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Astral Aviation expands towards Abu Dhabi

29 March 2023 Comments (0) Business

Astral Aviation has just signed a code-share agreement with fellow Kenyan cargo operator, Kenya Airways Cargo. It has also just signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Etihad Cargo, and looks set to take advantage of the closer ties being sought by the two countries.

Astral Aviation, a cargo-only airline in Africa flying scheduled routes to 20 destinations across the continent, has just signed a code-share agreement with fellow Kenyan cargo operator, Kenya Airways Cargo. It has also just signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Etihad Cargo to enhance cooperation between the two entities. With these partnerships, Astral Aviation hopes to increase trade between Africa and the Middle East. The announcements come off-the-backs of several other partnerships announced earlier in the year, including an agreement with Air Logistics Group, the world’s leading cargo sales and services agent, that would increase online booking capacity for the airline. As Astral Aviation has just celebrated 22 years in operation, we look back at its interesting history.

The humble beginnings of the company

Although Astral Aviation now flies regularly to 20 destinations across Africa, and delivers everything ranging from perishable goods, vaccines, mining equipment, up to humanitarian aid, it started in a very different, and much less secure position. Upon its foundation in November 2000, it was a simple charter airline operating wet-leased (where the aircraft owner will supply air crew members along with the aircraft) Russian-owned Antonov planes.

At the time, the company did not have the funds for Boeing or Airbus freighters, so Astral Aviation began operations with three Antonov AN-12 turboprop planes transporting UN food aid to Somalia, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Eight years later, Astral Aviation was in a position to be able to renew its fleet, where it returned the aging Russian turboprops and instead dry-leased (where the aircraft is leased without crew) Douglas DC9 freighters. This fleet was then expanded with McDonnell-Douglas MD83s, and eventually with Africa’s first Boeing 767-200F.

Recently, Astral Aviation has made the news again by ordering the first Brazilian-made Embraer E190Fs in Africa. They join a long order list: two Boeing 767-300Fs, two Airbus A330-200Fs, four A330-300P2Fs, and four Boeing B777-300ERSFs. These aircraft will join the current fleet of 14 that includes four Fokker 50s – used for short landing strips in remote areas – and two Boeing 747-400Fs.

Covid-19 creates huge demand for cargo carriers 

Astral Aviation found itself extremely busy during the first fourth months of Covid-19, flying every single day. Originally this was perishables and pharmaceutical cargo, and then increasingly, masks, personal protective equipment, and PCR and rapid-testing equipment. Astral found itself delivering to 48 of the 54 African countries.

When the first vaccines arrived in 2021, Astral Aviation was ready to assist. In particular, a million doses of AstraZeneca, refused by the Kenyan Government due to the lower efficacy shown against the dominant variant in Kenya at the time, were re-distributed across 16 other countries on the continent. To date, Astral Aviation estimates they have delivered 59 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines across Africa.

As jet fuel prices soar, cargo operators face new pressures

In February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. The resulting backlash against Russia saw it ostracized from much of the international community and demand for its oil and gas exports fell, or were intentionally cut off. Fuel prices across the world rose quickly, with jet fuel right alongside.

Cargo airlines like Astral Aviation found themselves facing costs rising by as much as 35%, in part due to the older age of cargo aircraft compared to those operated by passenger airlines. For example, production of the Boeing 727-200Fs that Astral Aviation leases ended in 1984, and the aircraft is significantly less efficient than more modern planes. On top of this, cargo flights are typically unbalanced between outward and return journeys – a flight from Europe to Nairobi will be nearly full of high value-added products, but on the return trip Astral Aviation often has no choice but to fly a near-empty plane. Nonetheless, the airline has shown resilience and continued to operate.

Closer links to the Middle East could fuel growth for Astral Aviation

In October 2022, Kenya and the United Arab Emirates agreed to expedite trade agreements and investment opportunities between the two countries. Astral Aviation’s new code-share agreement with Kenya Airways Cargo and MOU with Etihad Cargo will mean Astral Aviation is likely to see more flights into Abu Dhabi, taking advantage of the closer ties being sought by the two countries.

Photos : aircargonews.net

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TotalEnergies becomes QatarEnergy’s first partner on the North Field South LNG project

21 February 2023 Comments (0) Business, Featured

TotalEnergies, already heavily involved in the North Field East liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, has been chosen as the first international partner for the North Field South LNG project. Under the new agreement with QatarEnergy, TotalEnergies will gain a 9.375% stake in the North Field South project.

TotalEnergies takes second stake in the world’s largest LNG project

TotalEnergies, already a major partner of QatarEnergy and heavily involved in the North Field East liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, has now also been chosen as the first international partner for the North Field South LNG project. Expected to produce 16 million tonnes per year (Mt/y) of LNG, the North Field South project will, along with further development of the rest of the North Field project, increase Qatar’s LNG export capacity to 126 Mt/y. The offshore project will be developed via 50 oil wells that will feed 5 oil platforms, all of which are linked to the onshore processing plant by gas pipelines. Two liquefaction trains will also be installed as part of the project.

