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Cyber threat looms over Africa

20 May 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Featured

africa cyber crime

As more people transact banking and business online, experts raise questions about security from hackers targeting the continent.

Amid global alarm about cyber theft, authorities warn that banks and other businesses and institutions in Africa are increasingly vulnerable to online fraud and theft.

African and international cyber security experts, including representatives of government and the United Nations, will gather in Nairobi in June to discuss online threats and how to fight them.

As more Africans use the internet, businesses and governments are providing more transactions and services online. But experts are raising questions about whether those sites are secure from cyber criminals.

Many small and mid-sized businesses cannot afford expensive security measures such as firewalls and malware protection while governments also use templates to build their websites, which cost less but may also be more vulnerable to attack.

Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa see attacks

Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa are among African countries that have already suffered millions of dollars in losses to cyber crime.

Nigerian officials estimated the country’s institutions lost $630 million annually to cyber attacks, theft and software piracy, nearly one percent of the country’s gross domestic product while online bank fraud more than doubled.

“Global tracking of cyber-attacks indicate that Nigeria is among the countries with high numbers of software piracy, intellectual property theft, and malware attacks,” Babagana Monguno, Nigerian national security advisor, said at the recent inauguration of a 31-member Cybercrime Advisory Council.

Monguno called the threat “a serious challenge to our resolve to take advantage of the enormous opportunities the internet brings.”

Nigeria’s new Cybercrime Advisory Council, established through 2015 legislation, is charged with promoting information sharing and making recommendations designed to improve cyber security. The country’s National Cybersecurity Policy and Strategy outlines the legal, technical and institutional systems that will be required to fight cyber-attacks in Nigeria.

Kenya loss put at $150 million

In Kenya, authorities said online thieves took about $150 million in 2014, as cyber crime in that nation tripled over 2013.

A 2015 report noted that 25 percent of Kenya’s internet users are unsupervised teens that may be exposed to cyber crime.

One expert said many businesses in Kenya lack the resources and access to IT expertise they need to protect their online platforms.

Rutendo Hwindingwi, division director for Sage East and West Africa, said businesses need to implement firewalls and use anti-malware tools and have access to IT specialists who can quickly respond when applications or operating systems are attacked.

The Communication Authority of Kenya in April put out a call for tenders a study of e-commerce and cyber crime detection and prevention in the country as the government attempts to develop a strategy to fight cyber crime.

The authority said it had set up a team to monitory cyber attacks, especially those that target government systems.

South African bank customers warned

South Africa has seen cyber crime losses totaling about $65 million, according to one estimate.

The South African Bank Risk Information Center recently warned bank customers to pay more attention to security, especially on mobile phones.

The center’s chief executive, Kalayani Pillay said protecting electronic devices is critical to reducing the risk of being victimized by cyber crime.

Phillay said malware and phishing attacks were on the increase in South Africa, including efforts to target accounts of corporate executives to move large sums of money.

The country’s wealth and particularly its relatively high gross domestic product per capita made it attractive to cyber criminals, she said.

Risk grows with mobile usage

Banks continuously update cyber security measures, but criminals come up with new ways to steal from customers, she said. The risk will grow as more bank customers migrate online, especially banking on their smart phones.

The warnings come against a backdrop of global concern following two large heists this year at Asian banks.

In February, hackers sent more than 30 fund transfer orders totaling $950 million from Bangladesh Bank using Swift, a global money transfer system. The thieves successfully transferred $81 million to accounts in the Philippines.

In May, Swift revealed another heist had taken place prior to the Bangladesh theft but had only been revealed by the second bank, which one researcher said was in Vietnam. The amount of the theft was not released.

Hackers breach bank security

Swift, with 11,000 member banks, processes 25 million messages each day to process billions of dollars in transfers.

In each case, Swift said the cyber thieves bypassed security controls at the local banks to request the transfers.

As concern grows on the continent, the African Expert Convention on Cyber Security, June 22-23 in Nairobi, will bring together experts from government agencies, the United Nations, corporations and investors to discuss strategies for fighting cyber crime.

Organizers hope the event will enable participants to share expertise from different sectors and create partnership frameworks for enhancing cyber security. Participants will also learn the latest technical tools available to protect against cyber threats.

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African governments seek bailouts as commodity prices fall

19 May 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Featured, Politics

angola imf

Angola is the latest nation to seek an aid package from the International Monetary Fund as its oil-dominated economy falters.

As its economy buckles under the weight of falling oil prices, Angola is turning to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a bailout.

By one estimate, the West African nation faces a shortfall of $8 billion, or 9 percent of its gross domestic product, this year. Angola last borrowed from the IMF in 2009.

Angola is one of several cash-strapped African countries that are turning to the IMF for financial help as prices drop for commodities such as oil and minerals.

