Sunday, March 30, 2014

Ghana in need of investors to build gold refinery

The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Alhaji Inusah Fuseini, has advised that his government is ready to partner with any investor who will assist the country to build a refinery in order to add value to gold. “It is unfortunate that a country that was branded as Gold Coast by our colonial masters has not been able to brand Ghana’s gold,” he said.

The Minister made this statement when Jeeva Sagar, Indian High Commissioner to Ghana, called on him to discuss how the two

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Lesotho Water Project Enters Phase Two

President Jacob Zuma recently visited Lesotho to witness the start of phase two of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP), according to iOL. It’s part of the government’s infrastructure development program. According to LHWP, with this phase South Africa will increase water security for Gauteng, while Lesotho will receive royalty payments from South Africa, and 3,500 to 4,000 jobs will be created during the construction phase.

Through the treaty between South Africa and

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The African Woman: An Evolving Enigma

The African woman has always been a mother and a keeper of the house, but she was nothing more other than ‘maker’ of children. Largely stereotyped and overlooked, she was never considered for what she could contribute to an economy. The widely held African belief of women being inferior to men lingered until recently, and the African economy has been better for it.

Gardiol van Niekerk of the University of South Africa once wrote; “the outcomes of historical research are to some

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Goodluck Jonathan Advises African Leaders On Industrialization Plan

President Goodluck Jonathan on Saturday said African leaders should prioritize the structural transformation of African economy if they must achieve regional industrialization initiative. Jonathan said this in Abuja at the 7th Joint Annual Meeting of the Economic Community of African Conference of African Ministers of Finance.

He said, "The theme of this conference, industrialization for inclusive and transformative development in Africa is of special relevance to Africa at this

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Saturday, March 29, 2014

The Extravagance Of The African Billionaire

When hopping on a plane it is understandable that you might carry a few personal belongings with you: a toothbrush or some bed socks, a little cash for incidentals in the airport or in-flight, duty-free shopping. So one can only imagine Christo Wiese’s surprise when he was stopped by customs at Heathrow Airport for carrying what he considered “small change”. Customs confiscated over $1 million in cash, the South African billionaire had bundled into rolls with elastic bands and nestled

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Africa Investment Round Up

With focus shifting away from developed markets, Africa’s emerging markets brim with opportunities and potentials capable of sustaining continuous economic growth and high yield for investors. Public sector investments on the continent heightened lately, as international bodies such as the World Bank and IMF continued to pour out funds for infrastructure and economic development while private sector investment remains largely driven by financial institutions, with banks, private equity

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SABMiller To Encourage BEE Suppliers For Namibia Brewing Operations

Beer maker SABMiller Namibia will focus on three strategies core to its operations: effectively managing the economic, social and environmental impacts of its business on host communities, Managing Director of Castle Brewing Namibia, Cobus Bruwer has disclosed. SABMiller has been importing beer into Namibia through Castle Brewing Namibia for over 20 years, already holding a 22 percent share of the Namibian market.

Bruwer told local weekly newspaper, Namibia Economist about the

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Zambia to engage operators regarding young internet users

The Zambian government plans to engage mobile phone operators and internet service providers on the development of safety features and tools appropriate for younger internet users. As in many countries in the region, the number of children having access to the internet using mobile phones and computers is steadily growing but without a corresponding development of tools to protect them online.

Ministry of Communications and Transport permanent secretary, Charles Sipanje, said Zambia

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Reform Progressing on Many Fronts In Rwanda

In a checkout line at Kigali's Nakumatt shopping center, employees pack groceries in paper bags. After non-biodegradable polythene bags were banned in 2008, owners found that stocking plastic in their stores carried a risk of going to jail. The ban is part of an environmental campaign that has earned Rwanda the reputation as the cleanest country in Africa.

Another hallmark initiative is "Umuganda," a mandatory day of community service held on the last Saturday of every month. Adan

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Friday, March 28, 2014

The Africa Group Acquires 25 percent Stake In Ethiopia’s Telemed Medical Services

The Africa Group (TAG), a US-based boutique advisor and venture capital investor, has acquired a 25 percent stake in Telemed Medical Services (Telemed), an Ethiopian engineering services that designs health systems in Ethiopia. With this investment, TAG will gain exposure to the continent’s fourth largest consumer market, with focus on a rapidly-expanding mobile sector.

Since its introduction in 2012, Telemed has launched innovative healthcare services including, Hello Doctor, which

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Kenya’s I&M Bank Posts a $57.5 million Profit For 2013

Kenya-based I&M Bank Group recorded a profit of 20.8 percent profit after tax in the year ending December 2013, with earnings rising from the Sh4.12 billion ($47.6 million) in 2012 to Sh4.98 billion ($57.5 million). The bank said profit was buoyed by improved lending, which was encouraged by stability of interest and foreign exchange rates. Loan grew from Sh71 billion ($820 million) to Sh91.9 billion ($1.1 billion). Customer deposits also increased to Sh97.1 billion.

DailyNation

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Darren Sammy leads the West Indies to sensational victory over Australia at the Twenty20 Championship

West Indies Captain, Darren Sammy. PHOTO/File

West Indies skipper Darren Sammy smashed a cameo unbeaten 34 to fire West Indies to an exciting six-wicket win over Australia in their Group 2 match of the World Twenty20 Championship in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Friday.

With West Indies requiring 12 from the last over in pursuit of 179 for victory, Sammy twice cleared the ropes against seamer James Faulkner off the third and fourth deliveries, to deliver a sensational win for the defending

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South Africa: Oscar Pistorius murder trial to be delayed until April 7

Oscar Pistorius of South Africa at the London 2012 Olympic Games. PHOTO/Olivier Morin/AFP/Getty Images

The murder trial of Oscar Pistorius has been delayed until April 7 because one of the legal experts who will assist the judge in reaching a verdict is sick, abruptly ending expectations Friday that the double-amputee athlete was about to testify on his fatal shooting of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

Judge Thokozile Masipa announced the delay in court on the day Pistorius's defence

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Microsoft’s ‘MySkill4Africa’ To Equip African Professionals

As part of its 4Afrika initiative, software giant, Microsoft Inc. has launched its “MySkills4Africa” training program which will help equip about 200,000 African professionals with technical and non-technical skills. By 2016, Microsoft hopes to up the skills of 200,000 Africans – half of which will be from the existing workforce and 100,000 recent graduates, 75 percent of which the company will help place in jobs.

According to Microsoft Kenya’s Country Manager, Kunle Awosika,

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Thursday, March 27, 2014

Youth Entrepreneurship Deficit Spotted In North, Central Africa

Data from this year’s Anzisha Prize applications reveal a potential shortage of young entrepreneurs, particularly women, in North and Central Africa. While 55 percent of the African youth population between 15 and 24 is female, young women only make up 25 percent of the current Anzisha Prize applicant pool.

This follows an aggressive push to reach young entrepreneurs by partnering organizations including Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE). Results however show marginal

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Within 2 to 3 years, lots of Mega-millionaires will come out of Africa

With the swagger of a new generation, Shoreline swept up former Shell assets in 2012 to join the vanguard of nigeria's indigenous upstream revolution. Kola Karim, Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Shoreline Energy International spoke to The Africa Report.

The Africa Report: How are things changing in the oil sector with regard to the financing of projects?

Kola Karim: What is happening today is we've now got a commanding position as African corporates because of

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Tony Elumelu to address Obama’s Power Africa Initiative before Senate

The US Senate Subcommittee on Africa is set to kick-start discussions on President Barack Obama’s proposed $7 billion Power Africa initiative, aimed at developing the continent’s energy infrastructure during a hearing this afternoon. Considered as the most significant African issue to be debated by the senate since the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) was introduced in 14 years ago, cases, arguments and testimonies aimed at informing and convincing the committee to push

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Spotlight On Africa CEO Of The Year Daphne Mashile-Nkosi

An African woman can make her mark in South Africa’s historically male-dominated mining industry. That’s what mining magnate Daphne Mashile-Nkosi said last week in Geneva when she made her acceptance speech after winning CEO of the Year at the African CEO Forum, according to a report in DestinyConnect.

Known to many as the “iron lady” of South Africa’s male-dominated mining industry, Mashile-Nkosi was among the African business leaders nominated for African CEO of the

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Africa Looks to Nuclear Power to Light Up Continent

At least three African nations are looking to add nuclear power to their grid. Kenya and Nigeria want to establish nuclear energy, and South Africa, the only sub-Saharan nation with nuclear facilities, is looking to expand its capabilities. Until now, African nations have relied on age-old forms of energy generation: Hydropower and coal among them.

But those sources have taken a social and environmental toll, displacing communities. But does Africa have the means to turn on nuclear

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Capitec Bank spreads its net in South Africa

The bank's business model, based on unsecured loans and low-cost transactions, has proved successful as it seeks to attract the unbanked population. Blowing up in growth, would be the only way to describe the way Capitec Bank has appeared on the South African banking scene since it was established on 1 March 2001.

