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Tanzanian entrepreneur aims to light up his country with green energy

6 August 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Featured, Leaders

sunsweet solar

George Mtemahanji’s Tanzanian startup, Sunsweet Solar, looks to bring clean energy to its nation’s poorest people.

For 70% of Tanzanians, the only way to light up their homes after sundown is with a small kerosene-powered lamp. This shortage of electricity does not only affect people in their homes, but businesses and schools too. It was something that 22 year old George Mtemahanji understood well, as he had grown up in the small, rural town of Ifakara where kerosene was the only option for light after dusk.

Mtemahanji left his home in 2003 at only 9 years of age, as his mother took him to Italy in search of new opportunities. However, 8 years later he returned home, and upon seeing that the same energy problems still afflicted his hometown, he decided to find a solution.

The spark that can change lives

Mtemahanji was not only struck by how little things had changed in his place of birth, but also by how significant a lack of electricity was to the prospects for development. Mtemahanji explained, “Electricity supply is really important for the development of a country. Without electricity, New York or Johannesburg would just be villages – they’d be like Ifakara.”

At the time of his return, Mtemahanji was studying to be a technician in renewable energy, and the power situation within his home town immediately struck him as a problem that his training could help to solve. Mtemahanji said, “We have a lot of sun and it was really very strange that no one was doing something with solar energy.” The inspiration for Sunsweet Solar had been created, so Mtemahanji returned to Italy to discuss his ideas with a fellow student, Manuel Rolando.

By 2013, extensive research into solar energy in Tanzania had revealed that many locals simply did not trust solar energy as a reliable source due to poor quality installations that had proved inconsistent. However, Mtemahanji was confident that Rolando and he were capable of designing efficient, cost effective solar powered systems. The duo began approaching companies for funding, and found a Swiss company planning to build a photovoltaic plant (solar power plant) right in Mtemhanji’s hometown of Ifakara. The two young entrepreneurs offered to design and construct all the technical components of the plant for free, and their pitch was accepted.

Sunsweet Solar rises in the east

Mtemahanji’s voluntary work on the Swiss photovoltaic plant was a huge success; the plant is the largest of its kind in the Kilombero district, and it powers 200 lights, dozens of computers and can store 3 days’ worth of power. Moreover, it now proved to any other investor that Mtemahanji and Rolando had the requisite skills to complete their grand plans.

Mtemahanji was committed to ensuring that his home in East Africa would begin to finally see a rise in solar power, which would drive forward development, and would save money for the poorest people of his country. Sunsweet Solar was registered within days of the completed project in Ifakara, and they quickly established a partnership with a German company, Fosera, to provide household kits to rural districts.

Sunsweet Solar aims to not only build energy solutions for much of Tanzania, but to do so in a way that is cheaper than the current alternative of using kerosene lamps.

Mtemahanji discussed the 70% of the country that have no reliable electricity, remarking, “We can give them electricity for 25 years for only $79… It costs less than $0.30 per month; today a liter of kerosene costs $1.10. That means the people in rural areas spent 73% more with kerosene per month than with our solar system.”

Access to electricity can bring greater productivity in the workplace, and the ability to improve education. Since Sunsweet Solar installed solar power to Benignis Girls Secondary School, the school has seen exam performances increase from 18% to 83% in just 1 year. Something as simple as being able to study during the evening is a part of life that many people will have never had to consider.

In 2015, George Mtemahanji won the Anzisha Price, an award for young African entrepreneurs, and despite his success he is still only 22 years of age. With plans to roll out a loan system, so that customers can buy installations in installments, the future for both his company and Tanzania looks increasingly bright.

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Zimbabwe: Abuzz with beekeeping

4 August 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Featured

zimbabwe bees

More than 50,000 bee farms operate in the southern African nation, providing a cash crop and encouraging forest protection.

Beekeeping represents a win-win for Zimbabwe: It is a cash crop for thousands of struggling farmers and it encourages preservation of the nation’s depleted forestland.

The Beekeepers Association of Zimbabwe estimates there are more than 50,000 bee farms flourishing in the southern African country and the number is growing. Beekeeping has become profitable thanks to high consumer demand for honey as well as beeswax. Bees also pollinate crops, helping increase food production.

Beekeeping serves another important purpose: giving farmers a reason to preserve their woodlands. In Zimbabwe, forests have been ravaged by tobacco farmers who use wood to cure their crops and by high consumer demand for firewood fueled by the country’s frequent power outages.