Ghana agreed to an aid package in 2015, it’s first from the IMF in six years. Zambia is also in talks for IMF aid, which would be its first since 2008. Zimbabwe has also asked the IMF for its first loan in nearly two decades.

Meanwhile, the IMF stopped a $55 million loan to Mozambique – part of a bailout approved last year – after discovering the country had failed to report $1 billion in unreported loans it owes.

South Africa and Nigeria may also be forced to turn to the IMF as their economies struggle.

Angola faces shortfall

Angola’s request was an about-face after the nation repeatedly said it would not turn to the IMF for help in the current crisis because the aid would come with too many conditions.

But the country’s reserves have fallen as oil prices stayed below $45 a barrel and the government is reluctant to cut services in advance of elections in 2017.

Oil accounts for 95 percent of Angola’s exports and about half of the government’s revenue. In addition to slumping oil revenues, the country has suffered a retrenchment by China, which has its own economic problems.

Monetary agency requires transparency

In exchange for IMF aid, the Angolan government is likely to be forced to be more transparent about its financial dealings as the international agency typically scrutinizes the finances of countries it assists.

One criticism of Angola’s economy is the extent to which it is controlled by President José Eduardo dos Santos, who has ruled the country for more than three decades. While nearly half of the country’s population subsists on just over $1 per day, dos Santos’ daughter, Isabel dos Santos, is the richest woman in Africa, raising questions about the source of her wealth. Isabel dos Santos has denied using state money to enrich herself.

“The IMF stands ready to help Angola address the economic challenges it is currently facing by supporting a comprehensive policy package to accelerate the diversification of the economy, while safeguarding macroeconomic and financial stability,” Min Zhu, IMF deputy managing director, said in a statement.

One expert urged caution. Ricardo Soares de Oliveira, an Angola expert at Oxford University, noted that a study in 2011 by IMF staff found that the government could not account for $32 billion between 2007 and 2010.

“The IMF should use the leverage it has to extract serious concessions and tangible reforms from the government,” de Oliveira said.

Ghana receives bailout

Angola is the not the only country turning the IMF.

Ghana, an oil and gold producer, received a three-year, $918 million bailout in 2015. The country saw the value of its crude exports cut in half between 2014 and 2015, falling to $1.5 million in the first three quarters of last year as both prices and demand fell. Gold exports fell by nearly one third to $2.4 million.

In December, the IMF also agreed to a $283 bailout loan package for Mozambique that required the southern African nation to disclose all of its borrowing. In April, the IMF said it stopped a disbursement of $55 million after learning the country had not reported millions in loans by Credit Suisse Group and the Russian VTB Group.

Mozambique, a natural gas producer, saw exports fall by 14 percent in 2015.

Zambia, Africa’s second largest copper producer, saw a shortfall of 8 percent of gross domestic product in 2015 and is also seeking IMF assistance in 2016. Zimbabwe also expects an IMF loan in the third quarter of this year.

In addition to the IMF aid, the World Bank said it expects to lend up to $25 billion this year to countries reeling from falling commodity prices.

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Starbucks arrives in South Africa

18 May 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Featured

starbucks south africa

Hundreds in Johannesburg line up on opening day of the coffee giant’s first store in sub-Saharan Africa.

The U.S. coffee giant Starbucks opened its first cafe in sub-Saharan Africa – a store in an affluent Johannesburg suburb – and the company plans to open at least a dozen more stores South Africa in the next two years.

Many people waited overnight and hundreds of people lined up before the opening to get their first taste of Starbucks while #StarbucksSA trended on Twitter on opening day.

Previously, Starbuck’s only African locations were in Morocco and Egypt. The global corporation has about 23,000 stores in the Americas, Europe and Asia.

Starbucks founder Howard Schultz said the company might eventually open as many as 150 stores in South Africa.

Second store opens soon

A second location is set to open soon at another Johannesburg shopping mall, but there are no plans to expand to other countries in the region.

The new stores are being launched through a licensing partnership between Starbucks Coffee Company and Taste Holdings, a South African management group and leading licensor of international brands.

“We are proud to be bringing Starbucks to South Africa,” said Kris Engskov, president of Starbucks for Europe, Africa and the Middle East. “We’re going to deliver a great Starbucks experience. The coffee market here (in South Africa) is vibrant and growing fast – we want to be part of that growth.”

Taste Holdings operates stores

Under the agreement, Taste Holdings gains exclusive rights to open Starbucks outlets in South Africa. It will own and operate the stores.

Carl Gonzaga, chief executive officer of Taste Holdings, said the partnership is committed to development of local suppliers and Taste Holdings has a program to increase employment among unemployed South Africans, who will benefit from new opportunities at Starbucks.