In the space of 12 years, the bank has established a franchise that now spans 589 branches, 9,000 staff and 4.7 million clients. The business was the brainchild of Riaan

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Godwin Emefiele Succeeds Sanusi as the new Governor of the Central Bank Of Nigeria

The Nigerian Senate has confirmed Godwin Emefiele as the country’s new central bank governor. According to a statement released by Standard Bank, Emefiele will assume office in June when the term of former central bank governor Lamido Sanusi expires. Emefiele’s nomination by President Goodluck Jonathan and subsequent confirmation comes soon after the highly publicized ousting of Sanusi from office, amid accusations of fraud and abuse of power.

Emefiele has been the managing

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Hotel Search Portal, Jovago, Launches In Kenya And Senegal

African hotel booking website Jovago has launched in Kenya and Senegal as it seeks to bring hotel booking services closer to customers across Africa. The company founded by African Internet Holding (AIH) launched in Nigeria last year as jovago.com and has recorded great success encouraging it to expand to other parts of the continent with robust tourism industry which provides a good market for Jovago’s services.

According to Marek Zmyslowskim, Managing Director of Jovago.com, “The

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Ethiopian Chamber Of Commerce Establishes Business Academy

[caption id="attachment_415329" align="alignnone" width="515" caption="Mulu Solomon Head of Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce"][/caption]

The Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce and Sectorial Association (ECCSA) has launch business academy to help improve the business culture in the country by training youth and other members of the association on modern leadership and management skills. The program dabbed “Chamber Academy” is in a partnership with the Center for International Private

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Eskom appoints Collin Matjilla as acting CEO

National power utility, Eskom has appointed Collin Matjila as acting chief executive, with effect from 1 April 2014. Matjila, currently a member of the Eskom board and formerly chairman of the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa), will take over from current CEO Brian Dames. “We are very excited to have Collin Matjila as the acting chief executive of Eskom given his vast knowledge and experience of the electricity industry,” said Eskom chairman, Zola Tsotsi.

Tsotsi

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Ghana receives $3.8 million injection for ICT sector

International humanitarian organisation Rockefeller Foundation has announced a $3.8 million grant to facilitate completion of a mini ICT park to be located in central Accra, Ghana. The philanthropic foundation has collaborated with World Bank to empower the West African nation's IT and IT enabled service industry, reveals a statement.

According to the foundation, the grant complements the World Bank’s $5 million provided under the eGhana Project and is part of the its Digital Jobs

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Robert L. Johnson with his RLJ Credit Opportunity Fund gets into telecom market with ShareTracker investment

Founder and Chairman of The RLJ Companies., Robert L. Johnson

Robert L. Johnson, Founder and Chairman of The RLJ Companies and Chairman of RLJ Credit Opportunity Fund, an RLJ portfolio company, yesterday announced an investment in ShareTracker, a leading provider of communications and telecom market share measurement products.

The announcement supports ShareTracker's efforts to expands its current existing wireless, video, voice and data market share measurement product offerings to

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According to South African Experts, Big Data Reaching Tipping Point

Ask 10 people what big data is and you’ll get 10 different answers. Big data is not about technology, it’s about you and what you want it to mean, according to an analysis by South African data experts in All Africa. By as early as 2015, organisations that tap into their data will outperform their competition by more than 20 percent, experts say.

Smartphone apps are the biggest data generators, according the the report. Consumers of the future are always on, willing to share data

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South Africans reluctant to shop online

A majority of South African online shoppers are not convinced about the security of online shopping. This was revealed in a report titled “MasterCard Online Shopping Behavior Study” conducted by MasterCard and presented in Johannesburg yesterday. According to the study, 90% of South African online shoppers say that better security would convince them to spend more online.

Meanwhile, 42% stated they don’t want to shop online because they are afraid of the lack of security when

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South Africa the Leader in Africa When it Comes to Nuclear Development

South Africa is Africa’s only nuclear power, and the first nation to have voluntarily relinquished its nuclear weapons. The government then committed to being fully transparent about its nuclear activities, which include research and power generation. As other African nations now seek to develop nuclear power, South Africa can provide guidance.

South Africa is Africa’s economic powerhouse and home to its only working source of nuclear energy. The government estimates three

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Côte d'Ivoire's $618 million no-bid government contracts come under scrutiny

Côte d'Ivoire awarded 294 billion CFA francs ($617.87 million) worth of public procurement, nearly 43 percent last year's total by value, via no-bid contracts according to government figures, despite growing donor concern and public suspicion of graft. President Alassane Ouattara has won praise for orchestrating a rapid revival of French-speaking West Africa's leading economy following a decade of political turmoil that ended in a brief 2011 civil war.

Ivory Coast, the world's top

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Standard Charter Becomes Kenya’s Third Most Profitable Bank

Standard Chartered (StanChart) has displaced another UK bank, Barclays to become Kenya’s third most profitable bank, overtaking Barclays in profit earned for the first time in three years. Since 2010, the LSE-listed bank has trailed Kenya’s top three high flyers, KCB, Equity and Barclays, coming fourth in earnings during this period. However, its 2013 financial results showed profit after tax (PAT) of Sh9.2 billion ($106 million), 14 percent higher than Barclays’ Sh7.9 billion

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Egypt: Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi resigns from army, declares intention to run for President

Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, the Egyptian military chief who last summer removed the elected Islamist president, announced Wednesday that he has resigned from the military and will run for president in elections scheduled for next month.

In a nationally televised speech, al-Sisi appeared in his military uniform, saying that it was the last time he would wear it because he was giving it up "to defend the nation" by running for president. He said he was "responding to a call from the

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Haiti: Historic agreement ends political impasse - legislative elections to be held by end of 2014

(PRNewswire) - Port-AU-Prince, Haiti - Haitian protagonists from different political sides have clinched a historical agreement to end a political impasse which had posed a threat to the holding of crucial elections and the Caribbean country's stability.

At the end of a series of talks among political actors, representatives of more than 50 political parties, the Executive and Legislative branches, signed, on March 14, an agreement to solve differences on the organization of credible

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Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Telecoms Regulator Denies Nigerian Subscribers Benefits Of Service Penalty

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said it cannot transfer or allocate to mobile subscribers the N647 million ($3.9 million) cash penalty it imposed on three of the country’s mobile service operators – MTN, Airtel and Globacom – for poor quality of service.

The sanction was based on the statistics obtained from the network operating centres of the companies, which indicated that the service provided by the operators fell below the Key Performance Index (KPI) as set by

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Drama hath no boundary like an African leader's Summit

What is Zambia's president Michael Sata so suspicious about? How did Rwanda's president Paul Kagame solve his seating problem? What is the hush-hush talk about Dlamini-Zuma's second job? And why might the 90 year-old Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe be having the last laugh?

An invite is in the post

Zimbabwe's Rebort Mugabe is having a very good 90th year. Not only did the leaders of the southern african Development Community endorse his election landslide in July 2013, they

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African Development Bank says Africa Rising Narrative Still On Course but Economic Discipline Needed

Sub-Saharan Africa's economy will grow more than 6 percent this year, the African Development Bank said on Tuesday, but its president urged governments to build resilience to capital outflows and commodity price shocks. In an interview with Reuters, Donald Kaberuka rejected as "premature" suggestions the 'Africa Rising' narrative might have lost momentum as a slowing China economy depresses prices for commodities such as copper, and the run-down of the U.S. Federal Reserve's

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Ghana producer price inflation doubles in 2 months

Ghana's annual producer price inflation rose sharply for a second month in February to 27.1 percent year-on-year from 23.3 percent in January, due mainly to utility price hikes and the depreciation of the cedi currency. Ghana's producer price inflation has nearly doubled over the past two months from 15.3 in December.

It is watched as an advance indicator of Ghana's consumer price inflation, which rose to a fresh three-year high of 14.0 percent in February. "The utilities sector

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Nigeria’s FCMB Commits $400 million To Power Sector

Nigeria’s First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Group plans to invest $200 million in the country’s power sector as it seeks to support private investors in the critical sector. According to Tolu Osinibi, executive director of the investment banking subsidiary of FCMB Group Plc, FCMB Capital Market Limited, more than $400 million had been committed to power sector financing by the Group. He described as very broad, the Group’s commitment to Nigeria’s power sector, noting that

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Sub-Saharan Africa Becomes Walmart’s New Battleground

With the general instability of the global economy, corporations like to play it safe; Walmart is an example of a multinational which is making a bold move. Acquiring South African grocery chain Massmart offered Walmart a safe foothold to prepare for the next step, which is continental expansion. South Africa is arguably the most westernized country in Africa. Western companies in general perceive it as easier to do business there than in other African nations.

South Africa is also the

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Black Enterprise Interviews Herman J. Russell: The CEO Who Helped Reshape Atlanta’s Skyline

Herman J. Russell purchased his first property in 1946—a vacant lot where he later built a duplex. Over the years, he would acquire and develop numerous real estate projects in the Jim Crow South. He would also build a construction powerhouse that would consistently rank among the largest black-owned companies and reshape the Atlanta skyline.

