Saturday, November 23African Digital Business Magazine

Tag: investments

Zimbabwe News

The Real Need for an African Glocal Music Academy—Meeting the Financial Needs of Local Musicians Across the Continent

By Walter Wanyanya, a Board member of African Cultural Connections (ACA) and Founder & Artistic Director of the Jacaranda Music Festival, Jabulani Jazz Festival, & the Flame Lily Rock Music Festival in Harare, Zimbabwe.  Music in Africa has long been more than just an art form—it is a powerful tool for communication and storytelling, reflecting the continent’s rich and diverse history. Despite Africa’s global recognition in the music industry, many local musicians face financial struggles, preventing them from fully reaping the benefits of their talent.  Fragmented national music industries, lack of infrastructure, and limited financial support have left artists with little resources to sustain their careers. Establishing an African "Glocal" Music Academy, bridging global and loc...
African News, Business

Absa Closes Significant Trade Finance Facility with BII​

Absa has successfully secured a $150 million facility from British International Investment (BII) PLC as part of its mission to help close the trade finance gap in Africa. BII (formerly known as CDC) is a UK-based Development Finance Institution (DFI) focused on investing patient capital to foster productive, sustainable, and inclusive economies. Absa, as the borrower in this transaction, will utilise the funds to support this objective, with a specific focus on the African continent.​ Names from left to right are: Nick O’Donohoe, CEO, BII Anneliese Dodds, UK Minister for Development Charles Russon, Interim Group CEO, Absa Group “Our unyielding commitment to the success of the continent continues to drive us to find solutions to serve our customers in a meaningful and ...
Business

Strengthening Bridges: Exploring the Dynamics of Türkiye – UK Investment Relations

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris is dedicated to fostering international trade and investment. Its very mission is to promote open markets, responsible business conduct, and a level playing field for enterprises worldwide, which was the vision of Étienne Clémentel when the ICC was originally founded. Today, the ICC represents over 45 million companies in more than 170 countries, including the United Kingdom and Türkiye.  By providing essential services such as dispute resolution and policy advocacy, the ICC and the ICC International Court of Arbitration (ICC Court) plays a pivotal role in facilitating cross-border economic activities. This commitment is particularly relevant in the context of investment relations, where the ICC's efforts to streamline and safeguard int...
Interview with John Sisay on Mining Industry Trends in Namibia
Business, Interview, Main, Namibia News

Interview with John Sisay on Mining Industry Trends in Namibia

John Sisay is the CEO of Ongopolo Mining Limited and has over 20 years of experience working for some of the largest global and regional players, including De Beers. How does the recent decision to ban the export of unprocessed critical minerals affect Namibia’s mining industry and economy?  Namibia's recent decision to prohibit the export of raw minerals is a direct response to the growing global demand for metals essential in clean energy technologies. To meet this demand, we need to ensure a steady supply, and the local economy should be placed at the center of production The legislation is taking us in the right direction.  It’s a big shift for the country, moving from just exporting minerals to actively producing them – a major industry transformation. It's time for mining operatio...
Energy, Main

Harnessing Africa’s Potential: advancing ESG strategies for a sustainable future

The opportunities for building a sustainable future for Africa are at least as great as the challenges, writes Christian Toben, Head of Financial Institutions for Emerging Markets at Commerzbank. Here, he discusses some of the positive initiatives that are helping to drive forward the continent’s ESG agenda and the crucial role of financial institutions in supporting Africa’s potential to step onto the global stage as a green energy hub. According to a survey by the African Private Equity and Venture Capital Association, some 97% of respondents believe that environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles are a key consideration when making decisions on investments. ESG, it seems, is now as important in developing Africa as it is in mature markets such as Europe and North America.  ...
African News

Why fund of funds unit trusts are the way to go

By Gregoire Theron, Chief Investment Officer at GraySwan Investors have the option to either construct their own portfolio of selected single unit trusts or use a fund of funds solution – otherwise known as a fund of funds unit trust. Investors who are looking for well-diversified combination of single unit trust funds which provides consistent superior performing and at lower fees than the industry should consider fund of funds unit trusts. There are a select few premium fund of funds unit trusts which provides such as a one stop shop solution. Single manager unit trusts, which are managed funds that pool money from investors to achieve economies of scale, have grown increasingly popular as they provide easy access to a broad range of assets, such as local and offshore stocks, bonds an...
Main

Africa: Resilience in the private equity market

By Angela Simpson and Lydia Shadrach-Razzino, Partners and Co-heads of the Corporate/M&A Practice, Baker McKenzie Johannesburg Private markets in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) have seen a continuous rise in activity since the COVID 19 pandemic. The latest AVCA Private Capital Activity Report 2022 revealed that USD 7.6 billion of private capital was invested in 2022, resulting in a 3% growth in deal value across the continent last year, after a similarly upbeat 2021. According to the report, 37% of the deal volume came from multi-region investments. Challenges, risks and resilience This resilience is despite the impact of numerous crises over the last couple of years, especially the looming global recession, supply chain disruptions and soaring energy prices. These factors have led to fea...
Egypt News, Main

Arbitration as a Key Tool for Businesses in the MENA Region

By Samaa A. Haridi,  Vice President (Egypt and USA) of the ICC International Court of Arbitration and a Partner at law firm King & Spalding. International arbitration has become a key tool for conducting business in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, especially now that an increasing number of MENA businesses cross regional and international borders. The reasons behind this trend range from the need for neutral and efficient dispute resolution mechanisms, to the growing recognition of the benefits of international arbitration by governments and businesses alike, and the desire to protect investments. International arbitration offers a neutral forum for resolving disputes, which provides a level of comfort and security for businesses that operate across borders, as they ...
Business

Grow with Intention: How to Make The Best Investments for Your Business

Every business needs to grow. It does not, however, need to consistently achieve extreme profit margins and beat the previous quarter’s results repeatedly. So long as your business is profitable, then you’re doing wonderfully. However, this does not mean you can keep things the same for years to come. Markets change, new tools arise, and competitors will rise and fall. You need to work on how you can consistently improve so that you can recapture existing customers and attract the next generation of customers all in one fell swoop.  Growing your business with smart, intentional, and research-led investments is a must. If you aren’t sure how to begin, don’t worry, and instead follow this guide: Look For Opportunities in the Market  One of the best ways to grow and establish y...
South African assets may be cheap, but that’s not a good enough reason not to invest offshore
South Africa News

South African assets may be cheap, but that’s not a good enough reason not to invest offshore

By Mart Marie de Jongh, Certified Financial Planner at GraySwan  and Gregoire Theron, Chief Investment Officer  The investment world’s fixation on global inflation and whether we are approaching the peak and heading towards a recession, has many investors sitting on cash, waiting for signals of a better market. Despite this, investing in South Africa presents a convincing opportunity. In the South African Bond market, investors can yield more than 4% above South African inflation, one of the highest real yields compared to other developed and emerging markets.  This provides South African investors the opportunity to receive an income well above inflation with a lot of risks already priced into the asset class. South African equities and emerging market equities are also trading at very...