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Dubai Expo 2020: Connecting Minds, Creating the Future

31 March 2020 Comments (0) Business, Middle East

It would appear that Dubai can do no wrong at the moment. With visitor numbers in 2019 up 5.1% from 2018 to a new high of 16.73 million, the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates continues to look for new ways to bedazzle the world. 

As the first city in the Middle East to hold a World Expo, Dubai has a chance to not only put its own achievements and plans for the future on show but to host countries from around the world willing to share, show off, and sell their own ideas and developments.

But just what is a World Expo?

The idea originated with France’s national exhibitions with 1844’s French Industrial Exposition often touted as the greatest of the time. But it was 1851’s “Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations’ held at London’s Crystal Palace that is seen as the blueprint for all the world expos up to the present day. The London World Expo is viewed as the first exhibition of manufactured products from around the world and is seen as having a major influence on trade, tourism, and art & design for decades to come. 

The development of World Expos is split into three distinct eras. The first, from 1851 to 1938, focused very much on industrialisation, and showcased technological progress and inventions. From 1939 to 1987, it was the era of culture, with the sharing of cultural ideas as well as innovation. The modern era, which began in 1988 in Brisbane, focuses more on the idea of nation branding, with countries seeking to improve their image to potential investors and tourists. 

It is difficult to judge the economic benefits to countries that participate in the Expos. The average cost of a pavilion at Hanover’s Expo 2000 was €12 million ($13 million), a figure that puts many countries off. However, an independent study into The Netherlands’ investment at Hanover estimated that their €35 million pavilion generated around €350 million in revenues for the country.

Few If Any Countries Do It Better Than Dubai

When it comes to nation branding, few if any countries do it better than Dubai. It’s a name that has become synonymous with luxury and with making dreams come true. Global recognition of Dubai is extremely high, thanks in no small part to the state carrier, Emirates Airlines, whose sponsorship deals outstrip any of their competitors. They sponsor Arsenal, Real Madrid, and Paris St Germain, three of Europe’s leading football clubs. 

World Expos take place every five years and last for six months. Dubai won a resounding victory in 2013 at the 154th General Assembly of the governing body of world expos, the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE).

Dubai 2020’s central theme of “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future” reflects the philosophy Dubai follows in attracting some of the world’s leading scientists and tech innovators to work in this small gulf state. The Expo also has three subthemes:

  • Opportunity. Bringing together the people with the potential to help shape our future. 
  • Mobility. Creating a smarter world where it is easier for people, ideas, and goods to move around the world. 
  • Sustainability. Respecting the world we live in and finding ways to preserve it. 

The Expo site itself lies in the Dubai South district, within easy reach of three airports (Al Maktoum International Airport, Dubai International Airport, and Abu Dhabi International Airport) as well as the Dubai and Abu Dhabi cruise terminals. The Dubai 2020 site will also have its own metro line which will be capable of transporting 40,000 passengers per hour. The Expo site is open from 9am to 1am every weekday and from 10am to 2am at weekends and on holidays. 

Millions of Visitors, 200 Participants, 192 Countries

Over the six months’ duration, millions of visitors will visit the pavilions from some 200 participants representing 192 countries. Given that previous World Expos have given us architectural wonders such as the Eiffel Tower and the Seattle Space Needle, as well as things we now take for granted such as the typewriter or Heinz Tomato Soup, the anticipation is already growing for the Expo’s opening on October 20th.

The focal point of the Expo will be the Al Wasl Plaza, named after Dubai’s historical name of Al Wasl – the connection – due to how it connected people from around the world. The site will have three thematic districts, anchored by an accompanying pavilion, and all linked to the Expo’s theme and subthemes. The UAE will have its own pavilion, designed by Santiago Calatrava and resembling a falcon in flight. With exhibitions, performances, art, music, gardens, and food from every corner of the globe, Dubai 2020 promises to be as spectacular as Dubai itself. 

Photos : rnz.de / e3.capital/ apnews.com

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Nkwashi: An African educational hub of the future?

18 March 2020 Comments (0) Africa, Politics

As we move further into the 21st century, urban planners and developers customize many of their ideas to suit not only the changing needs of their demographic targets, but also the changing demands of society. One great example of this changing focus is Nkwashi, a satellite town being built 36 kilometers east of the City of Lusaka in Zambia.

Zambia is one of the fastest growing economies in Africa and is the continent’s second-largest copper producer. The country reached middle-income status in 2011 amid a decade of strong economic growth. However, these economic strengths only reached a small percentage of the population and Zambia remains one of the countries with the highest economic inequality in the world with 58% of Zambians earning less than the international poverty line figure of $1.90 per day (World Bank figures as of 2015). 

