Browsing: Africa

An efficient crypto mining industry can generate more job opportunities in Africa as the demand for miners, blockchain specialists, and technology specialists increases, . This encourages nations to enhance their energy and technological capacities to support crypto operations. These enhancements can considerably benefit other industries and the economy as a whole.

African nations must embrace the chance to become a crypto mining hub. This can aid in the digital economy’s growth, citizens’ financial standing, and the infrastructure for energy production. Consequently, African governments can invest in cryptocurrencies to acquire alternative funding sources for developing renewable and alternative energy sources.…

• Major African airlines have been hard hit since the Covid-19 pandemic struck.

• This year is however expected to bring good tidings for the industry, albeit low profit margins.

• IATA expects a return to profitability for the global airline industry in 2023, as airlines continue to cut losses stemming from the effects of the pandemic to their business in 2022. 

The global aviation industry is set for a bounce back this year as airlines navigate turbulence that has shaken the industry since 2020, threatening to bring down carriers in the market.

Major African airlines have been hard hit since the Covid-19 pandemic struck.

A report by the African Airlines Association (AFRAA) indicates the pandemic hit Africa’s aviation industry in 2021, resulting in an estimated $8.6 billion loss.

While the figure was less than the $10.21 billion loss recorded by the sector in 2020, it was still a 49.8 per cent decline …

• Africa is at the center of global sustainability transitions such as decarbonization of production systems.
• The continent is also seeing electrification of transportation infrastructure and accelerated use of renewable energy.
• African Continent Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is an opportunity to bridge the inequality and vulnerability gap while fostering recovery and transformation in Africa.

Africa – pummeled by a combination of crises – should swiftly invest in and implement people-centered strategies to mobilize financial resources and accelerate continental economic recovery, the Economic Commission for Africa now says.

Speaking during the opening of the ministerial segment of the 55th Session of ECA’s Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, in Ethiopia, Executive Secretary Antonio Pedro said Africa was at the center of global sustainability transitions, such as decarbonization of production systems, electrification of transportation infrastructure and accelerated use of renewable energy, which he said should underpin its recovery from …

Currently, Africa is over-exposed to the impact of the US Dollar. Thus, African nations must either act individually or together to mitigate these effects. Dollar strength bursts are cyclical. Therefore, there should be enough time to implement efforts before the next one occurs. African governments have recognized the harm done in the previous year and should work round the clock to find a lasting solution.…

• US World Bank President nominee Ajay Banga chooses Africa for his first tour
• AfDB president Dr. Akinwumi Adesina calls for a new measure of economic growth
• AfDB launches Adesina Africa Industrialization Index (AII)

The World Bank is getting a new president and it will be likely US-nominee Ajay Banga who for his first global tour, chose to visit Africa. What does this maiden tour mean for the continent?

Back in February, US President Joe Biden announced Ajay Banga as the United States’ nominee for President of the World Bank Group. Should he be approved, Ajay Banga will be replacing the incumbent president, David Malpass, whose term ends in June.

Among his first moves on his way to the top office in the world’s largest financial institution, Banga, is making a strategic visit to Africa.

For the first stop of his World tour, Mr. Banga flew to Abidjan Côte d’Ivoire on …

• Kenya’s ultra-wealthy performed better than their counterparts elsewhere in the world in 2023 
• The world’s wealthiest saw their fortunes slashed globally by 10% in 2022 owing to challenges including post-pandemic property price falls, soaring energy prices, and surging inflation 
• Africa’s super wealthy saw the lowest losses, recording an overall drop of just 5%

Kenya’s wealthy fared better than the wealthy anywhere else in the world during the economic turmoil of 2022, retreating from international citizenships and foreign property in favour of Kenya and Africa as safe havens.

This is according to the 2023 attitudes survey issued with Knight Frank’s annual Wealth Report. As per the survey, the world’s Ultra-High Net Worth Individuals (UHNWIs) saw their fortunes slashed globally by 10% in 2022 on a cocktail of post-pandemic property price falls, soaring energy prices, falling stock markets, and surging inflation and interest rates.

The super-wealthy in Europe were by far the …

• The change in patterns of trade triggered by these two major events is now forcing the MNCs to go back to the drawing board.
• MNCs need to reconfigure their trade routes. They have to re-lobby for assured capital and they have to broker new destinations for their goods.
• With the changing global trade polarities, the MNCs are rethinking China, and eyeing future giants like Africa. 

The much acclaimed African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) that came into being last year may just have saved Africa from a new world trade order.

Thanks to the global pandemic and then the Russia-Ukraine war, the plate tectonic of global trade is shifting. The resulting divergence and convergence are squeezing and pulling in different directions.

Multinational Companies (MNCs) have, for the last three decades or more, controlled trade. These international corporations have enjoyed the fruits of globalization more than any other business entity.

They …

Over the past decade, addressing the three pressing needs of the youth—education, engagement, and livelihoods—has become a central tenet of global and continental policy discussions. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) consider youth as essential partners for achieving inclusive and peaceful societies.

Africans of all ages seem to understand that if the youth are suffering and unable to establish productive livelihoods, it becomes a societal problem. As such, many agree that there is a need for intervention from the government and other stakeholders in addressing the challenge of youth unemployment in Africa.…

The two south American nations are exploring methods to increase bilateral commerce and wean themselves off the mighty US currency. Its announcement has been widely criticized since they are not a natural fit for a single currency. This is due to one country’s relative economic prosperity and the other’s economic upheaval. This experience between Brazil and Argentina is instructive and illustrative for African nations with comparable aspirations to develop a single currency.

• Brazil and Argentina announced early last month that they would create a joint currency to increase trade and political relations.
• Similarly Africa has expressed the same ambitions at different times. The advent of AfCFTA gives further impetus to the concept that Brazil and Argentina has reignited.
• Brazil and Argentina first came up with the idea of a joint currency in the 1980s but it never took off because economic fundamentals.
• The joint currency experiment by Brazil and Argentina