In recognition of these and other achievements, BLACK ENTERPRISE awarded Russell the A.G. Gaston Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997. He has

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Ghana's oil industry drives port growth

Upgrades at Tema mean that a rig services industry can develop, while the port at Takoradi will grow to compete for regional trade. The Ghana Ports and Har­bours Authority (GPHA) has plans to turn Tema into one of West Africa's highest ­capa­city ports and to set up an oil ser­vices yard, but shippers maintain that high fees are holding back the port's development.

A $2.5 billion expansion at Tema and Takoradi is underway. Due to reach completion in 2018, Tema harbour should be

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West African countries working to stem the spread of Ebola

West African nations are working to contain an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus suspected to have killed at least 59 people in Guinea, with symptoms of the disease reported in neighboring Sierra Leone and Liberia as well.

The spread of Ebola, one of the most lethal infectious diseases known, has spooked nations that are in close proximity to the 3 affected countries. In Guinea's southeast, home to all the confirmed cases, residents are avoiding large gatherings and prices in some

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Barbados moves to abolish mandatory death penalty

Barbados plans to abolish its mandatory death penalty for murder convictions - a penalty that the government has bypassed for three decades.

No killer has been executed in Barbados since 1984 despite the law, but Attorney General Adriel Brathwaite told reporters Tuesday that the automatic penalty should be formally dropped. He said the government is preparing legislation to remove the clause that prevents judges from taking into account the circumstances in which a slaying was committed

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Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Patrice Motsepe Makes $742 million From Landmark BEE Deal

The South African billionaire, Patrice Motsepe, has added over R8 billion ($742 million) to his $2.7 billion fortune after his R200 million ($19 million) investment in Sanlam’s Ubuntu-Botho BEE deal in 2004 recently matured, adding a return of 45 percent per year for the last 10 years.

The Ubuntu-Botho Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) deal, which came to the end of its 10-year contractual period on 31 December 2013, created value of approximately R15 billion (after debts and interests

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Could External Factors be the Cause of South Africa's Economic bubble

South Africa may be experiencing an economic bubble similar to those that caused the downfall of Western economies in 2008. This is according to Jesse Colombo, an economic analyst, who also indicated that South Africa’s is not the only market experiencing the bubble.

According to Colombo, “South Africa does not have one of the most extreme bubbles – there are ones that are much more precarious but, at the same time. I don’t view these individual countries’ bubbles in

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African Business Leaders Discuss Way Forward At 2014 Africa CEO Forum

African capitalism and the mobilization of Anglophone and Francophone business communities came under the spotlight at the 2014 Africa CEO Forum, which came to a close last Wednesday in Geneva, Switzerland. Ben Yahmed, the chairman of the Africa CEO Forum, said holding the gathering beyond African borders exposed African capitalism to as many investors around the world as possible.

Yahmed stated, “It was also necessary to find a meeting place that could mobilize Anglophone and

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Three UBA Subsidiaries Named Best Emerging Market Banks In Africa

Three United Bank For Africa (UBA) subsidiaries, UBA Burkina Faso, Cameroon and Senegal have emerged World’s Best Emerging Market Banks in Africa, according to the Global Finance Magazine report. “Faced with slowing growth and volatile markets, these banks are star performers under increasingly challenging conditions,” Nigeria’s Guardian newspaper quoted Joseph D. Giarraputo, publisher and editorial director of Global Finance as saying.

The banks were ranked on parameters

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Haiti cholera still the worst globally - U.N.

Haiti's cholera outbreak is still the worst in the world, the top U.N. envoy there said Monday.

Sandra Honore briefed the U.N. Security Council about the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Haiti, crime rates, public health, and the cholera outbreak.

She told reporters "progress is being made" on the cholera epidemic. Of the 680,820 cases reported since 2010, only 6 percent arose last year - some 58,000 infections.

Honore said "the overall incidence of the disease has been reduced by

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Are Poor Countries Denied Chance to Succeed?

A Harvard professor said developing countries were forced down an economic path in the 20th Century that lacked innovation, entrepreneurship and technology. As a result, he said, they had stunted development, while many other nations prospered. Professor Calestous Juma tells the story of dueling economic theories. One based on new ideas and risk taking, and the other on pessimism and ignorance. It’s a story of the haves and have nots. Juma is professor of the Practice of International

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Standard Chartered Bank sees Kenya's growing middle-class boosting 2014 growth

Standard Chartered Bank of Kenya expects east Africa's burgeoning middle class to drive growth in 2014 after it recorded a 16 percent rise in 2013 pretax profit, its chief executive said. The lender, which is controlled by Standard Chartered Plc, said its net interest income jumped by 18 percent to 16.8 billion shillings, driving pretax profits to 13.4 billion shillings.

Lamin Manjang, who took over the leadership of the bank this year after running its business in Oman, attributed the

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Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) relocating to new headquarters

Oprah Winfrey’s three-year-old cable channel - The Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) is moving to a new office space on The Lot in West Hollywood later this year.

OWN will move into 3 floors of a new 5-story building that will provide the network’s executives and producers with access to screening rooms and sound stages - facilities the channel does not have at its current location.

Read more: The Hollywood

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South Sudan: Peace talks resume

Peace talks between South Sudan's government and elements aligned to former Vice-President Riek Machar resumed in Ethiopia on Tuesday, mediators said, urging both sides to return to the ceasefire agreement.

The talks were adjourned on March 3 for two weeks.

The closed door mediation by regional bloc - Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) aims at ending the three-month-old conflict and forging a lasting political solution between the Salva Kiir administration and

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Monday, March 24, 2014

Ethiopian Airlines to establish a new airline within Central Africa

Ethiopian Airlines is holding negotiations with the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on the establishment of a new start up airline in Central Africa. Ethiopian wants to jointly establish a new regional carrier in the DRC with the government of the DRC. Ethiopian has been eyeing the DRC for the establishment of a regional carrier in Central Africa. According to aviation experts, the Central Africa market is underserved. Coincidently, the DRC Parliament recently passed

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Nigerians Among Africa’s Lowest Consumers Of Gas

Nigeria is Africa’s highest oil-producing country but Nigerians are among the continent’s lowest consumers of liquified petroleum gas, opting instead to use wood, and kerosene — which is subsidized — according to a report in BusinessDay. More than 80 percent of Nigerians still depend on kerosene and wood for cooking and Nigeria could save billions of naira if the population embraced liquified petroleum gas, the report said.

Nigerians use 1.8 kilogams of liquified petroleum

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Equatorial Guinea is first subscriber to Cameroon's Fundraising

According to a report by the Directorate General of the Treasury (DGTC) on the 2013-2018 bond issued by Cameroon in December 2013, and for which 80 billion FCfa was raised in two weeks, 12.3% of the subscriptions are from Equatorial-Guinean investors. Equatorial Guinea is the first country to have answered Cameroon’s call for fundraising.

The DGTC also indicates that other nations have subscribed, including Congo (1.8%), Gabon (1.2%) and Cote d’Ivoire (0.01%), used only their piggy

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Goodluck Jonathan promises $1 billion to fight oil theft

President Goodluck Jonathan on Sunday said the Federal Government had set aside $1 billion to implement a comprehensive program aimed at checking the menace of crude oil theft, vandalism of oil and gas infrastructure and prosecution of oil thieves. A statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, quoted the President as speaking at The Hague in separate meetings with the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mr. Mark Rutte; and the Chief Executive Officer, Shell

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Africa’s Off-Grid Solar Market Attracts Another $7m Investment

In line with the latest bout of investment sprouting into the continent’s profitable off-grid solar energy market, United States’ biggest solar energy firm, SolarCity Corp. has partnered with venture firms Vulcan Capital, a company owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and Omidyar Network to invest $7 million into Off-Grid Electric, a Tanzania-based company providing solar lighting services in Africa.

Off-Grid Electric is an African-focused energy firm that uses a mobile payment

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Mugabe picks John Mangudya as Zimbabwe's new central bank chief

John Mangudya, chief executive of the country's biggest private bank CBZ Holdings succeeds Gideon Gono whose term ended in November last year. He will begin work on May1 for a period of five years. Finance and Economic Development Minister Patrick Chinamasa said Mangudya believes in "discretionary fiscal and monetary policies".

"Dr Mangudya is a Keynesian economist who believes in discretionary fiscal and monetary policies and in the rational expectations hypothesis," he said when

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Africa's burgeoning middle-class offers great investment opportunities

The single-largest investment and business opportunity in Africa will be its rising consumer market, KPMG has said. “Africa is fast becoming a consumer continent and very attractive to investors”, said Wole Obayomi, head of consumer and industrial line of business for KPMG in Nigeria, in a statement.

