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open-pit-mining-1327116_1280

The African continent has been endowed with about 30 per cent of the world’s total mineral reserves with over 60 different types of minerals. If more geological surveys are conducted systematically there is potential to discover even more extensive tracts of mineral deposits.  

Minerals are vital inputs in the production of a broad range of consumer goods, infrastructure and agricultural materials and they are also used in making transport, communication and energy applications. Minerals are a necessity in the industrialisation of many nations across the globe.…

While the world is building off the hype that going green or carbon offsets are the new future, we here in Africa are building a pipeline aimed to continue to destroy the earth. Is it fair then that Africa doesn’t really matter in the grand “reset” of the global order, where western countries and companies are coming to dictate what needs to be done in Africa, as a means to drive profit? Much needs to be considered as we Africans are moving toward building energy economies.

It is the 21st Century, twenty plus years into the new millennium; we are a civilized learned people. We have digitized, gone paperless, our phones are smarter than us and we drive, or rather are driven by electric cars. …

EAC hotline to report NTBs.pics

Dr. Mathuki has hit the ground running and having come from being at the helm of the East African Business Council (EABC), a regional business arm of the EAC, he understands the struggles that the common trader faces while doing business within the bloc.  This makes him an ideal leader as he makes decisions based on the experiences he has been encountering when he was on the other side of the table.  

Dr. Mathuki has now vowed to improve trade in the region which currently stands at 15 per cent by removing some of the challenges threatening the stability of regional trade.  According to him, some of the persistent NTBs include restricted market access for goods and un-harmonized charges that continue to frustrate intra-EAC trade. He says that investment by increasing transaction costs and curtailing movement of goods are contributing to the low intra-EAC trade.  “EAC intra-regional trade is under …

Green Buildings minigrid

Nature is in crisis, warns the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and as such, it calls on world leaders meeting for the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) virtual summit (May-June), to pass the 30×30 plan, i.e. to turn 30% of the Earth into protected areas.

 

Led by Tanzania’s Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, who serves as the Executive Secretary for the UN Biodiversity Convention, the CBD is of the view that the more land is set aside, the more the planet can revive itself. 

Ongoing degradation of oceans, lands, and freshwater systems is destroying the planet’s ability to support life. It is so far reported that already up to a million species worldwide face extinction. …

Central Bank of Ethiopia (FUrther Africa)

Consider this, the first US 100 dollar bill note was issued in 1862 and the version that you know now, the Federal Reserve note featuring the US founding Father Benjamin Franklin on the foreside,  was actually launched in 1914. This means that if your great, great, great grandfather happened to bury a chest full of US100 dollar bills since then, you could still today unearth it and the bill would be accepted as legal tender i.e. the same bill note is still in circulation today. 

 Well not quite but you get the idea.  Actually, the US100 dollar bill that is used today came into circulation on July 13, 1969 and as of December 2018, the average life of a $100 bill in circulation is approximately 30 years before it is replaced due to wear. …

The Household Budget Survey (HBS) report for 2019/2020 was released by the office of the chief government statistician (OCGS) in May painting the poverty reduction agenda on different levels, as the tool collected information pertaining to private households’ economic activities, household income and expenditure, housing characteristics and expenditure. 

The HBS report argued that the 2019/20 HBS helped in evaluating Zanzibar’s performance concerning the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as well as regional development strategies.  

Zanzibar is the semi-autonomous region of the United Republic of Tanzania, made up of two isles, Pemba

Zanzibar International Tourism Show- The Exchange

and Unguja, inhabited by more than 1.7 million people. The archipelago is dominated by two main economic operations, agriculture and services, particularly the tourism service industry.  …

The bitter truth of the Kenyan sugar subsector. Sugar- Freepik

Out of 55 countries in Africa, 33 are engaged in sugar production. There are 16 sugar factories in Kenya, of which only 12 are operational. The government owns five of these while seven are privately owned making up a sector that collectively supports more than eight million Kenyans. 

 

This sector has a high potential, but continues to take serious beating from various factors that stifle it. The country produces about 600,000 tonnes a year, but it is not enough for local consumption, a situation that has pushed Betty Maina, the Cabinet Secretary for Industry, Trade and Enterprise Development to announce plans to import 90,000 tonnes of sugar from Uganda to bridge the deficit, the reason why the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) has called for the revival of the sugar industry.…

Football (ShopIt)

I love football. And I love clever, secure, creative, impactful investment. The fact that most of what we find, and I personally invest in, has a meaningful and measurable impact on those who need a hand-up, and not a hand-out, is a constant source of joy to me.  

Having followed football and my English team for more than 45 years I have been saddened to see the adverse effect that money has had on football – and the detrimental effect that money has had on the beautiful game at the lower levels and in leagues outside of Europe. But it is the huge amount of money that now washes through football that is offering me the chance to help to create soccer academies in East Africa – allowing young and talented African footballers to transform their lives and the lives of their families and communities; and investors to make very …

Does politics make good business sense

Tanzania is advancing towards the top and it seems nothing can stop it. The nation’s central bank (BoT) report, Economic Bulletin for the Quarter ending March 2021, showcased how the country is navigating through different sections of the economy, including its stringent monetary policies, public finance, financial market developments and external sector (imports and exports). 

The bank highlighted that the economy is projected to grow by 5.7 per cent this year, propelled by public investment and normalization of global trade and investment. 

At the moment Tanzania is proving to be courting investment, by adjusting its investment climate, setting the right tone to attract investors and forging strong partnerships—Kenya and Tanzania’s recent business agreement and the profitable East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) between Tanzania and Uganda evidence how serious is Tanzania about business. …

rwanda

At the turn of the millennium, the Rwandan government purposed what became known as Vision 2020. The government’s goal in implementing this policy was to move from an agricultural-based economy to a digitized and middle-income society by the year 2020. Having made this bold assertion, the government facilitated the linking of the country to global wireless networks. With increased connectivity, Rwanda’s tech revolution began.  

To date, mobile phones are very popular in the country, with connectivity available in rural areas. In asserting its commitment to the provision of ICT tools and programs, the Rwandan 500 franc note is embossed with a picture of young children working on laptops. ICT gadgets are also available for purchase on credit facilities, with smaller tech companies partnering with leaders in the industry to avail such options to the consumer. …