Author: Opinion

The African Export-Import Bank has announced its plans to list on the London Stock Exchange by way of a $3 billion Initial Public Offering.

The LSE announced on Wednesday that the Afreximbank said it intended to publish a registration document and consider proceeding with an IPO of global depositary receipts (GDRs), representing Class D ordinary shares of the bank.

It stated that the GDRs were expected to be admitted to the standard listing segment of the official list of the FCA and to trading on the main market of the LSE.

The President, Afreximbank, Professor Benedict Oramah, said, the bank was very much at the epicentre of Africa’s trade, which was expected to grow rapidly.

He stated that the growth would be driven by the enactment of Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement that would create an integrated market of 1.3 billion people, widespread urbanisation, favourable demographics and rising investments.

He …

When Association of Kenya Insurers (AKI) released it’s 2018 insurance industry report few expected the shocker that the results would provide.

Insurance penetration in the economy relative to the Gross Domestics Product (GDP) fell from 2.7 percent in 2017 to 2.4 percent in 2018. Overall premium increase was recorded to Kshs 216.11 billion from 210 billion the previous year.

The fact that the results showed a decline in insurance penetration in the insurance industry was something that most people didn’t expect especially with the hype that we get of how the economy is doing well.

The results are a true reflection of the industry noting that they are actually audited figures from the various insurance companies. This contrasts sharply with the unaudited figures and subsequent reports that come from those figures always released by Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA). Perhaps it’s time IRA left that work to AKI if they cannot …

Even as mobile penetration continue to grow, the East Africa region is still sluggish in technology innovations especially in the insurance sector.

The region is considered as Africa’s Silicon Savannah with a high mobile penetration, home grown digital financial innovations like M-PESA that is now being exported in other countries and a fast growing tech start –up ecosystem.

Statistics indicate that about $63.6 billion is transacted in aggregate in a single year on mobile money platforms in the East African Community (EAC) countries. This corresponds to 46 percent of the total GDP of the EAC in the most recent statistics.

Mobile is a key factor in the region’s start-up ecosystem where many tech start-ups now use the technology as the primary platform to create solutions that address various socioeconomic challenges.

According to the GSM Association, a trade body that represents the interests of mobile network operators globally, over half of …

African universities are behind the curve. Of the 500 leading global universities, only two – both in South Africa – make the list.

What is the issue? The Ugandan intellectual, Mamdhani, argues that African universities, established at independence have become symbolic and emblematic must-haves much like a flag. Others argue that a social reproduction function limits access to higher education so elites beget elites who with good tertiary and professional education, many accessing universities in developed countries, maintain power dynamics and status quo in societies.

The debate of what a university is and what is its function is very old. Indeed, universities are one of the oldest institutions of human civilisations tracing their history back to ancient kingdoms including in Africa. The famous al-Azhar University in Egypt and as-Sadiqiyya in Tunisia are over 1,000 years old. They like the universities of Oxford and Cambridge in England, Sorbonne in France, and …

This summer has seen a huge amount of interest, and investment, in Africa from private capital outfits.

From fund raising – such as the African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM) reaching final close of its US$320 million African Infrastructure Investment Fund 3 and new funds for Centum, the Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed investors – to acquisitions and disposals, interest has been high across the continent. The Exchange even reported in April that Africa is eying US$1 trillion in private equity deals in the near future.

It also appears that returns are good. East African exits by private equity investors currently stand at 25 per cent, according to a recent I&M Burbidge Capital/EAVCA report, while start-ups in Nigeria have attracted more than US$110.9m of investment in H1 2019. The listing of Jumia, the largest e-commerce operator in Africa which floated on the New York Stock Exchange on a US$1bn ticket earlier this year, …

Juba – South Sudan has launched its first-ever mobile money transfer service in Juba last week. The aim of m-GURUSH (m-for mobile and GURUSH for money in Arabic)  is to make it easier to transfer money, as well as create new job opportunities in South Sudan.

The mobile based financial service platform is a joint partnership between South Sudan’s Trinity Technologies Limited and Zain Telecoms South Sudan.

Licenced by the Bank of South Sudan and the National Communications Authority of South Sudan, m-GURUSH allows users without bank accounts to access banking services through outlets spread across the country.

The virtual banking system allows users to access services through a Zain Network SIM card that is compatible with all of South Sudan’s mobile networks. Once activated, the SIM will allow users to transfer money to family or make payments to vendors. The service is also available on UUSD or as a …

By Washington Ndegea

In the year of our Lord Two thousand and Eighteen, the Treasury Secretary Henry Rotich strode to parliament carrying the characteristic brief case just in time to read the twenty eighteen-twenty nineteen budget. That was in the month of June.

Expectations were high, that the prices of various basic commodities would reduce, and that we in the insurance industry would get the much needed relief and create an enabling environment to do business.

The issue of the prices of the basic commodities were met, but we in the insurance sector were left reeling by the recommendations that were being proposed in the Insurance Act in form of Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2018, that it would be criminal to handle insurance premiums from then on if the recommendations were to be made law.

We quickly instituted an emergency meeting to look at what could have prompted the Treasury department …

The digital divide in Africa is real: Three-quarters of the people on the continent do not have sufficient access to the internet – or have no access at all.

This has an impact on everyone and in every component of society, from health to economic well-being to education. The priority solution requires a combination of continent-wide high-speed access combined with low prices, available through the surety of satellite connectivity.

On June 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th, 2019 the East African Communications Organizations* (EACO) is gathering in Dar Es Salaam. Regional experts, national ICT regulators, operators, services providers (in the telecommunication, broadcasting and postal sub-sectors) ICT training institutions, and other stakeholders in the communication sector from Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda will iron out a common agenda in preparation of the 2019 World Radio Communication Conference. Necessary revisions to Radio Regulations, the international treaty governing the …

Ahead of the Baker McKenzie African Transactional Summit taking place in Johannesburg in May 2019, Baker McKenzie lawyers based in Africa, alongside the Firm’s global Africa specialists, as well as lawyers from our African Relationship Firms from across the continent, share their knowledge about what investors should consider when transacting in Africa.

Accept the uncertainty and gather knowledge

Investors in Africa must consider geo-political and economic uncertainty on the continent as well as a plethora of country and region-specific governance, compliance and regulatory challenges when investing in the region. They must also contend with a critical lack of infrastructure and poor integration when transacting across borders in Africa.

In order to close deals on the continent, investors need access to the right information and data. The success of a transaction depends on having real knowledge instead of relying on market perception. For markets where there is a lack of …

Welcome to Jack’s world. Jack is a photographer based in Dar-es-Salaam who recently set up a sole proprietorship.

His dream is to grow into a visual interior design firm that furnishes affluent homes, office spaces, and restaurants with compelling imagery for their otherwise boring walls.

Every one of Jack’s hours is valuable to achieving his ambition.

Jack is not alone. East Africa is burgeoning with small businesses that are formalizing. With this formalization – setting up a company, relentless selling, and paying taxes – comes a heavy investment in time and a meticulous focus on prioritizing what matters most on any given day.

A popular misconception is that it’s easier today for small businesses to grow due to the plethora of digital marketing tools available.

From automatic logo generators and photo editors to website builders and social media schedulers, business owners are able to get things done faster. But this …