Browsing: South Africa

Distributed Power Africa (DPA), a subsidiary of the Econet Group of companies, and Econet is a Pan African Technology, and Telecommunications group, operating in more than 20 African countries, is installing a 1MW solar system for Africa Data Centres’ facility in Nairobi, Kenya.

 According to DPA, this is the third installation it is deploying this year for Africa Data Centre, with the first phase having been completed in May and currently working on phase 2. Africa Data Centre is the continent’s first and largest network of interconnected, carrier and cloud neutral data centre facilities, rapidly expanding across the region. While serving Africa’s largest domestic and international customers, Africa Data Centre has become a leader in deploying sustainable technologies across its facilities in Africa.  

Africa Data Centre’s Nairobi is also the first carrier-neutral facility in the East Africa region, and its largest and most connected operation, with a total of 2000 …

South Africa’s state-run airports’ management company grounded Zimbabwe’s debt-strapped national airline from using the country’s airports over the unpaid landing and parking fees.

Air Zimbabwe’s debts to foreign and domestic creditors have reached more than $300 million. Last year,  the government of Zimbabwe put the airline under administration and later invited bids from potential investors as it seeks to privatise it.

Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) grounded Air Zimbabwe’s only international destination said the airline had failed to pay passenger service charges, landing and parking fees and an undisclosed amount towards clearing its arrears.

Officials of the airline also confirmed that the aircraft was held at Johannesburg’s Oliver Tambo International Airport on Wednesday.

In a statement by ACSA the company said Air Zimbabwe had not adhered to the cash basis terms for using its airports and the suspension would remain until outstanding amounts are settled.

Also Read: Ethiopian Airlines, Air

South Africa’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Uganda increased to 1.3 billion U.S. dollars in 2018 from 803 million dollars in 2017.

While opening the South Africa-Uganda Business Summit, Uganda’s Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda said South Africa FDI in has more than doubled from 626 million dollars in 2016.

Mr Rugunda said that over 70 South African companies are registered and running top businesses in Uganda and are estimated to have total assets of over $3Billion.

He added that the rise of inflows in Uganda has helped it grow its FDI stock to $13.3 billion in 2018 equivalent to about 48% of the country’s GDP.

In 2017, Uganda export totalled to US$2.79 billion while its import totalled to US$5.84Billion resulting in a negative trade balance of US$.3.05 billion. That year Uganda’s GDP was US$26 Billion while its GDP per capita was US$1.86 thousand.

Also Read: Africa’s FDI still on the

Distributed Power Africa (DPA) has unveiled a 1.2MW solar installation at Liquid Telecom’s  Campus in Midrand, Johannesburg –one of their largest projects to date in South Africa. Recently, the company also announced a major deal with Tesla to bring Powerwalls into Zimbabwe, as a part of their telecoms power solution.

According to the CEO of DPA Africa, Norman Moyo “This solar deployment to Liquid Telecom Midrand is a major development in improving energy security for critical users like data centres.  It will improve their power security and energy efficiencies.  The power needs of data centres tend to be heavy and sensitive, and DPA’s engineering hopes to provide a reliable power supply to keep this operation running with no downtime.”

DPA designed and is engineering the Liquid Telecom Midrand solar plant as a combined carport and rooftop solution, that will come complete with a real-time power monitoring system.  This initiative is …

Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa has slowed through 2019, hampered by persistent uncertainty in the global economy and slow pace of domestic reforms, World Bank has said.

According to the 20^th edition of Africa’s Pulse, World Bank’s biannual economic update for the region, overall growth in Sub-Saharan Africa is projected to rise to 2.6 per cent in 2019 from 2.5 per cent in 2018.

This is a 0.2 percentage points lower than the April forecast. This edition of Africa’s Pulse includes special sections on accelerating poverty reduction and promoting women’s empowerment.

“Empowering women will help boost growth. African policy makers face an important choice-business as usual or deliberate steps toward a more inclusive economy,” says Hafez Ghanem, World Bank Vice President for Africa.