Engskov said young people have been the key to Starbucks’ success. With most of its workers aged 17 to 25 years old, “talented youth has always been a priority,” he said.

Taste Holding’s also holds a licensing agreement for Domino’s Pizza in South Africa and the company owns and operates Zebro’s Chicken, the Fish & Chip Co., Maxi’s Restaurants and St. Elmo’s Woodfired Pizza.

Hundreds line up for coffee

A line at the new Starbucks location in Johannesburg

A line at the new Starbucks location in Johannesburg

At the April 21 Starbucks opening in Johannesburg’s Rosebank district, a long line of customers was waiting when the store opened at 7:30 a.m.

Mohamed Mala, a 19-year-old student, said he waited for 12 hours to be the first customer. ” We wanted to be the first customers at Starbucks, and we were,” he said.

“Starbucks has been one of the things missing from the South African scene,” said Norma Cooper, a bank employee.

Starbucks will compete with many established locally owned coffee brands and independent coffee shops.

Gonzaga said the menu was designed to reflect local customer tastes including local products such as Rooibos tea.

Some of the coffee beans are sourced from nine African countries, including Kenya and Burundi, he said.

South Africa attracts U.S. food chains

With the most developed economy on the continent, South Africa has seen recent openings of several U.S. food chains, including Krispy Kreme Doughnut and Burger King.

Starbucks’ Engskov noted that significant quantities of Starbucks coffee products from Africa, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Tanzania, where the company has established farmer support networks.

The support centers opened after Ethiopia and the company settled a dispute in which that nation and Oxfam accused Starbucks of trying to block Ethiopia from obtaining trademarks for two of the country’s best-known coffee beans – Harrar and Sidamo. A third coffee, Yirgacheffe, was trademarked in the U.S. in 2006.

Under the agreement, Starbucks was allowed to promote and sell the three brands in markets where they are trademarked as well as where they are not while recognizing the integrity of the Ethiopian coffee brands.

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A second-hand clothing ban in East Africa?

17 May 2016 Comments (5) Africa, Business, Featured

africa second hand clothes

Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda consider ending imports of used garments by 2019 in order to increase domestic production.

Five East African countries may ban sales of second-hand clothing from abroad – a staple of many residents’ wardrobes – in order to bolster domestic garment making.

Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda make up the East Africa Community (EAC), which directed its member countries to phase out textile and shoe imports by 2019. The heads of state of all five countries must agree before the limits could take effect.

The proposal comes as many African countries seek to increase manufacturing and other industries to fuel economic growth.

Charitable donations resold

Second-hand clothing, mostly from Europe and North America, are a mainstay of local clothing markets in Africa, according to Dr. Andrew Brooks, author of Clothing Poverty: The Hidden World of Fast Fashion and Second-hand Clothes.

In Uganda, for example, second-hand garments account for 81 percent of all clothing purchases, Brooks said.

East Africa imported more than $150 million worth of second-hand clothing in 2015. Brooks noted that the used clothing is less expensive than locally produced garments or even inexpensive new imports.

U.S., U.K. are largest exporters

Most of the second-hand clothing sold around the world comes from charitable donations by European and North American residents who are unaware the clothing will be sold, Brooks said.

The United States and the United Kingdom are by far the largest exporters of used clothing.

The United States exported used garments worth more than $685 million in 2013, according to United Nations data. Much of it went to Central and South America, Canada and Mexico but Tanzania and Angola also received major shares.

Uganda imports 1,500 tons of used clothing each year from the U.S. alone, according to the U.S. International Trade Commission.

The United Kingdom’s exports totaled more than $620 million with major shares going to Ghana, Benin, Kenya, and Togo.

Germany was the third largest exporter at more than $500 million, with large shares going to Cameroon and Angola.

Other major exporters are South Korea, The Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, Poland, Italy and Japan.

South Korea and Canada together exported $59 million worth of used clothes to Tanzania while the UK exported $42 million worth of used clothes to Kenya.

Regional industry declines

Garment manufacturing in Ghana

Garment manufacturing in Ghana

Brooks, a lecturer at King’s College in London, said local garment makers employed hundreds of thousands of people in East Africa before the debt crisis hit in the 1980s and 1990s when domestic producers struggled to compete and many factories closed.

In Kenya alone, a garment industry that employed 500,000 people was reduced to only about 20,000 garment workers today.

The East Africa Community pointed to the need to rebuild domestic production as it proposed the ban on second-hand imports.

“The region, like the other developing countries, is ready to transition into an industrial bloc with a higher level of production quality and manufacturing practices,” said Betty Maina, Kenya’s Principal Secretary at the EAC Ministry. “It will benefit industry and increase access to locally manufactured products in the region and create more employment opportunities.”

