Author: Opinion

There is only one road left to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set for Africa for 2030 and that is through sustainable businesses.The sluggish progress to date has been primarily a consequence of ‘putting all our eggs in one basket’ and expecting the state to deliver the SDGs, which it cannot.

A prime obstacle in that is finance. The SDG Center for Africa estimates the financing gap to achieve the SDGs is running at between $500bn and $1.2tn a year. That is simply beyond the reach of the public sector, with the Center estimating that delivering basic state functions of health care, education, water, energy, and road infrastructure requires more than 50 per cent of the GDP of most African countries.

However, for the private sector, pursuing the 2030 goals of eradicating Africa’s hunger, poverty, and inequality and improving health care will deliver its own rewards, creating business opportunities …

When we speak of inclusivity in healthcare, cleft lip and palate surgery is often considered a footnote in the priorities given to healthcare financing. Around the world, many children with clefts live in isolation, making it difficult to make friends and go to school, but more importantly, have difficulty eating, breathing, and speaking. As we seek to achieve Universal Health Coverage, the long-term benefit of treating a single cleft at an early stage can bring in as much as $50,000 to the economy. This economic benefit therefore deserves to be considered a priority as governments address paediatric surgical care.

The Fourth meeting of the Global Initiative for Children’s Surgery (GICS IV) which took place in Johannesburg from 17^th-18^th January 2019, brought together providers and implementers of surgical services for children, along with health, advocacy, and policy experts. Participants discussed the current state of surgical care for children …

The state of data privacy is a widely discussed topic of conversation. The new EU data protection law is setting Kenya up for the next step towards foreign investment opportunities. In short, these new legal standards will place restrictions on the handling, storing and shareability of personal user data.

Following the announcement on 8 November 2019 that President Kenyatta signed the European Union General Data Protection Regulation, aligning Kenyan legislation with the EU, great interest was ignited as the new legislation offers more regulated safeguards against the misuse of personal information. Furthermore, it comes with a substantial fine of three million shillings or a two-year jail sentence, should the terms be violated.

Digital-lending apps, in particular, have come under scrutiny for malicious attacks that gain access to smartphone data without consent to determine creditworthiness. With mobile technology and digital apps on the rise, wehave already started to see resistance …

For those who have obtained credit facilities from banks or financial institutions (FI) they must have at one point raised the question that we intend to discuss in this article.

It is likely that somehow borrowers have managed to obtain misinformation from friends, the public or the lender. There has been a misunderstanding by many borrowers that as long as they have “collateral” they deserve that legal right to obtain credit facilities from the bank. I refer to this as a misunderstanding because banks/FI do not lend against the collateral; rather lending is based on the viability of the business/project to be financed.

In the process of credit risk assessment the primary repayment source of a credit facility is the cash flow from the business to be financed or from other pre-identified source of cash flow. The cash flow is what is considered as primary collateral. Banks and FI will …

While all the current talk in the insurance industry is everything about insurance penetration and how it is not happening in Kenya, an illegality continues to be perpetrated raising a very disturbing and pertinent question: could we be holding onto fake insurance certificates?

Legally as will be demonstrated below, certificates are supposed to be issued by insurance companies in Kenya and no other entity. Where they are issued by any other entity, then questions arise as to the legality of the whole exercise.

In The Official Gazette of The Colony and Protectorate of Kenya of November 14,1944 a Bill was proposed to make provision against Third Party Risks arising out of the use of Motor Vehicles.

Section 5, subsection (a) of the proposal states that the policy of insurance must be a policy which,

“is issued by a person who is approved by the Governor, by notice in the Gazette, …

Gareth Grobler is a digital currency entrepreneur and founded the cryptocurrency exchange iCE3X in 2013. He is a founding member of the UK Digital Currency Association. Gareth has over 15 years of experience in IT infrastructure & architecture development. He started iCE3X as a proof of concept and has been involved with other ventures including Merkeleon, a software company that builds exchange and processing software based out of Austria, with offices in Minsk and London. In this Q&A, Grobler provides clarity on developments in the industry within Africa and shares his views on cryptocurrency adoption on the continent. Edited excerpts follow:

What are the biggest obstacles for the mainstream adoption of crypto?

As humans, we are attracted to “easy”. Crypto is not easy because being your own bank requires responsibility and it is not something that is automatically within everyone’s skillset instinctively. As things progress and become more mainstream this …

Eurafrican has just announced the theme edition for this year’s edition of its acclaimed forum: In Search for a Common Ground.

Now on its third edition, the forum remains one of the most insightful gathering of minds to bridge the relations between Europe and Africa that I’ve ever had the privilege of participating.

The 2020 edition promises to look for new opportunities for both continents as it unveils its theme In Search for a Common Ground. The program will focus on key topics as Africa and Europe relations, Free Trade Agreements, Climate Change, African Arts and Culture, Infrastructure, Connectivity and Off-grid solutions.

Over 700 African and European changemakers are expected at the event, including entrepreneurs, artists, activists, public and private decision leaders. The event will take place in Cascais, Portugal, on July 2nd and 3rd 2020.

“It is now time to establish a structured cooperation between Africa and Europe, …

The state of data privacy is a widely discussed topic of conversation. The new EU data protection law is setting Kenya up for the next step towards foreign investment opportunities. In short, these new legal standards will place restrictions on the handling, storing and shareability of personal user data.

Following the announcement on 8 November 2019 that Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta signed the European Union General Data Protection Regulation, aligning Kenyan legislation with the EU, great interest was ignited as the new legislation offers more regulated safeguards against the misuse of personal information. Furthermore, it comes with a substantial fine of 3 million Shillings or a two-year jail sentence, should the terms be violated.

Digital-lending apps, in particular, have come under scrutiny for malicious attacks that gain access to smartphone data without consent to determine creditworthiness. With mobile technology and digital apps on the rise, we’ve already started to see …

One of the biggest issues in many African countries is economic inclusion. Regardless of whether we are talking about development, sustainability or natural resources, finding equilibrium between economic growth and social development has been a challenge for both governments and foreign investors alike. One of the most successful ways to create and sustain this equilibrium is through entrepreneurship.

With the majority of African nations diversifying from traditional sources of income, entrepreneurship is increasingly seen as a key to economic growth. FurtherAfrica spoke to Bako Ambianda, a rising star of African entrepreneurship. Born in Cameroon, the son of a politician, Mr. Ambianda started his first small business in Cameroon when he was only 18 years old and never looked back. Today he is the Chairman and CEO of Labacorp Group, an African holding company that he founded, with a diverse portfolio in key economic sectors including renewable energy, …

Of recent times, microfinance has demonstrably become the most coveted solution to building a robust and efficient national economy that is inclusive of the low-income segment in both urban and rural areas.

The historically nascent level of microfinance services in Tanzania has prompted various non-government organization (domestic and foreign) and financial institutions to take up active roles in providing this service. Institutions such as the Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA), SEDA, PRIDE and Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) are some of the active players to have taken up this role in the microfinance subsector. Meanwhile, larger financial institutions have also ventured into carrying out microfinance operations. Banks such as NMB and CRDB which was established in 1995 as a hybrid of a commercial and microfinance bank are key examples of this.

The exciting evolution ofmicrofinance can be traced from before 2000.

Before 2000

The microfinance movement, which is a …