Thursday, April 25

Africa’s Development

Plastic pollution. Recycling funding does more to address the challenge. www.theexchange.africa
  • Leaders are meeting in Nairobi for the Eastern Africa ‘Waste is Wealth’ conference.
  • The inaugural Waste is Wealth Series is organised by Taka Ni Mali, East African Business Council, and Alliance for Science.
  • The three-day conference is themed: Promoting Effective Waste Management Practices for Environmental Conservation and Climate Change Mitigation.

The concept of a circular economy is fast gaining momentum in East Africa with both the private sector and government’s stuck on the drawing board shaping policies and regulations to help realise the shift.

World business leaders, policy makers, academics and NGOs have argued that a move towards a more circular economy is necessary to help solve global environmental and economic challenges.

Moving towards a more circular economy could increase competitiveness, and stimulate innovation. It will also boost economic growth and create jobs across economies.

Waste is Wealth

It is against this background that leaders are meeting in Nairobi for …

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Railways 1
  • Project Management Institute’s recent Talent Gap report shows 2.3 million people will be needed each year to fill all project management-oriented (PMO) positions that are expected to open by 2030.
  • To remain competitive, companies will need to hire problem solvers and relationship builders who can help drive change and deliver strategic value.
  • During this decade, sub-Saharan Africa will witness a 40 percent growth in PMO employment opportunities.

African economies could be headed to a severe shortage of skilled project managers to implement critical infrastructure investments across the continent.

According to Project Management Institute’s most recent Talent Gap report, 2.3 million people will be needed each year to fill all project management-oriented (PMO) positions expected to open by 2030.

To remain competitive, companies will need to hire problem solvers and relationship builders who can help drive change and deliver strategic value.

During this decade, sub-Saharan Africa will witness a 40 percent …

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,

Ransomware Attacks

Another study by PureProfile, an advertising agency company, surveyed investors responsible for around US$700 billion assets under management. The results showed that twenty-five per cent of investor managers expect Africa’s internet industry to increase by 51 per cent in the next three years.

Over 71 per cent of professional investors expect the affordability of mobile phones in Africa to improve by 2025. Currently, the mobile phone economy accounts for an average of 6.8 per cent of monthly incomes. Ninety-seven per cent of all professional investors believe that the Coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the demand for mobile phones.

World Mobile is compounding its unique hybrid mobile network supported by low altitude platform balloons in Zanzibar, which it plans to roll out throughout the continent. The company is already in discussions with government officials in Tanzania, Kenya, and other territories underserviced by traditional mobile operators.…

Four minor tweaks that can make Nairobi an economic capital of Africa- The Exchange

Nairobi needs a few changes in transport. First of all, the Central Business District should be free of Matatus. This means of transport is as old as independent Kenya and on a good day, ferries 80 per cent of Nairobi dwellers. It also racks millions in income both for individuals as well as taxes. However, the industry makes the city lose more than it makes.

Matatus are known for breaking all transport rules including double parking, blocking lanes and sometimes harbouring criminals. It costs even more money to position policemen and county government officers to reinforce discipline.

Trams and light rails have always been mooted. However, the cost and time for this have made the idea be delayed. Creating circular high capacity-bus trips commonly known as Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) system in key roads around the CBD and fed by well-positioned termini from the estates will ensure that there is …

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. …

LB Investment
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