“While specific markets for entry should still be defined by their diversity, the continent is densely populated with a rising middle class of urban dwellers. In fact, an average 40

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Kenya's wind power project secures funds to start construction

The project and its financiers signed agreements for the sum, paving the way for the start of the 623 million euro project, the largest single wind power scheme in Africa, building of which had previously been scheduled for the first quarter of 2014. The wind farm will have a capacity of 300 megawatts (MW) and will help to plug a power supply shortfall which, coupled with an ageing grid, has led to frequent blackouts that hamper industry and anger residents in east Africa's biggest

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Lewis Hamilton to race in his MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One Car at Top Gear Festival in Barbados

A jubilant Lewis Hamilton after winning the Hungarian Grand Prix, July 28, 2013. PHOTO/AFP

(PRNewswire) - Top Gear Festival Barbados and the Barbados Tourism Authority announced today that Lewis Hamilton will appear on track behind the wheel of his MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One car during an adrenaline-fuelled motoring weekend on May 17 and 18.

Fans can expect to hear the spine-tingling roar of the F1 W04's Mercedes-Benz Formula One engine as the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS car makes

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Construction of Africa’s Biggest wind power project to commence in June in Kenya

Wind farm located at the Ngong Hills near Nairobi, Kenya. PHOTO/File

The construction of Africa’s biggest wind power project - the Lake Turkana wind power project in Kenya, will begin in June this year after having secured US$ 690 million in funding officials said on Monday.

The funding represents a major breakthrough to actualizing the biggest clean power energy project in Africa, spanning years of negotiations and fundraising, says Tshepo Mahloele, CEO of Harith General Partners,

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Nigeria and Namibia Plan To Construct Joint Oil Refinery

Nigeria and Namibia have announced a joint oil refinery to maximize cooperation in energy sector. The announcement was made during the two-day official visit of President Goodluck Jonathan to Namibia with President Hifikepunye Pohamba. According to the joint press release, the refinery would be wholly private financed.

According to Leadership, “The leaders urged their respective private sector stakeholders to take the full advantage of the abundant business opportunities, to

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Africa sidesteps the Emerging Markets crisis

Emerging markets (EM) are struggling to finance their economies now that global capital is heading back to the United States, where the gradual ending of cheap money from the US Federal Reserve has brought up interest rates. Currently, the sharp suits of Sandton, Johannesburg's banking district, are feeling the pinch, with the rand hit hard.

South African Reserve Bank governor Gill Marcus announced a hike in the repo rate to fight inflation. Even though the rate rose half a percent

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Black Enterprise with Toyota to host Hackathon March 29-30

Black Enterprise will host its first Driving Innovation Hackathon presented by Toyota, where technology and creative minds will come together to build tools that demonstrate the advantages of sustainability.

The Hackathon will take place at Black Enterprise headquarters. Technologists, innovators and coders will form teams to design and develop their solutions.

The hackathon program was created by Black Enterprise in partnership with Toyota to shine light on African Americans in

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West Indies Women defeat England in Women's World Twenty20

Deandra Dottin. PHOTO/Jamaica Observer

West Indies 133-9; England 124-9

West Indies Women made a winning start to their World Twenty20 campaign when they beat England by nine runs in their Group B encounter on Monday.

Defending 133 for seven at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium (Sylhet, Bangladesh), West Indies restricted England to 124 for 9, with medium pacer Deandra Dottin snatching 4 for 12 from four outstanding overs.

England seemed to be en route to victory at 80

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Uganda: Boat accident on Lake Albert claims 107

One hundred and seven people have died after a boat capsized in a lake along the border of Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ugandan police said on Monday after recovering more bodies.

The boat carrying mostly Congolese citizens tipped over early on Saturday in Lake Albert.

Police said that they estimate about 150 people were on the boat - latest reports indicate that 41 people have been rescued and 107 bodies recovered, no more survivors are expected.

Lake Albert is

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Sunday, March 23, 2014

Chinese company funds cement plant upgrade in Zimbabwe

A leading Chinese- Zimbabwean joint venture is on track to complete a massive facility upgrade with 5 million US dollars invested by the Chinese share holder, a senior company official revealed. After the upgrade, expected to be completed in the next few month, the Sino-Zimbabwe Cement Company will become one of the country's top cement producers, said Wang Yong, the company's managing director.

"We are now halfway through the upgrade," Wang told Xinhua this week at the

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Aliko Dangote draws Nigeria, France into 'cement war' in Senegal

Nigerian industrialist Aliko Dangote's cement business has been flourishing elsewhere in Africa and the Senegalese project, first conceived four years ago, was due to start production in June. But the west African nation's government is being taken to a regional arbitration court in Ivory Coast by French manufacturer Vicat, which claims that the plant represents a "distortion of competition" in a country where the market is already saturated.

"This is the first time in the history of

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Malawi to Present Preliminary Voters List to Public

Malawi’s Electoral Commission (MEC) plans to release a preliminary voters list on Monday to allow prospective voters to verify their information before the May 20 general election, says Sangwani Mwafulirwa, spokesman for the electoral body. The electoral commission is compiling a voters list that would be used for the presidential, legislative and local elections.

Mwafulirwa says the MEC seeks to produce a dependable voters list to be used for the poll. “All people who registered

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African Development Bank to invest 100 million euros in Cape Verde

After the World Bank, it was now the African Development Bank’s turn to sit down at the table with the government to analyze the bank’s strategy for the development of the archipelago – a strategy that, according to Minister of Finances and Planning Cristina Duarte, took into consideration the Cape Verdean government’s Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategic Document. “Both and World Bank and the ADB used this document as a point of departure and, based on our mid-term vision,

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Saturday, March 22, 2014

Nigeria Seeks Private Investors For Power Transmission Business

Nigeria plans to introduce private investors into the transmission business of its power industry, according to prof Chinedu Nebo, the country’s Power Minister. During a chat with reporters in Lagos at the on-going Investors Summit Nigeria, prof Nebo disclosed that the government is seeking private investment to develop transmission infrastructure, adding that Nigeria had secured significant funds to upgrade its transmission networks. Before such investments could be welcomed or

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Landlocked Kingdom Of Lesotho Pulls Off Sushi Export To Japan

The idea of Japanese consumers eating sushi exported from a tiny African country with no coastline may sound improbable, but the kingdom of Lesotho is pulling it off. Hatched in the boardroom of South African bullion producer Gold Fields, a project called Highlands Trout is now exporting 2,000 tonnes of rainbow trout a year, mainly to Japanese supermarket chain CGC.

It is even by-passing Tsukiji, Tokyo's massive wholesale fish market, usually the first destination for fish imported

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Kenya Heads East Africa Private Equity Deals

In the past two years, private equity deals solidified in Kenya have doubled, according to a Capital FM report. As outlined in the article, an East Africa Private Equity Confidence survey conducted by Deloitte, revealed that the country’s 12 deals, almost half of East Africa’s 26 deals made in 2013, amounted to roughly $111 million.

The survey was put together between December 2013 and February 2014. Rwanda trailed closely behind Kenya with five private equity deals worth about

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Is Africa’s Nuclear Power Renaissance Heading Into An Abyss?

South Africa, which currently relies on coal for more than 85 percent of its electricity, wants to wean itself off fossil fuels by using more nuclear power by 2030. Kenya, Nigeria, and other sub-Saharan countries have similar aspirations and are not far behind. It’s a gutsy move for South Africa. Nuclear power plant construction has stagnated worldwide.

South Africa President Jacob Zuma said in his Feb. 13 State of the Nation address, “We expect to conclude the procurement of

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Britain promises CARICOM continued support on global stage

Britain says it will help the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) deal with global issues that affect their economies. Newly accredited British Ambassador to CARICOM, Victoria Dean, Wednesday pledged to play the role of advocate for the region in the pursuit of its objectives as she presented her credentials to CARICOM Secretary General Irwin La Rocque.

The United Kingdom diplomat said her country would play the role of conduit for CARICOM’s views on the global stage and support member

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Dominica raises EC$20 million on regional securities market

Dominica raised EC$20 million (One EC dollar = US$0.37 cents) on the Regional Government Securities Market (RGSM) on Monday with with Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit saying it represents confidence in the policies of his administration. The money was raised at a record low 1.999 per cent through the first of a series of three 91-day Treasury Bill offerings.

"Many countries in the developed world especially in Europe have had difficulty in raising monies at concessionary rates. The

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Puerto Rico eyes becoming regional air transportation hub

Officials in Puerto Rico say the US island territory aims to position itself as a key air transportation centre in the Caribbean, taking advantage of growth opportunities in an industry that is essential to regional economic development. The island got a big boost with Seaborne Airlines’ recent decision to relocate its operations base from the US Virgin Islands to San Juan, bringing along its managers, mechanics, and other personnel. The new facility in Puerto Rico is scheduled to

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Barbados government to discontinue public service vehicles fuel subsidy

The cash-strapped Barbados government Friday said it would discontinue a fuel subsidy to the public service vehicles (PSV) and the Transport Board that has been in effect for the past six years. A statement from the Ministry of Energy said that the subsidy which was introduced as a price offset and excise tax waiver would be discontinued from April 1 this year.

