BUSINESS - The African Mirror

Sep

18

2021

Small nations top Africa in global economic freedom ranking

BUSINESS

CONRAD ONYANGO, BIRD Small African countries are growing faster than their larger peers when it comes to being more economically free, a new report shows. Economic Freedom of the World: 2021, a report published by Free Market Foundation, a think tank, in conjunction with Canada’s Fraser Institute, lists the continent’s small nations as being amongst the world’s top countries when it comes to according their citizenry higher levels of personal choices, greater access to markets and clearly defined and enforced property rights. Mauritius (11), Seychelles (43) and Botswana (45) are the top African countries in the report, offering the most…

Sep

18

2021

By The African Mirror

Algeria prepares new investment law, aims for non-energy funding sources

BUSINESS

HAMID OULD AHMED ALGERIA is preparing a new investment law to improve its business climate and attract foreign investors with the aim of boosting the non-energy sector, according to Prime Minister Ayman Benabderrahmane. He also announced plans to develop the country's small stock exchange and launch banking and financial reforms to find new funding sources for the oil-reliant economy. OPEC member Algeria, which relies heavily on oil and gas exports, has been facing financial problems due to lower energy earnings. The situation worsened during the pandemic, which slammed crude demand and pressured international prices. The North African country has so…

Jan

31

2021

By The African Mirror

Global shift to cleaner energy sources bodes well for the African mining sector

BUSINESS

AS a sign of the times with many organisations shifting their in-person events to virtual meetings following social distancing recommendations, the 2021 Mining Indaba will be held virtually between 2-3 February. For all the challenges and the uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the outlook for the mining sector in Africa looks remarkably upbeat. This is according to Shirley Webber, Absa's Head of Natural Resources and Energy at Corporate and Investment Banking, one of the silver sponsors of the annual Indaba. At the time the pandemic hit the African mining sector in the first quarter of 2020, everyone expected the…

Sep

17

2021

By The African Mirror

IMF says closely monitoring situation in Guinea after coup

BUSINESS

THE International Monetary Fund said it is closely monitoring the situation in Guinea after a military coup that ousted President Alpha Conde on September 5, and urged a peaceful resolution. IMF spokesman Gerry Rice said the global lender had completed fifth and sixth reviews of its programs there in December and provided assistance to help the West African country to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. "Events are unfolding there. We're closely monitoring it, and urging a peaceful resolution as soon as possible," Rice told a regular IMF briefing.

Jan

30

2021

By The African Mirror

African Development Bank backs young ‘agripreneurs’ to beat climate change

BUSINESS

MEGAN ROWLING THE African Development Bank plans to deploy billions of dollars to help young people build a new digitally-driven model of agriculture that can feed the continent's people and boost prosperity even as the planet heats up, its president said. At a global summit this week, the bank and the Global Center on Adaptation announced an initiative to strengthen African efforts to become more resilient to extreme weather and rising seas, threats worsened by fast-accelerating climate change. The African Development Bank plans to put half of its climate finance towards the initiative - $12.5 billion between now and 2025…

Sep

16

2021

By The African Mirror

Startups in African logistics see fundraising boom

BUSINESS

CONRAD ONYANGO, BIRD AFRICA’S transport and logistics startups are on track to raise more growth funds this year, in deals that could help ignite intra-Africa trade. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19, there has been a rising shift towards tech-enabled transportation across the continent to overcome movement restrictions, improve efficiencies and grow food chain resilience. The wider growth of e-commerce in Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic has also created fresh demand in the logistics sector, sparking a rise in last-mile delivery apps for food and other goods. Baobab Network, a social impact technology accelerator, shows that the transport and logistics…

Sep

16

2021

By The African Mirror

S.Africa’s FirstRand to end funding for new coal mines, power plants

BUSINESS

SOUTH Africa's FirstRand will end funding for new coal-fired power stations and coal mines and has lowered the cap on its coal exposure as part of moves to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, it said on Wednesday. It will no longer fund new coal-powered power stations and will stop all funding for new coal mines from 2026, it said in an updated coal policy, making it one of only two big South African lenders to close the door on funding for such activities altogether.

Sep

15

2021

By The African Mirror

More African countries dive into a cashless future with new MTN, Flutterwave deal

BUSINESS

SETH ONYANGO, BIRD MTN’s new deal with payments technology firm, Flutterwave is set to deliver cash to mobile wallets of more Africans via MTN Mobile Money (MoMo) with the planned expansion in Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Rwanda, Uganda and Zambia. This digital move is primed to plug millions of unbanked people in those countries into mainstream financial services and prop up businesses especially those in remote areas. MTN and Flutterwave’s deal follows Safaricom’s entry into Ethiopia earlier this year, giving it access to a market of more than 110 million potential subscribers. Safaricom, East Africa’s biggest telco, is gearing up for…

Sep

15

2021

By The African Mirror

Zambia says it will restore ‘sanity’ to rattled mining sector

BUSINESS

CHRIS MFULA ZAMBIA’S newly-appointed mines minister said on Tuesday that the government will ensure stability and predictability in the mining sector, seeking to allay fears of royalty hikes. Paul Kabuswe also said the government must root out corruption in mining, which is the engine of Zambia's economy. "We may not do everything in the coming budget but I can assure you that sanity will be brought back to the mining sector before 2026," Kabuswe said. Zambian bonds and the kwacha currency rallied after the election of businessman President Hichilema, who named Kabuswe mines minister last week. "We have to make…

Jan

29

2021

By The African Mirror

Toyota South Africa to produce new model creating over 1,500 jobs – CEO

BUSINESS

TOYOTA South Africa will start producing and selling a new model, the Corolla Cross, in the country this year, creating an estimated 1,500 new jobs, president and CEO Andrew Kirby said. “The investment will also generate over 1,500 new jobs, of which 500 will be found in our plant here in Prospecton,” he said, referring to an area of the east coast town of Durban. He did not specify whether all of these jobs would all be created directly with Toyota.