Tobacco farmers cut down up to one fifth of Zimbabwe’s 800,000 acres of natural forest each year, according to the government forestry commission.

Programs provide training

Zimbabwe’s Department of Agricultural and Extension Services provides training for would-be beekeepers as do a variety of nonprofit organizations, including the European Union’s Forest Forces project and the Ruzivo Trust.

According to the Trust, beekeeping can add stability to farms that are highly dependent on abundant rainfall, which is no longer a given as climate change brings drought to the region. The Trust set up demonstration projects and used a “learning by doing” approach to train 100 families in Goromonzi. Most of the families combine beekeeping with growing crops and raising cattle.

One new beekeeper is Divas Matinyadze, who maintains about four dozen hives in a dense patch of forest near Mpudzi.

Matinyadze, who was trained by the government, was a successful farmer of cotton and maize before he switched to bees in 2014. He said he makes up to $60 per hive during each of two yearly honey harvests, enough to buy food for his family.

Drought threatens production

Isaac Mamboza, a beekeeper in the Chipinge district, said he was part of a group of 25 farmers who started a local beekeeping project with hives in the trees near a local dam.

“Beekeeping can help us protect our forests,” Mamboza said.

However, the burgeoning beekeeping industry faces threats from drought and from another insect that kills bees.

The current drought in the region has cut honey production.

As weather becomes more erratic with climate change, harvest from rain-fed agriculture is increasingly vulnerable.

This year, the drought has left more than 4.5 million Zimbabweans without enough to eat, according to the government. The country estimates it needs at least $1.6 billion to feed the country.

Matinyadze said he delayed his spring harvest because there was so little pollen, adding that his crops have sustained much more damage from the drought than his bee hives have.

“Pirate bee” strikes

Another major emerging threat is the “pirate bee,” an insect that invades the entrances of bee hives and kills the bees. This forces the bees to hibernate inside their hives, meaning they are not outside collecting nectar to produce honey.

The pirate bee or cuckoo bee, along with water shortages, have forced beekeepers to cut back from three to two harvests per year, according to Nyovani Ndlovu, a beekeeper in Lupane.

Several other insects, among them beetles and wasps, also hurt yields during the production of honey by infesting hives and forcing bees out.

Cliff Maunze, who heads a Forest Forces team, said beekeepers are upgrading their hives to use a sticky substance to trap the pirate bees and other predatory insects when they land on the hives. Maunze said the project also plans to plant gum trees to increase the density of forests where the bees forage.

Despite the challenges, experts see beekeeping as an important game changer for agriculture in many parts of the continent.

“Honey production presents enormous potential for achieving food security in Africa,” the Ruzivo Trust said.

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Global demand could boost lithium mining in Zimbabwe

2 August 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Featured

lithium mining

Companies explore deposits, seek investment as worldwide demand grows for “white petroleum” to power rechargeable batteries.

As global demand for lithium skyrockets, Zimbabwe may increase production of the so-called “white petroleum’’ that powers rechargeable devices including telephones and automobiles.

Tesla’s plans to mass-produce its Model 3 battery-powered car have stoked worldwide demand. Tesla estimated its production target for electric cars alone – 500,000 vehicles by 2020 – could require as much lithium as is already currently being produced.

Zimbabwe, the fifth largest producer of lithium on the planet, could increase its share of a growing market.

Premier African Minerals has begun looking for partners to expand its Lithium and Tantalum mining operations at its Zulu Project in Zimbabwe.

Investors sought

George Roach, Premier’s chief executive officer, said preliminary talks were aimed at identifying parties who might be interested in supporting development.

Premier’s flagship mine is the RHA Tungsten Mine in Zimbabwe and the company has mineral projects across Africa.

Meanwhile, another company, Prospect Resources Ltd., has secured diamond-drilling services for its recently acquired Arcadia Lithium Project in Zimbabwe. The project has set a target of extracting up to 18 million tons of 3-5 percent lithium.

The company said it has raised $2 million of $16 million needed to fast-track exploration.

During intermittent production between 1954 and 1972, the Arcadia mine produced more than 15,000 tons of mixed ore that contained lithium. The mining operation, just 25 miles northeast of Harare, also produces eucryptite, petalite and feldspar.