No ban on new clothing imports

Brooks noted that the ban does not include imports of new clothing, which could also undercut the domestic garment makers. While rebuilding the local garment industry may be beneficial in the long-term, higher prices could hurt local consumers.

In the near term, government would also suffer losses of tariffs collected from clothing importers. For example, Kenya collected $54 million in tariffs on 100,000 tons of imported used clothing in 2013.

Rwanda earlier this year nearly tripled its import duty on imported clothing from 35 percent to 100 percent in order to encourage purchases from the country’s lone textile mill. Two years ago, the factory was producing at 40 percent of capacity but that has dropped to 20 percent.

Comprehensive approach urged

To revive the garment industry, Brooks said, more comprehensive action than the ban must be taken.

These include improvements in transportation and power supplies to stabilize the distribution system as well as tax relief for factories and support for the sustainability of east Africa’s cotton sector.

“A revitalized local market would ultimately boost the (regional) economy by providing more jobs than the second-hand sector while retaining money that currently goes to Europe and the U.S. to pay for second-hand imports,” Brooks said.

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Mauritania, Senegal seek to become oil, gas exporters

16 May 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Featured

senegal gas

The two West African countries bet on a long-term recovery as global fuel prices slump.

In spite of the slumping price of oil in the past year, two West African countries are betting on a long term recovery as they race to produce enough oil and gas to become exporters by 2020.

Mauritania and Senegal both report promising off shore oil discoveries and each nation plans to proceed with multi-billion dollar extraction projects.

However, David Thomson, an analyst with Wood Mackenzie cautioned that securing financing for the projects could be challenging and take time. “These projects are massive and they’re very capital intensive,” Thomson said.

Offshore wells promising

In Senegalese waters, Cairn Energy reported that it had drilled three wells that revealed significant amounts of oil off Africa’s western extremity. Drilling was planned at a fourth, according to the Scottish energy company’s chief executive, Simon Thomson.

The United States company Kosmos Energy said it had confirmed a large pool of natural gas that straddled the Mauritanian-Senegalese border at sea and it planned to drill in the area.

The projected yield is 20 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, an encouraging threshold for further drilling, Kosmos spokesman Thomas Golembeski said.

Other African nations wait

The Senegalese and Mauritanian plans contrast with other nations such as Tanzania and Kenya, which are delaying tapping similar resources until the economic climate improves.

Nadine Kone of Oxfam International questioned the wisdom of Senegal’s and Mauritania’s plans. “Why rush with oil given where prices are now?” Kone asked.

After increasing by 20 percent in April, global oil prices fell in early May to below $45 a barrel and experts predicted weakened demand.

Senegal oil

Producers see increase in demand

Golembeski said the Kosmos thinks demand will have increased by the time the gas site is ready to deliver. He cited the ease of shipping to Europe as an advantage for exports from the region.

“Demand for oil and gas will continue to increase over time as more and more people around the world move from rural areas into the cities and want the conveniences of modern life,” he said.

Both countries have enjoyed steady economic growth in the past five years.

With a population of 3.6 million and a gross domestic product of $15.5 billion, Mauritania has seen sustained economic growth, primarily as a result of growth of the mining industry. The country is Africa’s second leading exporter of iron ore and also exports gold and copper.

According to the Heritage Foundation, the nation’s gross domestic product saw a growth rate of more than 5 percent on average during the past five years.

Senegal’s economy has grown at an average annual rate of 3.5 percent in the past five years, the foundation said, but volatility of economic growth has undermined progress in social development and fighting poverty. The nation has a population of 14.5 million and a gross domestic product totaling $33.6 billion. Senegal is primarily rural and has historically had few natural resources, relying instead on agricultural exports.

In 2015, with a growth rate of 6.5 percent, Senegal was the continent’s second fastest growing economy. Services, chemical production and construction drove growth.

Questions about oil proceeds

Kone of Oxfam questioned whether the five-year window the energy companies are projecting from exploration to sale is enough time to create a legal framework to regulate the governments’ use of proceeds from their 10 percent shares in projects within their boundaries.

Despite economic growth, both countries suffer from youth unemployment and chronic poverty and many residents do not have access to housing, health services, education or even clean water.

Kone cited Ghana, which discovered oil in 2007, as a model in the region that Mauritania and Senegal might emulate. Ghana created a dedicated fund from the proceeds that it used to invest in priority areas such as education and agriculture.

A contrasting example is Nigeria, where the state-run oil agency withheld billions of dollars funds that were designated for government services. Nigeria derives about 70 percent of its revenue and is Africa’s top producer of crude oil.

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African Development Bank: Ease visa rules to promote trade, tourism

15 May 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Featured

passport-kenya

Saying cumbersome visa requirements undermine business growth, the organization ranks visa openness of 55 nations.