Extracting from the world’s largest LNG field

North Field South and North Field East combined make up Qatar’s North Field project, which it claims is the world’s largest LNG project in the world in terms of capacity. The field itself is a natural-gas condensate field located in the Persian Gulf, part of the South Pars/North Dome Gas-Condensate field that is shared between Iran and Qatar, holding around 51 trillion cubic meters of in-situ natural gas, plus around 50 billion barrels of natural gas condensates. The field is by far the world’s largest natural gas field, and the extremely high amount of resources present means that the area is incredibly geopolitically important.

Qatar is already the world’s largest LNG supplier, but nonetheless it aims to expand LNG production from the North Field, along with producing condensate, LPG, ethane, sulfur, and helium. LNG production from the new North Field South project is expected to start in 2025.

High tech, low-carbon

North Field South is aiming to use the highest standards of extraction to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the project. The processing plant will be connected to Qatar’s electricity grid, meaning it will be powered in-part by renewable energy, mostly from the 800MW Al Kharsaah solar plant and the QatarEnergy solar plant currently under construction. Along with this, native CO2 released during natural gas production will be captured and sequestered rather than lost to the atmosphere. A system to recover gas evaporated during shipment will also be implemented that is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 1 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent annually.

TotalEnergies enjoys booming LNG prices

TotalEnergies, just like BP, Shell, Exxon Mobil, Chevron, and others in the gas sector, has had a windfall year, with oil and gas prices being pushed to record highs in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Due to Western sanctions on Russian exports, the destruction of the Nordstream pipeline, and public outcry of the invasion pushing nations to move away from Russian oil and gas, buyers in Europe scrambled to replace Russian imports, which caused prices to skyrocket. TotalEnergies sat in an enviable position with access to 20 million tonnes of regasification – roughly 15% of the total capacity available on the continent – and was able to leverage this by maximizing spot purchases and sales.

All of this fueled a year of record net profits for TotalEnergies – $36.2 billion in 2022 – and has led some to call it the ‘year of LNG’.

The company has since indicated it will double-down on the LNG business, aiming for it to make up 50% of its energy sales mix by the year 2030. CEO Patrick Pouyanné has even stated that it will be a “pillar of the company’s growth in the years ahead.”

Under the new agreement with QatarEnergy, TotalEnergies will gain a 9.375% stake in the North Field South project, with QatarEnergy holding 75%. The remaining 15.625% will be available to other international partners. Pouyanné has said that, “we are very proud and honored that Qatar has once again chosen TotalEnergies as its first partner on the North Field South project…We see Qatar as a long-term strategic country for TotalEnergies and this new addition of capacity to our portfolio marks an important step towards achieving TotalEnergies’ growth objectives in low-carbon LNG, a key pillar of our transformation into a sustainable multi-energy company. It will also enhance our ability, alongside Qatar, to contribute to Europe’s energy security. “

Photos : offshorewind.biz and splash247.com

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Growing Africa’s Tech Startup Sector

24 January 2023 Comments (0) Business, Featured

Africa is home to a rapidly-growing tech startup scene. From 2015 to 2020, the number of African startups receiving financial backing stood at over 6 times the global average. Thanks to hosting the world’s largest free trading area and a young, growing population that makes use of new technology like e-banking and mobile phones to leapfrog traditional development pathways, the tech startup sector grew by about 46% a year. For the continent to truly become a launch pad for innovation and for the tech sector to maintain its stunning growth trajectory, it will need some help.

An increasingly attractive continent for investors

For any startup, obtaining early-stage funding is crucial, and entrepreneurs often seek external investment to raise this. Historically, venture capital on the continent has been limited, however this is changing. In 2014, only 70 venture capital deals were recorded in Africa, while by 2020 this had risen to over 300, with around a third of investors from the United States. This growth in investments has led to the rise of new unicorns – privately-held companies valued at over $1 billion – with four companies holding the status in 2021.

In addition, the continent is an easy place to start a company, with one of the highest entrepreneurial rates globally. This is not unusual – developing economies often have high numbers of startups driven by a lack of employment – but the increasing prevalence and the sinking cost of mobile phone technology has meant Africa is increasingly digitized. This has motivated entrepreneurs, especially in the technology sector, to innovate to match the continent’s needs. From this, a wave of investment followed: In 2015 only $190 million was invested into startups in Africa, but by 2021 it had gone up to $2 billion. South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya were the most favorable African countries for startups in the last year, hosting high numbers of companies, good co-working spaces, and a generally robust economic system.

A growing sector, but one that is still far behind

It is easy to conclude that the continent is already a hotbed for tech startups, especially as economic forecasts predict a record year for tech in Africa in 2022, with the possibility of total investments into startups reaching more than $7 billion. But while there is more money flowing into more companies than ever before, Africa’s record of scaling up these companies or even sustaining them, is poor.