Australia leads production

Zimbabwe is the world’s fifth largest producer of lithium after Australia, Chile, Argentina and China. Other major producers are Brazil, Portugal and the United States.

Zimbabwe produced 900 metric tons of lithium in 2015. By comparison, top-producer Australia accounted for 13,400 metric tons, Chile for 12,900 metric tons, Argentina for 3,800 metric tons and China for 2,200 metric tons.

The consulting firm Stormcrow Capital projects global demand will outstrip supply by 2023.

Such projections are driving investor interest in lithium, which was the only commodity to increase in price last year. The cost has skyrocketed to $6,400 per ton globally and reportedly to as much as $13,000 on some orders in China.

Zimbabwean mining struggles

Increased lithium production could be a boon for Zimbabwe’s struggling mining sector.

The Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe told a recent conference of mining executives that the sector is fragile because of low mineral prices on global markets.

The depressed prices, combined with liquidity challenges as well as power and capital shortages, have resulted in many mining companies struggling to break even.

The sector produces 10 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product and 50 percent of its foreign direct investment and export earnings.

Toindepi Muganyi, president of the Chamber of Mines, told delegates at the Mining, Engineering and Transport conference that the sector had contracted by more than 2 percent for the second year in a row in 2015. Total mineral revenue dropped from $1.9 billion in 2014 to $1.86 billion 2015, he said.

Recovery forecast

In addition to interest in lithium, prices for gold, platinum and nickel were on the rise, Muganyi said, predicting a recovery this year.

The Zimbabwean government in 2014 announced plans to build a lithium processing facility, which could lead the way to manufacturing batteries in the country.

Valentine Vera, metallurgy director in Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Mines and Mining Development said the metal had the potential to drive the nation’s economic growth as global demand grew. However, Vera said the country would need to draw significant investment in order to increase production.

Zimbabwe is a mineral-rich nation with resources that include platinum, gold, nickel, copper, zinc, lead, limestone and phosphates. The country has the second-largest deposits of platinum in the world.

Exploration for lithium is also under way in Mali. Birimiam Limited, a multi-commodity exploration company has significant interests in lithium deposits as well as gold deposits in the West African nation.

Niger, Namibia, Senegal and Ivory Coast also have lithium deposits.

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Respected Cameroonian economist joins African Development Bank

28 July 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Featured

Célestin Monga

Célestin Monga has been named Vice President of the ADB and will take charge of governance and knowledge management at the pan-African financial institution.

Célestin Monga, a distinguished Cameroonian economist with a long career in global finance, has been named Vice President of the African Development Bank.

Monga will be in charge of governance and knowledge management at the pan-African financial institution.

Since 2014, Monga was deputy managing director of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization.

Prior to that, he spent 17 years at the World Bank, including working as senior economist for Europe and Central Asia. He also led a World Bank team that reviewed policies in the office of the vice president in charge of development economics and was a director for the structural transformation program in the African region.

Among top 5 economists in Africa

Monga also launched several initiatives, including debt relief for poor, indebted countries, and development of financial practices now used in many countries to protect against external financial disruption.

In 2012, he was named by Jeune Afrique magazine as one of the five best African economists. He has published economic analysis with some of the most prominent economists in the world, including Nobel laureates in economics.

Monga favors an economic integration model for Africa, in which markets coordinate more closely with an eye to exporting to the West.  “If you are a group of neighboring countries but all poor and producing the same raw materials, it is useless to invest in infrastructure to connect because there is no market or purchasing power among the others. It is necessary to seek markets where they are, especially in the West,” Monga said.

Monga holds a post-graduate degree from the University of Paris-Sorbonne. He was Mason Fellow at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and continued graduate studies at Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He received his PhD in France, at the University of Pau.

He has lectured at Boston University in the United States and the University of Bordeaux in France.

Writer and editor in economics

He is the author of several books and served as editor of the economy section of the New Encyclopedia of Africa.

His latest book on economics is the “Oxford Handbook of Africa and Economics” (2015), co-published with Justin Yifu Lin, former vice president and chief economist of the World Bank. Mongo is co-author of the forthcoming book from titled “Handbook of Structural Transformation.” His works, which explore aspects of economic and political development, have been translated into several languages and serve as teaching tools in many universities worldwide. His next book about the challenges of modernity in Africa, will be published in September.