While many identify an emerging middle class in Zambia with higher levels of disposable income, accurately defining this group is problematic, especially given the wide range of inequality in the country. However, Nkwashi is definitely a city aimed at this group as well as the industrialists and entrepreneurs who have capitalised on the country’s growing economy. 

The beauty of developing a new satellite city from scratch is that you can combine the practical with the idealistic. With a set number of residential units (initially at least), you can plan for the exact services such as power, water, sewage, etc., that you are going to need (while allowing for a future increase in capacity for all). Almost 9500 residential plots will be made available, with sizes ranging from 360 to 1300 square metres. The houses themselves are being designed by the architects behind South Africa’s V&A Waterfront and Green Point football stadium, so will be of the highest standards. 

Nkwashi: An Incredible Opportunities Land Ownership

What makes Nkwashi extremely attractive for families and couples is the incredible opportunities land ownership. Prospective owners apply for a particular size and location and, once approved, they can decide on their payment plan. They can choose from making a whole payment, or monthly payment plans over 2, 5, 10, or 20 years. There are no interest charges on these payment plans and prices on a 5-year flexi plan start as low as 400 Kwacha (25 Euros) per month. Once 48 months of payments have been received, owners can then move to constructing a home, choosing between self-build or construction by a professional builder. 

Zambia’s new satellite city offers exciting opportunities to live, work, learn, and play.

The town has been designed on four main “foundations”: Live, Work, Learn, Play. The Live part is covered by the affordable housing options available spread over 12 districts and with all the amenities one would expect from a modern town. The work part is covered by a well-planned commercial area (and Lusaka is only a 30-minute commute for those who want to keep work and home separate). Play involves a 40,000 square metre mall – with pubs, cinemas, shops, etc.) – as well as 40 acres of parks, over one hundred acres of green spaces, and two lakes for relaxation and watersports.

But it is perhaps the Learn aspect that will most attract young families who identify good education as essential to Zambia’s continuing development. Nine primary and secondary schools are planned, including the flagship Thebe International School offering world-class education to day students and boarders and which is planned to be the best school in Zambia. 

The planned American University will have a 10,000 student capacity and is aimed at both Zambian and international students. The university, situated on a 130-acre campus, will have research as its primary focus and hopes to attract a high standard of international teaching staff. The university’s sports facilities will also be available to the city’s residents and it is hoped this will create an encompassing sense of community. 

An Ambitious Project and an Opportunity to Live In a Self-Contained and Self-Sustaining Community

The company behind Nkwashi, Thebe Investment Management, is run by Mwiya Musokotwane, son of the country’s former finance minister. He sees Nkwashi – and other satellite cities like it – as the perfect answer to the problems of urban expansion in Africa where even affluent neighborhoods can lack total access to required amenities. With a forecast total population of between 60,000 and 100,000, one third of the plots have already been purchased. How successful this new city will be is going to depend not only on plots of land being purchased but on those plots being developed into homes. 

It is an ambitious project that offers the opportunity to live in a self-contained and self-sustaining community that still allows easy access to Lusaka. Satellite cities are also in development in other parts of Africa. Kenya’s government hopes that Konza City will become Africa’s Silicon Valley, an ambitious idea whose success remains to be seen. But the concept of satellite cities certainly offers an attractive option to the congestion of the urban metropolises, and make planning for services and amenities far easier. Could Nkwashi become an educational hub? Only time will tell. 

Photos : nkwashi.com /

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Tourist numbers to Dubai continue to grow in 2019

4 March 2020 Comments (0) Business, Featured

When you look at most cities in the world that serves as major tourist destinations, they tend to have long and illustrious histories. London and Hong Kong both have histories dating back 2,000 years or more, Luxor dates back over 5,000, and Athens some 3,500 years. But Dubai is very much a modern city in every way with little in the way of history, so it was very much a sandy tabula rasa for the rulers to write their ideas and dreams on. 

Although Dubai has brief mentions in the annals of travellers and traders as far back as the 11th century, it was little more than a waypoint though the general area was popular for pearl fishers. The Al Abu Falasa dynasty founded Dubai proper in the early years of the 19th century and one early historical footnote of interest is the signing of the “General Maritime Peace Treaty” between several of the regions sheikhs and the British government which was the first formal denunciation of slavery in history. 

