Challenges Archives - Page 2 of 5

13Nov

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

African News

AUC and CTA sign MoU to strengthen agricultural policies in Africa

by Wallace Mawire The African Union Commission (AUC) and the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen agricultural policies in Africa, according to a spokesperson. The MoU was signed by the AUC’s Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture (DREA) Commissioner, Mrs. Rhoda Peace Tumusiime, on behalf of the AUC and Dr. Michael Hailu, CTA Director. The partnership with CTA was welcomed as a timely move; as global attention was now focused on Africa’s resolve to shoulder its responsibilities of eradicating hunger and poverty. CTA’s role involves championing the causes of agricultural development, food and nutrition security and environmental sustainability in Africa. DREA and CTA h...

10Nov

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

African News, Morocco News

IBM Develops Plan to Help Moroccan Farmers Boost Skills, Production

RABAT, Morocco, Nov., 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) experts participating in the company's pro bono Corporate Service Corps program have recommended a strategy to lift the productivity of Moroccan farmers. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090416/IBMLOGO) The plan focuses on improving coordination between the country's Ministry of Agriculture and the farming community, as well as improve internal coordination within the ministry. Closer ties with farmers will enable the ministry to provide more timely advisories, training, and research results -- enabling farmers to modernize work techniques and improve their production quality and quantity. The nine-member IBM team, comprising members who hail from five countries, presented recommendations on a varie...

9Nov

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

African News, South Africa News

IMN’s 10th Annual South African & African Capital Markets Conference

IMN's 10th Annual South African & African Cap Mkts Conference (Microsoft Word) 22-23 November 2012 The Westin Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa NEW YORK CITY, NY – As we enter this next decade in the event's timeline, IMN and our event sponsors will build on our excellent reputation as the only 'must attend' capital markets conference in South Africa. Join us in Cape Town 22-23 November 2012, as the South African and African Capital Markets communities convene to explore and define the road ahead for the international debt capital markets. Co-Host: IFC The conference is co-hosted by IFC, a member of the World Bank Group and the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. IFC helps developing countries achieve sustainable ...

8Nov

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

African News, South Africa News

Leading IT summit to boost ICT sector in South Africa through improved broadband and infrastructure

The 4th annual IT Leaders Africa Summit will be held in South Africa's city of gold, Johannesburg from 13 to 14 March 2013. The summit is hosted and produced by international business-to-business conferencing company, Kinetic Events. The IT Leaders Summit series is hosted in strategic locations all over the world including Johannesburg, Dubai, Ghana, Cape Town and Nairobi. The series hosts over 150 CIOs and senior IT executives representing leading companies from the respective regions. South Africa, Republic of, Nov, 2012 - Telecommunications is one of the fastest growing sectors within South Africa's economy, driven by rapid growth in mobile and broadband connectivity within recent years. South Africa boasts a network that is reportedly 99.9% digital and includes the latest advancemen...

7Nov

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

African News

Frost & Sullivan Award Recognises 1Stream’s Exceptional Entrepreneurship

Year-on-year growth exceeding 100% in 2011 caps company's stellar performance CAPE TOWN, South Africa, Nov. 7, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Based on its recent analysis of the hosted contact centre market, Frost & Sullivan recognises 1Stream with the South African Entrepreneurial Company of the Year Award. Since its inception in 2008, 1Stream has managed to grow its business phenomenally in response to the strengthening demand for hosted contact centre solutions. The company has witnessed exceptionally strong growth in the last year, with year-on-year growth exceeding 100%. 1Stream boasts a client list including multinational companies such as wonga.com and Bloomberg. Undoubtedly, the most important milestone achieved by 1Stream was the signing of a deal in October 2010 ...

6Nov

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

African News, Ethiopia News

The 5th African Private Sector Forum gets underway under the theme “The Role of Private Sector in Promoting Investment and Agro-Industry in Africa”

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, November 6, 2012/African Press Organization (APO)/ – The 3 day 5th African Private Sector Forum was launched today in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire with strategic aims to promote investment and trade through partnerships and joint ventures between the African Union Commission’s (AUC) Member States, the Middle East and the world at large in key sectors such as infrastructure development, transportation, telecommunication amongst others. Held under the theme “The Role of Private Sector in Promoting Investment and Agro-Industry in Africa”, the annual Forum will bring the African and Arab business communities on one platform to explore business opportunities, focusing primarily on how the private sector actors from both regions can forge sustainable partnerships with a v...

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, 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...

5Nov

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

African News, Malawi News

Malawi Economic Conference Affirms Recent Policy Reforms and Calls for Additional Measures to Achieve More Inclusive Growth

LILONGWE, Malawi, November 5, 2012/African Press Organization (APO)/ – The Malawi Ministry of Finance, the Reserve Bank of Malawi and the International Monetary Fund jointly organized a conference in Lilongwe during November 2-3, 2012 aimed at discussing strategies for enhancing the implementation of Malawi’s Economic Recovery Plan (ERP). The high level conference was held under the theme “Toward More Inclusive Growth.” The conference which was opened by Her Excellency President Joyce Banda attracted leaders from the Executive and Legislative branches of Government, and representatives of civil society, labor, business, academia and Malawi’s development partners. In her address, President Banda charged participants to review critically the ERP implementation strategy and come ...

3Nov

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

African News, Rwanda News

Africa: Shared benefits require bold economic reforms

The seventh African Economic Conference ended on November 2, 2012 in Kigali, Rwanda KIGALI, Rwanda, November 3, 2012/African Press Organization (APO)/ – Participants at the closing session of the seventh African Economic Conference (http://www.africaneconomicconference.org), on November 2, 2012 in Kigali, Rwanda, urged African leaders to put in place bold economic reforms, aimed at sustaining growth and boosting human development. Logo African Economic Conference: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/logos/aec-logo.jpg Photo Donald Kaberuka: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/photos/donald-kaberuka—afdb-president.jpg The four-day conference highlighted the need for policy-makers to create diversified economies capable of generating e...