Monga said he was “very excited” to be joining the African Development Bank at a time when its new president, Akinwumi Adesina, is plotting a new strategic course for the financial institution that promises to improve standards of living in Africa.

Bank shifts course

Adesina, who joined the bank in September, adopted a strategy of “power for all” or universal access to electricity for the continent. Lack of electricity, he said, is the greatest obstacle to development of Africa.

“The development of the energy infrastructure for Africa will drive more rapid economic and social development of the continent by reducing the cost of doing business, powering industrial growth, unlocking entrepreneurship, improving education and health systems and deepening financial services,” Adesina said.

Other priorities of the new leadership at the African Development Bank include increased investments in the private sector and a more “activist” approach to infrastructure development by helping resolve legal and regulatory bottlenecks that slow progress.

“Africa is living a crucial moment in its history and I am delighted to join the team to carry out this program,” Mongo said.

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A new capital for Egpyt

27 July 2016 Comments (0) Business, Featured, Middle East

Egypt's new capital city (plan)

The Middle Eastern nation builds a new capital near Cairo as it seeks to boost its economy and house a growing population.

Egypt is moving forward with plans to build a massive $45 billion new city east of Cairo that will function as the nation’s government and business capital.

Planners said the new city, which does not yet have a name, would be home to 2,000 schools and colleges, 600 health care facilities, a central business district with hotels, shopping centers and offices, and 20 residential districts with housing for at least five million residents.

Covering more than 250 square miles, or an area slightly larger than the City of Chicago, the new city will also have an international airport larger than London’s Heathrow, an amusement park four times the size of Disneyland and a public park larger than Central Park in New York City.

The plan for a new city is a centerpiece in President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi’s efforts to boost Egypt’s struggling economy. Sisi, who seized power three years ago in a bloody military coup, has proposed several mega-developments amid a slowing of tourism and direct foreign investment in the Mideast nation.

Cairo’s population will double

Planners say the project will create more than one million jobs and take about 12 years to complete.

Egyptian Housing Minister Mostafa Madbouly said one goal of the development was to ease congestion and crowding in Cairo. The city of 18 million is expected double in 40 years.

The Egyptian parliament and its government departments and ministries, as well as foreign embassies, would move to the new city, he said.

“We are talking about a world capital,” Modbouly said.

China aids development

Model for new proposed airport

Model for new proposed airport

The project got a boost earlier this year when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Cairo to boost economic ties and announced the Asian nation’s willingness to support construction of the new city. China agreed to support the new capital project with loans, grants and other support that state media reported were worth $15 billion.

China also agreed to loan Egypt’s central bank $1 billion to increase its reserves, which stand at $16 billion, less than half the reserve at the time of the ouster of former President Hosni Mubarak during Arab Spring in 2011.

The new city is a showpiece for China’s “One Belt One Road” strategy to strengthen the country’s global position with foreign aid and investment. The strategy has prompted China State Construction to accelerate its international contracting work, building apartment houses, stadiums, roads and hotels in Africa and the Middle East.

Construction began in April

The first phase of construction of the new capital city began in April, including development of roads and communications and sanitation infrastructure on the desert site 30 miles east of Cairo.

An Egyptian-Chinese partnership that includes Arab Contractors, the Petroleum Projects and Technical Consultations Company and the China State Construction is working on the initial construction.

Modbouly said the country would also be seeking bids from private companies for portions of the first phase. Chinese companies will provide financing for the construction of a number of new buildings, including 14 government buildings and a large conference center. Estimated cost of the initial phase is $2.7 billion.

According to China State Construction, the initial phase will include a parliament building, a national meeting center, exhibition halls and offices.

Prior to Chinese involvement, the development bogged down last year over disagreements about costs and how long it would take to complete the new capital. A United Arab Emirates company that had been announced as the lead developer pulled out as Egypt cancelled its contract citing “lack of progress.”

According to The Wall Street Journal, some experts are skeptical of the project.

“Egypt needs a new capital like a hole in the head,” said David Sims, an economist and urban planner who has studied development in Egypt.

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Nigerian oil executive to lead OPEC

26 July 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Featured

Mohammed Sanussi Barkindo

The oil cartel appoints Mohammed Sanussi Barkindo to a three-year term as secretary-general beginning Aug. 1.