In 1892, Dubai became a British protectorate, with tax exemption granted to foreign traders in 1894. By the early years of the 20th century, the Sheikh of Dubai had convinced a British steamship company to make Dubai a port of call, perhaps the first real hint of the city’s future. The merchant class gained strength with Dubai cementing its position as the main – and busiest – port in the Gulf, and they continue to be at the heart of the city’s political and power structures.

Dubai had a lean period between 1920 and the late 1960s with economic blows from the collapse of the pearl industry, the Great Depression, and World War II. This period was marked not only by poverty but by political unrest and instability. 

Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum : the Modernisation and Revitalisation of Dubai

Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum became ruler of Dubai in 1958 and it was he who was the driving force behind the modernisation and revitalisation of the city. The United Kingdom’s announcement in the late 1960s that they were withdrawing protection led to the foundation of the United Arab Emirates in 1971 in order for the small kingdoms to work together in defence and economically. 

But it was oil that was the real game-changer for the area but for Dubai in particular. With the discovery of oil in 1966 and the first shipment in 1969, the ruling family now had the funds to start realising their visions for the city.

Emirates Airlines has played a big part in the growth of Dubai. It operates over 3,600 flights a week from Dubai and the geographical location of Dubai has helped it become the major hub for many long-haul flights. The government saw that people looking to break up 15-25 hour flights offered huge potential tourism wise and billions of dollars were pumped into that area. They also realised that as oil production slowed down in the early 1990s – not to mention the constantly fluctuating prices – they need to diversify in order to survive and grow. 

A New Record of 16.73 Million of Tourists

That diversification has seen Dubai become not only a major tourist destination but also a regional centre for finance and real estate. Its diversity is perhaps underlined by the fact that some 90% of its population are foreigners, with many seeing the rich emirate as an ideal hub for many types of businesses.

2019 was a record year, with visitor numbers rising 5.1% from the previous year to a new record of 16.73 million. India keeps its top spot of providing the most visitors, with just under two million tourists, and Saudi Arabia and the UK stay 2nd and 3rd respectively. Omani tourists saw the biggest jump with a 24.3% increase in visitors from 2019. 

So why do so many tourists continue to flock to Dubai? As mentioned, a major factor is the city’s location combined with the routes flown by Emirates Airline. Many people initially chose to just have a one-day layover in the city to break up their long haul flights and to reduce the effects of jet lag. But now, the average length of stay is 3.5 to 4 nights, giving visitors an opportunity to sample some of Dubai’s many attractions. 

The Magnificence of the Burj Khalifa and the Splendour of the Burj Al-Arab

And this is where Dubai excels. They have taken a hot and arid desert with average temperatures that range from 25 degrees Celsius to the low 40s and turned it into an air-conditioned paradise for tourists and expats. The magnificence of the Burj Khalifa and the splendour of the Burj al-Arab (the world’s tallest hotel) continues to wow visitors. The Dubai Mall offers a cornucopia of shopping and entertainment choices and the Dubai Aquarium attached to the mall is one of the city’s most popular tourist spots. 

But not all the attractions are modern. The beauty of the Jumeirah Mosque is a must-see and the souks of Deira give a glimpse into Dubai’s merchant past. Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary is perfect for nature lovers and Kite Beach is ideal for those looking to soak up some rays or watch the spectacular kite-surfing. 

Dubai is a destination that offers something for everyone – if you can afford it – and numbers will likely continue to grow throughout the coming decade. 

Photos : gulfnews.com/ arabianbusiness.com/ thenational.ae

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Moroccan-American Team Wins First African Solar Decathlon

4 February 2020 Comments (0) Business

In a time where climate change is a phrase on many people’s lips, it is heartening to see renewed efforts to find ways to use renewable energy in our daily lives. One such effort is The Solar Decathlon Africa, first held in Morocco in September, 2019. The principal idea behind the contest is for international collegiate teams to build a house – judged over 10 categories – that is solely powered by the sun. The contest is modelled on the original Solar Decathlon held every second year in the U.S. since 2002. 

The contest has expanded from America, with Solar Decathlons now held in Europe, China, Latin America and Caribbean, and the Middle East, as well as this new one in Africa. 

To Design and Construct a House That Uses Zero Net Energy

The inaugural African competition, held in Ben Guerir in Morocco’s central Rehamna Province, took place from September 13th to the 27th, 2019. With more than 1,200 entrants from 20 countries, the competition is not only international but is also underpinned by international cooperation as many of the teams comprised members from more than one country. 

