Africa Business, Author at AfricaBusiness.com

6Nov

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

African News, Uganda News

IMF Concludes Staff Mission to Uganda

KAMPALA, Uganda, November 6, 2012/African Press Organization (APO)/ – An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team visited Kampala from October 24 to November 6, 2012 to carry out discussions with the Ugandan authorities for the fifth review of their IMF-supported economic and financial program. The mission met with Hon. Maria Kiwanuka, Minister of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development, and Professor Emanuel Tumusiime-Mutebile, Governor of the Bank of Uganda, as well as other senior government officials, development partners, and representatives of the private sector and civil society. At the end of the mission, Ms. Ana Lucía Coronel, IMF senior resident representative and mission chief for Uganda, issued the following statement: “Uganda’s economic growth rate declined fro...

6Nov

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Energy, Green Energy, South Africa News

Serving up a POWER-GEN-sized slice of colossal Kusile

As part of the inaugural POWER-GEN Africa, taking place at the Sandton Convention Centre from 6-8 November, an intrepid group of delegates had a unique opportunity to visit Kusile, which once operational will be the fourth largest coal-fired power installation in the world. By its scheduled 2018 completion date the station, located in Mpumalanga province, will have a total capacity of 4800 MW. The first of its six 800 MW units is due to commence operations in 2014. Under development by South African state-owned utility Eskom, Kusile is the country’s most technologically advanced coal plant and will be the first to feature flue gas desulphurisation (FGD), a key environmental objective for Eskom. A base-load facility, Kusile forms part of Eskom’s plan to increase...

6Nov

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

African News

International business must reach out to the global masses

By Thandisizwe Mgudlwa An initiative aimed at mobilizing the Global business community to achieve sustainable prosperity must be taken seriously. A document released from Washington, D.C reveals that transnational corporations are now so numerous and in some cases so well capitalized that their global influence now rivals and in many cases exceeds that of governments, according to research published by the Worldwatch Institute. And that around 80,000 transnational corporations (TNCs) operate worldwide, a mere 147 of which control 40 percent of the total value of all these corporations' value. Any vision of a sustainable future must include full recognition of the role that TNCs play in shaping the planet's human and ecological destiny, authors argue in Institute's Stat...

6Nov

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

African News, South Africa News

Google conference attracks over 800 industrial experts

By Thandisizwe Mgudlwa The popular Google Conference makes its return to Cape Town next week. And tech enthusiasts are expected to gather at the Pavillion Conference Centre, Victoria & Alfred (V&A) Waterfront in Cape Town on 12th-13th November. This meeting of experts in the various industries will be the third G-South Africa event presented by Google. Also, the two day conference will host over 800 business people, marketers, entrepreneurs and web developers, together with Google experts from around the globe, to share tools and best practices for digital marketing and web development. “G-South Africa represents Google’s commitment to driving the web forward in South Africa and across the continent, as well as highlighting the business opportunities that are brought...

6Nov

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Energy, Green Energy, Kenya News

Joju Solar aid electrification of hospital in Kenya

Joju Solar have assisted in the installation of a 2.2 kW off grid solar PV system on a remote village clinic in Kenya, in association with the Sindicatum Climate Change Foundation The project has enabled the remote clinic, which is off the electricity grid, to be fitted with a solar/battery system to supply power to the clinic for the first time. The generated power is used to run energy efficient lighting and ceiling fans in the wards. And importantly, the project also provides a super insulated fridge for the storage of vaccines and medicines. The project has generated considerable interest locally, in particular from the Ministry of Health who met with Hope for Konya and other local partners to discuss the possibility of placing doctors permanently at the clinic instead of...

6Nov

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

African News

Lubricant Demand Growth Stalls in Mature Markets, Strong Growth on the Horizon for New Emerging Markets, Sees Kline

PARSIPPANY, N.J., Nov., 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Despite the challenges of a precarious economic environment, the 2011 global lubricant market grew a resilient 2%, with global lubricant demand estimated at 38.6 million tonnes. This growth was largely fuelled by the BRIC countries' resurgent industrial activity and expansion in the commercial and passenger vehicles sales, according to the recent Global Lubricants: Market Analysis and Assessment report by international consulting and research firm Kline & Company. The United States remains the largest lubricant market, but its near 22% global share continues to decrease. China and India are the next biggest markets with a combined total of over 26%, with Russia's consumption expected to surpass Japan's and consequently be the fourth...

6Nov

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

African News

Middle East North Africa Beverage Forecasts September 2012

NEW YORK, Nov., 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Reportlinker.com announces that a new market research report is available in its catalogue: Middle East North Africa Beverage Forecasts September 2012 http://www.reportlinker.com/p01023922/Middle-East-North-Africa-Beverage-Forecasts-September-2012.html#utm_source=prnewswire&utm_medium=pr&utm_campaign=Beverage Product Synopsis Latest historical and forecast consumption trends for key beverage categories in 11 MENA markets. Introduction and Landscape Extracted from Canadean's Global Beverage Forecasts report, Middle East North Africa Beverage Forecasts includes data tables for Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and United Arab Emirates, plus a regional summary. Aggregated totals for non-...

6Nov

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

African News

Air Products Supplying ASUs for Copper Smelter Project in Zambia

LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa., Nov. 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Air Products (NYSE: APD) today announced it has been awarded the contract to supply two oxygen plants at the site of a copper smelter being built in Zambia by Kansanshi Mining Plc. The scope of the agreement includes Air Products supply of two 750 metric ton per day oxygen plants, and all air separation unit (ASU) related equipment and design. The construction of the facility will be undertaken by Kansanshi Mining Plc, with cooperation from Air Products. The ASUs are planned to be onstream in 2014. Air Products has oxygen plants operating at other copper mines also located in Zambia and the local expertise and work at those facilities was of benefit in winning this contract. "The basis for the design of this new plant for K...

6Nov

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

African News, Nigeria News, South Africa News

Having cracked the feature phone challenge, 2go heads for smartphones

Mobile social network 2go is extending its successful feature phone app to smartphones, while growing its team of software developers and support staff. 2go currently has over 10 million active users who send more than 6 billion messages a month, mostly on lower-end feature phones in Nigeria and South Africa. “Feature phones have been an incredibly successful platform for us and will continue to be so for the next few years at least,” says Alan Wolff, who founded 2go with fellow student Ashley Peter while still at university. “Research firms such as Informa indicate that by 2015 there will still be 5.6 feature phones in the African market for every one smartphone. But now is the right time to start extending to iOS, Blackberry and Android platforms as well.” The secret to 2go...

6Nov

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

African News

Africa Beverage Forecasts September 2012

NEW YORK, Nov., 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Reportlinker.com announces that a new market research report is available in its catalogue: Africa Beverage Forecasts September 2012 http://www.reportlinker.com/p01023927/Africa-Beverage-Forecasts-September-2012.html#utm_source=prnewswire&utm_medium=pr&utm_campaign=Beverage Product Synopsis Latest historical and forecast consumption trends for key beverage categories. Introduction and Landscap0065 Extracted from Canadean's Global Beverage Forecasts report, Africa Beverage Forecasts includes data tables for Nigeria and South Africa, plus a regional summary. Aggregated totals for non-profiled countries are also given to obtain a complete regional picture. Product analysis is broken down in to 19 beverage categories (packaged ...