A Nigerian oil executive who helped develop key global climate change initiatives is the new-secretary general of OPEC.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries named Mohammed Sanussi Barkindo to a three-year term as secretary-general beginning Aug. 1. Barkindo replaces Abdallah Salem e-Bardri of Libya in the cartel’s top job.

Barkindo is an experienced oil executive who has worked for the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation for more than two decades and was its director in 2009-10.

He also has deep experience with the oil cartel, including service as its acting secretary-general in 2006 and 15 years on OPEC’s Economic Committee.

Climate change work cited

According to Francis Perrin, Chairman of Energy Strategies and Policies, Barkindo’s work on climate change was also a decisive factor in his appointment.

Barkindo helped produce the United Nations Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto protocol as the leader of Nigeria’s technical delegation to UN climate change talks.

Perrin said the appointment reflects growing recognition among cartel members of the importance of initiatives to stall climate change as OPEC struggles to find its footing on a shifting global energy landscape.

Barkindo is also seen as a neutral party in simmering regional political tensions between OPEC members Saudi Arabia and Iran as well as disagreements about oil production limits.

Long career as oil executive

Barkindo earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, a post-graduate diploma in the economics of petroleum from the College of Petroleum Studies at Oxford University in the United Kingdom, and a graduate degree in business administration from Southeastern University in Washington, D.C.

He has also been deputy managing director and chief executive of Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas and managing director and chief executive of the international trading division of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation as well as general manager of the corporation’s London office.

El-Badri had been set to retire in 2013, but stayed another three years because cartel members were unable to agree on a replacement amidst Middle East political tensions and discord within OPEC about whether to limit oil production as prices dropped.

Venezuela, hard hit economically by the oil slump, put forth a candidate, Ali Rodriguez, its long-serving OPEC representative. Indonesia also considered fielding a candidate.

Neutral candidate

Saudi Arabia and other Gulf members said they supported Barkindo for his experience and because Nigeria doesn’t take sides in Middle East power struggles.

While the secretary-general does not have executive power in OPEC, the official often plays the role of a neutral mediator when there are differences within the group.

It likely will fall to Barkindo to mediate ongoing conflict in the oil cartel over whether to limit production to prop up oil prices.

OPEC has seen its influence on global oil prices waning amidst an oil glut coupled with the growth of production outside the cartel, including in the United States and Russia.

OPEC member countries produce almost 37 million barrels a day compared to non-OPEC production of 57 million barrels daily, according to Global Risk Insights.

Disunity amid oil slump

Despite waning influence, OPEC’s unwillingness to set production limits has played a major role in creating an oil surplus, which has precipitated a two-year crisis. The price of oil plummeted to a low of $26 per barrel earlier this year. The current price is about $45 a barrel, less than half price of $110 per barrel in 2014, when the crisis began.

Richer OPEC nations, led by Saudi Arabia, have been willing to take financial hits of low oil prices in order to preserve market share. OPEC has rebuffed calls to limit production by poorer members including Algeria and Venezuela, which have been hard hit by the slump.

After OPEC members again failed to agree on limits in June, experts said the discord underscored the cartel’s waning ability to influence oil prices.

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South African Firms Look to Invest in Greater Africa

23 July 2016 Comments (1) Africa, Business, Featured

House of coins

South African real-estate investors are looking for high returns in the African market, despite the myriad challenges of investing within the continent.

South Africa is, in some ways, akin to the neighborhood misfit: its historical and contemporary socio-economic environment, such as world class universities and medical schools, a fabulously lucrative niche safari sector and a diverse population set it apart from its regional and continental neighbors. As the non-African international community begins to increase its interest in Africa’s property market, so too are South African property developers. During a recent South African Property Owners Association (SAPOA) Convention, speakers suggested that property markets around the continent are ripe for investment.

Research, Research, Research

At the Johannesburg Sandton Convention Centre, speakers suggested that investors need to treat African property markets with respect: not only do investors need to know their individual markets, but they need to treat the African market as a long game, just like the American, Asian and European markets are treated. Bronwyn Corbett, head of Mara Delta investment group, the only pan-African listed fund, urged investors to see the trees within the forest: “each African country is different. Each is a challenge, and it wouldn’t be worth doing this if it wasn’t a challenge.”

Speakers meeting at the Johannesburg Sandton Convention Centre

Speakers meeting at the Johannesburg Sandton Convention Centre

That kind of optimism may be the key to successful investment choices. Property investment is full of obstacles regardless of the location but, speakers noted, Africa has some obstacles that may prove larger than in other markets further afield.