There are only 4 unicorns on the entire continent, compared to over 50 in the EU, over 100 in China, and over 200 in the United States. Even for lower-value companies, such as African ‘Zebras’ valued at $200 million, numbers are slim. There are only 20 zebras across Africa, as most startups only make it to the series B funding stage. In fact, the returns on venture capital investments in Africa are less than 3% over 5 years on average, compared to 11% in Asia-Pacific and 16% in Europe.

A challenging place to grow a startup

Startups struggle in Africa for several key reasons:

  • Despite the free-trade area, the market is very fragmented
  • Consumer purchasing power is low
  • Data communication infrastructure is inadequate for the number of people it serves
  • Digital talent is scarce
  • Regulations across the 54 countries are varied, inconsistent, and often-times complex

On top of this, key sectors, especially business-to-consumer ones such as financial services and energy are often controlled by state monopolies that use their market power to prevent new companies from challenging the status quo, rather than advancing the national interest or providing a level playing field.

This leads to an inhospitable startup environment that in turn stops job creation and economic development, and threatens the entire startup sector by preventing innovative products from reaching the market.

The outlook for the future

Africa has all the pieces needed to become one of the most innovative regions in the world: high entrepreneurship, a large free-trade area, and a young and growing population that adopt new technology quickly. To see continued growth in the sector, African governments need to build and deploy a digital economic policy that encourages investment, improves the business environment through clearer regulation, and creates support networks for startups, as well as expand the continent’s digital infrastructure. Not only does this lead to short-term startup growth, but it stops the biggest companies from growing dependent on the world’s leading technology players, making the continent more self-sufficient in the longer term.

Sources : cioafrica.co and visualcapitalist.com

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Winners of the African Youth Adaptation Solutions Challenge

12 December 2022 Comments (0) Featured, Leaders

The YouthADAPT competition, an annual competition and awards program for youth-led enterprises jointly organized by the Global Center on Adaptation, the African Development Bank, and Climate Investment Funds (CIF) has announced the 2022 winners list.

The YouthADAPT Competition expands in its second year

The goal of the YouthADAPT competition is to boost sustainable job creation through entrepreneurship and innovation in climate change adaptation and resilience across Africa. The competition invites young African entrepreneurs between the ages of 18 and 35 from micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises to submit ideas that can deliver innovative solutions to adapt to and build resilience against climate change. The twenty winning entries, half of which are women-led, won grant funding of up to $100,000 each, as well as a 12-month accelerator program to help them grow their businesses, deepen their impact, and create jobs on the continent.

Launched in 2021, this year’s competition received over 3,000 applicants. Despite its short history it is already delivering results. One of last year’s winners, Juveline Ngum Ngwa from Bamenda in Cameroon has been able to scale up her business, Bleglee Waste Management, as a result of the grant. This has meant a second waste sorting center and the development of software for drones which identify garbage blocking drainage systems.

Competition winners from all across Africa

Winners of the 2022 African Youth Adaptation Solutions Challenge come from across the continent:

Namibia

  • Kaveto Tjatjara, of Flushh, produces waterless toilets for schools in underserved communities. 

Malawi

  •  Joyce Sikwese, of Green Impact Technologies, accelerates the productive use of climate-smart agriculture technologies and organic fertilizers among smallholder farmers.
  • Ulaya Mwale Mpatsa, of Engineering Company Limited, offers a solution for the recovery and treatment of rainwater, desalination of seawater, and groundwater extraction. 

Kenya

  • Maryanne Gichanga, of AgriTech Analytics, uses satellite data analytics and Internet of Things (IoT) sensors to halt and reverse soil degradation, crop pests, and diseases. 
  • Esther Kimani, of Farmer Lifeline Technologies, reduces greenhouse gas emissions from synthetic fertilizers and farm chemicals and creates more environmentally friendly versions.
  • Robin Ndungu Kisumeo, from Organics Limited, empowers smallholder farmers to create sustainable and climate-resilient aquatic food systems by leveraging artificial intelligence.

Egypt

  • Reham Yehia, of Baramoda, reduces CO2 emissions by decreasing the use of chemical fertilizers in agriculture, helping soil that has been affected by climate change to recover. 
  • Moataz Yousry Voltx, from Engineering & Industries, produces a smart irrigation system that saves up to 40% of the water used to irrigate agricultural crops. 

Cameroon

  • Pelkins Ajanoh, from Cassavita, provides improved cassava seedlings that are resistant to climate change effects. 
  • Anna Ngwenyi Mafor, of Multi-Tech Sustainable Solutions (MTTS), uses smart technology for the early detection of crop diseases caused by climate change.