The idea is to design and construct a house that uses zero net energy. That is to say, the whole house must be powered by renewable energy, in this case solar. Teams are judged over the following 10 categories, with each category offering 10 points to be won (architecture, engineering and construction, market appeal, comfort conditions, appliances, sustainability…).

There were two primary organisers of the competition in Morocco. The first was IRESEN; a research organisation and institute founded in 2011 by the Moroccan Ministry of Energy, Mining, Water and Environment, and which cooperates with several of Morocco’s key energy companies. The second organiser was Ben Guerir’s University Mohammed VI Polytechnic. The jury consisted of 27 members, chosen from a wide range of fields including education and business and representing several countries. 

One factor all teams were asked to incorporate into their designs was recognition of Africa’s cultural and architectural heritage. With harsh conditions across the continent, building design has often evolved to recognise this challenge and to include features which protects inhabitants against these climactic factors. A good example of this is the narrows streets and thick-walled houses found in Morocco’s Medina which keep the heat out at the height of summer and in when the winters get cold. 

The Inter House Winner of the First African Competition

The winners of this first African competition were the Inter House Team, a multidisciplinary cooperative effort between Colorado’s School of Mines, Marrakech’s National School of Architecture, and Cadi Ayyad University, also from Marrakech. They used CSEBs (Compressed Stabilised Earth Blocks) as their primary building material for the house walls, comprised of 95% local soil and 5% lime cement to stabilize the blocks. Not only do these CSEBs reflect the traditional brickwork of Morocco, but they also provide work for locals while offering a sustainable and energy efficient building material. 

One thing the team wanted to achieve was the marriage of modern and traditional values and styles. Taking inspiration from the famed courtyards which often form the heart of Moroccan homes, the team also made the courtyard the centre of their design. As well as offering a private outdoor space, the courtyard divided the home in two, with sleeping areas to the northwest and living and dining areas to the southeast.

But, of course, the main idea behind these designs was to be energy efficient, a real challenge in the local climate. The house’s CERV (conditioning energy recovery ventilator) utilised a highly efficient heat pump that exchanged energy between the incoming supply and the outgoing exhaust air. Combined with the CSEB walls used, this system not only keeps the house full of fresh air, but also monitors air quality throughout the house using special sensors. The system also allows occupants to monitor and set the home’s VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) and CO2 levels as well as temperature and humidity levels. 

To Allow To Control Lighting, Window Shades

The home also features a state of the art HACS (Home Automated Control System) that allows the homeowners to not only monitor several environmental aspects of the home’s interior but also to control things such as lighting, window shades, etc. 

Power for the house comes from two types of solar panels. The first is a rooftop system that supplies most of the house and the second is a solar thermal system to supply renewable hot water. The way the system was designed using heat transfer eliminates any need for boilers or electric pumps. 

One of the most innovative features of the winning design was its constructed wetland, a specially designed and built black water filtration system. The water filters through rocks and plants where natural bacteria remove or breaks down any toxins or pathogens. This not only sustains the plants in the filtration system but also provides water to use for landscaping or irrigation. 

An Increasing Level of Cooperation across Borders and Between Diverse Organizations

With increasing worry over a changing climate, it is encouraging to see not only innovative ideas in creating energy efficient homes, but also the increasing level of cooperation across borders and between diverse organizations. While the homes in the competition, complete with all their technological gadgetry, are mainly aimed at middle class buyers, many of the ideas will be able to be incorporated into lower income homes in the future. 

Photos : insidearabia.com / iresen.org

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Danièle Sassou Nguesso : Breaking Down Gender Barriers

20 January 2020 Comments (0) Leaders

In a continent which has suffered from gender disparity for so many years, the recent spate of stories about strong African women gaining prominence at every level of society has been an encouraging and heartwarming trend. These women, more than any other factor, are what will inspire a new generation of African girls to stay in education and to pursue their dreams. One such woman is 43-year-old Danièle Sassou Nguesso. 

Born in Dakar, Senegal, in 1976, Nguesso had a privileged upbringing, something that made her even more aware of the many who were not so lucky. Her mother had a PhD in Pharmacy and her father was a doctor, and Nguesso studied in Paris, first gaining a Baccalaureate in science at 17, then later qualifying as an optician at the Ecole Supérieure des Opticiens de Paris. After some time working in France, Nguesso decided to return to Africa and she opened her first optician’s shop under the brand name, “Optical”, in Libreville, Gabon, in 2003, notably becoming Gabon’s first female optician at the same time. The brand is now well-established in five major African cities. 

