BUSINESS - The African Mirror

Sep

25

2021

Economic “bounce” in Africa higher than expected

BUSINESS

CONRAD ONYANGO, BIRD AFRICA’S economy is starting to recover, despite being in the midst of a pandemic, the recently published Africa Risk-Reward Index 2021 shows. Control Risks and Oxford Economics Africa analysts, who jointly produced the index, project that the continent’s economy will grow by 4.4 percent in 2021, citing reduced COVID-19 caseloads despite slow vaccine rollout. Not even the third wave of COVID-19 including an outbreak of the more deadly "Delta" variant has stopping African economies from growing, the index results show. “Economies are starting to recover and the virus is no longer an all-consuming issue infringing on every…

Dec

10

2020

By The African Mirror

New South African airline Lift takes off as pandemic sinks others

BUSINESS

A new domestic South African airline has launched, betting on low operating costs and oil prices to withstand an industry crisis that has left national flagship SAA struggling to survive and sunk other low-cost carriers. The new carrier, Lift, part-founded by former Uber Africa executive Jonathan Ayache and Gidon Novick, who ran low-cost flyer kulala.com, said it planned to avoid a cash-heavy operational model that hit its rivals. "We're fortunate, operating costs are as low as they've ever been. Obviously that's subject to the exchange rate," said Novick. "Oil prices are pretty low. Aircraft values have almost halved, and people…

Sep

24

2021

By The African Mirror

Crypto adoption rate in Africa fastest in the world

BUSINESS

SETH ONYANGO, BIRD AFRICA amassed 105.6 billion dollars worth of cryptocurrencies in forecasts for the year ending June 2021, driven by peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions in key growth markets. Markets like Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Tanzania had some of the highest grass-roots adoptions in the world and ranked in the top 20 Global Crypto Adoption Index. Digital analytics firm, Chainalysis’s latest figures show transactions volume made up of retail-sized transfers in Africa was 7 per cent, against the global average of 5.5 per cent. “No region uses P2P platforms at a higher rate than African cryptocurrency users, as they account…

Dec

09

2020

By The African Mirror

South African economy rebounds in Q3 led by mining, manufacturing

BUSINESS

SOUTH Africa’s economy rebounded strongly in the third quarter as coronavirus restrictions were eased, with mining and manufacturing leading an expansion across all sectors. Africa’s most advanced economy was in recession before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, with a strict lockdown from the end of March leading to a deeper economic contraction. Statistics South Africa said on Tuesday that gross domestic product expanded by 66.1% in seasonally adjusted, annualised terms in July-September from the second quarter, when the economy shrank by a revised 51.7% as lockdowns stalled activity. Compared with the same period a year earlier, GDP shrank by 6% in…

Sep

23

2021

By The African Mirror

Nigerian lawmaker questions why coal power projects have stalled

BUSINESS

NIGERIAN and foreign companies that were granted licences in 2015 to mine coal and generate power from it have made little or no progress, according to a motion put forward in Nigeria's House of Representatives. Lack of electricity is one of the biggest and most intractable problems affecting Africa's most populous country, where power cuts lasting hours or days are commonplace and millions of people have no access to any electricity at all. The motion, by lawmaker Patrick Nathan Ifon, which the House is expected to pass later, says that licences were granted to 36 companies with the aim of…

Dec

08

2020

By The African Mirror

Libya’s divided central bank board holds rare meeting

BUSINESS

THE board of the Central Bank of Libya, whose western and eastern branches have for years been split between the country's warring rivals, said it held a first meeting in years on Monday. Unifying key institutions, including the CBL, and creating a single exchange rate across Libya have been key goals of a U.N.-led process aimed at resolving some of the economic problems obstructing a political solution to the conflict. CBL said in a statement that it had held a preliminary meeting to discuss the reactivation of the board's work including ensuring stability of prices, supporting the integrity of the…

Sep

21

2021

By The African Mirror

Why corporate reforms falter: some insights from Kenya

BUSINESS

SOCIOECONOMIC development in African countries, along with other developing countries, is held back by many constraints. These include an insufficiently skilled workforce, poor infrastructure, and inadequate capital to finance public goods and services. This is also true for some African countries with abundant natural resources. DANSON KIMANI, Lecturer in Accounting; CAGD coordinator at The Centre for Accountability and Global Development (CAGD), University of Essex For decades, an array of structural reforms have been put forward to steer developing countries towards growth. Some have been economic, others political, or focused on the public sector. Most are concocted in western countries and…

Dec

07

2020

By The African Mirror

‘Horrible and sad’ – COVID-19 boosts the death business

BUSINESS

JACK GRAHAM MOST startups are struggling to survive let alone thrive in the pandemic - yet 2020 couldn't have gone better for Untangle, a new player in the age-old death business. Launched in January as COVID-19 began circling the globe, Untangle was born from the grief of two women on a mission to help others cope better with death and the big, snap decisions it foists on mourners. “It’s really horrible and sad, but our market and the awareness of the need for the service has grown,” Untangle's co-founder Emily Cummin told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Cummin came up with…

Dec

06

2020

By The African Mirror

Gambia’s economy to shrink 1.5% in 2020

BUSINESS

GAMBIA’S economy will contract 1.5% in 2020 versus a previous estimate of 6.5% growth as a result of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on tourism, the finance ministry has said. "The new growth estimates are based on the shocks associated with the closure of airports, land borders and lack of tourism activities," it said, projecting a rebound to growth of 5.9% in 2021. The gross domestic product of mainland Africa's smallest country grew 6% in 2019 despite a sharp drop in agricultural output and the bankruptcy of Thomas Cook, the travel operator that brought around 40% of annual visitors.…

Dec

06

2020

By The African Mirror

Ivory Coast to lift suspension of Hershey cocoa sustainability scheme

BUSINESS

ANGE ABOA IVORY Coast will lift a suspension on cocoa sustainability schemes run by U.S.-based Hershey on its territory that it imposed earlier this week, according to a letter addressed to the chocolate maker and seen by Reuters. On Monday, Ivorian and Ghanaian cocoa regulators suspended the schemes, accusing Hershey of sourcing large volumes of physical cocoa on the ICE futures exchange to avoid paying a premium aimed at combating farmer poverty, known as a living income differential (LID). Hershey, makers of such popular candy items as Hershey chocolate bars, Hershey's Kisses and Kit Kat, said it was fully participating…