Getting a Bang for your Buck

Among the top cited concerns, some are universal and some are uniquely African. Volatile political climates, rapidly fluctuating currencies and changing rules and regulations surrounding the real estate markets were just a few of the concerns discussed by Corbett. “I appreciate that investors want us to make good deals. We are starting to find things but we have to learn as we go along. Many South African investors don’t actually know what happens on the ground in Africa and may expect things to happen more quickly,” Corbett said.
What happens “on the ground” in Africa is, Corbett insinuates, very different from what happens in the realm of South African investors. Deal brokering and relationships are very different for the elite of South Africa. These individuals entrust their capital to firms like Mara Delta to avoid the nitty-gritty of the day-to-day wheeling and dealing required to obtain high quality assets in Africa and elsewhere. Corbett cautions that it is the firm’s responsibility to have an understanding of the potential obstacles in African markets outside of South Africa. Their customers cannot be expected to have an understanding of property markets and thus, investment funds must do their homework into each potential investment market.

Mara Delta, a substantially black-owned and primarily black-managed investment firm with properties on the Johannesburg stock exchange since 2012, has an impressively broad portfolio that includes private and industrial properties in Morocco, Mozambique, Zambia, Mauritius, Kenya and Nigeria. With this geographically diverse set of investments, Mara Delta is a reliable advisor for potential investors. Corbett touched upon perhaps the primary concern for future international investors: the currency market. There are more than 40 different currencies used in Africa, and extracting funds from these countries can take time, both due to the exchange process and due to the sluggish bureaucratic process of African banks. In addition to currency-related challenges are the limited debt and credit lines available through African banks.

Worth the Price?

Some fund managers voiced their concern that African properties are significantly more expensive when compared to more developed properties in Asia, Canada and Central and Eastern Europe. “Our research indicates that prices per square meter have been significantly higher (in Africa) than similar investments in developed markets,” said Alternative Real Estate Capital Management’s Garreth Elston.

Real estate investments are, Corbett urged, worth the trouble. She cited the South African market as a symbol of endurance even in challenging times as long as quality assets are purchased, for the right price. Given the uncertainty of the global economy in light of Britain’s imminent exit from the European Union, real estate may once again become the safest bet.

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Koffi Djondo – the Togolese entrepreneur, driven by pan-African ideals

22 July 2016 Comments (2) Africa, Featured, Leaders

Koffi Djondo

Koffi Djondo is one of Togo’s most successful businessmen, but success for Africa is his ultimate goal.

Koffi Djondo may not be a name that is familiar to a lot of people outside of Togo, but Djondo is a businessman who has had huge influence on Africa’s economic landscape. As the co-founder of EcoBank and Asky Airlines, Djondo has established not just successful businesses, but enterprises that look to foster pan-African principles.

A difficult beginning

Koffi Djondo was born in a small Togolese village on July 4th, 1934. Djondo recalls a childhood characterized by extremely strict parents who eventually separated. Although Djondo does not recall his early years with much fondness, as an only child he developed a sense of self-reliance that he took into his studies.

However, even Djondo’s university education was beset with difficulties due to the politics of Togo at the time. While studying a degree in Accounting at the Institute of Social Sciences, Labor University of Law and Economics of Paris, the Togolese government contacted French authorities to ensure that Djondo was expelled from the university. This was a personal vendetta against the Djondo family, as Koffi’s uncle, Nicolas Djondo, was an outspoken critic of the Togolese regime.

Despite this setback, after a coup in Togo saw regime change, Djondo managed to return to France and complete his education. Djondo began working for the airline UTA, before moving into newly established government roles. In 1964, Djondo was appointed as the executive director of a government body – Family Allowances Fund – where he was responsible for the introduction of a mandatory retirement age and pensions. By 1973, Djondo was chairman of the Economic & Social Council, and only two years later he was elected as the president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Togo.

A meeting of minds

As Djondo’s government career progressed, he eventually found himself as the President of the Federation of West African Chambers of Commerce. It was here that Djondo met his Nigerian business partner, Adeymi Lawson, and the birth of a business dream was realized.

With the help of the entrepreneur, Henry Fajemirokun, Djondo and Lawson created the first pan-African bank, EcoBank, in 1985. The goal was not simply to create a prosperous business, but to create jobs across the continent, and to imbue young Africans with a sense of opportunity and pride.

