Main Archives - Page 14 of 19 - AfricaBusiness.com

25Apr

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Main

An inter-connected African aviation industry could deliver USD $29bn in direct revenue

AviaDev, Africa’s premier event dedicated to developing connectivity to, from and within the African continent, in conjunction with partners, MIDAS Aviation and Futureneers Advisors have estimated the potential revenue from new African aviation routes could yield USD $29bn in direct revenue. This revenue, which is more than the individual GDP’s of 70% of the countries in Africa, could be realised if the largest airports in each African country are connected with one another. Currently, only 33.7% of this huge market is served, meaning that there is over USD $19bn in untapped annual revenue. AviaDev, now in its fourth year brings together airports, airlines, tourism bodies and suppliers and customises one-to-one meetings so that new partnerships and routes can be created. AviaDev’s manag...

A Future Option for African Fast Intercity Coastal Transportation

15Apr

By Harry ValentineNo Comments

Kenya News, Main, Tanzania News

A Future Option for African Fast Intercity Coastal Transportation

The recent redevelopment and upgrading of Kenya’s Mombasa – Nairobi railway line has revealed a market for faster, affordable intercity passenger transportation services between African cities. Following the recent tragedy of Ethiopian Airlines, the African passenger transportation market might be ready to consider an alternative technology capable of providing affordable, fast travel between several pairs of African coastal cities. Introduction: A transportation technology that is currently being developed in locations such as South Korea, West Germany and Singapore offers the promise of competitively-priced, fast passenger travel between such pairs of African cities such as Mombasa – Dar es Salaam, Lobito – Luanda, Maputo – Beira and Lüderitz – Walvis Bay. Unlike fast trains and airline ...

Tapping into Digital Technology Platforms to Increase Agriculture Productivity in Africa

15Apr

By Johan BurgerNo Comments

Agriculture, Main, Mali News, Nigeria News, Senegal News, Zambia News

Tapping into Digital Technology Platforms to Increase Agriculture Productivity in Africa

by Johan Burger Introduction Africa is a bit of an anomaly as far as agriculture is concerned. On the one hand, it has 65% of the world’s available uncultivated arable land, and it has the potential to feed the world. However, a country such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which has the potential to feed Africa’s 1.2 billion people, struggles to feed its own population of about 70 million. On the other hand, the continent is a net importer of food to the tune of US$41 billion annually. This figure is set to grow to US$110 billion by 2025 should nothing change. We also find that the average age of farmers in Africa is about 63 years, and 85% of farming activity takes place on smallholder plots of 2 - 3 hectares each. At the same time, the youth of Africa are fed-up with the p...

10Apr

By Johan BurgerNo Comments

Egypt News, Energy, Eritrea News, Ethiopia News, Ghana News, Green Energy, Kenya News, Main, Namibia News, Nigeria News, Republic of Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Rwanda News, Somalia News, South Africa News, South Sudan, Togo News, Zimbabwe News

Trends and Events in Africa 2018

by Johan Burger 2018 has been an interesting year for Africa, with various events and trends becoming visible. 2016 saw the effects of the slowdown of China’s economic growth due to its rebalancing of its economy and the end of the commodity price super cycle. 2017 brought some relief. In Africa, 2018 demonstrated a number of continued trends, but also some new events. The NTU-SBF Centre for African Studies publishes a weekly newsletter. These were studied to pick up on the trends prominent in 2018. Some of these trends are more elaborate than others. Trend 1: Foreign Investment in Africa Africa has been the recipient of foreign investment form a variety of foreign countries. In addition to the normal investors such as China, Japan, India, etc., we are also seeing new entrants or countries...

Friday@Noon on Manufacturing in Africa: 2018

10Apr

By Johan BurgerNo Comments

Business, Ethiopia News, Kenya News, Main, Rwanda News, South Africa News, Uganda News

Friday@Noon on Manufacturing in Africa: 2018

by Johan Burger The NTU-SBF Centre for African Studies publishes a weekly newsletter on issues relevant to Africa. This paper is based on issues addressed in the newsletter. Manufacturing in Africa Manufacturing and industrialisation are the current buzzwords for transforming Africa’s economies. In order to reduce any dependence on the extraction and sale of raw commodities, it does make sense to diversify Africa’s economies. African economies do seem to struggle with growing and developing their manufacturing sectors and to increase this sector’s contribution to their GDP’s. In addition to the challenges stated below, we do find that cheap imports from abroad complicate the process even more. These cheap imports range from cheap steel products from China (upsetting steel manufacturing in ...