Danièle Sassou Nguesso : to facilitate the empowerment of women

At that point, Nguesso could have continued on the standard pathway of many entrepreneurs, focusing purely on building a business empire. But her travels around Africa made her realise she wanted more than that. Everywhere she went, she saw gender disparity and institutionalised discrimination, which were leading to a continued marginalisation of women as well as physical and psychological abuse. She also saw how the poorest and most vulnerable children were denied access to education and she realised that among these children could be future doctors, future authors, or future leaders. 

In 2008, she set up Le Petit Samaritain to promote and support access to education. Then in 2015, she set up the SOUNGA Foundation in order to break down gender barriers and to facilitate the empowerment of Congolese women. As Nguesso says: “It is important for our girls to receive the same training like our boys; so that they can pursue the same jobs opportunities as their male peers.”

The foundation has set up several projects in order to support women towards those opportunities. “Sounga Nga” is an incubator project that offers training in skills such as accounting and marketing to women looking to set up businesses. The project also offers low-interest loans to help the women capitalise their business. 

The Sounga Gender Label partners with various Congolese Ministries as well as private organisations to encourage good corporate governance and to promote the employment of women across several sectors and levels. 

And the Sounga Focus Group is an annual study of what women at every level of Congolese society is thinking and feeling and a way of identifying socio-cultural needs. This allows the foundation to then feed their findings back to the government in an effort to facilitate change.

Her family connection as a major advantage

One difficulty Nguesso does not face is communications with the government. She is married to controversial Congolese politician, Denis-Christel Sassou Nguesso. He is the son of Denis Sassou Nguesso, who has been President of the Republic of the Congo since 1997. Her husband is also tipped to replace his father when he eventually retires. She sees her family connection as a major advantage as she does not have to navigate the mazes of bureaucracy in order to get her powerful and important message across. 

Despite her schedule with the foundation, and having four children to raise, Nguesso completed a Master’s in Politics and Development Management at Sciences Po in Paris in 2016. And in 2018, she was awarded the African Inspirational Female Leader of the Year award at the East African Business Summit & Awards. With plans to continue expanding the foundation across Congo and other countries, Nguesso is inspiring and supporting thousands of young African women and girls. 

Photos : elle.ci / Facebook / magazine.inafrik.com / griote.tv/

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John Dodelande, curator of contemporary art, launches a reference database for Chinese Contemporary Art

16 January 2020 Comments (0) Leaders

John Dodelande

John Dodelande has been active in the contemporary art market for more than ten years. He has more specifically focused his collection on Chinese contemporary art works and young artists of the new generation (Wang Yuyang, Wang Sishun, Wang Guangle among others…) who are moving away from both the aesthetics and the spirit of his elders (notably the cynical realists movement which became known to a large audience at the international level by artists such as Yue Minjun, Ai Wei Wei…).

Like all market players, he was led to question the tools available to him to carry out his day-to-day business, particularly in the digital environment.

Beyond the institutional websites and networks of the auction houses and the databases most used by practitioners (Artnet.com, ArtMarket.com, Artprice.com), he noted the monopoly of certain players on the one hand, and on the other hand, the fragmentation and splintering of information and the difficulty of sorting through dozens or even hundreds of sources, each of which obey their own logic and their own rules.

Thus, he most often felt that he had to define for himself the parameters and criteria that would enable him to guide his choices and actions.

With regard to the field that interests him more particularly that of contemporary art and Chinese art in particular, he noted the absence of a relevant, effective and pragmatic reference tool capable of identifying works and artists, of drawing up an inventory of the market and practices and finally of guiding the choices of market players.

John Dodelande confides to us: “Being myself a Digital Native, the world of social networks, digital tools are my usual environment. However, I very quickly had the feeling that I couldn’t find what I was looking for and that I was wasting a lot of time because I didn’t have a real database organized by type of market, category of works, which would take into account the geographical and economic dimension, which are fundamental factors in understanding the market as a whole”.

John Dodelande is thus developing with partners a new tool that is destined to become the reference database for Chinese Contemporary Art and, in the long term, for Asian Art in general. This database, accessible to the general public free of charge for its educational presentation component, will be available by subscription to professionals who will have access to valuable information on artists, works and transactions, providing an overview of this particular market and its evolution.

It goes without saying that John Dodelande’s vocation is to deploy this technology on other target art markets and even other sectors of activity.

John Dodelande is expected to announce the launch of this innovative platform in 2020.