The diesel subsidy included a waiver of excise tax and a price offset of BDS$7.906 (One Barbados dollar =US$0.50 cents) per

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Friday, March 21, 2014

Equatorial Guinea Attracts Foreign Workers Despite Dictatorship

Equatorial Guinea. once among the poorest countries in the world, is attracting workers from Africa, Latin America and Europe due to its booming gas and petroleum sector. The Punto Europa gas plant on Bioko Island in the shadow of the capital, Malabo, was completed seven years ago, about a decade after Equatorial Guinea discovered huge quantities of gas and petroleum reserves.

The plant refines 400,000 barrels per day of crude oil, methanol and liquified natural gas, one of the largest

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UBA Kenya Bank mulls listing, launches virtual savings

UBA Kenya Bank is considering listing on the Nairobi Stock Exchange as it firms its foothold in the local market. Managing Director/CEO Tunji Adeniyi said the plan to list in its medium-term strategy and is aimed at giving Kenyans a chance to own a piece of the financial institution and spread its shareholding. It will be the first West African company to list on the NSE.

Adeniyi was speaking at the launch of a Virtual Savings Account dubbed Akiba Mkononi. Akiba Mkononi is an innovative

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Renewables: The sparks of a clean energy revolution

Despite Africa's rich oil and gas reserves, environmental concerns and the high cost of the infrastructure needed to extract and refine hydrocarbons are driving a push towards renewable energy, particularly solar power. With the continent's population estimated to double by 2050, analysts expect that electricity demand will treble in Southern Africa and quadruple in East Africa in the next 25 years.

However, meeting this demand will require costly upgrades to infrastructure. "The

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Getting Rich the Hard Way

A new generation of business leaders are investing in Africa's capacity to manufacture cars, process minerals and build equipment. Some governments are now looking for ways to support infant industries without encouraging crony capitalism. Adding value to a product, whether it is canning tomatoes, turning iron ore into steel or building cars, is difficult. But ultimately, it is what makes a country rich.

If you keep selling pineapples, you will end up with peanuts. "If you look

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Serena Williams rallies and wins opening match at Sony Open 7-6 (7), 6-2

Serena Williams in action Yaroslava Shvedova at the Sony Open Tournament, March 20, 2014. Williams won 7-6 (7), 6-2. PHOTO/Alan Diaz/AP

WTA No.1 Serena Williams won her opening match at the Sony Open Tournament, in Key Biscayne, Florida against Yaroslava Shvedova.

Williams capitalized on a critical double-fault by Shvedova to survive a 69-minute first set and win, 7-6 (7), 6-2.

"It was an incredibly tough first set," Williams said. "I just needed to relax and yet keep up the

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Mozambique: Peaceful elections expected - country to maintain rapid growth

Mozambique expects a peaceful presidential and general elections in October to maintain its image as a country that is experiencing rapid economic growth and a popular tourist destination.

Mozambique, the site of the world’s biggest natural gas discovery in the past decade, is investing heavily in roads, bridges and railway lines to diversify its economy and attract both local and foreign investment. Since the end of the country’s 17-year civil war in 1992 visitors had increasingly

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Thursday, March 20, 2014

Mining Strike Impacts South African Economy

As South Africa's biggest post-apartheid mine strike marks its eighth week on Thursday, it is already denting growth and export earnings, and many of those affected are having to sell their most prized possessions to make ends meet. In an informal bar near the platinum belt city of Rustenburg, striking miner Oupa Majodina holds up his cell phone to show a photo of his pride and joy: his cattle. “I own 11, but I will have to sell some of them. What can I do? I need the cash,” he said

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South Africa's President, Jacob Zuma, may have contravened executive ethics code

South Africa's Public Protector has released a report revealing improper use of public money on the upgrades to President Jacob Zuma's private home, saying the president may have contravened executive ethics code. Before the release of the much anticipated report, Zuma had denied any wrongdoing. But the report says the president should have been aware of the exorbitant costs of the upgrade of his Nkandla home in rural Kwazulu-Natal.

Critically, however, the Public Protector, Thuli

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Ethiopia on track to generating electricity from Africa's largest power plant in 18 months

Construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. PHOTO/File

Ethiopia is on track to generating electricity within 18 months from what will be Africa’s largest power plant.

The sale of 7.1 billion birr (US$367 million) of bonds over the past 3 years to domestic investors, has contributed to the 27 billion birr (US$1.4 billion) spent so far on the 75.5 billion birr (US$3.9 billion) Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) hydropower project, said Zadig Abraha, deputy general

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Grenada working to develop medical tourism sector

Mitchell administration in Grenada has revealed that it is collaborating with the St George’s University - the country's largest - and other investors to build a substance abuse rehabilitation center that will become the flagship for the island-nation’s medical tourism nascent industry.

According to a statement from the Prime Minister's Office, the Mitchell administration has "noted the importance such facilities will have on the lives of many Grenadian citizens abroad who will like

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Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Job creation could end Nigerian oil theft issues

According to Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Nigeria lost 3000,000 barrels of crude oil per day or 109.50 million barrels in 2013. The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) stated that the huge loss was due to severe attacks on critical export pipelines and relentless vandalism of crude oil exports.

As a result, this impacted adversely on the country’s economy despite the huge sums appropriated to secure the maritime sector. “It’s not beyond the Nigerian

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Choppies set to expand African footprint

Botswana retailer Choppies Enterprises has made swift plans to expand into other African countries as its brand continues to thrive. “Choppies’ organic growth in both Botswana and South Africa has been very positive. It was one of our concerns when we invested three month ago is what would organic growth look like,” Brett Stewart, director of Standard Chartered Private Equity, told CNBC Africa. “Clearly their expansion has been excellent. Organic growth has showed up very

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Africa needs to foster software developers

High quality software development is possible on the African continent but it needs to be encouraged and promoted. “The key thing to remember is, especially here in South Africa, we’re not late comers in the world of professionally writing software. We’ve got a great track record here in South Africa and we’re seeing this growing group of people across our continent coming together to write fantastic software,” said Barry Dwolatzky, director and chief executive of the

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Softom Launches KNOWLEDGETAB For Nigerian Students

Softcom Limited, a Nigerian-based IT solutions firm, in collaboration with Phillips consulting, has announced plans to introduce its educational tablet, KNOWLEDGETAB, to the public, following a successful pilot rollout in Osun State, western Nigeria.

KNOWLEDGETAB is an Android 4.2 tablet computer specially designed for Senior Secondary School students in Nigeria, an e-Library comprising 56 sets of textbooks, a Virtual Classroom containing 51 high quality video tutorials and 15 hours of

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Key challenges that Nigeria’s startup space needs to conquer

Nigeria’s technology startup scene is heating up with more pitching competitions and incubators being launched this year, but experts say key challenges hinder innovation in the country. Popular Nigerian technology blog TechCabal.com last month launched its ‘Battlefield’ startup pitching competition that saw examination preparation business Prepclass.com.ng walk away with $20,000 in funding.

At the event, a tech incubator called ‘LeadPath’ was also launched, the latest in a

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Ethiopia & UAE in quest to bump up trade

The UAE and Ethiopia have held talks on joint investment projects in Ethiopia’s industry, agriculture, food processing, tourism, renewable energy and mining sectors. The intensive talks conducted by Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri, UAE Minister of Economy, during his current visit to Ethiopia, shed light on the two countries’ desire to raise the level of bilateral trade, amounting to about $1 billion (Dh3.67 billion), to higher levels in the coming years.




Al Mansouri started

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South African Billionaire, Patrice Motsepe, Plans Money Management Firm

South Africa’s first and only known black billionaire (in dollars), mining magnate Patrice Motsepe plans to get into the financial-services business, according to FinancialMail and Bloomberg reports. Motsepe is deputy chairman of Sanlam, the largest South Africa-based insurer. His planned new company, Ubuntu-Botho Financial Services, will be involved in asset management, private equity and insurance, IndependentOnline reports.

Sanlam sold a stake in its business to

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Who Exploits Industrial Metals in Sub-Saharan Africa?

While colonialism has been ousted from Africa, many argue that multi-national corporations based in far-off capitals practice economic colonialism with developed nations using economic power and technical capability to exploit the resources of sub-Saharan Africa while paying a pittance to local populations.

In part one of the series, we examined the two largest oil- and -gas-producing countries in sub-Saharan Africa — Nigeria and Angola — and who profits from the riches that lie

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Cayman Islands struck by 4.2 scale earthquake

The Cayman Islands were struck an earthquake according to local sources and data from the United States Geological Survey.

The earthquake which measured 4.2 on the Richter scale was the latest in a string of recent tremors in the northern Caribbean region.

The epicenter of the quake was approximately 372 kilometers (230 miles) south-southwest of Trinidad & Tobago. It struck at a depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles) at around 6:55 AM local time (7:55 AM EST).

