Browsing: Africa

Time for African creatives as digital economy picks

Investing

Africa’s creative digital economy, which includes music, film, art, fashion, cultural artefacts, apps and games is not only creating wealth for the creators but also contributes to the gross domestic product, exports and boosting development outcomes according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

“The creative economy is recognized now as a tool of sustainable development,” says Marisa Henderson, Chief of the Creative Economy Program at UNCTAD. UNCTAD defines this “creative economy” aka “orange economy” as the sum of all the parts of the creative industries, including trade, labour, and production.

They have tracked trade in creative goods and services for close to twenty years and consistently found that the growth rate of creative economy exports outpaces that of other industries[11]. Africa’s cultural goods sector is estimated to employ about half a million people and generate US$4.2 billion in revenue[12].…

Nairobi, Johannesburg foresee increased data centres demand

Tech & Business

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. …

Bboxx to boost Kenya’s off-grid solar connections with US$14 million loan

Kenya
  • Data by the World Bank Group reveals that Kenya’s electrification rate currently stands at 70 per cent
  • Easing the financial access barrier for end-users has improved the uptake of home solar systems over the past decade. 
  • The Kenya National Electrification Strategy highlights the Kenyan government’s plans to scale up off-grid electrification with ambitions to establish two million new connections through standalone solar home systems by 2022. 

Bboxx Kenya is set to receive a US$14 million (Ksh1.6 billion) loan facility from SBM Bank Kenya aimed at connecting 470,000 Kenyan households to renewable energy sources.

GuarantCo, a fund backed by the governments of UK, Switzerland and Australia among others, is guaranteeing Ksh1.2 billion or 75 percent of the loans.

“SBM Bank is elated to spur the growth of the energy sector in Kenya through partnerships with like-minded entities such as Bboxx and GuarantCo,” SBM Bank Kenya’s deputy chief executive officer Jotham Mutoka …

US$200M fund set up to back growth-stage tech startups in Africa

Investing

Norrsken22 plans on capitalizing on its general partners’ years of experience and investment philosophies to back startups in fintech, MedTech, Edtech, and market-enabling solutions such as B2B marketplaces and inventory management businesses.

Kolbe, whose previous firm Actis backed Egyptian fintech giant Fawry in 2019 as it prepared to go public, said Norrsken would look at Egypt ‘opportunistically.’ 

Deals from the country that may be of interest to the firm will be those planning an expansion into the four markets Norrsken22 is currently keen on, including Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and South Africa.…

Tanzania at 59 million people: Boom or doom? 

Industry and Trade

Since the advancement of the standard of living, most parts of the world have experienced a relatively rapid population growth than ever before which can be hugely beneficial for economic development if utilized strategically.  

Population growth is rapidly occurring in Africa, with Tanzania now hosting more than 59 million people in its vast, arable and mineral-rich land. This increase puts the East African country, which ascended last year to a low-middle-income status, in a much more advantageous position to move forward or experience a decline. 

The World Bank (WB) – one of Africa’s (and Tanzania’s) close development partner argues that Africa’s population is rising rapidly and will likely double by 2050. 

 READ:It’s a jumbo task as elephant population in Africa soars

“Africa will soon pass one billion people (it may already have) and could reach up to two billion people by 2050. This makes it the fastest-growing continent, and

…

Tanzania: Port of Dar doubles cargo clearance with RoRo terminal

Tanzania

The RoRo, along with the ramp and terminal were completed as of March 2021 after three years of dedicated construction works. With its completion, vehicles can now be driven, not carried, off the ship.

With this development, large vessels that took up to four days to offload and turn around now take only 17 hours to offload, that is say, an average of three vehicles per minute offloaded per minute.

The terminal is also a major game-changer because instead of driving two km in search of parking, vehicles can now be parked in the spacious berth with a handling capacity of 3,000 vehicles at a time.…

[elementor-template id="94265"]

…

Reigniting growth through export competitiveness

Economic Growth

When exports receipts increase it means from the definition given that the country that pursues this strategy will find itself in the desired position where it earns more than it spends.

This in the long run will lead to the country becoming less reliant on balance of payments support from multilateral lenders and repaying its debt obligations.

For a country like Zimbabwe, it is imperative that the southern African country pursues this strategy as the increased foreign exchange receipts will provide desperately needed foreign currency and monetary stability.…

[elementor-template id="94265"]

…

Investment themes for Southern Africa in 2022

Africa

This comes as the IMF has downgraded economic prospects for countries in this cluster. The downgrades have, however, been offset relatively by projections for some commodity producers and exporters that were upgraded on the back of rising commodity prices.

The economic prospects between wealthy nations and low-income countries are expected to be divergent and this divergence will remain of great concern to multilateral lenders and world leaders. In wealthy nations, for example, aggregate output for the cluster economies is expected to regain its pre-pandemic trend path in 2022 and exceed it by 0.9% in 2024 whereas the cluster of nations comprise emerging markets and developing economies (excluding China) will remain 5.5% below their pre-pandemic forecasts in 2024.

This event should it occur as forecast will set back improvements in living standards.…

[elementor-template id="94265"]

…

SA deliveries startup Orderin raises US$4.7 million

South Africa

The company, founded in 2012, launched its online food ordering platform in 2013. In 2015, it launched its on-demand fast-food delivery app, becoming the first in South Africa to offer this service.

However, in 2020, Orderin officially shut down its consumer business. The brand relaunched last year as a B2B service, following successful projects helping other businesses develop their own delivery services.

The firm has provided delivery services for the likes of McDonalds and Pick n Pay.…

Kenya’s Tea Party: Robots taking over peasants jobs

Kenya

Justice Makau’s ruling was as follows, “I find as decided in the Court of Appeal decision, the petitioner has a right to mechanise and adopt technology in its operations. The matter in dispute is therefore effectively concluded and settled in terms stated.”

If the cry of the workers’ Union is true, then this ruling threatens more than 50,000 workers’ jobs and allegedly, already over 10,000 tea pickers have lost their jobs to the machines.

However, the odds are pinned against the peasants, the Kenya Tea Growers Association says the loss of jobs has nothing to do with the machines but rather ‘…tea companies reducing their workforce through natural attrition.…