Nigeria: What next for West Africa’s powerhouse? With elections approaching, change is afoot in Nigeria. Keen to pursue new opportunities and drive the country forward, what does the future hold for one of Africa’s largest economies? Following her recent visits to the country, Marie El-Hawat, Associate Director, Anglophone Africa at British Arab Commercial Bank (BACB) […]
Category Archives: African News
African Business News
African News, Business
M&A Resilience Predicted in 2023, Despite Economic Uncertainty – According to 2023 Global Trends Report from Lex Mundi
Lex Mundi, the world’s leading global network of independent law firms, has gathered intelligence from member law firms across 71 jurisdictions to analyse recent and upcoming trends for its latest Global M&A Trends Report. A majority of M&A practitioners worldwide remain optimistic about the prospects for mergers and acquisitions in 2023. Despite concerns about the […]
African News, Events, Interview
MENA region is fastest growth area globally for arbitration as better way to solve business disputes
As the International Chamber of Commerce’s Court of Arbitration celebrates its 100th anniversary, President Claudia Salomon tells Africa Business how this global organisation has seen its highest growth in recent years in the MENA region. In the last 10 years, the number of parties coming to the ICC Court has tripled, with parties from the […]
By Virusha Subban, Partner specialising in Customs and Trade, and Head of Tax, Baker McKenzie, Johannesburg Africa is the world’s top producer of numerous critical mineral commodities. With the rapid increase in the rate of global energy transition, the continent’s mining industry has a role to play in sourcing and supplying these critical minerals for […]
African News, Kenya News, Startups
It’s time to demystify Intellectual Property in Kenyan innovation
by Sheilah Birgen, Country Lead for Kenya at Innovate UK KTN Global Alliance Africa. With a relatively stable macroeconomic environment, sustained investor confidence, and a fast-expanding services sector, Kenya has emerged as one of the fastest-growing economies in Africa and the largest in the East African region by way of Gross Domestic Product (GDP)[1]. To […]
African News, Main
United States and Africa: increased engagement regarding trade creating opportunities in the African free trade area
By Virusha Subban, Partner Specialising in Customs and Trade, and Head of the Tax Practice, Baker McKenzie Johannesburg There was more good news for the successful implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement in December 2022, when a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the United States (US) Trade Representative and the […]
African News, Main
Africa’s economic growth to outpace global forecast in 2023-2024 – African Development Bank Biannual Report
Africa is set to outperform the rest of the world in economic growth over the next two years, with real gross domestic product (GDP) averaging around 4% in 2023 and 2024. This is higher than projected global averages of 2.7% and 3.2%, the African Development Bank Group said in Africa’s Macroeconomic Performance and Outlook (http://bit.ly/3iLJF4C) […]
By now, most of us have heard about Bitcoin and its meteoric rise in value over the past few years. Even though Bitcoin and many other cryptocurrencies have seen a drop in value, investors remain cautious about whether investing in Bitcoin is still worth it. Many are questioning if cryptocurrency will ever regain its previous […]
By Josephine Wawira Kigali, a city that rhythms with African charm, prides itself on biodiversity so well maintained, sprawling over green valleys and ridges, the capital of the land of a thousand hills, Rwanda. I am here for the annual World Circular Economy Forum (WCEF), and like millions of other people who have visited Kigali, […]
African News
Experts say there are several factors in the workplace that could be causing staff to leave their jobs
There are many factors to consider when it comes to staff turnover – but while some may be inevitable, such as retirement, a change in career, or even moving away, others can be controlled. Employee wellbeing experts Loopin have highlighted six of the major factors in the workplace that could lead to a high staff […]
African News
Retailers Can Drive Commerce Experiences Via Mobile Messaging, New Clickatell Research Shows
Clickatell (www.Clickatell.com), the Chat Commerce and business messaging leader, announced the results of its latest Chat Commerce Trends Report: Retail Edition, which reveals new findings about how today’s consumers prefer to communicate and make purchases with retail companies through mobile and chat messaging conversations. The report, which fielded responses from over 1,000 participants, found that 95% of […]