Making access to visas easy or scrapping the requirement entirely is an important way governments can help promote tourism and trade among the nations of the continent, according to the African Development Bank (ADB).

The ADB has developed the Africa Visa Openness Index to assess which countries have the most open and efficient visa access. The bank says cumbersome visa procedures undermine doing business across borders on the continent.

On average, travel within the continent is often difficult because African nations are “more closed off to each other than open” the ADB said in its 2016 report (pdf) on visa access. “Free movement of people is not a reality across Africa.”

Most require visas in advance

The report said only 20 percent of the 55 countries in the index do not require visas and only 15 percent offer visas on arrival, meaning more than half require visitors to obtain visas in advance.

To make matters worse, the report said, many of Africa’s strategic hubs have restrictive visa policies while the continent’s small, landlocked and island states tend to be more open to promote trade links with neighboring countries.

The report said countries in West and East Africa tend to be more open than in other regions.

The top 10 nations for openness stand out, with an average score of 0.86 (out of 1) on the ADB index, more than double the overall average of 4.25.

Seychelles is first for openness

The top 10 countries are Seychelles, Mali, Uganda, Cape Verde, Togo, Guinea-Bissau Mauritania, Mozambique, Mauritius, and Rwanda.

At the bottom of the list are Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan, Angola, Gabon, Libya, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Western Sahara.

South Africa was 35th on the list, Nigeria 25th and Kenya 16th.

The report said eight of the top 10 countries for openness have seen gains in travel and tourism as a portion of gross domestic product.

In Seychelles, which is visa free, tourism accounted for nearly 57 percent of the country’s gross domestic product in 2014 and was expected to increase by more than 5 percent in 2015.

Rwanda, Mauritius ease requirements

The report highlights benefits to Rwanda and Mauritius after they adopted open visa policies for visitors from other African countries in recent years.

Both countries have seen an increase in African business and leisure travelers, which has produced “an economic impact that is still growing,” the report said.

After Mauritius relaxed visa requirements for visitors from 48 African countries, more than one quarter of visitors to the nation in 2014 came from other African states, with revenue from tourism totaling $1.2 billion.

“Greater visa openness forms part of Mauritius’ Africa strategy, which aims to promote the country as a gateway for investment into the continent,” the report said.

New open visa policies are also helping Rwanda with gross domestic product growth of 7 percent in 2014 and tourism income up 4 percent to more than $300 million.

Rwanda adopted a visa-on-arrival policy and cut its fee by half, to $30, then saw visits by Africans increase by 22 percent annually.

“We are seeing more African travelers not just in tourism, but in business,’’ said Francis Gatare, chief executive officer of the Rwanda Development Bank.

ADB wants visa requirements eased

The report notes that the African Union’s Agenda 2063 calls for removal of visa requirements across the continent by 2018 and creating an African passport.

Other potential solutions include offering visas on arrival, as Mauritius and Rwanda have begun doing, creating visa-free regional blocs or visas for regional blocs, offering multi-year visas, or offering visa-free access to Africans as Seychelles does.

Other way to make travel more is to offer eVisas so the traveler can apply online rather than having to be present to obtain a visa, the report said. Currently, nine African countries offer e-Visas: Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sierra Leone, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Questions about security

The report argues that more open visa policies will not undermine security.

“Having strong systems in place including biometric databases at border controls and joining IT systems with other countries and regions seems to be the answer. That allows information sharing and greater cooperation, which in turn minimizes risk and provides higher levels of security overall.”

The report emphasizes the importance of travel to the development of the continent in the coming years.

By 2034, air arrivals to destinations in Africa are projected to increase to 280 million from nearly 120 million in 2014.

That increase “needs to be matched by more visa-open policies on arrival on the ground,” the report said.

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SoleRebels: An Ethiopian success story

13 May 2016 Comments (3) Africa, Business, Featured

SoleRebels

The eco-friendly shoe manufacturer, launched by a young woman entrepreneur, sees rapid growth and global demand.

A young Ethiopian entrepreneur has turned her concern for unemployed artisans from her home community into a global shoe brand with millions of dollars in revenue.

Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu’s SoleRebels produces eco-friendly shoes that are sold internationally by large retailers including Whole Foods and Amazon as well as in a growing number of the company’s own standalone stores.

SoleRebels also complies with fair trade standards set by the World Fair Trade Association, according to Alemu. The company pays employees three or four times the minimum wage in Ethiopia and provides medical insurance and transportation to and from work.

Helping jobless artisans

Alemu, 35, started the company in 2005, shortly after she finished college. She had seen that skilled artisans lived in squalor and chronic unemployment in her small, impoverished community of Zenebework in Addis Ababa.