Koffi Djondo

EcoBank is now present in 33 African nations, employs over 18,000 Africans, and had a turnover of $2.3 billion in 2013. The bank has offices from London to Beijing, and Djondo feels that its success is linked to his ethos of pan-Africanism, explaining, “You can notice that African strength lies in unity; what we can call togetherness… It was this which gave success.”

EcoBank’s spirit of empowering young Africans was something that the men behind it felt was important, as it made employees “feel that their purpose was more than just making money.” The bank’s hiring policy was to find people with a “passion to make a difference in Africa.”

Renewed goals for a new century

Koffi Djondo continued making moves to invest in new ventures as the 21st century began, as he looked to create an airline that matched the philosophy of his African owned bank. His dream led to the creation of Asky Airlines in 2010, and in 2011 its first commercial flights began. While the inaugural flights often had only 10 passengers on them, by 2014 they were flying 8000 passengers a week, with an 80% occupancy rate on their flights.

Asky won the award for the “Best African Company of the Year” at the prestigious African CEO Forum Awards, and the company employs over 250 people. Djondo believes strongly in the need for greater integration between African nations, saying “Integration of the continent is the only way by which Africa will find its safety, through a common regional market.”

Asky is a company founded on the concept of integration, and Djondo sees transport as key to wider African cooperation, explaining, “pan-Africanism and integration starts with people moving…If we want to make business…we have to create the appropriate means to make things move.”

Djondo is held in such reverence by many Togolese that the village of his birth has been renamed Djondo-Condji in his honor. The man himself now lives in a village he built, Djondo Kope, but he is not relaxing in retirement. Djondo plans to expand Asky Airlines, and Ecobank grew 14% in 2014. It’s a busy life for Togo’s most successful octogenarian.

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Dr LinkUp: The African startup connecting the continent’s doctors

21 July 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Featured

Doctors in African-American Community

Dr LinkUp is a startup company that aims to help doctors around Africa support each other.

Dr LinkUp is a Senegalese startup company that is only a year old, and yet it offers a unique platform for the African market. While social media is a global phenomenon, Dr LinkUp provides a network specifically for doctors, within Africa, to contact each other and discuss medical issues. The goal is to provide a platform for doctors to seek help from one another, and to therefore improve the service that they provide.

A founder dedicated to healthcare

Dr LinkUp was founded by Caamo Kane, a 32 year-old woman of Senegalese-American heritage. Kane studied “Gender Studies and Public Health of Women” in the United States, and after completing her MBA, she returned to her father’s home of Senegal to enroll at medical school. Kane had already involved herself closely in health initiatives within Senegal well before she devised her idea for Dr LinkUp.

After seeing how poor many of the services were for pregnant women in Senegal’s capital, Dakur, Kane embarked upon a fund raising campaign to transform the maternity facilities at the Centre de Santé Philippe Maguilene Senghor in Dakur.

When interviewed about the project at the time, Kane had said, “I see the health center as a pilot project. We are planning to do some interesting and innovative things.”

Doctor using Dr Linkup

Doctor using Dr Linkup

Of the innovative ideas that Kane alluded to, Dr LinkUp is her most recent venture: launching in May 2015 and within weeks of its launch, hundreds of medical professionals had registered. Kane hopes that by creating a support network of experts, doctors can improve their own services, and help each other discuss pertinent issues. The exchange of information is of notable worth during sudden outbreaks of infectious diseases, such as the recent Ebola epidemic.

Sharing ideas and information

Dr LinkUp allows doctors and medical students across Africa to ask questions and share experiences online. This should allow specialists to help general practitioners with specific queries, but it also provides forums for debate. Doctors can discuss different ideas on treatments and as people challenge one another, so the range of ideas available to all is broadened.

Moreover, the space gives members the ability to upload medical literature from around the world, which may not be easily accessible within certain regions. The forums are divided into various categories, such as cardiology, medical imaging and public health. The wider the network grows, the greater the sum of knowledge there is for any given doctor to draw upon. Patients will benefit from seeing doctors who have access to the expertise and experiences of numerous other physicians from around the continent.

Kane hopes that 2016 will continue to see the service grow, commenting “We want to involve up to 3,000 African doctors in our debates online, and help them better care for their patients.”