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Anbessa: Best Foot Forward for This Ethiopian Shoemaker

6 January 2020 Comments (0) Business, Featured

When you think of an international shoe exporter, Ethiopia may not be the first country that springs to mind. Yet Anbessa Shoe Share Company, based in the Akaky Kaliti suburb of Addis Ababa, has been making its mark across Africa as well as several international export markets. 

Originally founded in the 1930s by an Italian expatriate living in Ethiopia, the company has had an at times turbulent past. Operating as DARMAR in the 1950s, it made shoes for men, women, and children. But in the 1970s, it was nationalised by the Derg Regime, the shortened name for the ‘Provisional Military Government of Socialist Ethiopia’, a Communist Marxist-Leninist military junta that ruled Ethiopia from 1974 to 1987. The fall of communism worldwide also affected Ethiopia and led to the formation of the People’s Democratic Republic of Ethiopia in February of 1987. 

The company remained under government control until 2011 when it was purchased by the current owner, Ato Tedla Yizengaw. Yizengaw, a serial entrepreneur who owns several thriving Ethiopian businesses, and who has guided Anbessa into a new era with the backing of a strong board of directors.

Anbessa exports to Africa, the USA, EU, Middle East, and Asia

With a staggering 65-70% of the domestic market, Anbessa also exports to the rest of Africa as well as the USA, EU, Middle East, and Asia. While its primary product is shoes, it also manufactures bags and belts, ensuring that no leather is wasted in the production process. 

Its growth and success has been recognised by the Brand Africa 100 ratings, with position #23 in 2018 followed by an impressive climb to #12 in 2019. It is the sole Ethiopian brand recognised in the Brand Africa charts. Export figures for 2017 exceeded $750,000, a figure they hope to grow steadily with a new factory looking to increase production levels.

In September 2017, the company moved into a new UD$15 million production plant in Akaky Kaliti. The primary aim of the new plant was to ramp up production from the previous 3500 pairs of shoes made daily to a new output of 10,000 pairs daily. But Yizengaw is an astute businessman and knows that it’s not just about quantity; he needs to improve and maintain quality to increase their export market. So the company has partnered with the Leather Industry Development Institute (LIDI), an Ethiopian organisations founded in 2010 to offer training to all areas of the leather industry and to improve skills at all levels of the workforce.

To increase their export volume from 10% to 70%

More recently, Anbessa bought the bankrupt Habesha Tannery in July of 2019 for just under 1 million US dollars. This will allow the company to not only produce their own leather but also to have a much more hands-on approach to quality control at every stage of the manufacturing process. Anbessa sees the acquisition of the tannery as a crucial part of their plan to vastly increase their volume of exports. The machinery in the tannery – which Anbessa plans to expand – was worth over US$1 million alone, so it was a clever bit of business. The Turkish company who had owned the tannery had become bogged down in default payments with the Development Bank of Ethiopia. Anbessa hopes that the new acquisition combined with their new factory will increase their export volume from 10% to 70%. 

As well as the quality of their footwear, many commentators point to Anbessa’s business practices as a major positive. All the material they use in production comes from sustainable sources, a major selling point when it comes to international markets. And their focus on fair treatment for all their workforce – up to 1,636 since moving to the new factory – also draws praise. The staff received discounted meals in the factory’s modern and clean cafeteria. Every staff member also receives free medical check-ups, and the factory itself meets stringent safety standards. The company also adheres to International Labor Organization (ILO) regulations, ensuring that all staff are of minimum working age and that no minors are ever employed. 

With experienced and forward-thinking management, a dedicated and well-treated workforce, and quality products that are being more and more recognised internationally, Anbessa is a success story that looks like it will keep on growing. 

Photos: resolution.studio / squarespace-cdn.com / twimg.com

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Transmashholding’s African Adventure

23 December 2019 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Transport

Andrey Bokarev’s railway machine manufacturing company, Transmashholding, acquires its First Factory in Africa as the Continent Seeks to Revitalise its Railway Systems and Trains

With Africa, the second-fastest-growing continent from an economic perspective, development of efficient and cost-effective transport and logistics infrastructure are of paramount importance. The continent is not only rich in resources but is also fast developing as a robust manufacturing centre. The challenge for these economies is to ensure swift transport of containers and goods to the various African ports and onto global markets. 

Rail transport is at the forefront of any logistics development and recent years have seen increased investment and new initiatives. And with the planned Africa Integrated High-Speed Network – part of the Agenda 2063 Continent Development Plan – gathering steam, almost every African country is now looking to invest, or seek investment, in improving their railway infrastructure and stock.

