investments - The African Mirror

Apr

2024

Surge in service sector investments globally to bolster intra-African services sector

A global shift in foreign direct investment (FDI) dynamics, with investors globally increasingly favouring the service sector over traditional manufacturing, could favour Africa, according to Tanzanian-based analyst, Musila Muoki. According to a new report by the UN Trade and Development Organization, the global FDI shift is being shaped by “trends in global value chains, technological advancements, geopolitical dynamics and environmental concerns.” “From 2004 to 2023, the share of cross-border greenfield projects in the services sector jumped from 66% to 81%,” the authors of the report released on April 23 explain. The trend has been echoed in Africa, where greenfield service…

Apr

2024

By SETH ONYANGO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Elite hotel chains dial up investments in Africa with $3,000-a-night rooms

NEWS

AFFLUENT domestic and overseas tourists are driving a surge in high-end hotels in Africa, where a single night's stay can cost more than US$3,000. Over 396 luxury hotels totalling 75,364 rooms are currently in development across the continent, according to the 2024 W Hospitality Group's development pipeline report. "The top 10 brands account for about half of all chain hotels and resorts under construction in Africa, with the top 5, being Hilton, Radisson, Marriott Hotels & Resorts, Protea Hotels and Four Points by Sheraton, all having similar numbers," it says. "Three of those top 5 brands are owned by Marriott…

Feb

2024

By BONFACE ORUCHO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Africa’s music and sports icons are forging a tech-sports fusion through investments

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

AFRICA'S music and football luminaries are increasingly channelling their resources towards the continent's tech startups, utilizing their wealth and expansive global networks to secure their futures while fostering community-level social change. Nigerian musician and businessman Oluwatosin Ajibade, also known as Mr. Eazi, is widely recognised as a master of this new trend. In a December 2023 appearance on the podcast Silverbacks Valley, Ajibade explained how the intersection of music, technology and entrepreneurship had landed in his favour. “Music has given me access to networks and finances, but I've never really left technology and entrepreneurship because that's what I've always been,”…

Dec

2023

By FELIX ONUAH

Shell sees $6 billion oil, gas investments in Nigeria, presidency says

NEWS

SHELL sees a $5 billion offshore oil investment opportunity in Nigeria and pledged to spend a further $1 billion in five to 10 years to boost natural gas output for domestic supplies and exports, a presidential spokesperson said, citing Shell's director of gas and upstream operations. Nigerian President Bola Tinubu held talks with Shell's Zoe Yujnovich in a move to attract capital to Africa's top energy producer, presidential spokesperson Ajuri Ngelale said in a statement. Yujnovich was cited as saying Shell has "an imminent $5 billion investment opportunity" in the offshore Bonga North oil project. "I am really keen to…

Jun

2021

By The African Mirror

Education cannot wait investments transform children’s lives in Somalia

EDUCATION

ABDALLE AHMED MUMIN TEN-YEAR-OLD Sabah Abdi from Ali Isse, a small rural village on the Somaliland-Ethiopian border, scored well in her recent exams, placing third overall in her local village school of 400 students. Yet it was just three years ago Sabah spent her days helping with household chores and herding goats, rather than studying because her pastoralist family could not afford her school fees. “I’m very glad to be among the top three students in the village school. I am hoping to be a doctor and cure sick people in the village when I grow up,” Sabah told IPS. Droughts,…

Jan

2021

By The African Mirror

South African brewer suspends commitments on jobs, investment

BUSINESS

THE South African Breweries (SAB) has suspended commitments to retain workers and investments, agreed as part of its merger with Anheuser-Busch InBev, due to the country's decision to ban alcohol sales to curb the coronavirus, it revealed in court papers. South Africa banned alcohol sales late last month as part of tighter restrictions to rein in the spread of COVID-19. SAB has told the South African government that "its obligations have been suspended with effect from the date of the impugned regulations," the company said in court papers filed on Wednesday and seen by Reuters. The conditions of the $106…

Aug

2020

By The African Mirror

SAB dumps R5-billion investment plans after South Africa alcohol ban

NEWS

SOUTH African Breweries (SAB) has announced the cancellation of R5-billion ($290 million) of planned investments as a result of revenue losses sustained during a nearly three-month ban on alcohol sales during the coronavirus crisis. The South African drinks industry has been among the hardest hit by restrictions, which included a ban on the sale of alcohol to the end of May, which was reinstated last month to free up space in hospitals burdened by what officials said were avoidable alcohol-related injuries. "The cancellation of this planned expenditure is a direct consequence of having lost 12 full trading weeks, which effectively…