Working with others

As Dr LinkUp looks to expand its e-health services, Kane has embraced outside support in order to grow the company. The tech startup incubator Upstart was approached, in order to help Kane establish connections with other nascent companies, where mutually beneficial relationships could be established. Kane agreed to work with another startup inside Upstart, which she claims provided additional skills to support Dr LinkUp’s early days. Kane explained that such cooperation saved her valuable time, and allowed her to “stay focused on the acquisition and retention of new users.”

Dr LinkUp is a first for Senegal, and Kane aims to not only continue growing the professional network of medical experts, but to produce a series of web videos on the world of medicine. The hope is that some of the web series could go viral on other social media outlets, thus broadening the reach of its educational output, and heightening attention to important issues.

Kane’s experience in helping improve the education of midwives and doctors in Dakar should surely stand her in good stead, as she attempts to create a focus on educational support within Africa’s medical community. Whether it’s dealing with long standing health problems, or tackling sudden dilemmas in a given region, communication and education are evidently essential components to improving healthcare in Africa.

Kane summed up the core principles that motivate her: “I’m passionate about women’s health and wellbeing, preserving the environment, community service, entrepreneurship.”

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South Africa leads university rankings

20 July 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Featured, Politics

University of Cape Town, in South Africa

Eight of the top 10 institutions of higher education in sub-Saharan Africa are located in a single country, according to new rankings.

South Africa wins the university sweepstakes according to new rankings: Eight of the top 10 institutions of higher education in sub-Saharan Africa are in that country while the other two are located in Kenya and Tanzania.

According to the 2016 University Web Rankings & Reviews by 4International Colleges & Universities, the University of Cape Town is the top university in Africa.

The 187-year-old public institution in the suburbs of Cape Town has an enrollment of more than 20,000 students.

Second in the rankings is the University of South Africa, in Pretoria with an enrollment of more than 45,000 students, followed by the Universiteit Stellenbosch (enrollment 25,000) and the University of Pretoria (enrollment 60,000), with the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg (enrollment 25,000) rounding out the top five.

The other South African universities on the list are: Rhodes University in Grahamstown with an enrollment of 7,000-8,000, the University of the Western Cape in Bellville with more than 15,000 students, and the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban with more than 40,000 students.

In Tanzania, the University of Dar es Salaam in that city also made the top 10 list. It has an enrollment of more than 15,000 students.

The University of Nairobi in Kenya rounded out the top rankings for the southern continent. With more than 45,000 students, the university also has branch campuses in Kikuyu, Parklands, Lower Kabete, Upper Kabete, Chiromo and Kismu.

Ratings favor graduate, research programs

Experts said South African Universities tend to do well on university rankings because the ratings tend to favor institutions that have significant numbers of doctoral students and faculty with doctoral degrees, and are recognized research centers.

University of Cape Town, for example, has made a point of becoming a “research-led flagship” university, according to Nico Cloete, director of the Centre for Higher Education Trust and coordinator of the Higher Education Research and Advocacy Network in Africa.

Students in a classroom at University of Cape Town

Students in a classroom at University of Cape Town

In a 2014 study, Cloete found that nearly a third of all students at the University of Cape Town in 2011 were postgraduate students and nearly two-thirds of the faculty had doctoral degrees.

In contrast, he found that institutions of higher education outside South Africa typically had low enrollments of graduate students and operated professional master’s degree programs rather than developing potential research leaders.

South African universities torn by protests

While South Africa’s universities receive high academic ratings, they have come under fire in recent years with students and faculty complaining about high fees and predominantly white faculties.

Violence erupted at several South African universities, including the University of Cape Town, earlier this year as students protested housing conditions and complained that white international students were given preference in accommodations. Several Cape Town students were arrested after protesters torched vehicles, burned artwork, invaded residences and petrol-bombed a vice chancellor’s office.

Leaders seek to increase participation

The rankings come against the backdrop of efforts to improve participation in higher education in Africa.

Higher education leaders have set a goal of 50% enrollment by 2063, the same level that is projected globally.

Currently, only 8% of sub-Saharan Africans of college age are enrolled, compared to 26% in the Middle East and 32% globally. In the developed world, the rate is more than 75%, according to 2012 data.

In setting the 50% target last year, the African Higher Education Summit called for a large increase in African investment in university education, greater research spending and stronger links to scholars in the African diaspora.

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