction of bancassurance into the market, agricultural insurance and micro-insurance. Other factors discussed included unhealthy competition in the market which leads to predatory pricing. Public awareness on insurance was touched on based on the need to create a risk management culture among the public and more so to educate the public on the benefits of insurance uptake. This round table however…

There is a certain state of mind where someone is so sure something is true they consider all information as proof, and ignore everything that suggests otherwise. It is how the majority of the world’s population believed the Earth was flat long after measurements showed the curve on the planet’s surface and its changing position relative to the sun and stars.  For, when you want to believe the Earth is flat, facts are only interference.   And so it is with the current fashion for declaring that spraying locusts or any insects that eat part or all our crops is necessarily…

 Economic prospects are predicting that 2021 will be a happier year for Pension Schemes. The devasting impact of Covid-19 had far reaching implications on the pension sector, especially in 2020 caused by several factors. Also Read: Covid Economics: Kenya’s navigation of debt relief We had massive payouts, especially in the hospitality sector as companies closed down and retrenched. Pension scheme members made early access to pension benefits to cushion their financial well-being. A number of employers could not afford contributions funding to pension scheme and So they adapted to this challenge by obtaining a reprieve from the Retirement Benefits Authority to…

As the largest economy in Africa, with huge gas reserves and high solar energy potential, Nigeria has all the natural resources necessary to meet the growing demand for electricity. However, the inadequate energy infrastructure still leaves a significant part of the population without power or relying on oil-fired back-up generators. If Nigeria can improve its energy infrastructure and unlock its gas-to-power generation potential, it paves the way to integrating low-cost renewable energy, bringing electricity and development opportunities to rural villages, driving industrial growth and employment, and increasing prosperity across the country. There is no doubt that gas has an important…

Three significant news items went on the global wire on 25th February 2021 as follows; Liquid Telecom, a member of the Econet Group that has laid more than 70,000km of fiber optic cable across Africa[1], raised $840M financing package (US$620M bond and a US$220M equivalent term loan in Rand). This was Liquid Telecom’s second bond issue and it was 5.5 times oversubscribed with JP Morgan Chase & Co, Standard Chartered Plc and Standard Bank Group Ltd as joint global bookrunners[2]. Convergence Partners, a leading Pan African Private Equity fund[3] entered into an agreement with Nasdaq listed Inseego (INSG) to acquire…

In the developed world corporates have big IT budgets so software is built, bought, integrated into existing systems because skilled developers and software packages tailored to meet the needs of businesses are abundant as corporate spend on IT.  

Throughout East Africa there are incredible inefficiencies in the SME business section all the way up to large corporates who struggle with limited budgets and limited skilled people to develop IT solutions and no-code platforms and tools mitigate these challenges by being both, affordable and easy for non-technical people to learn and use.