Nigeria

  • Rita Idehai, at Ecobarter, improves adaptive capacity to flash flooding by keeping drainage and streets free of waste. 
  • Rebecca Andeshi, from Grocircular Agro Services, produces organic fertilizer generated from poultry waste, food waste, rice husks, and wood chips. 
  • Olowoseunre Oluwadamilola, of Pazelgreen Technologies, provides sustainable and cost-effective industrial cooling processes to address the problem of post-harvest loss of fruits and vegetables caused by climate change. 

Rwanda

  • Yvette Ishimwe, of IRIBA Water Group Ltd, offers an adaptation solution for floods by collecting rainwater from the roofs of houses, purifying it, and then distributing it to young women. 

Botswana

  • Mmakwena Moesi, from Viva Organica, improves soil moisture and health of plants affected by climate change.

Ghana

  • Rose Noah, of West African Feeds, leverages tropical insect farming techniques to convert food waste into climate-resistant food alternatives for Africa’s livestock feed industry. 

Senegal

  • Moussa Diouf, from Agroexpert farming, tackles the effects of drought on agriculture, especially at small scale through the use of drip-drop irrigation. 

Algeria

  • Nassim Ilmane Eurl Algerienne, of Des Industries Technologiques, created a mobile app that helps small and mid-sized farmers receive recommendations and disease alerts to optimize fertilizers and pesticide usage while improving their yield.

Côte d’Ivoire

  • Noël N’guessan, from Lono, improved fertilizers to address climate change effects on soils, especially those suffering from severe degradation. 

Uganda

  • Frank Mugisha, Akatale On Cloud, created an original technology using flies to decompose organic waste into livestock feed, addressing the fodder deficit that can be caused by climate change. 

The list has doubled since 2021, where only ten winners were selected, with awards totaling $1 million. For 2022, this was increased to twenty winners with the awards pool doubling to $2 million. Next year, it is hoped that the total of the awards will reach $4 million.

The awards ceremony was held at the African Pavilion of the COP27 Climate Change Conference. African Development Bank Group president Dr. Akinwumi Adesina said, “Africa’s needs cannot be ignored…Our young people must be part of the solution. They are creative, dynamic, and engaging. They are futuristic and must be part of the solution for climate adaptation in Africa.”

Photos : un.org – LinkedIn

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Germany looks to Africa as energy crisis looms in Europe

20 November 2022 Comments (0) Featured, Politics

With a sixth round of EU sanctions against Russian oil, Europe is looking to leave Russian gas behind for good. Germany is already looking at alternatives in Africa but ramping up production will not be a small task, with infrastructure challenges and increasing preference towards renewable energy over fossil fuels.

Europe looks to Africa as an alternative to Russia

With Russia ostracized in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine, and a sixth round of EU sanctions targeting Russian oil recently implemented, many countries in Europe are looking to leave Russian gas, oil, and coal behind for good. But cutting the use of Russian gas by 60% before the end of 2022 may come with a nasty side-effect – a lack of energy – especially over the winter where demand in Europe increases. Germany is already looking for alternatives in Africa, with the continent’s oil and gas reserves being an important topic at the June 2022 German-Africa Energy Forum in Hamburg. In 2020, African oil made up nearly 9% of global exports, with over 327 million metric tonnes produced on the continent. But ramping up production and getting it to Europe will not be an easy task, with infrastructure challenges and the zeitgeist in Europe moving towards renewable energy over fossil fuels.

Lack of investment at home raises questions for export

The first major barrier for gas exports to Germany is the lack of infrastructure. Energy development projects are capital-intensive and generally require private-public partnerships. Sultan Wali, Ethiopia’s energy minister said that “African governments cannot carry out these projects alone.” Ndiarka Mbodji, the French-Senegalese founder of Berlin-based Kowry Energy echoed this, saying, “They need financial support from Germany and other rich western countries. Africa holds the key to resolving Europe’s energy crisis. And if we look at Africa’s resources, for example gas, you cannot underestimate its importance.”

Despite such a positive outlook for Africa to fulfill Germany’s gas demands, half of the continent’s population lacks access to clean energy, with many households dependent on burning biomass for energy. Moreover, some 900 million Africans lack access to clean cooking solutions, and on top of this, South Africa is in the midst of its own energy crisis. Load shedding is now a daily occurrence, and the situation is predicted to worsen despite the country holding significant natural gas potential. There will no doubt be those who question whether the continent can afford to export gas when it could be put to good use domestically.

Africa must act quickly to profit

Many German companies are keen to help finance African initiatives that produce hydrogen and natural gas for export to Europe, and African nations are keen to power up using gas. Because natural gas, which is mainly produced in Algeria, Nigeria, and Egypt, creates fewer carbon emissions than other fossil fuels like oil and coal it is seen as a ‘transitional fuel.’ Mbodji says that gas should not be overlooked, stating, “you can see at the moment, with the Ukraine war that we are going through, that there is a need to diversify the source of energy. And if we look at the resource that Africa has in terms of, for example, gas, which is a source of transition, we can see its importance in Africa.” 

