Saturday, April 1

Africa’s Development

Vodafone-Group
  • Vodafone Group developed a business tailor-made to deal with Africa’s rising digital economy
  • Etisalat, Vodafone’s largest shareholder, is currently exploring options for investment in Vodacom Africa.
  • A decision to divest assets in a specific market or sell a stake in Vodacom Africa to fund new projects is also on the table

Vodafone Group is mulling strategies of extracting more value from its 65% stake in Vodacom Africa. According to Bloomberg, the telco is working with several advisers to evaluate the various strategic options available including mergers and acquisitions. A decision to divest assets in a specific market or sell a stake in Vodacom Africa to fund new projects is also on the table With the recent decline in Vodacom Africa and its market value in Safaricom, the organization is considering other alternatives.

This new take is crucial given that Vodafone has acquired new interested investors. Liberty Global, Xavier Niel,

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AfDB
  • African Hidden Champions (AHC) is an initiative that seeks to showcase exceptional growth stories of unique African startups.
  • The AHC initiative has led to several breakthroughs for various African startups.
  • AfDB and AHC partnership is a stepping stone that would provide financial inclusion and regional industrialization.

AfDB has announced a new partnership with the African Hidden Champions to promote and empower local startups.

African Hidden Champions (AHC) is an initiative that seeks to showcase exceptional growth stories of unique African startups. Essentially AHC seeks potentially revolutionary companies that are building Africa’s startups to scale on a global scale.

Africa Foresight Group and German Investment Cooperation co-founded this initiative to shed light on Africa’s potential as a continent. They created AHC for the primary purpose of helping firms on their growth journey by telling their stories, exposing them to new markets and providing funding and technical assistance if need be.

Dr

Potential of renewable energy in Africa. www.theexchange.africa
  • Africa is heavily dependent on fossil fuels, which not only contribute to climate change, but also make the continent vulnerable to price fluctuations in the global oil market.
  • Renewable energy projects in Africa, such as solar and wind power, are starting to gain momentum and are showing great promise as a solution to these challenges.
  • Investing in renewable energy in Africa not only helps to address these challenges, but also brings a host of benefits.

As the world continues to shift towards a more sustainable future, Africa is emerging as a key player in the renewable energy sector. With vast stretches of land and abundant sunshine, Africa has the potential to harness the power of the sun and wind to generate electricity, creating economic opportunities and reducing dependence on fossil fuels.

Currently, Africa’s energy sector faces significant challenges. Many countries in the region lack access to electricity, with nearly 600 …

Cyclone Batsirai halts tourism in Madagascar beaches. www.theexchange.africa
  • Tropical storm Ana in January 2022 affected 180,869 people, injured 207 people, killed at least 38 people and flooded a total of 70,982 hectares of land.
  • In two weeks, Madagascar, the most cyclone exposed country in Africa, experienced both Ana and Batsirai cyclones.
  • The strength of Cyclone Batsirai could increase and spread to other countries in the Southern Indian Ocean.

Several cyclones, from Cyclone Ana, Batsirai, Idai, Eloise, Kenneth and Tropical Storm Chalane, have tormented the southern part of the African continent – from South Africa, Mauritius, Madagascar, Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe.
A cyclone is a tropical storm with heavy winds rotating inwards to an area of low pressure. An anticlockwise circulation occurs in the northern hemisphere, while a clockwise circulation happens in the southern hemisphere.
The frequent occurrence of these storms indicates the heightening effects of climate change in the southern region of Africa and the world at large. …

A Data Centre. SDN cloud connectivity provider IX Reach is launching in East Africa in partnership with the Djibouti Data Centre. www.exchange.co.tz

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. …

Technical and vocational colleges in East Africa supported by the World Bank-funded EASTRIP Project have recorded fourfold increase in student enrolment. www.theexchange.africa
  • Total students enrolled in the sixteen Regional Flagship TVET Institutes (RFTIs) increased from 6,971 students at baseline to 30,776 students at mid-term
  • The project has surpassed its initial target to enrol 20,000 students annually in long-term and short-term training programs.
  • According to the World Bank Enterprise Survey of 2015, over 25 per cent of firms surveyed in sub-Saharan Africa reported an inadequately educated workforce as a significant hindrance.

Education in Africa

Student enrolment in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges in East Africa has quadrupled from the baseline data.

In February, the Inter-University Council of East Africa (IUCEA) released a mid-term evaluation report supported by the World Bank-funded East Africa Skills for Transformation Project (EASTRIP) in Mombasa, Kenya 1.

The report was carried out to evaluate the project’s performance in its mid-term. It revealed that the total students enrolled in the sixteen Regional Flagship TVET Institutes (RFTIs) …

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The UK is the biggest beneficiary of Africa's trade governance inefficiencies. www.theexchange.africa

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that British businesses would support Africa to flourish with the green industrial revolution. The irony of this is that the UK hosted COP26 in Glasgow last November. The outcomes were disappointing for Africa which suffers the brunt of climate change.
While partnerships are necessary for development, the type, objectives, and interests of the participants are critical elements in deciding the outcome. Africa’s interests have always come last.
The partnerships for development are essential to addressing Africa's development issues and trade growth. But there are too many conditions, usually. These include impositions in development cooperation for Africa.…

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Ongoing construction works of the Haya Karima project. www.theexchange.africa

According to the World Bank, Egypt has risen to become the richest country in Africa measured by GDP, which stands at US$1.38 trillion

Haya Karima, which means Decent Life, is a national project to develop the Egyptian Countryside.

The National Project for Developing the Egyptian Countryside is an initiative estimated to cost US$1.1 trillion

The Richest Country in Africa

The National Project for Developing the Egyptian Countryside is an initiative estimated to cost US$1.11 trillion. This project will impact at least 1,350,366 households. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said in January 2021 that the projects would be complete in three years.

US$ 519.28 million of the total funding will come from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

IFAD is an agency of the United Nations dedicated to alienating poverty and hunger in developing countries across the globe.

The government that took power in 2014 inaugurated a series of projects to …

A market place. www.theexchange.africa

With several elections in 2022, there is a possibility that some countries may become conflict hotspots. In addition, the threat of terrorism remains real.

Already, the ongoing conflict in Ethiopia remains a major cause of instability in the East African nation. Depending on how this is dealt with, countries in the larger Horn of Africa region remain sensitive.

In 2022, more than 25 of Africa’s fastest-growing economies will register more than 5 per cent growth as projected by the IMF.…

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