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Opinion
- At the current pace of electrification amid rising population, the number of people without electricity in Africa will remain unchanged unless bold action is rolled out.
- In response to this urgent need, the AfDB Group, the World Bank, and other partners have launched Mission 300, a plan that aims to provide electricity access to 300 million Africans by 2030.
- The plan focuses on accelerating electrification through a mix of grid extensions and distributed renewable energy solutions, such as mini-grids and stand-alone solar home systems.
Across Africa, the sunlight shines bright and natural resources abound. Yet despite that lies a pressing issue that threatens to stifle the continent’s growth and prosperity: the lack of access to reliable and sustainable electricity. As we prepare for the Africa Energy Summit, taking place on January 27-28, 2025, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, the urgency of addressing Africa’s energy needs cannot be overstated.
Without …
- Decentralized power generation—typically based on solar home systems and mini-grids—is the best bet to eradicate energy poverty among people in more isolated rural areas.
- By decentralizing power generation, Africa can secure a sustainable energy future and improve the lives of millions of people.
- Standalone power systems or localized power networks (otherwise known as “mini-grids”) have become efficient means of power that utilize solar in combination with battery storage and backup generators.
Think about a time when your electricity went out. As you sat in the dark, maybe you wondered how long it would be before you could power up your computer again. Or perhaps you considered what you could make for dinner that didn’t require cooking.
Many people in Africa don’t need to imagine such a scenario — they live it. Every day.
A large portion of the continent, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa, lacks access to reliable and affordable electricity. …
- To vastly increase the number of gazelles—and by extension, the likelihood of unicorns—stakeholders must work together to overcome existing barriers.
- Under ideal circumstances, gazelles—fast-growing companies essential for economic growth and employment—can mature into unicorns.
- To get unicorns, however, the key lies in cultivating gazelles first. Across Africa, there is a clear need to focus on the imperatives that can drive this transformation.
Gazelles. Camels. Elephants. In the language of venture capital, we have a full menagerie to describe a startup’s growth progression. However, in the past decade, the ultimate aspiration remains the unicorn: privately held companies valued at over $1 billion.
Globally, there are approximately 1,200 unicorns across various industries, and while Africa’s list is smaller, it is growing. As of February 2023, the seven identified African unicorns predominantly operate in the fintech and digital sectors, addressing payment challenges across the continent.
For many startups in Africa, achieving unicorn status …
On Thursday 9 November 2020, former President of Ghana, Jerry John Rawlings passed away in Accra, Ghana after a short illness.
A great man has gone to be with his ancestors. For those of us who were privileged and honored to know him, it was truly a sad day.
I met former President Rawlings in 2010 after the former Chairperson of the AU Commission Jean Ping appointed him as the High Representative for Somalia. As a staff of the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) at the time, I was then asked with my colleague James Gadin our senior political officer to assist the President and his team to understand the dynamics of the conflict.
President Rawlings was first and …
The hospitality and tourism industry
The hospitality and tourism industry in sub-Saharan Africa must adopt a new “adapt and innovate” modus operandi to meet the challenges produced by the COVID-19 pandemic if it is to help prevent further contraction of severely impacted economies in the region, says Mark Havercroft, Regional Director Africa for the International hotel group Minor Hotels.
While the opening of international borders by several African countries is extremely positive news for ailing travel and hospital sectors in sub-Saharan Africa – and for economies as a whole, this may not, in and of itself, be sufficient to resuscitate the industry in the wake of the havoc wreaked by the COVID-19 lockdowns.
Not only are many of the international tourists who operators are relying on to return quickly still locked down in their own countries, but even if they’re not, there are still very high levels of insecurity around …
On the 1st of October 2020, the Global System Mobile Association (GSMA) released their “Mobile Economy Sub-Saharan Africa” report which forecasted the mobile economy in Africa into 2025.[1] A positive outlook to start the month of October and the last quarter of 2020.
The highlight of this forecast is that by 2025, even with 1.05 billion sim connections and 614 million unique mobile subscribers and smartphone adoption reaching 65% of the total population, only 39% of Africans would be experiencing their mobile web on those smartphones. This seems to suggest that even though there would be exponential smartphone growth over the period the cost of connectivity may be a showstopper. That’s not necessarily the case because there’s more happening than meets the eye.
The Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) are going to spend collectively about $52 billion on infrastructure between now and 2025 and this would grow their revenues …
On Oct. 1, 1960, everything seemed possible for Nigeria: After nearly 80 years of colonialism under Great Britain, it was finally an independent nation.
During the newly independent nation’s earliest days, there was every reason for Nigerians to envision a bright future for themselves and their country, one in which Nigeria’s vast oil and gas reserves would deliver widespread prosperity. One of stability and growth.
Tragically, Nigeria’s story moved in a different direction. Yes, there was a brief period of economic growth, but that was followed by multiple coups, civil war, military rule, corruption, and poverty. Instead of helping everyday Nigerians, the country’s oil wealth went to an elite few in power while leaving communities, particularly those in the Niger Delta, to deal with environmental degradation and dwindling means of supporting themselves. Instead of using its oil revenue to strengthen other sectors and diversify the economy, Nigeria has made oil
Business success is perceived differently today. Buzzwords like maximization, venture-backed, growth hacking, and well-conceived exit strategies (like IPOs or acquisitions) define entrepreneurial success in the current age. In a mad rush to show high quarter-on-quarter growth rates, corporate leaders have forgotten that the true value of a business is how long it stays relevant in the market and instead focus solely on transient growth spurts even if they cost profits.
Any business, no matter how big its initial success, needs to take a long-term approach if it’s to avoid being one of history’s almost-rans. This applies to every aspect of the business, including, people, products, and customers.
Invest in People
When you are a new company working on developing deep tech, discovering talent and retaining them is a challenge. Try to create and slowly nurture a pool of capable workers who will gain domain expertise over time. At Zoho, in …
In 2020, remote working finally became normal everywhere. Analysts and thought leaders had predicted that this would happen “soon” for the past 25 years, but it took a global crisis for it to materialize.
Since March, people in many professions have gotten increasingly used to working from outside their offices.
Before the pandemic hit, many employers were loath to give their staff that flexibility, especially for extended periods of time. With Covid-19, that changed overnight. Even the most diehard bosses have now given in and allowed people to work from home or remotely.
One key realization, captured in many memes, was: “Wow! all those meetings could actually have been emails!”.
Online meetings had already become generally accepted as a more efficient alternative to most in-person meetings. Many of us had even come to cherish the online format, as they tend to be shorter and more to the point than those …