The International Energy Agency (IEA) produced its Africa Energy Outlook for 2022, published on 20th June, where it said that Africa could be in a position to export some 30 billion cubic meters (bcm) to Europe by the end of the decade. If all of Africa’s natural gas discoveries are turned into production, Executive Director Fatih Birol has stated that it could make an additional 90 bcm per year by 2030, with around two-thirds of this going towards domestic needs and the rest for export.

But the IEA has said that Africa must act quickly if it is to profit from these vast reserves of natural gas. Europe will only want Africa’s gas until it can shift towards lower carbon technology, something that is being increasingly championed with ever more lofty net-zero promises being made by politicians.

Renewable energy also ramps up exports

There is another energy source that could be exported – solar. Taking advantage of the huge potential for solar energy near the Sahara Desert, a massive undersea power cable is coming to Europe from Egypt. The GREGY intersection, going from Northern Egypt and into Attica, Greece, brings 3,000 megawatts of clean solar power to Europe. At the same time, the Xlinks Morocco-UK power project will connect Alverdiscott, Devon, with a solar site in Morocco, providing enough power to supply seven million homes by 2030.

There isn’t enough African gas available right now to save Germany from an energy shortage this winter, and with Europe pushing for cleaner energy, by the time production has increased to a suitable level it may already be too late to capitalize on Africa’s reserves.

 

Photos : dw.com – logupdateafrica.com – foreignpolicy.com

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With a Digital Tech 100 Award, Kobo360 cements itself as the best e-logistics company in Africa

24 October 2022 Comments (0) Business, Featured

Kobo360, the company that connects truck owners and shipping customers through an Uber-like application, picked up the title of ‘Best e-Logistics Platform,’ bringing it one step closer to becoming the leading provider of e-logistics on the African Continent.

Kobo360’s new award testifies to the company’s progress

On the 29th of July, at the Movenpick Hotel in Kenya, Kobo360, the African E-logistics company that connects truck owners and shipping customers through an Uber-like application, picked up the title of ‘Best e-Logistics Platform.’ With this prestigious award from the Digital Tech 100 Awards, renowned for recognizing the top tech companies in Kenya and attended by key individuals and stakeholders in the logistics sector, Kobo360 is one step closer to achieving its goal of becoming the leading provider of e-logistics on the African Continent.

Despite low quality infrastructure throwing challenges at the company that are unique to the intra-African trade ecosystem; dilapidated railroads, poorly maintained road systems, high duty taxes, and excessive and often corrupt bureaucracies, Kobo360 already serves over 700 businesses on the continent. It has also acquired investment from high profile international groups including Goldman Sachs, who put $20 million of Series A funding into the company back in 2019.

Obi Ozor knows the challenges personally

Obi Ozor, co-founder of the e-logistics platform, began working in African logistics while a college student in the United States. While studying in Michigan, he made extra money by exporting goods to his home country of Nigeria. After working for JPMorgan in the states, he returned to his home country and worked as Uber Nigeria’s operations chief.

He has spoken about how he would send diapers and soap to Africa during his university years, and how ‘a 1,000 kilometer journey was taking 8 days, but it cost more than moving a container from the US to Nigeria.” Because of this experience, he knew that there was a need for a data-driven service that could help move goods efficiently and securely across the continent.

Connecting suppliers with truckers with customers

Given Ozor’s experience, it is perhaps no surprise that Kobo360’s model bears similarities to Uber, connecting suppliers and cargo owners with truck drivers through an online or mobile-based application. Through Kobo360, customers can schedule, book, track, and pay for goods to be moved.

Despite the basic idea being similar, Ozor has had to apply it to an entirely different market, one that comes with its own unique challenges. Kobo360 started operations in Nigeria in 2018, and it has since expanded to Ghana, Uganda, Kenya, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Benin Republic.

Helping truckers as well as customers

Ozor knows that the quality of trucks and experience of the drivers is key to solving many of Africa’s logistics challenges. With so many trucks bought second-hand in Africa, and infrastructure problems abounding, the company set out to make sure that their drivers, who are independent contractors, are not alone. To help, the company offers loans to purchase new vehicles, as well as support for those who are targeted with extortion attempts, both by police and by bandits, by dispatching rapid-response repair teams and coordinating with authorities in the event of a hijacking.

Kobo360 also guarantees truckers access to discounted diesel, tires, spare parts, and working capital. This approach clearly works, as the company now has over 50,000 registered truck owners on the platform.

Ready for the next free trade area

With Africa beginning its implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement in 2021, creating the world’s largest free trade zone across 54 countries with a collective GDP of close to $3 trillion, competition is sure to start. Free movement of goods and services will make it easier than ever to move goods between locations, a fact that many will be keen to exploit. Nonetheless, Kobo360 is well positioned to be at the forefront of a logistics revolution on the continent and the company is set to take advantage of this.

