BUSINESS - The African Mirror

Jan

30

2024

African startups turn to debt as equity powder dries up

BUSINESS

IN 2022, when funding from venture capitalists began to dry up in Africa, Treepz, a shared mobility startup, was faced with a difficult decision… throw in the towel or grow the business without new investors. As part of their decision to keep going, they changed their core business model. “Towards the end of 2022, we knew the funding draught would happen in Africa. We slowed down on the bus stop to bus stop business and amplified our corporate and car rental segments because their margins were a lot better,” explained Treepz Co-Founder & CEO Onyeka Akumah in an interview. The…

Jan

27

2024

By The African Mirror

Diageo’s Kenyan unit calls Tusker beer sale report ‘market speculation

BUSINESS

East African Breweries (EABL), the Kenyan unit of Diageo Plc, dismissed a media report that its parent company wants to sell the Tusker beer brand as part of broader cuts. U.S. news outlet Axios reported last month that Diageo was looking to sell Tusker along with other beer brands including Ireland-based Smithwick's, Kilkenny and Harp Lager, saying they were a margin drag on the rest of the business. But in an interview with Reuters EABL CEO Jane Karuku denied the brand would be sold. "Those are market speculations," she said, declining to comment further. There was no immediate comment from Diageo on…

Jan

27

2024

By TAREK AMARA

Tunisian cabinet approves bill allowing the central bank to finance the treasury

BUSINESS

THE Tunisian cabinet approved a controversial bill allowing the central bank to finance the treasury, in a move aimed at financing the budget deficit but which reinforced fears over the bank's independence. Last year, President Kais Saied said the law must be reviewed to allow the central bank to finance the budget directly by buying state bonds, a step bank governor Marouan Abassi has warned against. Economists believe the bill's approval by the cabinet enhances speculation the governor, who has headed the bank for six years, will leave the post next month at the end of his first term. Critics of the…

Jan

25

2024

By CONRAD ONYANGO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Fintech and energy illuminate DR Congo’s nascent startup ecosystem

BUSINESS

THE Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), one of the world’s most resource-rich countries, is carving out a new prosperity niche as it emerges on the global tech scene. Known for its green metals, cobalt and copper, and the world's second-largest rainforest, the newest member of the East African Community is having a moment in the startup ecosystem. In 2023 the country raised US$62 million in startup funds, making it the single largest contributor to startup funding growth (33% year-on-year) in the where it is clustered. “While being the only region to grow significantly, from $51m in 2022 to $68m in…

Jan

25

2024

By PATRICK WERR

Egypt economic growth forecasts lowered as Gaza crisis flares – Reuters poll

BUSINESS

Egyptian economic growth will be slower than previously expected as its pound weakens, inflation cuts into purchasing power and fallout from the Gaza crisis eats into the country's main sources of foreign currency, a Reuters poll showed. Revenue from the Suez Canal fell 40% in early January after sea attacks by Yemen's Houthis diverted away shipping. The crisis in neighbouring Gaza that started in October has also weakened the tourism outlook. "Developments over the past month have seen the country being hit hard from various angles and directly to its main revenue generators," Pieter du Preez of Oxford Economics wrote in a…

Jan

25

2024

By The African Mirror

Builder Mota-Engil gets $1 bln in new Angola, Mexico deals, shares rise

BUSINESS

PORTUGAL'S largest builder Mota-Engil has signed four contracts worth a total 975 million euros ($1.06 billion) in Angola and Mexico, strengthening the order book in Africa and Latin America - its main markets - and causing its shares to rise. The company said its new contracts with the Angolan government included the Corimba waterfront construction and social housing in the capital Luanda, as well as a border post on Angola's frontier with the Democratic Republic of Congo. The three Angolan contracts are worth around 875 million euros. In Mexico, the builder will participate in the construction of a road on…

Jan

24

2024

By The African Mirror

Burundi economy to expand 4.3% in 2024 vs 2.7% last year – IMF

BUSINESS

BURUNDI'S economy is projected to expand 4.3% this year from 2.7% in 2023, helped by improved performance in the agriculture sector, the International Monetary Fund said. With a population of 12 million, Burundi's economy relies heavily on agriculture revenues, especially from tea and coffee. "Growth is projected to accelerate ... supported by strong agricultural production, productive investment, and the ongoing reforms," the fund said in a statement late on Monday. Fuel shortages had hampered economic activity in 2023, the fund said. Burundi's economy is only starting to recover from years of conflict and political upheaval under former leader Pierre Nkurunziza…

Jan

24

2024

By LAILA KEARNEY

Oil prices edge up with signals mixed on crude supply outlook

BUSINESS

OIL prices inched up, as traders weighed production outages in the U.S. and tensions in the Middle East and Europe against rising crude supply in Libya and Norway. Brent crude futures were up 30 cents, or 0.4%, to $80.36 a barrel at 11:24 a.m. EST (1618 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures (WTI) gained 46 cents, or 0.6%, to $75.22 a barrel. In the Middle East, tensions rose the morning after U.S. and British forces carried out a second joint round of strikes on Houthi positions in Yemen. "Traders weigh up economic prospects, interest rates, OPEC+ and the risk of supply…

Jan

21

2024

By DUNCAN MIRIRI

Kenya receives $210 mln in loans from TDB, finance minister says

BUSINESS

THE Trade and Development Bank (TDB) has lent Kenya $210 million, Finance Minister Njuguna Ndung'u told Reuters on Friday, ahead of the maturation of a $2 billion Eurobond in June. Falling hard currency reserves, a steep weakening of the Kenyan shilling and revenue challenges have raised questions about the country's ability to make the Eurobond payment, although the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Thursday that it does not expect Kenya to default. The loan facility by the TDB, an African development finance institution serving 25 member states, is part of its mandate to raise $1 billion for Kenya's liability management, Ndung'u…

Jan

20

2024

By PATRICK WERR

Suez Canal diversions pile pressure on Egypt’s distressed economy

BUSINESS

A sharp downturn in revenue after sea attacks by Yemen's Houthis diverted shipping away from the Suez Canal has struck a painful new blow to Egypt's already deteriorating economy, adding urgency to the need for reforms and help from abroad. Nearly all Egypt's main sources of foreign currency - natural gas exports, tourism, worker remittances from abroad, and now Suez Canal revenue - have all come under recent and severe pressure. Egypt needs foreign currency not only to import essential commodities to feed its people but also to repay $189.7 billion in foreign debt, most of it racked up over…