There have been no reports

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Kenya Opens Market To Ethiopian Investors

Kenya says it has opened its doors to Ethiopian companies to trade on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), as a way of encouraging the East African country to ease its protectionist economic policies. Although Addis Ababa has started embracing privatization, holding only sectors regarded as strategic, i.e. Telecommunications, the non-availability of a stock market in Ethiopia has shut out foreign investments.

“I can disclose that Kenya stands ready to begin consultations for the

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Kenya Opens Market To Ethiopian Investors

Kenya says it has opened its doors to Ethiopian companies to trade on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), as a way of encouraging the East African country to ease its protectionist economic policies. Although Addis Ababa has started embracing privatization, holding only sectors regarded as strategic, i.e. Telecommunications, the non-availability of a stock market in Ethiopia has shut out foreign investments.“I can disclose that Kenya stands ready to begin consultations for the

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Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Drones Over Lagos Might be Sooner Than we Think

When it comes to personal mail delivery from the air, Africa may already have beaten Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, who announced plans in December for 30-minute delivery drones, according to an editorial in Mashable. That’s because Amazon isn’t the only company ramping up digital business, nor is the U.S. the only region in the game, says Monty Munford, an expert in mobile, web and digital who writes for Mashable. Nigeria and specifically fast-growing Lagos, may produce the next great

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Botswana's Stable Diamond Industry Increases Mine Prospects for Second Quarter

As Gem Diamond’s flagship Letšeng mine, in Lesotho, continued to perform well during the year to December, the London-listed diamond miner was gearing up for commercial production from its Ghaghoo mine, in Botswana. The $96-million mine, situated near the south-eastern border of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, was on track for commercial production during the second half of 2014, said CEO Clifford Elphick on Tuesday.

The diamond miner aimed to ramp up to the Phase 1 planned

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Barbados opposition leader, Mia Mottley, says more hardship ahead as new taxes announced

[caption id="attachment_414046" align="alignnone" width="512" caption="Barbados Opposition Leader Mia Mottley"][/caption]

The Barbados government says it intends to sell off some assets as it moves to reduce the fiscal deficit by March next year. Finance Minister Chris Sinckler presenting the Appropriations Bill in the House of Assembly on Monday announced a raft of new tax measures, including an increase in gasoline prices and the sale of the Barbados National Terminal Limited to help

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Africa's love of luxury brands to be satisfied

The consumption of luxury goods in Africa is expected to grow considerably as expensive brands make their way into the continent. “The potential of growth on to the African continent is immense, coming off a lower base. The saturation that is taking place in the United States, in Europe and China is starting to slow down and I think the next target for any luxury brand is to go into the African continent,” Richard Schafer from the South African Luxury Goods Association told CNBC

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CARICOM Leaders accept Caribbean Reparatory Justice Program as basis for further action on reparations

A Caribbean Reparatory Justice Program (CRJP) has been accepted by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Heads of Government as a basis for discussions on reparations from slavery and native genocide.

The current CARICOM chairman, Ralph Gonsalves - the Prime Minister of Saint Vincent &the Grenadines made the disclosure during a press conference following the inter-sessional meeting of the Conference of the CARICOM Heads of Government which was held between March 10 and 11 in St. Vincent &

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Dr. Christine Martey-Ochola's Journey from Chemist to Business Advocate

Christine Martey-Ochola, Ph.D., has a diverse career that one just can’t confine to limits. “I’ve been trying to find a box to fit in, but I don’t quite fit,” she says as she reflects on her path to becoming the co-founder and president of the Sub-Saharan Africa Chamber of Commerce.

Not one to shy away from new experiences, Martey-Ochola started her career as a food science technologist in Kenya and immigrated to the United States to further her education. Her studies quickly

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Rugwabiza says for a stronger private sector growth, governments must get it right

Businessmen and policy-makers at the Africa CEO Forum in March agreed that in addition to focusing on major national companies, SME networks need to be strengthened. Each day brings the private sector closer to being capable of spearheading the African continent's transformation.

Without a doubt, the private sector is a key driver of economic growth, employment creation and the reduction of poverty. The strength of Africa's private sector was confirmed at the Africa CEO Forum in Geneva,

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Zimbabwe's safari sector targets 10 percent growth

Zimbabwe's safari industry has set a target of $85 million revenue inflow for the 2014 hunting season. However, questions remain if this is attainable, as the sector has often been dogged by corruption allegations. In addition, the sector hopes to cash in on hunters who previously chose to do business in neighboring Botswana who banned hunting, in January, citing dwindling wildlife populations.

Safari Operators Association of Zimbabwe (SOAZ) president, Emmanuel Fundira says traditional

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Stage set for South Africa's biggest elections

South Africa's electoral body, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) says all is set for the country's fifth democratic elections, set for 7 May. IEC chief electoral officer, Mosotho Moepya, advised that the body had certified the voters' roll, with 25,390,150 registered to vote. Moepya also said there had been a 9.5% increase in the number of people registered to vote, from 2,208,153 five years ago, while the number had gone by almost 40% from when the roll was first established

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Obama presenting Medal Of Honor to 24 Overlooked Veterans

A military aide holds up the Medal of Honor as the citation is read before U.S. President Barack Obama awarded US Marine Corps SGT Dakota Meyer in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, September 15, 2011. PHOTO/Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images

U.S. President Barack Obama is moving to right old wrongs by belatedly awarding the Medal of Honor to 24 Army veterans who served during World War II, Korea and Vietnam.

Just 3 of those being honored during Tuesday's ceremony at the

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The Bahamas ranking as a global financial center improves

The Bahamas has moved up an internationally-renowned ranking of global financial centers.

According to the report, the Bahamas has risen to spots in ranking to 65th place out of 83 centers ranked. It is one of only 4 offshore centers that saw a rise in its ranking in the Global Financial Centers Index (GFCI) 15.

Despite improvements in its positioning, the index suggests The Bahamas faces significant competitive challenges. Overall, it placed ninth out of 11 offshore centers

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Kenya: Police intercepts bomb-laden vehicle linked to al-Shabaab

Authorities in Kenya have revealed that police have intercepted a car with improvised explosive devices, foiling a planned terrorist attack in the coastal city of Mombasa.

The Kenya National Disaster Operations Center said in a tweet late Monday night that officers from the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit arrested two men that were in the car in the Changamwe area in Mombasa.

Kenya has suffered a wave of attacks since October 2011 when the government sent its troops into Somalia to fight

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Monday, March 17, 2014

Doing Business in Africa: A profile of Senegal

Situated on the westernmost tip of Africa, Senegal is a country that has long been associated with European and transatlantic trade due to its geography. Colonized by the French in the 1850s, Senegalese territory was one of the first in Africa to come under European domination. In the century of French rule that followed, Senegal became deeply influenced by its colonial power and upon independence in 1960 adopted many of the organizing forms of French government.

For the first 20 years

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Questions arise whether Nigeria can reach its 2014 power target

Earlier this year, the Nigerian government began a collaboration aimed at boosting the access of electricity in the country. In 2013, Notore Power Limited signed an agreement with Contourglobal to construct and operate an independent gas-fired 500 megawatt power production plant in line with government regulation.

“We are in the development phase now, we’ve finished the gas study and we are now advancing to a stage where we are concentrating on the transmission of that power

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Nigeria's Agriculture Sector Provides Opportunity for Women

Nigeria’s agriculture sector could provide major job and investment opportunities for women, and continue to dominate non-oil sector growth. “The agriculture sector has been opened up by the transformation agenda for the agriculture sector that the president has been leading since 2011. We have a number of women farmers. In the rural areas women make up sometimes up to 70 per cent, if not more, of the rural farming population, so there are already farmers,” Arunma Oteh, director

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South African companies' investments in other African countries paying off

Investments in other African countries are starting to pay off handsomely for some South African companies, such as banks, which earned R5.1bn from operations on the rest of the continent in 2013, up 27.5% from the previous year, while return on equity beat that from local operations. According to consultancy, EY, earnings from the rest of Africa operations are growing much faster than here.

The big four banks’ Africa expansion strategies are at different stages, and will be

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South African Consumers Love Established Brands

In South Africa, 83% of consumers believe that established brands are the best, compared with an average of 38% of consumers in developed markets, and 67% in Africa. This is according to a report by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Understanding Consumers in the “Many Africas”, which explored the current and expected future spending patterns in a number of African countries, including South Africa.

Stefano Niavas, partner at BCG and co-author of the report, says the African

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John Harmon named chairman of the National Black Chamber of Commerce

John Harmon (pictured), the current president of the African American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey has been appointed chairman of the National Black Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) .

Harmon, who has sat at the helm of the New Jersey chapter of the organization since 2007, was installed as Chairman of the Board on Friday last week.

He will continue in his role as President of the New Jersey chapter of the Black Chamber and handle his duties as national Board chairman. Among his first

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Cahill Energy to boost Barbados economy with $240 million clean energy plant

Guernsey-based Cahill Energy is delighted to announce it signed a historic agreement with the Barbados government on March 15th, 2014 to build and operate a leading edge clean energy plant on the Caribbean island. Established to finance, build, own and operate utility-scale Waste to Energy plants in key markets, Cahill Energy plans to utilise the most innovative technology available to transform all kinds of waste on Barbados into clean, renewable energy.