Photos :

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UNDP’s innovative small-scale solar funding competition closes for applicants

15 September 2022 Comments (0) Featured, Politics

As part of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, the Climate Aggregation Platform is running a competition for off-grid solar financing in Africa. The results will provide a range of development benefits, especially for remote communities.

New financing models to tackle the lack of electricity for Africa

As part of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal of universal access to clean, affordable, reliable energy for all by 2030, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), through the Climate Aggregation Platform (CAP) is running a competition for off-grid solar financing in Africa. Applications have now closed for the first edition of the CAP Financial Innovation Challenge, which will cover East Africa. Aggregate funding projects like this are aimed at countering investment barriers and unlocking new financing for small-scale renewable energy projects, and the increased access to electricity will provide a range of development benefits, from giving farmers access to solar-powered irrigation to health facilities in villages no longer relying solely on diesel generators, to better-lit streets and roads for remote communities.

Aggregate funding reduces risk and encourages investment

Financing solar initiatives in Africa is not without risk or problems, and new sources of funding and new financing mechanisms are required if the necessary investment to meet the Sustainable Development Goal by 2030 is to be reached. In this case, the CAP is using financial aggregation, a process in which multiple energy assets, projects, and companies are compiled into investment portfolios. Investors choose to put money into these portfolios, rather than into specific initiatives.

This aggregation of projects reduces the risk to investors, as well as the transaction costs of investing in multiple projects, and can help counter investment barriers that would prevent these projects from being financed. A recent report from the UNDP and Climate Bonds has shown that financial aggregation has untapped potential in bringing financing to small-scale clean energy projects. Eduardo Appleyard, CAP project coordinator says, “while the market is still nascent, financial aggregation could one day be a game-changer for distributed renewable energy companies…through this process we want to spark a conversation about financial aggregation grounded in real-life examples to help demonstrate its potential and better understand market barriers and opportunities.”

The CAP Financial Innovation Challenge is open to solutions that involve financial aggregation at different levels, such as bundling individual assets, projects, or companies together, and also to other innovative aggregate models, such as carbon credit solutions, renewable energy certificates, innovative models for receivables financing, and digital aggregation platforms.

First initiative to choose five projects across East Africa

The CAP Financial Innovation Challenge will aid in the transfer of hands-on knowledge of solar energy applications that will help overcome energy-related challenges in East African countries. According to the UNDP, off-grid solar and mini-grids are the key to providing reliable electricity to under-served communities without access to electricity and to those that are in regions where the national grid is not reliable.

Off-grid solutions are standalone solar power collection systems operating independently of the main power grid. They are typically sufficient for phone charging and lighting but do not normally provide enough power for larger electricity loads such as powering machinery or agricultural equipment. Mini-grids are larger systems that provide an independent network for communities where the population is too small or remote to make a national grid extension feasible.

The first initiative is exclusively for projects in East Africa, and funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) will be given for up to five projects, with at least one project in Rwanda and Uganda each. Each winning company or organization will then receive $40,000 to develop their innovations.

Buy and sell-side actors welcome to enter

The competition was open to both buy-side actors such as banks, impact investors and financial intermediaries, as well as sell-side entities like project originators, developers, and energy companies. The competition was not open to individuals, but was open to almost any groups including governmental agencies, development banks, private sector entities, NGOs, academia, associations, and joint venture applications, in order to encourage maximum participation.

Both first-of-a-kind solutions that have not yet been attempted anywhere before and proven approaches adapted to a new market sector, geography, or context will be considered. Entries were originally to be stopped on the 31st of August 2022, however the deadline was extended to the 9th September.

No dates have yet been given for when the winners will be announced, but should the competition prove successful it is likely that further competitions to win aggregate funding opportunities will open up both on the African Continent and elsewhere in the world.

Photos : undp.org

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Mohammed Dewji, Africa’s youngest billionaire, takes on multinational brands

27 August 2022 Comments (0) Featured, Leaders

Mohammed Dewji, the youngest member of Forbe’s Africa’s 50 Richest list, has studied abroad, served in Parliament, and invested in everything from real estate to agriculture to distribution. But he wants to take it further.

Home-grown billionaire with home-grown alternatives

Mohammed Dewji has an impressive list of accomplishments. The CEO of the family trading conglomerate and the youngest member of Forbes’s Africa’s 50 Richest list, he has studied abroad, served in Parliament, and invested in everything from real estate to agriculture to distribution. Dewji’s strategy – buying an underperforming business and investing in new equipment and management to turn the company around – has been incredibly successful, but Dewji wants to take it further. His latest plan is to challenge the might of Coca Cola and Unilever in Eastern Africa, replacing their products on African store shelves with home-grown brands.

