Reducing Archives - AfricaBusiness.com

26Dec

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

African News

A company that knows how to make things look easy

By Thandisizwe Mgudlwa Alcatel-Lucent has a success story to tell. Its stories, references and activities in Africa in 2012 is a lesson for many other organizations who what to make it big on the continent. In a recently published document Alcatel-Lucent shares references, successes, achievement and activities in Africa; as well as vision of African Market and broadband according to Daniel Jaeger, Vice-President of Alcatel-Lucent in Africa. News from Algiers, Algeria reveal that broadband for Africa, realize the potential of a connected world and tackle rural inclusion. I – Alcatel-Lucent presence, activities and foot print in Africa. II- Broadband in Africa, vision and view according to Daniel Jaeger Vice-President of Alcatel-Lucent Africa. III - Alcatel-Lucent’s pres...

13Dec

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

African News, South Africa News

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...

17Nov

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African News, South Africa News

Frost & Sullivan Awards Invensys Operations Management for Growth Leadership in the South African ACS Market

Diversified product portfolio, focused innovation and exceptional customer service underpin continuous growth CAPE TOWN, Africa, Nov., 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Based on its recent analysis of the Automation and Control Solution (ACS) market in South Africa, Frost & Sullivan recognises Invensys Operations Management Southern Africa with the coveted 2012 South African Growth Leadership Award. "In a market facing increasingly intense competition, Invensys Operations Management Southern Africa has continued to register strong growth," noted Frost & Sullivan's Automation & Electronics Team Leader, James Maposa. "An innovative and diversified product portfolio, strategic partnering and exceptional customer service and support have enabled the company to maintain its pos...

10Nov

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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...

8Nov

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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

Energy, Green Energy, South Africa News

Abengoa Begins Construction on Two CSP Plants Awarded by the South Africa Department of Energy

- Khi Solar One and KaXu Solar One will be the first concentrating solar power (CSP) plants in South Africa and will use advanced technology specifically developed for the country's needs - Both plants will be able to store energy and generate power after sunset SEVILLE, Spain, Nov., 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Abengoa, the international company that applies innovative technology solutions for sustainable development in the energy and environment sectors, announced today that it has begun construction on the 50 MW solar power tower Khi Solar One and the 100 MW parabolic trough plant KaXu Solar One in South Africa. The concentrating solar power (CSP) plants were two of the 28 renewable energy projects announced late 2011 by the South Africa Department of Energy (DOE). The DOE ...

6Nov

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African News

International business must reach out to the global masses

By Thandisizwe Mgudlwa An initiative aimed at mobilizing the Global business community to achieve sustainable prosperity must be taken seriously. A document released from Washington, D.C reveals that transnational corporations are now so numerous and in some cases so well capitalized that their global influence now rivals and in many cases exceeds that of governments, according to research published by the Worldwatch Institute. And that around 80,000 transnational corporations (TNCs) operate worldwide, a mere 147 of which control 40 percent of the total value of all these corporations' value. Any vision of a sustainable future must include full recognition of the role that TNCs play in shaping the planet's human and ecological destiny, authors argue in Institute's Stat...

3Nov

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Rwanda News

Africa: Regional integration can boost FDI, experts at AEC say

KIGALI, Rwanda, November, 2012/African Press Organization (APO)/ – Experts at the ongoing African Economic Conference in Kigali today agreed that Africa would need to strengthen regional integration in order to boost increased Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on the continent, because it creates larger domestic markets and stimulates trade, two elements that can attract FDI. “At a time when China, India, Brazil and other large emerging markets are taking on such a prominence in the global economy, we must surely focus the minds of African policymakers, particularly from smaller, landlocked countries, on the importance of pushing forward the regional integration agenda”, said Andrew Mold, a senior Economic Affairs Officer of ECA. Mold said that attracting FDI in Africa c...

3Nov

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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...

3Nov

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Science

A*STAR’s Data Storage Institute Launches Next Generation 5mm Hybrid Hard Disk Drive

Singapore, Singapore, November 03, 2012 --(PR.com)-- The “A-Drive,” one of the world’s thinnest 5mm hybrid hard drive in a 2.5’’ form factor, was officially launched by Mr. S. Iswaran, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister for Home Affairs and Trade & Industry, to commemorate the Data Storage Institute’s (DSI) 20 years of R&D in the area of data storage capabilities. The “A-Drive” represents the next generation of storage innovation providing capacities of up to 1 TB Hard Disk Drive (HDD) with 32 GB Solid State Drive (SSD). This potentially allows the “A-Drive” to store over 250,000 songs in its 5mm body. The “A-Drive” also addresses limitations of the popular, yet expensive, flash-based SSD, as well as the conventional HDD for the consumer and ...