Cahill Energy expects to invest

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Poorer Kenyans spending beyond their means on mobile phones

Low income Kenyans are forgoing important expenses to purchase prepaid mobile airtime while they are also paying more for telecom services than their postpaid counterparts. This is according to experts speaking at a World Consumer Rights Day event held in Nairobi on Friday.

Speaking at the event, Youth Education Network program assistant, Pauline Nderi, claimed that low income earners, otherwise referred to as the ‘base of the pyramid’, are over-spending on mobile services.

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Nigerian Author, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie wins National Book Critics Circle fiction prize

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s "Americanah," a novel about race and identity by the acclaimed Nigerian author, has won the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) prize for fiction.

Adichie, whose other works include “Half of a Yellow Sun,” was chosen over “The Goldfinch” author Donna Tartt and three other finalists.

Sheri Fink’s book on Hurricane Katrina, “Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death In a Storm-Ravaged Hospital,” won for nonfiction. The biography winner was Leo

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Stanbic Botswana turns to tablets to boost sales and improve customer experience

Stanbic Bank Botswana, a subsidiary of South African headquartered Standard Bank Group, has launched sales application tablet technology, through Apple’s iOS software platform, to help sign up new customers. According to Lerato Chana Sekgororoane, Stanbic Bank Botswana head of customer channels, the development is expected to further transform customer service.

According to the bank, sales consultants in executive banking, workplace banking and private banking units are planned to use

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The Way Forward for the BRICS New Development Bank

2013 was a difficult year for the five BRICS countries. China and Brazil faced slowing growth, South Africa and India were hit by currency instability, and concern over Russia's governance deepened (before recent events in the Ukraine pitched them into all-out crisis). As doubts have mounted, investors have increasingly turned back to traditional investment destinations like the United States and Europe, as well as to new formations like the MINTs (Mexico, India, Nigeria and

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Haiti: Legislative and civic elections to be held Oct. 26 2014 - Pres. Martelly and opposition groups end impasse

Haiti President Martelly (c) signing the protocol, while mediator Cardinal, Chibly Langlois (r) looks on. March 15, 2014.

Haiti’s politicians have put aside their differences and signed an agreement ending a political impasse that had threatened to delay the holding of elections in the French-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country.

The accord, signed over the weekend will now allow for legislative and local elections. The first round of the elections will be held on October

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Sunday, March 16, 2014

South Africa must decide whether it wants coal, gas or nuclear for its energy needs

On paper, South Africa's long-term energy plans look solid, with coal, nuclear, gas and renewables all viable options. But none are likely to prevent potentially crippling future power crunches in Africa's biggest economy unless a decision is made soon on when and how to add capacity to the grid.

South Africa's failure to invest in new power plants nearly two decades ago meant it paid dearly in 2008 when the grid nearly collapsed, leading to power cuts that cost the economy billions of

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The Military Means Big Business in Egypt

Field Marshal Abdelfatah al-Seesi, the army chief who ousted the freely elected government of Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi and the Muslim Brotherhood, flew to the United Arab Emirates on March 12 to observe military maneuvers. A few days before his trip it was announced that the UAE’s Arabtec Construction would collaborate with the Egyptian military in a $40 billion project to build a million low-income housing units in Egypt. The collaboration is part of the UAE’s assistance to get

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ITF urges Ghana to invest in railway transport

Ghana has been urged to invest in railway transport as the best alternative means to support urban transportation in the country. Mr Joseph Katende, the Regional Secretary of the International Transport Workers (ITF), who is leading a two-member delegation on a visit to the Ghana National Coordinating Committee (NCC) of ITF, said the railway sector needs investment that would enable it to function as a reasonable urban transport.

He advised, “Our research indicates that there has not

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U.S Solar Firm Sets Eyes on Kenyan Market

US based solar energy solutions firm Magic Bridge Energy has announced plans to set up shops in Kenya and invest solar power systems in schools and hospitals. The company plans to introduce solar power solutions to 200 schools and hospitals in the next three months. Magic Bridge Energy Kenya CEO Cleopa Omondi says the firm will be introducing the world's first solar power Mini-Inverter dubbed 'CyboInverter' in the market which he says has more strength than the usual solar power

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Reigning world and Olympic 100m champion Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce to race in Doha

A jubilant Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce after winning the 60 meter final in Sopot, Poland, March 9 2014. PHOTO/Petr David Josek/AP

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Jamaica's, freshly minted world indoor 60 meter champion, will be making her third appearance in Doha and will race the 100 meters after winning the 200 meters last season in the Qatari capital.

Fraser-Pryce will be up against double world sprint finalist Blessing Okagbare of Nigeria and Kerron Stewart, a 100 meters finalist at the

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Largest labor union in South Africa calling for a 1 day work stoppage on March 19

South Africa's biggest union has called a one-day work stoppage for Wednesday to highlight youth unemployment in the country, the union said.

The 340,000-member National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) draws its members from car manufacturing, the metal industry, transport and general workers.

The stoppage would be the latest in a string of labor unrest in Africa's largest economy, weeks before the May 7 general elections.

"It is a stoppage that members in all other

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Condoleezza Rice urges Republican Party to reach out to all groups

Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (pictured), on Saturday called on the Republican Party to become more inclusive on issues like immigration.

"We have a responsibility to those who do not yet have the liberties and the rights that we enjoy," Rice told a cheering crowd at the annual gathering of California Republicans in the San Francisco suburb of Burlingame. "We cannot abandon them, we were once them."

She did not offer a specific policy idea.

The speech by Rice, who

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Saturday, March 15, 2014

Tracking The Impact of Technology On Entrepreneurship In Uganda

In the last decade, the use of technology has contributed enormously to growth story of sub-Saharan Africa’s economies. Technology has opened Africa to new vistas and presented its youths with an opportunity to tackle the scourge of unemployment themselves – some have even turned that opportunity to million dollar companies.

In Uganda, technology is gradually contributing to the country’s economic trajectory. Over the past few years, the country’s technology sector has witnessed

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Côte d’Ivoire Will Help Cape Verde Enter ECOWAS

Côte d’Ivoire will help Cape Verde improve its integration in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the former country’s Minister of Foreign Relations has promised. Charles Koffi Diby spoke to the press this Tuesday following a ceremony in which a protocol was signed in the area of tourism and a memorandum of understanding was signed between the two counties’ foreign ministries.

“Cape Verde has a number of specifics, it is the only island country in West

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What can Asia learn from an emerging Africa?

by Tan Sri Andrew Sheng



IN April I shall be starting on a new series of articles that explore the challenges that Asia faces in its next phase of globalization. Asia has been a major beneficiary of globalization, having built the global production chain that supplies the West with consumer goods. The global financial crisis of 2007-2009 opened a whole can of worms about the benefits of globalization, as the confidence of the West was shaken to the core.

Some people think that the

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Kenyans encouraged to set up businesses in Ethiopia's lucrative market

Industrialist Manu Chandaria urged Kenyan businesses to venture into the Ethiopian market in order to reap big from one of the fastest growing economy globally.

“Ethiopia with a population of more than 90 million people offers a huge market for Kenyan business. Its economy is among the fastest growing in the world — growing at 10 percent. Its market is like Kenya and Tanzania population combined,” he said at the Fifth Ideal Expo at Village Market recently.

“This comes in the

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Media Mogul says Nigerian Entrepreneurs Must Take Risks

Martin Udogie is a trainer and a media personality with a peculiar story. After blazing through his academic pursuits, and graduating with First-Class in Business Administration, young Martin secured an automatic employment in a bank to the admiration of his peers. As he progressed in his job, he went on to study Accounting and subsequently got certification from the Institute of Charted Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN). Many watched with envy as Martin waltzed his way into a glamorous banking

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Zambian Mine Minister says if copper prices below $5,000, it could threaten mining sector

Zambian mines are still operating profitably despite the fall in copper prices but could be threatened if the price dropped below $5,000 per tonne, Mines Minister Christopher Yaluma advised. Recently, copper markets have been edgy over slowing Chinese demand and fears that credit upheaval in the world's second-biggest economy could unwind financing deals using the metal as collateral.

Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange has been falling steadily since January and

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Friday, March 14, 2014

Kenya Discovers Oil & Natural Gas In Lamu

Oil exploration is the real deal in Kenya at the moment, as exploration companies have struck black gold repeatedly in recent times. The latest find was at the tourist town of Lamu where UK-based independent oil and gas exploration firm, British Gas had been working.

“British Gas Group has found oil and natural gas,” Energy Cabinet Secretary Davies Chirchir announced to a forum of energy sector stakeholders in Nairobi. He added however that the discovery was “very prospective”,

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Africa's Investment Round off

Africa’s investment space has remained largely active in recent days, as the continent continues to lure foreign and domestic investors seeking high yields and newer market reach. Investment activities were mostly seen in the Southern and Northern regions, driven by private sector-led deals. Manufacturing, power, and financials were industries that attracted the most investments.