“I wanted to find a way to share my love for the amazing artisanship of Ethiopia with the world while creating well-paid meaningful work for the people in my local community, while leveraging their immense creative skills,” she said.

At the start, the company was Alemu, her husband, her teenage brother and two artisans. It has grown to employ 300 people in Ethiopia and several hundred more in its international stores.

Shoes from local fibers, recycled tires

SoleRebels produces comfortable, hand-crafted sandals, slip-ons and laced shoes using recycled tires for the soles and local natural fibers, including hand-spun cotton, jute, and Koba, an indigenous plant cultivated in Ethiopia for thousands of years.

The design of the shoes draws on Ethiopia’s famous Selate and Barabasso shoes that soles that were worn by Ethiopian rebel fighters who opposed Italian forces attempting to colonize the country nearly a century ago. Those shoes used recycled tire material for the soles.

The name SoleRebels derives in part from that historic connection.

However, the name also reflects Alemu’s goal of countering a dominant narrative – a legacy of the famine years – that Ethiopians are destined to rely on international aid.

SoleRebels in Stores

Ethiopia’s economy booming

Alemu said the success of Sole Rebels is “living proof” that her country, one of Africa’s poorest, is ready to move from being dependent on foreign aid to taking charge of its economic future with home grown skills and resources.

Eugene Owusu, who represents Ethiopia with the United Nation’s Development Program said SoleRebels is “blazing a trail’’ for other companies as his country seeks to reduce its need for foreign aid.

Owusu said nation’s booming private sector would help the country continue to grow its economy and reduce poverty.

The economy of Ethiopia has grown at a rate of about 10 percent a year in the past decade with growth domestic product reaching an estimated $50 billion in 2014.

As one of the fastest growing non-oil economies in Africa, Ethiopia has become a destination for foreign investment. Ethiopia seeks to grow exports as a share of its economic output largely with the sale of minerals and manufactured goods.

International recognition

With her own exporting success, Alemu has been widely recognized for her achievements.

The World Economic Forum named her a Young Global Leader in 2011. She was featured on Forbes list of “100 Most Powerful Women” and listed by Business Insider as one of “Africa’s Top 5 Female Entrepreneurs” in 2012. The following year, Fast Company named her one of its “100 Most Creative People in Business 2013,” while The Guardian called her one of “Africa’s Top Women Achievers.”

SoleRebels shoes are sold in more than 30 countries through online sales and major retailers plus a growing number of the company’s own shops. In addition to its flagship store in Addis Ababa, SoleRebels has more than a dozen standalone retail outlets in the United States, Taiwan, Japan, Greece, Switzerland, Spain, Austria, and Singapore.

$10 million in revenue projected

One of the world’s fastest growing footwear brands, the company projects it will have 50 stores by 2018 and forecasts revenue of $10 million or more this year.

Alemu said her business model shows that eco-friendly production and community empowerment go hand in hand with financial success. But as much as her product helps her community, Alemu said quality is the key to her company’s success.

“We don’t want to make a pity product; we want people to buy our shoes because they look good.”

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Solar power hits the road in Uganda

5 May 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Featured

Kayoola bus

A government-backed motor company introduces the continent’s first sun-powered bus.

With its abundant sunshine and growing need for efficient public transportation, Africa seems like a natural place for solar-powered vehicles. Now that idea will be tested with the introduction in Uganda of the continent’s first solar-powered bus.

The bus, called the Kayoola, is the brainchild of Paul Isaac Musasizi, chief executive officer of the government-owned Kiira Motors Corporation of Uganda.

Uganda has “non-stop sun,” Musasizi said. “No other countries manufacturing (solar) vehicles are on the equator like Uganda. We should celebrate that and make it a business.”

Powered by solar panels on the roof

He said the 35-seat bus could travel 50 miles. It is powered by two batteries. One battery is connected to solar panels on the roof; the other is charged electrically for longer trips and night journeys. It takes only one hour to charge each battery, according to Musasizi.

Kiira has produced a prototype of the Kayoola and ran a test drive in February in Kampala.

The prototype cost $140,000 to produce but the company said the price tag would be about a third of that amount – $45,000 – with mass manufacturing.

Ambitious solar vision

The bus is one part of Musasizi’s larger vision for a solar-powered automobile industry in Uganda, including service stations that have solar pumps to charge cars instead of selling them gasoline.

He wants Uganda to follow the lead of Morocco – which recently switched on the world’s largest solar power plant – in developing solar farms to power vehicles and other everyday devices.

He noted that efficient transportation is essential to the Ugandan economy.

“Without proper transportation, we cannot have a good economy.”

The Ugandan government funds Kiira through the Presidential Initiative on Science and Technology. The small company currently has 32 people on staff.