“After several years of slower-than-expected growth, closing the opportunity gap for women by removing barriers to their economic participation is the best way forward,”Ghanem adds.

Global …

While most African countries are bearing the brunt of the US-China trade war as well as a slump in commodity prices which is greatly affecting exporters, East Africa economies have remained resilient.

This is on the region’s economic diversity which is playing a key role in cushioning the region from shocks, the latest report from ICAEW – the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales – Economic Update: Africa Q3 2019 indicates.

The report provides GDP growth forecasts for various regions including East Africa which is set to grow by 6.3 per cent, West and Central Africa at 3.4 per cent, Franc Zone at 4.7 per cent and Southern Africa at 1.3 per cent.

The report, commissioned by ICAEW and produced by partner and forecaster Oxford Economics, outlines how East Africa’s growth is mainly driven by strong performances in the two major economies, Kenya and Ethiopia.

READ ALSO:How

Bowmans Law firm, a leading pan African legal entity specializing in business deals, merger and acquisitions (M&A) is set to launch its base in Ethiopia and Mauritius at the beginning of October 2019. The move is seen as an expansion of the company to two countries where FDIs have remained high coupled with financial growth.

Bowmans is opening a fully-fledged office in Mauritius, having joined forces with FirmWise, a local firm that specialises in corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, banking and finance, investment funds, tax, compliance and private equity.

Robert Legh, chairman, and senior partner, says ‘This move, which is effective from 1 October 2019, is an investment in the ambitions and success of our clients across Africa. Mauritius and Ethiopia are key jurisdictions for many of our clients and our presence on the ground there will help us to better support them.’

The law firm already has a presence …

An Austrian company Technik-Plus has developed a cutting-edge Carbon Farming-technology in their Impuls-Centre in Mureck, Southern Austria,  for sustainable and gently mechanized farming with a strong commitment to conservation and environmental sustainability and a special focus on African agriculture.

The company has been making inroads in several countries in Africa with significant sales in South Africa, Uganda, Gambia and Morocco. They are in talks with farmer’s organizations in Kenya and Nigeria with a targeted niche in semi-arid agriculture in many African nations.

The Austrian company says it has sales contacts in all 55 African countries and is looking at possibly developing local license assembly in specific countries for their tractors, which is expected to create local jobs and makes it a 50% African product.

Beside their pneumatic air seeders, the company also construct “exhaust-farming” systems, which means, they blow the carbon emissions of the tractor’s exhaust pipe back into the …

Hawassa Industrial park sits 140 miles south of Addis Ababa. The park was built by China Civil Engineering Corporation in 2016 and has so far attracted several international companies. The park is part of a long-term vision to grow Ethiopia into a production hub. It houses factories including textile and agro-processing and has 25,000 employees producing garments.

In the last 5 to 6 years, the textile, and apparel industry have grown at an average of 51% and more than 65 international textile investment projects have been licensed for foreign investors, during this period.

According to the World Investment Report, Ethiopia is one of the top-performing African countries in FDI flow, especially in the textile sector. The government of Ethiopia believes that textile would help the nation to join middle-income status in 2025. As the way forward, the Ethiopian government has been building industrial parks at different cities of the country …

President Cyril Ramaphosa has arrived in Biarritz, France to take part in the G7 Summit that is focused on the elimination of inequalities of various kinds globally, the presidency said on Sunday.

The G7 comprises France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada, whose government leaders meet annually to discuss important global economic, political, social, and security issues.

President Ramaphosa was invited to this year’s G7 Summit by the host, President Emmanuel Macron of France. The summit is structured into three tracks: G7 and Africa Partnership co-opting South Africa, Rwanda, Egypt, Burkina Faso, Senegal, and the chair of the African Union Commission; the G7 and four Biarritz Partners which are South Africa, India, Australia, and Chile; then the G7 and all partners.

“The working visit will also provide a platform for President Ramaphosa and members of Cabinet to invite global partners to experience South Africa as …