Yesterday, Moroccan insurance company, RMA Wataniya, acquired four insurance companies operating in

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Credit Suisse woos African entrepreneurs

Credit Suisse Group AG is deploying investment bankers to woo African entrepreneurs as the second- biggest Swiss bank tries to build its wealth-management business on the continent. Those bankers offer services from capital raising to trade finance and mergers and acquisitions advice according to John Wright, a managing director and market leader for Africa at Credit Suisse.

Wright, based in Zurich went on to say, “We have a dedicated group of investment bankers embedded within

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Did Ecobank Grow Too Fast?

Ecobank, whose rapid expansion to 35 African countries was considered by some to be the Pan-African Dream, needs to devote as much attention to governance as to growth, its largest shareholder said in a Reuters report in IndependentOnline.

Ecobank CEO, Thierry Tanoh, was ousted by the banks’ board of directors Tuesday, after months of internal division and an investigation into alleged breaches of corporate governance by Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission. There could be

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Does Female Leadership Stimulate Business Growth in Rwanda?

In 2013, Rwanda had the highest proportion of female members of parliament in the world with 64 percent of the seats taken by women in its lower house, known as the Chamber of Deputies. In Rwanda’s upper house of parliament, the Senate, 10 out of 26 seats must be filled by women, according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, an international organization of parliaments.

Rwanda’s devastating 1994 genocide resulted in a disproportionate loss of males. Rwandan society in the aftermath

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How A Billion-Dollar Map Will Revolutionize the African Mining Industry

Twenty countries in sub-Saharan Africa are categorized as resource-rich by the International Monetary Fund, but while African soil holds immense riches, the continent’s resources remain woefully under-mapped. The World Bank‘s announcement that it will launch a $1-billion initiative to map the resources in the ground across the African continent has generated great excitement and some criticism.

The project has been dubbed the Billion Dollar Map. The mapping exercise will trigger an

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Abidjan port aims for regional supremacy

Côte d'Ivoire has launched massive upgrades to its ports to support the growth of the natural resource sector and to attract more of the regional transit trade. Buoyed by the economic recovery of the past two years and rising traffic levels, the Côte d'Ivoire government is implementing large-scale investments to upgrade its two international harbors, Abidjan and San Pedro.

The Abidjan harbor is the site of a $2.5 billion expansion project, schedule for completion by 2020. The vast

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CulSire.com - a new website set to promote black business launches tomorrow

(Businesswire) - Phoenix, Arizona - www.CulSire.com is an online platform for Black/African-Americans to receive information, promote businesses, make connections and unite nationally through knowledge. CulSire’s number one aim is to highlight the various resources and businesses that are available inside the African American community to help dollars circulate longer within their community. The CulSire.com brand will launch on Saturday, March 15, 2014 with an official launch and

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Sierra Leone mourns Ahmed Tejan Kabbah - a man largely credited with restoring peace in the country

Former president of Sierra Leone., Ahmad Tejan Kabbah. PHOTO/File

Ahmed Tejan Kabbah, the former president of Sierra Leone who oversaw the end of the country's brutal civil war, has died.

Kabbah died at home in Freetown, the capital, on Thursday. He was 82 years old.

He served 2 terms as president, ending in 2007. Kabbah is largely credited with helping bringing to an end in 2002 a civil war that killed tens of thousands in the west African country.

Sierra Leone has declared a

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Thursday, March 13, 2014

Dangote Cement Drives Innovation Into Nigeria's Cement Market

 

In an effort to add value to the Nigerian construction sector Dangote Cement has finalized plans to upgrade its cement grade. Many believe that the numerous building collapses Nigeria has experienced is due to the popular lower grade cement in the market. According to Oyinda Olarewaju, SSA Cement Analyst at Renaissance Capital, “It’s not an issue of the quality, it’s a case where you have builders or contractors who use for example, 42.5 grade of cement made for

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Nigeria's Finance Minister says Nigeria's Economy Needs to Be Fixed, Not Be the Best

In an exclusive interview with NPR, Nigeria’s Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala delivered the promising news that the country has overcome hurdles and stabilized the economy. For some time, talks of Nigeria overtaking South Africa’s economy to become the largest have been circulating.

However, the best achievements, Okonjo-Iweala said, are birthed from necessary action. Furthermore, the most beneficial improvements will come to sectors — and the nation’s job market — when

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Uganda Telecom announces new chairman

Fixed line, mobile and internet provider Uganda Telecom (UTL) has appointed a new chairman and three board members following years of uncertainty at the telecoms company. Former central banking executive Stephen Kaboyo replaces Dr. Ben Mbonye, who has resigned after four years service as chairman at UTL.

The UTL seven-person board also has three new members from Libyan telecom firm LAP GreenN: Stewart Simpson, Joanna Roche, and Kalid Tarapolisi. The announcement has been made by

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Nigeria's Fight Against Oil Corruption

Nigeria is leading a stout fight against oil theft and corruption on an institutional level and boasts crucial accountability bodies. “We’re coming from a history in which a few years ago, I would have sat with a bank CEO in my office and said to him, ‘You know, we’ve looked at your books, you’ve stolen 200 billion. I’m chairman of the committee of governors, why don’t you just pay me 10 per cent and let’s sort it out’”, said former central bank governor Sanusi Lamido

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American Investors Seek Partnerships Opportunities In East Africa

Robert Riegle is senior vice president for business development at Academi, a Virginia-based company that deals with providing security services in high-risk areas around the world. He was part of a team of about 20 American business leaders who visited Nairobi recently on a trade mission.

Speaking to AFKInsider on the sidelines of a networking forum between the visiting delegation and East African business leaders, he said that although he was keen on getting into partnerships with

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Lamido Sanusi's reforms still at helm of Nigeria's Financial System

Despite former central bank governor Lamido Sanusi’s ousting, his reforms and frameworks continue to keep the economy in check. “Sanusi could easily be described as probably one of the most controversial central bank governors that we’ve ever had. And he came into the Nigerian banking space at a time when the banking industry definitely required a reformist, as a person sitting at the helm,” Femi Oladehin, partner at Argentil Partners, told CNBC Africa.

In spite of tracing and

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AMISOM Expands Operations Against al-Shabab in Somalia

African Union forces said they have reclaimed more territory from the al-Qaida-linked militant group, al-Shabab, in renewed military operations across Somalia. However, restoring the government's political authority remains a pressing challenge. The AU peacekeeping force in Somalia, known as AMISOM, said that on Thursday, Djiboutian soldiers have taken control of territory in Hiraan region, north of the capital, extending recent military gains.

"There are small towns toward which

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Caribbean encouraged to take advantage of new IDB funding initiative

Caribbean countries are being urged to take advantage of a multi-million facility to finance regional public goods (RPGs) that are produced collectively by a group of Inter American Development Bank (IDB) borrowing member countries. The IDB said in 2014, the initiative for the promotion of regional public goods in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), will provide up to eight million (US) dollars in grants to finance RPGs.

The bank said the initiative is based on the premise that the

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Barbados finance minister says government laying foundation for positive economic growth

The Barbados government said that it is laying the platform for positive economic growth in the future by making the necessary adjustments and seeks to rebuild the various sectors of the economy. The Stuart administration embarked on a retrenchment program to trim the public service by almost 3,000 in the coming months as it seeks to reverse an ailing economy.

However, Finance Minister Christopher Sinckler was giving assurances to the new British High Commissioner, Victoria Dean, that

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Haiti: Duvalier attorney files appeal

Former Haitian leader, Jean-Claude Duvalier. PHOTO/File

The lead defense attorney for Haiti's former dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier has said judges will be responsible for a "civil war" if an appeals court rules against his client.

Privately owned Radio Kiskeya on Wednesday broadcast the remarks by lawyer Reynold Georges, who spoke at Haiti's Supreme Court after filing an appeal Tuesday against a lower court decision that Duvalier can face charges involving human rights abuses. Georges

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East African countries to contribute troops to monitor South Sudan ceasefire

East African states agreed on Thursday to deploy troops in South Sudan by mid-April to help enforce a ceasefire deal between government forces and rebels, the chief mediator in peace talks between the 2 sides said.

South Sudan's neighbors fear unrest in the world's newest country could spill beyond its borders and destabilize the region which has in recent years enjoyed strong economic growth.

At a summit in the Ethiopian capital, leaders from the regional bloc - the Intergovernmental

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U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder endorsing proposed reduced drug sentencing changes

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder (pictured), on Thursday endorsed a proposal that would result in shorter prison sentences for many nonviolent drug traffickers, saying the change would rein in runaway federal prison costs and create a fairer criminal justice system.

Holder's backing for a U.S. Sentencing Commission proposal to lower the guideline penalties is part of a broader Justice Department effort to lessen punishment for nonviolent drug dealers. He has been pressing to ease long

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