Browsing: Businesses in Africa

• Kenya’s President William Ruto is urging Africa to shift from exports of raw materials to industrial processing of goods. He says African economies must change tact to revamp import/export trade.
• Comesa bloc has a combined GDP of $805 billion and a global export/import trade in goods worth $324 billion. 
• In a radical move, Dr Ruto calls for merging of Comesa, the East African Community, and the Southern African Development Community. 

Kenya’s President William Ruto is calling on the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) member-state to embrace industrial processing of to boost the value of exports and in turn enhance Africa’s share of global trade. 

In a radical shift that is also seeking to boost trade across Africa, Dr Ruto is also calling for the consolidation of trading blocs Comesa, the East African Community, and the Southern African Development Community.

Industrial processing to boost Africa trade

By joining …

A total of six banks from the Middle East and Asia have raised a combined $625 million in syndicated loan to finance Africa’s infrastructure under the African Finance Corporation (AFC). 

Through the AFC, Gulf Bank, National Bank of Ras Al-Khaimah, China CITIC Bank Corporation, Qatar National Bank, Doha Bank and Industrial Bank of Korea Limited joined the syndicate as first-time lenders throwing their weight behind the leading infrastructure solutions financier in Africa. …

• The deal will revamp the financing of imports of oil, sugar, wheat, cement, construction equipment, vehicles, and consumer goods. 
• It will also support the purchase, processing, storage, and transportation of fisheries and mining products for export.
• IFC will also provide advisory support to Banque Populaire de Mauritanie (BPM), strengthening its corporate governance capacity.

Businesses across Mauritania are set to receive enhanced financial support following the International Finance Corporation’s (IFC) move to provide the Banque Populaire de Mauritanie (BPM) with $10 million a trade credit line. 

The trade facility will help BPM scale up lending to businesses to finance imports of oil products. Further, importers of sugar, wheat, cement, construction equipment, vehicles, and consumer goods will benefit. 

IFC loan to revamp export trade

The facility will also support the purchase, processing, storage, and transportation of fisheries and mining products for export.

Despite having vast natural resources, Mauritania faces challenges such as …

• The Kigali Bulk Water Supply Project will be AfDB’s first private sector operation in landlocked Rwanda.
• The initiative covers the installation of a new water treatment plant, the building new wells and rehabilitating existing ones.
• It is also providing pipelines, storage reservoirs, pumping stations and water points in various parts of Kigali city.

The African Development Bank (AfDB)-backed water distribution project in Kigali, Rwanda, will benefit about 500,000 people. Rwanda, along with various development partners and agencies, has prioritised investments in water infrastructure and implemented reforms to enhance access to safe and reliable water sources.

Currently, water supply in Kigali is managed by the Water and Sanitation Corporation (WASAC). The entity is a public utility responsible for water production, treatment, and distribution. WASAC has been working to expand and upgrade the water supply infrastructure to meet the growing demand in the city.

Kigali yet to offer universal water

For survival, businesses need to guard against the negative effect of the elections by geographically diversifying their revenue streams. Revenue streams from different sources could help balance fluctuations.

While not all businesses are able to this, there is the need to come up with plans to cushion their businesses.

In order to plan effectively, it is critical to first assess the threat at hand. Some firms, such as those that provide critical goods and services, may be less adversely affected than others. A company’s sales may actually grow during election time especially for those working in the printing sector since they can produce campaign materials like posters and t-shirts. …