A head start from overseas schooling

As his father’s company, Mohammed Enterprises Tanzania Ltd (MeTL), grew and expanded, the family split up to manage the various company hubs. Dewji was able to attend a British school in Arusha, Northern Tanzania, before enrolling at the Arnold Palmer Golf Academy near Tampa, Florida. While he was a promising golfer, he ultimately did not pursue this as a career and instead went to Saddle Brook High School in New Jersey. He would follow this up with a graduate degree in International Business and Finance at Georgetown University in Washington D.C. 

Dewji briefly considered a career on Wall Street before returning to Tanzania to take over the family business. While his high level of education definitely helped him in his life, something that Dewji is clearly aware of, he most often credits his father with his success. He has stated that, “My father had been training me since I was 11 years old,” and that “he used to teach me how to do business.”

Turning the family business into a production hub

The MeTL group traces its origins back to the 1800s, when Dewji’s paternal grandmother arrived into Tanzania from Gujarat, India. Dewji’s father, Gulam Dewji, now Chairman, grew the business into a nationally known import-export house, primarily by focusing on importing products for resale in Tanzania. When Dewji rejoined the business after graduating in D.C., he began managing an MeTL commodities trading business. He was promoted to Chief Financial Officer within two years.

Dewji has big plans for the family company. Rather than just importing products for resale, he wants to produce and then export both finished products and material, primarily in oils, grains, and textiles. With that in mind, his goal is to cement MeTL’s position as an African multinational with investment into surrounding countries – the company already has a presence in Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, The Congo, South Sudan, and many more.

A short stint in Parliament

In 2005, Mohammed Dewji became one of the youngest Parliamentarians in Tanzania’s history at the age of 29. Dewji saw political service as a means of giving back. Rather than looking at business policies, he avoided conflicts of interest by focusing on water, education, and health that directly affected the community where he grew up. He is extremely proud of increasing the availability of potable water across his district from 23 percent to over 80 percent. Nonetheless, managing his business and politics eventually proved too much, and he instead channeled his ideas for the country’s improvement through MeTL.

A continent ripe for investment

Dewji has championed the ability to raise capital as a vital tool in MeTLs success, and plans to invest back heavily over the next five years. At least $1 billion, financed through equity and debt, will be invested in Tanzania and the surrounding countries. Along with trying to topple Coca Cola and Pepsi, investments will be made into sugar manufacturing, edible oils and detergents, as well as in Financial Technology and banking. MeTL has even acquired an island off the Tanzanian coast with which to develop tourism services in advance of an anticipated surge in visitors to the continent.

Photos : okayafrica.com

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Africa’s Fastest Growing Companies in 2022

19 July 2022 Comments (0) Business, Featured

Between the digitization of informal trade and agriculture, new banking options for those without banks, and co-working opportunities, the African continent is ripe for investment. With the release of the Statista report by the Financial Times on Africa’s fastest growing companies, three stand out – Wasoko, Flocash, and AFEX.

The African continent is a unique and rapidly-evolving economic environment. In recent years new opportunities have arisen to fill the newest niches, from the digitization of informal trade and agriculture, to new banking options for those without access to traditional brick-and-mortar banks, to co-working opportunities; the African continent is undergoing a change. With the release of the Statista report by the Financial Times on Africa’s fastest growing companies, it is possible to get an insight into what businesses are flourishing in the current environment. The list of fastest-growing companies is dominated by technology providers in every industry including agriculture, financial services, logistics, and transport. The top three of these are Wasoko, Flocash, and AFEX.

Wasoko – 346% compound annual growth

The informal retail sector is huge in Africa, with hundreds of billions of dollars of product sold yearly from shops and kiosks. Yet these sellers have little access to capital, and face challenges getting goods either regularly, or on time from suppliers. This is where Wasoko comes in. It has become a full-scale distributor, owning and leasing facilities in the supply chain from warehousing to logistics. It began in Kenya, but quickly expanded into Tanzania, Rwanda, and Uganda, the Ivory Coast, and Senegal.

Wasoko allows retailers to order products from suppliers via SMS or its mobile app for same-day delivery to their stores and shops via a network of logistics drivers. The company also offers a buy now, pay later option for retailers who need working capital to order more goods. The company is trusted by over 50,000 retailers and has over 1,000 employees, with their revenue having gone from 0.3 million in 2017 to 27 million in 2020.

Flocash – banks for the unbanked

In a continent where around 57% of the population do not have a traditional bank account, making electronic payments is difficult. With the growth of e-commerce, and greater prevalence of internet access, it was doubtless that someone would step in to fill the void. Flocash, a provider of payment services across Africa and the Middle East is the fastest-growing. It offers more than 200 payment options, 20,000 cash points, and 30 different currencies.

The company currently covers 60 different countries and has more than 400 million customers, with a compound growth of 275% and revenue going from $0.121 million in 2017 to $6.3 million in 2020.