Company seeks investment to grow

Musasizi said he also hopes to attract private investors who are interested in green technology. He would like to grow the company to 200 employees in five years and produce 50 buses a year.

Uganda has been planning to develop an auto industry since 2007 after students and staff from Makerere University visited the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to study innovation.

Kiira plans to start manufacturing automobiles in 2018.

The auto industry is part of Vision 2040, a blueprint for Uganda’s economic development launched late last year by Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda. Rugunda said the government would support Kiira until the company is able to put vehicles on the market.

Kiira plans to produce sedans, pickups and crossovers, starting with production of 305 automobiles in 2018 and growing to 60,000 per year in 2039.

Nigeria also boosts auto production

Nigeria is also seeking to grow its auto manufacturing, primarily to replace imported cars with locally produced vehicles. Nigeria plans to assemble 500,000 autos annually for the next five years compared to production of 10,000 vehicles in 2014.

International automakers including Nissan, Ford and Honda, as well as local manufacturers are gearing up to increase production. The government has granted licenses to 36 manufacturers.

First solar bus operates in Australia

Meanwhile, solar vehicles remain a rarity globally; Australia, China, Austria and the United States have developed solar vehicles while India is working to launch solar-powered transport.

Australia began operating the world’s first solar-powered bus in 2007.

The Tindo as the bus is named after an indigenous word for sun, operates in Adelaide. It uses 100 percent solar power that it receives from a photovoltaic system at Adelaide’s central bus station rather than from solar panels on the bus. The bus can carry up to 40 people, including 25 seated.

While Uganda is not the first country to develop solar vehicles, Musasizi hopes the country will become a leader in the field.

“Our passion for automobiles will help us develop solar motor technology,” he adds. “I’m hoping we will become known as the innovation hub for solar transportation technology in the world.”

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Faso Soap: A weapon against malaria?

2 May 2016 Comments (1) Africa, Business, Featured

faso soap

A soap created by two students in Burkina Faso holds promise as an affordable way to fight the devastating disease.

As malaria threatens millions of people in Africa, a mosquito-repellent soap invented by two students in Burkina Faso may help prevent infection.

Faso Soap could be tested and produced if a crowd funding campaign launched in April is successful.

The “Save 100,000 Lives” campaign hopes to raise $113,000 to test and manufacture the soap. The goal is to save 100,000 lives in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Ghana, Nigeria and Uganda, through malaria prevention by 2018.

Gerard Niyondiko of Burundi and Moctar Dembele of Burkina Faso created Faso Soap when they were students at the International Institute for Water and Environmental Institute in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso.

Prize-winning invention

It was the first project from the African continent to win the $25,000 grand prize at  University of California Berkeley’s Global Social Ventures Competition in 2013, beating 650 entries from 40 countries.

Globally, more than three billion people live in areas at risk for malaria, mostly in poor tropical and sub-tropical regions.

Africa is hardest hit by the debilitating disease. An estimated 430,000 people die from malaria each year and 90 percent of the deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa, mostly among children under five years old, according to one U.S. official.

Sheila Paskman, chargé d’affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Liberia, said a child dies from malaria every two minutes in Africa, where the disease is also responsible more than half of all school absences. “The disease costs the continent billions each year in health costs and lost productivity,” she said.

Africa most vulnerable

According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, Africa is most vulnerable for a variety of reasons: A predominant species, Plasmodium falciparum, is most likely to cause death; the climate allows transmission to occur year round; and scarcity of resources hinders malaria control.

Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are hardest hit by the disease.

In other areas of the world, such as parts of South Asia and Latin America, malaria is less likely to cause death but can still result in severe illness and incapacitation, according to the CDC.

Eradication and control efforts include insecticide-treated mosquito nets, indoor insecticide spraying campaigns, and community education campaigns.

Officials cite progress

While the disease remains a serious problem, eradication efforts are paying off.

Since 2000, malaria death rates have fallen by 60 percent, and new cases have dropped by more than one third globally, according to the World Health Organization. In Africa, death rates dropped by more than 65 percent overall and among children less than 5 years old.

Faso Soap could be another weapon in the arsenal fighting malaria.

Niyondiko said the soap is made from Shea butter, lemongrass oil and other ingredients.

Soap is accessible, affordable

He said Faso Soap can repel mosquitoes for several hours after use and could especially offer protection in the early evening when people are still outdoors and mosquitoes appear.

The team hopes to engage in partnerships with large soap producers and distributors to create a product that is competitive with conventional soap.

The French Association for Research Against Infectious Diseases in Africa is collecting the donations. So far, the project has raised more than $42,000 from 464 contributors.

