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Southern Africa
- Unlike conventional bonds that generate returns through fixed interest payments, Sukuk generates returns through the ownership of underlying assets, thereby avoiding the prohibitions of Riba (interest) and excess Gharar (uncertainty).
- Global Sukuk market has witnessed significant growth over the last two decades, diversifying its presence across regions such as the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Europe, and Africa.
- The outlook for the sukuk market indicates a continued upward trend, with projections suggesting it will reach $2,160.55 billion by 2028.
Sukuk, commonly known as Islamic bonds, represent a unique financial instrument in the context of Islamic finance, distinguished by their adherence to Shariah compliance. Unlike conventional bonds that generate returns through fixed interest payments, Sukuk generates returns through the ownership of underlying assets, thereby avoiding the prohibitions of Riba (interest) and excess Gharar (uncertainty).
This Shariah-compliant structure renders Sukuk an appealing option for both Muslim and non-Muslim investors seeking ethical and socially …
As Africa’s role in the global economy continues to garner prominence, it’s imperative for the continent to seal the gaping hole in its power supply.
Lack of universal power access remains a major roadblock that has retrogressed industrialization and socio-economic development. Statistics from the World Bank indicate that Africa remains the least electrified region in the world, with 568 million people lacking access to electricity.
The Bretton Woods institution, further notes that the Sub-Saharan Africa’s share of the global population without electricity, jumped to 77 per cent in 2020 from 71 per cent in 2018, whilst most regions saw declines in their share of access deficits. It has become a Hobson’s choice for African governments to prioritize the power sector, which is the epicenter of industrialization, working towards Goal 7 of the UN SDGs; which advocates for universal access to affordable, reliable and modern electricity services.
Currently, Africa’s power is …
Findings show that increasing costs in every market due to a year of supply disruption did not deter data centre demand in most markets including Nairobi and Johanessburg.
The two African capitals were among 44 other locations that were surveyed.
According to the study, despite the negative impact of the coronavirus pandemic, demand remained relatively steady when compared to other industries owing to governments’ decisions to make working and schooling from home mandatory. …
Africa’s healthcare sector is on the verge of digital transformation.
This is according to a policy paper that indicates that while governments are accelerating formal digital health strategies, 41 out of 54 African countries have a digital health strategy in place.
Vodacom’s e-health policy paper also finds that consumers are dramatically increasing their engagement with digital health services via their smartphones. Official data forecasts that by 2025, smartphone reach in sub-Saharan Africa will increase by almost 70 percent.
The policy paper indicates that as a result of increased smartphone reach, informal use of digital healthcare solutions has increased, with 41 percent of internet users across Africa regularly using their mobile phones to search for health information.
Overall, the policy paper notes that there has been an exponential rise in the number of people engaging with digital health services through their smartphones, creating vast potential for countries to deliver access to …
South Africa was already in a precarious economic position and did not need the recent social unrest that engulfed its main provinces. It was bad enough that the economy according to the IMF had contracted by 7% in 2020 due to COVID-19 induced shocks through lockdown, stoppages to economic activities and resultant job losses. The new threat to economic recovery that has emerged looks certain to push the country over the precipice to economic collapse in the worst case and in the best case, make its recovery slow and painful. Whichever way the die goes, it remains a serious catch-22 situation. The world watched with shock and horror at images out of South Africa of certain members of that society protesting and subsequently looting and wreaking havoc on privately owned businesses. What had begun as an isolated incident in the country’s KwaZulu Natal province quickly degenerated into a national crisis …
The lockdown occasioned by the coronavirus pandemic saw new e-commerce users rise by 5 percent in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2020 when compared to the active base the previous year.
This is according to a report by VISA, which attributes this to a preference of e-commerce to fill the void left by the closure of face-to-face retail, which was implemented across many parts of the world, including the region, to fight the viral disease.
The ‘e-commerce developments across Su-Saharan Africa’ report also notes the economic shocks that followed COVID-19 have reduced spending power across the world, including in the region, but the closure of physical stores has provided a growth opportunity for digital payments and e-commerce itself.
Where, how to invest in Uganda’s e-commerce
As such, VISA projects that e-commerce sales will grow to US$7 trillion across the globe by 2024, with the Asia Pacific, specifically, China, India, and Southeast Asia, …
The firm has undertaken assignments in 50 of the 54 African countries and employs more than 500 people in its network of over 20 local offices.
This latest partnership comes at a time when the firm’s latest London sales and lettings reports show that June was a record-breaking month for sales transactions, lettings, viewings and new prospective tenants registering.…
Africa’s second top economy, South Africa is yet unhinged with the grilling impacts of the coronavirus, which has already taken more than 58,000 lives and infected more than 1.7 million in the country.
“In view of the rising infections, we have therefore decided to move the country to Alert Level 3.This will take effect later this evening once the regulations have been gazetted,” South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Tuesday.
According to President Ramaphosa speech, different issues related to the adoption of the new alert level were raised and the national leader rallied people to embrace the new precautions for the longevity of the nation.
“We know that as difficult as the last 15 months have been, we have started to recover and rebuild. Although it has encountered several setbacks, our mass vaccination programme is gaining momentum and we are finally on the path to controlling the disease. But …
