Private Sector Archives - AfricaBusiness.com

13Dec

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

African Banking innovation sees AfDB approving multi-currency line of credit of USD 300m

By Thandisizwe Mgudlwa The African Development Bank has extended the equivalent of USD 300 million to FirstRand Bank Limited to support projects across Africa This week an announcement from Tunis, Tunisia, revealed that the African Development Bank has approved a seven-year multi-currency line of credit for an amount equivalent to USD 300 million to FirstRand Bank Limited (FRB) of South Africa to finance a wide range of projects in local currencies and across Africa. And most African countries are characterized by low discretionary rates of domestic savings. As a result, the intermediation capacity of the financial sectors is limited, leading to the gap currently being filled with borrowings denominated in foreign currency. However, this introduces a currency mismatch in the fi...

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...

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

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

CTICC and Neotel taking conferencing to international standards

By Thandisizwe Mgudlwa The Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) in conjunction with Neotel have produced a modern innovative conferencing technology. Also, this partnership has opened South Africa’s second public TelePresence room. TelePresence is an immersive meeting experience that offers ultimate video and audio clarity. The CTICC is also the first conference centre in South Africa to have a dedicated public TelePresence room. Participants are life-size, and every sound, gesture, and facial expression supports natural communication. Rashid Toefy, Chief Executive Officer said: “Joining multiple TelePresence calls creates a single, exclusive meeting space. This provides innovative and effective business collaboration and contributes towards faster decision m...

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, Uganda News

IMF Concludes Staff Mission to Uganda

KAMPALA, Uganda, November 6, 2012/African Press Organization (APO)/ – An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team visited Kampala from October 24 to November 6, 2012 to carry out discussions with the Ugandan authorities for the fifth review of their IMF-supported economic and financial program. The mission met with Hon. Maria Kiwanuka, Minister of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development, and Professor Emanuel Tumusiime-Mutebile, Governor of the Bank of Uganda, as well as other senior government officials, development partners, and representatives of the private sector and civil society. At the end of the mission, Ms. Ana Lucía Coronel, IMF senior resident representative and mission chief for Uganda, issued the following statement: “Uganda’s economic growth rate declined fro...

6Nov

By The African Press OrganizationNo Comments

African News, Equatorial Guinea

American Businessman Talks About Investment In Equatorial Guinea

More than 25,000 Americans Work in Equatorial Guinea Today MALABO, Equatorial Guinea, Nov., 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Investing in Equatorial Guinea is a flexible and friendly process, according to American businessman John James. In a recent interview with Focus Washington, John James, founder and chairman of JD James & Company, an advisory firm serving governments, government sponsored enterprises and the global private sector in West and Central Africa, said that Equatorial Guinea offers more flexibility to establish a business than other African countries because the government has deeply focused on the country’s development. James has lived and worked in Africa for more than ten years. James said that Equatorial Guinea is one of the most dynamic stories in Afric...

5Nov

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

African News, Zimbabwe News

Zimbabwe develops e-health strategies

by Wallace Mawire ln a bid to move with global developments Zimbabwe has developed ehealth strategies to enhance service delivery and increase competitiveness in the health sector. Globally all sectors are embracing Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). Health care is no exception.ICTs can transform how health care is delivered and how health systems are run. The use of ICTs in health care service delivery is termed ehealth. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines ehealth as the combined use of electronic communication and information technology in the health sector. "E-health is the means of ensuring that the right health information is provided to the right person at the right place and time in a secure,electronic form for the purpose of optimizing the qual...