• The tourism industry accounted for about seven per cent of Africa’s GDP in 2019 and contributed $169 billion to its economy, employing more than 24 million people
• Over 8,400 species of wild flora and fauna are critically endangered, while close to 30,000 more are deemed vulnerable. Over a million species are threatened with extinction. 
• Illegal wildlife trade is estimated to be worth more than $23billion annually, fueled by institutional decay in law enforcement that consequently pushes many endangered species closer to the brink of extinction.

Africa hailed as the cradle of mankind and wildlife is endowed with spectacular flora and fauna and home to the world’s seventh wonder, making it undisputedly a top-rated tourist destination. The continent is a hub of wildlife economies that have significantly morphed over the past two decades; pertinently propelled by the ‘Big Five’ wildlife economy activities that include: ecotourism, wildlife ranching, hunting and fishing, carbon …

• Social commerce may seem like a more foreign concept but it is widely used across Africa
• Online shopping has gained more popularity during the Covid-19 crisis, turning social networking platforms like Facebook and Instagram into business tools
• Social commerce- which is abbreviated as s-commerce- represents the integration of shopping and social media

When the Covid-19 pandemic hit back in 2019, a majority of individuals were forced to turn to social media platforms in search of goods and services. 

While most people view this as the growth of e-commerce across the globe, it also gave rise to the growth of social commerce. 

Social commerce may seem like a more foreign concept but it is widely used across Africa. 

Online shopping has gained more popularity during the Covid-19 crisis, turning social networking platforms like Facebook and Instagram into business tools. 

Social commerce- which is abbreviated as s-commerce- represents the integration of …

The resilience of the diversified services group was enabled by the company’s widespread portfolio of businesses.

Bidvest owns a vast array of businesses that span diversified services like car dealerships, airlines, toilet hire, banks, real estate, food services and information technology. Now the diversified services or conglomerate business model is no longer in vogue.

It is outmoded and yet since 1988 Bidvest has grown from being a fledgling pet foods dealer to one of the largest companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange on the back of the same model. This diversified services model has given it the strength to withstand the shocks from the pandemic and also to weather the adverse economy in its home country and abroad. The company has made a resounding comeback.

Bidvest has gained a worthy reputation for being a value accretive investment for shareholders over the years. Its blue-chip status is well deserved, it …

• A report by the African Development Bank notes that today, at least a quarter of the continent’s population has internet access, a nearly fifty-fold increase in internet usage since the turn of the millennium.
• Mobile technologies alone have already generated 1.7 million jobs and contributed US$144 billion to the continent’s economy, or roughly 8.5 percent of GDP
• Accelerating digitalization, artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, robotics, and 3D printing – have obvious and important implications for education, employment, and the future of work

Leaders on the African continent must work harder to harness emerging technology to boost government performance, transparency, and inclusivity as the continent recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic.

They also need to ensure that the growing technological advancements across the continent are not used as a tool of repression, division, and conflict.

According to a study by the World Health Organization, 13 percent of all new or modified …

The foreign currency bourse located in Zimbabwe hasn’t fared as expected nearly 2 years into its existence. Companies in Zimbabwe are starting to list on the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange but not to raise capital. They are listing on that market for other reasons and not necessarily for what the core purpose of a stock exchange is.

Financial market pundits in Zimbabwe have postulated that it is not fair to judge the success of a new securities exchange unless the parameters are over a long-time horizon. This is a fair assertion. However, a close look at the bourse so far should provide investors and other financial market participants with enough perspective to form a position to enable them to objectively ascertain the trajectory it will take in the future.

From its inception, the VFEX attracted the following companies which have been listed on it PPC Limited, Seed Co, Padenga …

Listing activity on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange has been on the decline over the last 3 years. The largest and oldest bourse on the African continent reported in its financial results for 2021 that at least 25 companies de-listed from it during that year. In 2020 there were 20 companies that left the bourse and prior to that there were 24 de-listings. There were only 7 initial public offerings (IPOs) on the JSE in 2021 and only 4 in 2020. The net effect of these developments is that the number of companies listed on the JSE is shrinking. Its current state is a far cry from what it was like at its height in the nineties. At that …