four Archives - AfricaBusiness.com

27Nov

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

The call to make Cape Town a ‘Smart City’ is getting serious

By Thandisizwe Mgudlwa Further calls to make Cape Town a 'Smart City' continue to increase. One of the people in the forefront of these calls is Chris Whelan, CEO of business think-tank Accelerate Cape Town. Whelan says, “Developing a ‘smart city’, where information and communication technology (ICT) is leveraged to provide excellent service and which significantly contributes to a business environment conducive to both foreign and domestic investment, is an important part of positioning Cape Town as Africa’s global city, a city of innovation and inspiration.” According to Whelan, enabling technology exploitation in education, healthcare, transport, and safety and security all contribute to the development of a ‘smart city’. “One of the most exciting steps the city is taking...

16Nov

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

African News, Senegal News

Africare to outline essential role of civil society, small-scale farming and best practices at this year’s AgriBusiness Forum

Agri2012 - AfriCare (Microsoft Word) Leading American NGO spotlights small-scale farming for a result-driven future for Africa’s Agri-Food sector. “Across Africa it is the small entrepreneurs and businesses that drive community livelihoods and national economic development. Yet without adequate financing or access to buyers, producers associations are not able to sell their products to increase their incomes and bolster their livelihoods. Furthermore without knowledge of the markets, they are unable to secure the inputs and technology needed to increase production,” explains Gwen Young Senegal Country Director for Africare who will be presenting Africare’s vision at this year’s AgriBusiness Forum taking place in Dakar, Senegal from 25-28 November 2012. Focused on establishing s...

14Nov

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

African News, South Africa News

Oil and Gas training for Western Cape province’s artisans

By Thandisizwe Mgudlwa Around the September month, Dormac’s first group of learner artisans commenced with their institutional training at Saldanha’s West Coast College, Western Cape province. The training forms part of the Accelerated Artisan Training Programme (AATP) in welding and concludes with the National Trade Test which, if successfully completed, will result in a trade qualification that is registered and quality assured by merSETA and the Department of Labour. This AATP programme is part of a strategy put in place by National government to maintain the number of skilled artisans in the country. Dormac says it has been involved in this project for some time and is one of the top three companies in South Africa with regards to training initiatives having developed 650 a...

12Nov

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

African News

Former President of the African Development Bank Babacar Ndiaye to lead Investment Day at this year’s AgriBusiness Forum.

African expert calls on everyone involved in agriculture to step up to the fore for the sake of the entire continent’s development and in the fight against poverty. 12th November 2012, Brussels, Belgium With the AgriBusiness Forum 2012 just around the corner, Babacar Ndiaye, former President of the African Development Bank and founder of the African Business Roundtable (ABR), outlines his demands towards the African and international community to act and establish basic and fundamental financial policies to create real change, after years of debates and establishing potential visions and objectives. “Africa’s agricultural potential cannot induce people into a self-righteous optimism, but should instead incite a responsible and pro-active approach from the sector’s various players because ...

10Nov

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Energy, Green Energy

Standard Bank Group commits R9.4bn to first batch of renewable energy projects

Standard Bank Group has emerged as the leading investor in the first round of South Africa's renewable energy independent power producer (REIPP) procurement process, backing a total of 11 wind and solar projects. Standard Bank Group will provide comprehensive corporate and investment banking services to all its clients, including underwriting R9.4-billion worth of debt, providing interest and currency hedges, carbon trading credits, and corporate bonding and guarantee facilities. Standard Bank Group has also taken an equity stake in four projects. The South African government's allocation of 1,416MW for this first round of the procuremnt process has translated...

9Nov

By Komi Didier AssogbaNo Comments

Africa Travel, African News, Togo News

Development of the tourist sector of Togo

Soon the classification of the hotel establishments Togo abounds in a large number of hotel establishments which welcome visitors so national as international. Of Lomé until Cinkassé hotels and other places of rest abound, what can be considered as a good thing for the tourist development of the country. The existence of these hotel establishments palie in the lack of infrastructures that must welcome the passengers and the tourists who come and go to the discovery of Togo and its inmost depths. But then raises a problem as for the concordance enter the quality of the services offered to the customers and the prices practised by the upholders of hotels, restaurants and bars. What took the government to be thought of the ratification and the classification of the hotel establishments and t...

8Nov

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

African News, South Africa News

Ireland’s Minister for Trade and Development Leads Enterprise Ireland Trade Mission to South Africa

On Sunday 10 November 2012, Ireland’s Minister for Trade and Development, Joe Costello TD, will lead an Enterprise Ireland trade mission with 37 companies to South Africa. The trade mission is being organised by Irish trade and technology agency, Enterprise Ireland in close cooperation with Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Embassy of Ireland in Johannesburg. It is aimed at cementing the growing trade relations between the two countries and is part of a broad, long term strategy to further develop Irish trade links and partnerships not just in the South African market, but in the wider Sub-Saharan region. Last year Irish exports to South Africa increased to €944m and exports for 2012 are expected to continue this momentum. South Africa exports ...

8Nov

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

African News, South Africa News

Coface projections on SA, Africa and the global economy will have to be tested

By Thandisizwe Mgudlwa Africa is best positioned to provide a thriving business environment, a leading International credit insurer attests. Coface has projected that by 2016, South African exports into Africa will increase significantly but will be offset by an equivalent drop in trade with Europe. The group also says that the will also be an increase in trade with Asia but trade with the US will remain at the current levels. And Garth de Klerk, CEO of Coface South Africa, says: "China will play an important role in SA’s economic future. Currently, 13% of total SA’s exports are to China. They consume 65% of all primary aluminum produced in SA and 70% of all iron ore mined in SA. Notably, China’s biggest export markets in 2011 was the EU at $356-billion followed by the US at...

8Nov

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

African News

Houston Hosts the PanAfrican Entrepreneurs Conference – Global Opportunities in Energy, Agribusiness, Technology, and Capital Access

WASHINGTON, Nov., 2012 /PRNewswire via African Press Organization (APO)/ — The PanAfrican Entrepreneurs Conference (PAEC) takes place November 15-18, 2012, in Houston, TX at the Four Seasons Hotel. PAEC is an arena for entrepreneurs and business people within the Black Diaspora to meet and further business connections. This is the newly formed international division of the National Black Chamber of Commerce. The project strategies of PAEC are to promote, help develop and expose procurement opportunities for entrepreneurs. These opportunities will include infrastructure, energy, water management, agri-business, telecommunications, fashion, matchmaking, logistics, transportation, healthcare, environmental management, bidding/tender/RFP management, education facilities, f...

7Nov

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

African News, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Democratic Republic of Congo: ICT4Gov Project Uses Participatory Budgeting and Telecommunications to Build Transparency and Accountability

Synopsis Project feedback mechanisms driven by participatory budgeting and new innovations in information communication technology are working to successfully build transparency, increase accountability and overcome a long history of mistrust in the Democratic Republic of Congo's South Kivu Province. Challenge Following decades of colonial rule, conflict upon conflict, mismanagement, and internal corruption, the Democratic Republic of Congo's national government was left with limited institutional capacity to provide effective services at the local level. This limited capacity has often prompted citizens' groups to view the central government as illegitimate, rent-seeking authorities uninterested in ensuring that resources filter down from the capital to far flung pr...