The Scale Accelerator: Women’s Empowerment Programme is now open for applications from local NGOs in Malawi, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe addressing issues related to women’s empowerment. This is a fully-funded scaling consultancy program that will provide support to selected organizations as they work to increase their impact. The Scale Accelerator: Women’s Empowerment Programme provides […]
African News
The Africa-Europe Foundation launches its 2022 High-Level Group of Personalities’ annual report assessing the state of play of the commitments of the Africa-Europe partnership
October 28, 2022, Brussels – The Africa-Europe Foundation (AEF) has launched its annual in-depth assessment of the state of relations between our two neighbouring continents. The Report’s launch comes eight months after February’s long-awaited summit between the African Union and European Union leaders, closely followed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine one week later. The report has […]
United National Conference on Trade and Development says Africa’s untapped export of $31 billion[1] can be achieved if Africa implements partial tariff liberalisation under the African Continental Free Trade Area (ACFTA) Agreement over the next five years. Currently, trade between African countries comprises 61% of processed and semi-processed goods. Infrastructure and the harmonisation of logistics will make the […]
Access to finance for MSMEs in Somalia has become an issue since the state lacked an effective government to cater for the financial services. Therefore, the willingness to offer such exceptional services became paramount, leading to the emergence of private financial institutions in Somalia. A decade ago, a group of Somali businesspeople started financial institutions in Somalia to provide commercial financial services […]
By Virusha Subban, Partner and Head of Indirect Tax, Baker McKenzie Johannesburg The World Trade Organisation (WTO) announced in June an agreement to waive the intellectual property rights that usually apply in the manufacturing of vaccines, to assist the production of COVID-19 vaccines in developing countries. The measures were proposed to the WTO by the South African and […]
By Virusha Subban, Partner specialising in Customs and Trade, Head of Tax, Baker McKenzie Johannesburg The United States-Kenya Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership (STIP) was signed on 14 July 2022. The agreement outlines the enhanced engagement and high standard of commitment between the two countries, and focuses on increased investment and sustainable and inclusive growth that will […]
African News, Business, Events, South Africa News
Smart minds look to smart solutions at Africa’s only dedicated Smart Cities Summit
Big industry players join forces to tackle urban decarbonization challenge The world’s population is on a fast-track from rural to city living. With around 55% already residing in urban areas, this figure is expected to rise to 70% by mid-century. Cities may be the engines of growth and account for more than 80% of global […]
African News, Business, Events, Ghana News
Public Private Collaboration is Key to a Sustainable Mining Sector in Africa
Leading event in Accra shines a spotlight on responsible change The town of Obuasi in the Ashanti region of Ghana, West Africa, has a long and rich mining history. In 1897, large scale commercial and industrial mining began at the Obuasi Gold Mine and continued for over a century until its closure in 2014 for […]
DFIs directly or indirectly support over 6 million African jobs in the private sector New report published today by the ONE Campaign and the African Centre for Economic Transformation (ACET) reveals that the 10 largest global bilateral development finance institutions (DFIs) could substantially reduce Africa’s spiraling unemployment rate by 2025. The report titled Shifting and Accelerating DFI […]
Leading transport event tackles the key challenges of inter-Africa trade expansion In 2021, the Port of Maputo achieved a new handling record of 22.2 million tons, representing 21% year-on-year growth compared to the previous year’s handling volume of 18.3 million tons. A reflection of a post-Covid market recovery, Mozambique’s Maputo Port Development Company (MPDC) CEO Osório […]
Transport infrastructure is a fundamental enabler of sustainable economic growth in Africa and essential for global competitiveness and trade. As with many industries around the world, the transport industry is currently experiencing great change, which is being driven by several global trends, including technology and automation and Environment Social Governance (ESG). Tech-Driven Efficiency From self-driving […]