Browsing: West Africa

Africa Data Centres

Africa Data Centres to build largest facility in West Africa

Tech & Business
  • Data centres are IT facilities that manage big organisations’ data. They house state-of-the-art computing infrastructure with very powerful machines. 
  • The new facility will be built on a part of the former Trade Fair showgrounds site, one of the key central locations in the city. 
  • This new facility is part of Africa Data Centres’ continental expansion plans spanning 10 of Africa’s major economic hubs. 

Africa Data Centres, the largest network of interconnected data centre facilities on the continent, is set to open West Africa’s largest facility in Ghana in the next 12 months. The firm announced it will shortly start construction on its newly acquired land in Accra, Ghana. 

The new facility has been designed for an initial 10MW, which can expand to 30MW depending on demand. It will be the largest facility in West Africa to date, outside of Nigeria.

“We continue to bring internationally recognised services and products through …

Debt burden, high inflation adding growth vulnerabilities to Africa

Investing
  • The World Bank projects Sub-Saharan Africa’s economic growth will dip to 3.1 per cent in 2023.
  • Weakening growth is attributable to multiple crises including debt burden, high inflation, and slowing global economic activity this year.
  • Policymakers across Sub Sahara Africa, however, remain hopeful of navigating the impact of global economic disruptions key among them the Russia-Ukraine war that has constrained food imports

A huge debt portfolio, high inflation and slowing economic activity across the globe are set to see Sub-Saharan Africa’s economic growth dip further to 3.1 per cent this year from 3.6 per cent posted in 2022.

The projection by the World Bank comes even as policymakers across Sub Sahara Africa remain hopeful of navigating the impact of global economic disruptions key among them the Russia-Ukraine war that is constraining food imports coupled with high fuel prices which is worsening inflation.

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund …

Exploring the Variances in Africa’s Economic Growth: A Tale of Four Regions

Countries
  • East Africa is anticipated to have the highest performance, surpassing other regions.
  • Central Africa is projected to experience growth of 4.7% in 2022, up from 3.6% in 2021.
  • West Africa's growth fell to 3.6% in 2022, down from 4.4% in 2021. In the medium term, it is anticipated to increase, hitting 4.1% in 2023.
  • In 2022, growth in Southern Africa is projected to continue modest, falling to 2.5% from 4.3% in 2021.

The slowing of Africa's average growth conceals cross-regional variances, which primarily reflect disparities in the structure of economies, commodity dependency, differential impact of global exogenous shocks, and domestic policy responses to buffer the impact of these shocks.

According to the new biannual publication of the African Development Bank Group, Africa's Macroeconomic Performance and Forecast, East Africa is anticipated to have the highest performance, surpassing other regions.

This, as economies in the region continue to implement post-Covid-19 epidemic recovery…

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EABC-TMEA holds a dialogue in Elegu-Nimule OSBP. www.theexchange.africa

TradeMark East Africa rebrands to TradeMark Africa, expands to West Africa

Investing
  • TradeMark East Africa has rebranded to TradeMark Africa (TMA) and simultaneously officially launched its West Africa operations
  • The organisation now has a presence in fourteen countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), including Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique, and Ghana 
  • TradeMark has made cumulative investments of over $1.3 billion since 2010 to reduce the time and costs of trading across borders, and to improve the export competitiveness of African businesses

TradeMark East Africa has rebranded to TradeMark Africa (TMA) and simultaneously officially launched its West Africa operations.

Founded in 2010 in Kenya, TMA marks an expansion from its previous core operational area of East Africa and the Horn of Africa to also support countries in West and Southern Africa.

TradeMark Africa now has a presence in fourteen countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA): Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), South Sudan, Ethiopia, Somaliland, Djibouti, Malawi, …

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) boasts of some of Africa's largest economies with Nigeria oil economy leading the bloc. Photo/BusinessTrumpetNews

ECOWAS confident of positive economic prospects in 2023 despite global outlook

Regional Markets

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) boasts of some of Africa's largest economies, but like many economies of the world, the 15 member states of ECOWAS are facing both endemic and global challenges that could undermine the region’s economic growth in in 2023.

While two years ago in 2020, before the global pandemic struck, a majority of ECOWAS countries were enjoying the commodity boom with the region’s three of its largest economies - Nigeria, Ghana, and Côte d’Ivoire - accounting for one-fourth of Africa’s GDP.

