African business Archives - Page 3 of 7

7Dec

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Business, South Africa News

Internal fraud – who commits it and why

International Fraud Awareness Week is taking place from 14-20 November, highlighting an increasing problem that organisations around the world are facing. According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), businesses lose around 5% of their annual revenue globally due to fraudulent behaviour, which experts estimate amounts to a total annual loss around the world of $3.7 trillion. Fraud can hit organisations from various angles, and even though cybercrime and external fraud attacks are a huge risk, more often than many companies realise it is perpetrated from within. In fact, the Global Economic Crime and Fraud Survey showed that 41% of economic crimes in South Africa were committed by employees, compared to only 36% by external fraudsters and 21% a collusion between the t...

18Nov

By Baker McKenzieNo Comments

Main

Ten reasons to consider African trade and investment opportunities in 2022

By Lerisha Naidu, Partner, Competition & Antitrust; Lodewyk Meyer, Partner, Banking and Finance; Mike van Rensburg, Partner, M&A; and Virusha Subban, Partner, Customs and Trade, Baker McKenzie Johannesburg 1. Visible green shoots – rising commodity prices The pandemic closed borders and stopped trade, other than for essentials, across the continent and was the principal reason for a decline in investment in 2020. A lack of available capital and acquisition finance, as well as difficulties pricing deals in an uncertain market, also affected investment. Other reasons for declining investment, included that the levels of economic activity have slowed in the major African economies, such as Nigeria and South Africa. However, green shoots are visible and market fundamentals are sig...

28Oct

By Andrea TuckerNo Comments

Fintech, South Africa News

How business can harness the power of blockchain

By Andrea Tucker, Head of Research & Development and Strategic Projects at fintech specialist e4 In today’s digital world, where faxes have all but been replaced by email and landlines by smartphones, doesn’t it seem strange that we’re still signing contracts in person? That we’re driving hours to do so, creating mountains of paper trails, and storing them in lever arch files to gather dust, when the technology exists to eliminate this physical burden? Blockchain has been proven to solve this problem, yet its business adoption has been slow. The technology at the heart of bitcoin and other virtual currencies, blockchain is an open, distributed ledger that can record transactions between two parties efficiently and in a verifiable and permanent way. It’s time for the way we do admini...

21Oct

By Angelo TzarevskiNo Comments

Main

Increasing competition policy enforcement across Africa

By Angelo Tzarevski, Associate Director, and Zareenah Rasool, Candidate Attorney, Competition & Antitrust Practice, Baker McKenzie Johannesburg Competition policy continues to be viewed by regulators as a key driver of economic growth globally. Across Africa, competition policy enforcement is increasingly being employed as a tool to boost economic performance and promote the revitalization of trade and industry following the devastating impact of COVID-19. The effects of the pandemic have led to negative economic growth in a number of African jurisdictions, and have given rise to opportunistic, anticompetitive behaviours such as unreasonable price increases and price gouging, coordination amongst competitors, and other unsavoury business practices that erode competition. Over the pas...

17Oct

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Business, South Africa News, Startups

Creating inclusive workplaces to boost mental health

Zama Zaca, Head of New Business at Tetris South Africa, shares some design tips on how to make workspaces more inclusive and improve employee mental wellness of employees. Mental health has been in the spotlight recently, with people under strain from the ongoing COVID-19 crisis and top athletes opening up about their mental health struggles during prominent international sporting events. These athletes, including gymnast Simone Biles, tennis player Naomi Osaka and others, who are at the pinnacle of their careers, have helped accelerate a trend in mental wellness, shining a light on its importance to a person’s overall wellness and ability to perform. Companies, too, are starting to prioritise workers’ health and wellbeing, as reflected by flexible and accommodating work policies durin...

1Oct

By Baker McKenzieNo Comments

Ethiopia News, Kingdom of Eswatini News, Main, Malawi News, Mozambique News, Namibia News, South Africa News

Increasing competition policy enforcement across Africa

By Angelo Tzarevski, Associate Director, and Zareenah Rasool, Candidate Attorney, Competition & Antitrust Practice, Baker McKenzie Johannesburg Competition policy continues to be viewed by regulators as a key driver of economic growth globally. Across Africa, competition policy enforcement is increasingly being employed as a tool to boost economic performance and promote the revitalization of trade and industry following the devastating impact of COVID-19. The effects of the pandemic have led to negative economic growth in a number of African jurisdictions, and have given rise to opportunistic, anticompetitive behaviours such as unreasonable price increases and price gouging, coordination amongst competitors, and other unsavoury business practices that erode competition. Over the pas...

12Aug

By Mike van RensburgNo Comments

African News, Business, Main

Massive increase in M&A deal value in Sub-Saharan Africa in the first half of 2021

There were 333 M&A deals announced in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in the first six months of 2021 (H1 2021), valued at USD 57.7 billion, according to Baker McKenzie's analysis of Refinitiv data. When compared to the same period last year (H1 2020) this amounted to a 14% increase in deal volume and an astounding 576% increase in deal value. H1 2020 recorded 293 M&A deals with a deal value of USD 8.5 billion. Last year was a relatively difficult year for investors in Africa, with considerable uncertainty. Pandemic impacts had a limiting effect on numerous sectors and many deals had to be postponed as a result. The boost in M&A deal value in 2021 is, in part, due to a post-COVID boom, where last year’s postponed and delayed transactions were able to proceed in the first half of 2021...

2Jun

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Fintech, Startups

Venture Capital trends shaping the African investment landscape

As the second half of 2021 approaches and Covid-19 vaccinations roll out across the globe, albeit at varying rates, Ian Lessem, Managing Partner at HAVAÍC, investors in early-stage, high-growth technology businesses, considers the trends making an impact on the African Venture Capital (VC) landscape. Homegrown solutions take on the world At HAVAÍC, our investment thesis is centred around investing in businesses that solve real-world challenges. With the world having adjusted to new ways of shopping, learning, and doing business as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the appetite for solutions that solve real, tangible problems are without a doubt the best opportunities for growth. Solutions that offer people and organisations better ways of living and working with less friction will reign ...

16May

By Achare TakorNo Comments

African News, Cameroon News, Startups

Incentives For Digital Economy Production In Cameroon

By Achare Takor, Head of Intellectual Property Desk, Centurion Law Group An Overview of Section 124b of the General Tax Code Over the last decade, information technologies (IT) have revolutionized the way people and businesses carry out their daily activities worldwide. There is abundant evidence that the upsurge of technology has been a major contributor to fundamental economic change, notably the growth in global production and the distribution of intangible goods and services. As a result, the digital economy has become the new focus for economic growth in developing countries. With ICT set to become the engine of development in Cameroon in its role as a hub in the Central Africa sub-region, the 2021 tax scheme has been updated to promote innovative ICT start-ups. Eligibility for ...

11May

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Events, Startups

The Legatum Center for Development & Entrepreneurship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA) launches the inaugural Legatum Foundry Fellowship for entrepreneurs in Africa

Fellowship applications open on May 3, 2021 for entrepreneurs working and living in Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal. The Legatum Center for Development & Entrepreneurship at MIT has launched the Foundry Fellowship, a first-of-its-kind leadership program for accomplished entrepreneurs who are considering their role in shaping the future of the African innovation ecosystems in which they work and live. At an inflection point in their entrepreneurial journeys, Fellows will learn from MIT faculty, connect with investors, and expand their network of peer innovators. The Fellowship is open to entrepreneurs working and living in Uganda, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda, and Senegal. Building on the MIT ethos of Mens et Manus (Mind and Hand), the Foundry is ...