The Real Way Forward is the Railway

The main hurdle facing these plans is that existing railways systems, mainly dating from the colonial era, are often in poor states of repair or the routes are unsuitable for future plans. The latter of these factors is mainly due to colonial planners usually using the shortest or quickest routes rather than ones which brought benefits to the country as a whole. Another long-range hurdle to continental integration is the fact that there are at least six different gauges in use. 

The inauguration of Transmashholding’s (as TMH Africa here) first African factory in April of 2019 illustrates the Russia-based conglomerates’ commitment to expansion and investment across Africa and Company’s president Andrey Bokarev business talent (a few months after a €1bn five-year contract between Egyptian National Railways and Transmashholding-Hungary  were signed in 2018.) The 45,000m² plant, situated in Boksburg, Gauteng, has been producing rolling stock since 1911, thus allowing TMH Africa to hit the ground running with an existing facility and workforce. 

The South African factory marks stage one of TMH International’s planned investment in Africa of over $32 million, and initial plans at Boksburg include the upgrading of the factory and machinery as well as retraining and upskilling of current employees.

TMH Enters the South African Train Market

It is also worth noting that Gauteng Province is the location of the Tambo Springs Project, a greenfield transport hub comprising road, air, and rail, and valued at $15 billion. There is also the planned container terminal at Ekurhuleni, some 20km from the new TMH International facility. 

South Africa is now the leading country in Africa for rail freight – at 99.5Mt a kilometre – and the map below shows not only how intensive the African Union’s plans for developing transport infrastructure is, but also how central to that plan South Africa is. 

Jerome Boyet, CEO of TMH Africa, sees the company’s role in Africa as being a local partner with local and global manufacturing companies seeking to fulfil orders across Africa as well as producing their own rolling stock. As Boyet pointed out, a large part of their decision to choose this location was based on: “…our understanding that South Africa’s real potential to become a leader in rolling stock manufacturing for Africa remains untapped.”

With continued economic growth and inward investment to transport systems across the continent, most observers would agree that TMH Africa’s investment is one with long term promise.

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Dr. Bouamatou: breaking down the gender barriers in banking

29 November 2019 Comments (0) Africa, Leaders

While it would be fair to say that actual talent in the world of finance is distributed equally by gender, it would also be fair to note that this talent is not equally distributed among the top tiers of management. In fact, it was only in October 2019 when the Royal Bank of Scotland announced that Alison Rose would be its next chief executive that a woman finally reached the top position in a global bank. The same month, Citigroup named Jane Fraser as President, a move many commentators see as preparing her for the CEO position. IMF figures show that only 2% of banking CEOs globally are women. 

There is plenty of female talent within the finance industry, but generally, the glass ceiling tends to hold them back from the top positions. That glass ceiling often means salary disparity too. In January 2019, Citigroup revealed that its female employees receive on average 71% of their male counterparts. Given that they have over 200,000 employees, with more than half of them women, hopefully, this honesty will see the pay gap closing. 

In emerging economies, the appointment of women to top positions is doubly important. Not only does it address gender disparity, a major issue in many African and Latin American countries, but it also helps the institutions connect more readily with the 1.8 million unbanked women that the World Bank is targeting in Africa and Latin America as part of their 2020 financial inclusion goals. 

Dr. Leila Bouamatou : An Impressive Credentials 

One such woman who currently stands out is 35-year-old Dr. Leila Bouamatou, who is currently Managing Director and Board Member at Générale de Banque de Mauritanie (General Bank of Mauritania). Dr. Bouamatou holds a Master’s Degree in Finance from Barcelona’s EADA Business School, an Executive MBA in Business Administration from South Mediterranean University, and a Doctorate in Business Administration from Fox School of Business & Management. Impressive credentials quickly silenced any critics who say she gained her position through her father, Mohamed Ould Bouamatou, who founded GBM in 1995 as the first private bank in Mauritania. 

Dr. Bouamatou trained in Tunisia with Deloitte’s, with MediCapital Bank in London, and then with BMCE Bank International Plc – who specialize in African investments – also in London. She had just been offered a lucrative contract in London when her father asked her to return home and join the treasury department of GMB. She served as Head of the Treasury Department for 10 years, before being promoted to managing director and board member.

While Mauritania is one of the poorer African countries at the moment, economic development looks good, thanks mainly to a program of reforms which will hopefully be continued by the new president, Ould Ghazouani, who won the election of June 2019, taking over from retiring president, Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz. On an optimistic note, it is worth remembering that this was the first peaceful change of ruler since the country gained independence from France in 1960. Those reforms have meant that Mauritania is ranked in the top 10 of global reformers. But it is also worth noting that the country continues to have a large foreign trade imbalance though GDP is forecast to rise by 5.2% in 2019 after two years’ steady at 3.5%.