Friday@Noon on Economic Development in Africa: 2018

10Apr

By Johan BurgerNo Comments

Angola News, Botswana News, Kenya News, Main, Nigeria News, Rwanda News, South Africa News, Zambia News

Friday@Noon on Economic Development in Africa: 2018

by Johan Burger The NTU-SBF Centre for African Studies publishes a weekly newsletter on issues relevant to Africa. This paper is based on issues addressed in the newsletter. The year 2018 saw numerous cases of economic development on the African continent. This would include trade, etc. Africa The US$2 trillion-plus Sub-Saharan Africa economy continues to strengthen from a low point in 2016, thanks to domestic policy adjustments and improved global economic activity. Growth is projected to increase from 2.7% in 2017 to 3.1% in 2018. With the exception of SSA’s two biggest markets (Nigeria and SA), the rest of SSA has grown at 5.3% on average in the period spanning 2010-17, but with wider heterogeneity across countries. Hence, there are plenty opportunities for dedicated investors. The regi...

Friday@Noon on Foreign Investment in Africa: 2018

10Apr

By Johan BurgerNo Comments

Business, Egypt News, Energy, Main

Friday@Noon on Foreign Investment in Africa: 2018

by Johan Burger The NTU-SBF Centre for African Studies publishes a weekly newsletter on issues relevant to Africa. This paper is based on issues addressed in the newsletter. Africa has been the recipient of foreign investment form a variety of foreign countries. In addition to the normal investors such as China, Japan, India, etc., we are also seeing new entrants or countries that are making a comeback. The countries identified below are also not meant to be the only investors, but have been noted in the general media. China in Africa China has been quite active in Africa for the past number of years. In addition to participating in infrastructure development contracts, it has also been financing a lot of Africa’s debt. It is still Africa’s largest trade partner. A prominent development is...

10Apr

By Johan BurgerNo Comments

Business, Egypt News, Ghana News, Main, Nigeria News, Rwanda News, Tech, Uganda News

Friday@Noon on Financial Services in Africa: 2018

by Johan Burger The NTU-SBF Centre for African Studies publishes a weekly newsletter on issues relevant to Africa. This paper is based on issues addressed in the newsletter. The financial services industry in Africa has seen a lot of development throughout the past few years, as was the case in 2018. Mobile telephony has driven the US$300 million monthly transactions in Africa from 7.2 million new people (up 250% from 2012) using digital financial services and 45,000 new banking agents due to a financial inclusion project. Financial inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa has increased from 23% in 2011 to 43% in 2017. Mobile money solutions and agent banking now offer affordable, instant, and reliable transactions, savings, credit, and even insurance opportunities in rural villages and urban neigh...

10Apr

By Johan BurgerNo Comments

Djibouti News, Eritrea News, Ethiopia News, Main, Somalia News, Sudan News

Friday@Noon on the Horn of Africa: 2018

by Johan Burger The NTU-SBF Centre for African Studies publishes a weekly newsletter on issues relevant to Africa. This paper is based on issues addressed in the newsletter. The Horn of Africa has increasingly become the scene of activity, driven not only by players in the region, but also from abroad. For the purposes of this paper, Sudan will be included as part of the Horn. Sudan In 2018, and before, we have seen Russia, Britain, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE becoming active in Sudan. The question is whether this is a short-term phenomenon or are we seeing a trend that will grow in the future? As it is, China is Sudan's biggest trade partner, importing oil from Sudan while exporting low cost items as well as armaments to Sudan. China’s footprint in Sudan has grown exponentiall...

10Apr

By Johan BurgerNo Comments

Ethiopia News, Main, Mozambique News, South Africa News, Sudan News, Tanzania News

Friday@Noon on Mining in Africa: 2018

by Johan Burger The NTU-SBF Centre for African Studies publishes a weekly newsletter on issues relevant to Africa. This paper is based on issues addressed in the newsletter. Various mining initiatives and challenges occurred during 2018. Below is a snapshot of some of it. This is by no means an exhaustive list. Tanzania Tanzania wants to take more of the profits from its vast mineral resources by overhauling the fiscal and regulatory regime of its mining sector. It adopted new regulations, which now make it compulsory for foreign-owned mining groups to offer shares to the government and local companies. A contractor, sub-contractor, mining company or other allied entity must maintain a bank account with an indigenous Tanzanian bank and transact business through banks in the country. The in...