Now working with social entrepreneurs Lisa Barutel and Franck Langevin in Burkina Faso, Niyondiko said the aim is to provide an accessible and affordable product for people who may not be able to afford anti-mosquito products or nets.

“Soap is a commodity product and not going to add other additional costs to the population” as they will buy soap in any case, Niyondiko said.

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Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf: Africa’s First Female Head of State

30 April 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Featured, Leaders

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Africa’s first female head of state and the rebuilding of the post-war economy of Liberia.

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Africa’s first female head of state has led a remarkable life; after spending time imprisoned and exiled, she rebuilt her country after a turbulent decade of civil war. In 2010 Newsweek listed her as one of the top ten leaders in the world and in 2014 she was named the 70th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes magazine.

Sirleaf was born in 1938, in Monrovia, Liberia. After marrying at 17, she had a thorough education, which started with her studying at the College of West Africa in 1955. She then moved to the USA and completed her Master of Public Administration in 1971 from Harvard’s prestigious John F Kennedy School of Government. Shortly afterwards, she returned to her homeland.

Driven Twice into Exile

Sirleaf’s return to Liberia was eventful but also troubled. In 1971 she briefly took up office of the Assistant Minister of Finance under William Tolbert before resigning over a disagreement regarding government spending.  She served as Finance Minister from 1979-1980 until the bloody military coup in 1980 where Tolbert and all but four of his ministers were executed by firing squad. She was offered a role under the new leadership but fled the country later that year after publicly criticizing the new regime.

Exile was a frustrating time for Sirleaf; she lived in the USA and Kenya before returning to Liberia for two unsuccessful presidential elections in 1985 and 1997. Times were very hard in Liberia: there was peace for only two years before civil war broke out again, leading to the destruction of much of the infrastructure and a death toll of nearly 200,000. Sirleaf fought with the dictator Charles Taylor, whom she initially supported, and was imprisoned for treason. Fortunately, after international pressure and public outcry she only served seven months of a ten year sentence and was exiled once again from her homeland.

Sirleaf stood for the presidency in a contested general election

Ellen Johnson-SirleafThe end of the civil war in 2003 marked Sirleaf’s return to the country and her rise to real power and prominence. A transitional government was established with Sirleaf serving as Head of the Governance Reform Commission. She then stood for the presidency in the hotly contested general election of 2005. Sirleaf managed to best the popular candidate, footballer George Weah, and secure the leadership. Sirleaf later went on to win a second term in office in 2011. She accepted the Nobel Peace Prize just four days before announcing running for a second term, the timing of which was heavily criticized by her opponents.

During the last decade in power, Sirleaf has been credited with much of Liberia’s recovery. The country she inherited was devastated by a decade of civil war; hospitals had been destroyed, teachers and academics had fled the country and an entire generation had missed out on an education. Agriculture had ground to a halt and basic amenities such as electricity and clean water were not available to many Liberians. Her priority became restoring education, and in 2007 she made education free and compulsory for all elementary aged children.

A “zero tolerance” policy on corruption ineffective

Over the last ten years, Sirleaf has also successfully negotiated the write-off of nearly $5bn in foreign debt, allowing Liberia to borrow again from foreign banks, which has kick-started the economic recovery of one of the most impoverished countries on the planet. However her “zero tolerance” policy on corruption has been criticized for being ineffective, with government corruption still rampant in Liberia.

Her Nobel Peace Prize in 2011, for her dedication to women’s rights, was the culmination of years of fighting for equality at home, and abroad. Sirleaf described it as, “the recognition of my many years of struggle.” Her promotion of tolerance and equality has been a hallmark of her presidency. Despite strong prejudice in West Africa on LGBT issues, Sirleaf has been praised for resisting proposed changes to the law that would criminalize homosexuality further. She stated that, “the status quo in Liberia has been one of tolerance and no one has ever been prosecuted under that [current] law.” Sirleaf has stood almost alone in refusing further criminalization and oppression of the LGBT community, against mounting pressure from the media and Liberian lawmakers.

Liberia still has a long way to go

Despite her best efforts, Liberia still has a long way to go. The Ebola crisis of 2014 illustrated how ill equipped the healthcare system and infrastructure was when faced with such a major outbreak of disease. More people died in Liberia than any other country, amassing a total death toll of over 4,500. Critics have also chastised her for not doing enough to battle unemployment, whilst claiming the restoration of some basic amenities have been lacking in the post-war decade.

After decades of fighting for justice and equality for Liberia, she has spent her presidency re-building a war-torn nation. Whilst she has her critics, few could question her unwavering dedication to the country. She has endured exile, imprisonment, and grave risks to her life for the future of the Liberian people. Liberia still faces many challenges; however its future is undoubtedly brighter as a result of Sirleaf’s leadership and commitment to the nation.

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