AFEX – the reference point for commodities

Until 1990, commodity exchanges were generally restricted to industrialized nations but the rise in affordable technology has seen them spread globally. Commodity exchanges began to emerge in Africa in the 1990s but the only successful exchange was the South African Futures Exchange which was birthed from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

AFEX Commodities Exchange Limited provides commodity brokerage services. The company has been developing a viable commodities exchange and supply chain infrastructure to support agricultural products since 2014, and it reached $31 million in revenue in 2020.

Many notable companies in the top 10

There are many interesting companies listed among the fastest-growing in Africa. Starsight Energy is ranked number 6, and delivers comprehensive, end-to-end solar solutions. AfricaWorks is a partner with Seedstars and offers workplace solutions, including co-working spaces with a compound growth of 238%. Lori systems has built an e-logistics platform that is revolutionizing the cargo-transport value chain in frontier markets from the ground up, currently number 7 on the list.

Considering that the current two biggest companies in Africa by revenue are oil and gas companies, and the third is a timber company, this could be seen as a sign of the continent becoming more developed, and moving away from traditional resource extraction markets.

Photos : breakingnews.com – ft.com

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The historic train line linking the UAE and Israel among new infrastructure projects

21 June 2022 Comments (0) Featured, Transport

The historic train line linking the UAE and Israel is among several agreed infrastructure projects following the Abraham Accords in 2020. The two countries seek to forge closer relations, with the line set to allow Israel to access new markets in the UAE, eventually carrying passengers from the Mediterranean to the Gulf. 

A historic re-opening to a historic line connecting Dubai and Haifa

At one time in the past it was possible to take the Hejaz Rail Line from Medina in Saudi Arabia to Damascus, and then onward to Haifa. After the establishment of the State of Israel however, this stopped, but based on comments made at Expo 2020 in Dubai from Merav Michaeli, Israel’s Minister of Transportation and Road Safety, the Al-Marj Train, built on the historic Hejaz line, may soon be running again. According to Michaeli, a train out towards Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states, from Dubai to Haifa, is one of several big infrastructure projects being discussed between the UAE and Israel to build better relations and increase co-operation.

A sign of improving relations

The joint infrastructure projects are a sign of improving relations between the two countries which have had strained relations in the past. Israel was called ‘The Enemy’ by the first president of the United Arab Emirates, and there was another rocky period following the assassination of Mahmoud Al-Mabhouh in 2010. In recent years though, the relationship has taken a big step forward with the signing of the Abraham Accords in 2020, the first public statement normalizing relations between an Arab country and Israel since that of Jordan in 1994, and the establishment of diplomatic embassies in Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv. More than 50 agreements have now been signed between the two nations in diverse sectors, including the train line from Haifa to Dubai.

The Al-Marj train line in Israel, connecting the towns of Haifa and Beit She’an re-opened in Israel in 2016, connecting the Jordan River Crossing, Jalamah, and the Jenin area in the West Bank. The idea was that it could be extended towards Saudi Arabia and the gulf. Eventually, it would link Haifa to Dubai. As far as infrastructure projects are concerned, this is a relatively easy one to start with as the tracks needed for the rail connection are nearly all in place. With the exception of 200-300 kilometers of line that remains to be built in Jordan, the line is ready to connect the UAE and Israel.

Benefits for everyone involved

Once all the tracks are in place, goods from Israel can be transported to the UAE within a couple of days, rather than the approximately 12 days it currently takes when shipping along the Suez Canal. It will also allow Israeli producers to access new markets – fresh vegetables in particular are in demand in the UAE.

The project, backed by the United States, will also benefit the economy of Jordan. Jordan is in desperate need of an economic boost, with unemployment on the rise and reaching 25% in 2021, with youth unemployment rates reaching an unprecedented 48.1%. Both the employment created by the building of the infrastructure for the rail line, and revenue from the long-term operation of the line will inject much-needed funding to the country.

Egypt watches with wary eyes

Not everyone in the region is excited about a possible new railway line between Israel and the UAE. In Egypt, where Suez Canal revenue is the third largest source of national income, representing 10% of the GDP and an important source of hard currency, a land passage between Israel and the Gulf states is not welcome news. Nor are reports that the UAE intends to buy Haifa Port in Israel, leading Egyptian economists to talk about the upcoming impact on Egypt’s economy from the two states forging closer relations.

While the agreement is a big step, there are still many challenges before the line becomes operational. Nonetheless, the prospect of rail travel from Abu Dhabi to Israel leads to the question: Will Israeli passengers be able to travel to Abu Dhabi by train, like they could on the famous Hejaz Rail Line back in the time of the Ottoman Turks? According to the ministry, the network will one day be able to transport passengers from the Mediterranean to the east, and between the Gulf states, Saudi Arabia and Iraq to the west. Perhaps in time, after the successful launch of rail transit of containers between Dubai and Israel via Jordan and Saudi Arabia, passengers will be a possibility again.

Photos : whatson.ae

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