Unfortunately, short of a change in the global economic projection, it will be a challenge for these West African countries to replicate the pre-pandemic growth. The global economic forecast paints a depressed economy in2023 and at best sluggish growth for more diversified economies, spilling over from the after math of the pandemic, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and widespread inflation.  

A global analysis released

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Dangote Cement, MTN Nigeria and BUA Cement account for 53 per cent market cap of the top 30 companies in West Africa. www.theexchange.africa

Nigeria’s capital market positive US dollar returns in September

Investing

Big cap stocks are far more profitable with ROE’s of 67 per cent compared to 21 per cent for mid cap stocks. Further, their stock market returns are superior to mid-cap stocks.

Nestle Nigeria had the highest on Return on Equity of 215.4 per cent with a share price at 1,215.00 NGN. While, International Breweries had the lowest Return on Equity of a negative 2.5 per cent with a share price at 4.95 NGN as of September 30, 2022.

Nestle Nigeria Plc listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange is a food manufacturing and marketing company in Nigeria and a subsidiary of the largest food and beverage company in the world. The company produces an extensive range of products for the retail and wholesale sectors.…

Nigeria's residential elections

A surprise candidate leads the race in Nigeria’s presidential elections in 2023

Nigeria

Some have wondered whether Obi will manage to upset the status quo that has defined Nigerian politics since 1999. However, great support for Obi has been borne of the young generation’s apparent frustration with Nigeria’s political class.

More specific, many people view the presidential candidates from the two major political parties, APC and PDP, as representatives of status quo politics that have left Nigeria on the brink of economic shutdown.

In the run-up to Nigeria’s presidential elections in 2023, the electorate confronts the challenges of soaring inflation, a plummeting currency, and prevalent insecurity. Crude oil, Nigeria’s economic backbone, has seen its production slump to multi-decade lows. Moreover, the government has seen its debt service exceed the earned revenue in the first quarter of 2022.…

West Africa: Economic sectors to benefit most from the AfCFTA

Business

For historic reasons, bilateral and regional trade in Africa has been hampered by trade routes designed for export away from the continent rather than for facilitating intra-Africa trade. Obstacles include long distances, inadequate transport services, and inefficient institutional and transit regimes.

In many landlocked African countries, economic centres are located several hundred kilometres away from the closest seaport. Overcoming geographic constraints or the lack of economies of scale caused by small transportation volumes is key for all countries, particularly transit countries. A renewed focus on the efficiency of transport and logistics services is long overdue, given that many countries retain policies that favour closed, small, and inefficient services markets.

By committing to no new barriers to services trade during the progressive liberalization process, at least in the five priority sectors—business, communication, financial, transport, and tourism services, and with declining trade costs—the transport sector is bound to expand.…

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Africa is at the core of the global climate change catastrophe. www.theexchange.africa

Africa: Climate change effects worsen agricultural output, food security

Countries

Africa’s fast population growth exacerbates the issue. According to most estimates, Africa’s population will double by 2050 and then double again by 2100, finally reaching over 4 billion by the end of the century. Feeding Africa’s rising population will need considerable breakthroughs in the continent’s food systems.

However, agricultural progress may be difficult if African farmers are subjected to more severe climatic effects. To prepare for these future difficulties, one must understand how climate change will materialize in Africa and its impact on the continent’s agricultural systems.…

A Russian invasion of Ukraine has sent shockwaves through financial markets. www.theexchange.africa

Russia-Ukraine: Spill-over effects take toll on West Africa

Business

Every African region has felt the effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with West Africa also bearing the burden of a war miles away in Europe.

  • At a period when West Africa has been facing a severe food crisis since 2011, the Ukraine conflict has complicated matters further.
  • For most West African nations, the expenses of regulating rising prices are already too high.
  • The West African economic crisis and the Russia-Ukraine scenario highlight the perilous linkages between diplomatic sanctions, commerce, and food security.

Africa's post-Covid recovery hampered

The Russian-Ukrainian conflict has hampered Africa's potential recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic by raising food and fuel costs, interrupting the trade of services and goods, constricting fiscal space, limiting green transitions, and slowing the flow of development funding across the continent.

The crisis has jeopardized homes, communities, and nations across Africa. Before 2020, African countries were among the world's fastest-growing. The COVID-19 pandemic…

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