To Break Down the Disparity Barriers in Africa

Dr. Bouamatou is a huge supporter, not only of financial inclusion for women but also of empowerment and breaking down the disparity barriers across the continent. Speaking to her alma mater, Fox School of Business & Management, she said:

“Women are getting more and more educated and becoming more and more ambitious. Fathers are more and more supportive of their daughters and more open-minded, compared to previous generations.”

Dr. Bouamatou is married to Tah Meouloud, a fellow graduate of Fox School of Business & Management, and an economist who was head of human resources at BSA subsidiary BSA Technologies. They have two children.

A Statement against Discrimination against African Women 

Dr. Bouamatou always wears an El-melhfa, a traditional piece of cloth which covers her from ankles to face. While many see El-melhfa as a Muslim tradition, it is more a Saharawi tradition, one which is worn by all religious and ethnic groups of the Saharawi. It is a symbol of Saharawi pride and resistance, especially in what these people view as ‘occupied territories’. Because of its visibility, wearing it can often lead to discrimination against women. By choosing to always wear it, Dr. Bouamatou not only acknowledges her heritage, but she also makes a statement against discrimination against women throughout Africa.

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7th Single Window Conference Looks to Boost Trade Links

25 November 2019 Comments (0) Africa, Business

Between the 17th and 19th of September 2019, the 7th annual International Conference on Single Window of the African Alliance for Electronic Commerce (AACE) was held in Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon. Present were leading players in logistics and supply chains, and over 40 delegations for foreign countries including 18 African countries. 

The idea behind a single-window system is to improve the efficiency of international trade, in this case particularly the concept of intra-African trade across the region. In order to work properly, this would require a single entity or location where companies would submit all their documents such as customs declarations or permits for import and export. So, if a company in Kenya wished to export its goods to 12 other African countries, rather than going through 12 separate sets of regulations and multiple submission of documents, they would instead do it all through one single entity. 

A single market with a billion consumers

Africa has seen a lot of rapid economic development in recent years, much of that down to cooperation across the continent. Recent developments have included the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) in March of 2018, which has committed to removing intra-regional tariffs on some 90% of goods. If this agreement is successful it will create a single market with in excess of a billion consumers and a total GDP of over US$3 trillion. It was an agreement that the continent needed badly; in 2017, African intra-region trade only accounted for 17% of exports. When compared to Asia (59%) and Europe (69%), it is clear that as a potential trade bloc, Africa was lagging behind and missing out on the many benefits that come with such high rates of ‘local’ trade. 

The September conference focused on two main aims; the growing potential of e-commerce across the continent, and optimizing the supply chains of landlocked countries with no port access. The latter of these is something that will need massive investment in infrastructure, particularly railways and roads. And we are seeing that investment already happening across Africa.

450 million African mobile users and 300 million more expected

But it is the e-commerce factor which is perhaps the most exciting as it needs a lot less in terms of total investment. In some ways, Africa has been able to leapfrog many developed nations in terms of developing e-commerce. With lower rates of banking and credit card use, there has been a need to develop innovative payment methods such as e-wallets which people can top up at local agents, giving them a balance on their mobile with which to purchase goods. And with generally widespread internet penetration across much of Africa, there are large numbers of new consumers coming online. With around 450 million mobile users currently and another 300 million expected to have access in the next 3 years or so, companies are recognizing the potential of this reservoir of consumers with disposable income. 

The concept of the single window is a natural step in the development of AfCFTA. These annual conferences aim to develop the single window concept following the guidelines already established by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the World Customs Organisation (WCO). While a continent-wide single window may be some years off, The African Alliance for e-Commerce hopes to establish national and regional ones as a stepping stone to a continental one. Many African countries are already cooperating on cross border trade already, with several trade zones already in operation. Of particular note is the East African Community (EAC) which comprises Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. It has shown the best progress as far as moving towards a common trade area is concerned and could serve as a template for the continent as a whole. 

A single window to reduce tax and to optimize the African potential

Developing single window systems will reduce tax and tariff burdens and make the movement of goods across borders far easier than the present. But there are still many barriers to successful implementation. The continuing conflict in some areas, low-level corruption at borders and customs points, and even the motives of individual countries may hamper a quick solution. But with the massive potential for businesses, there will be a continued push to establish an Africa-wide single window in the near future.

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