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Azuri: Solar energy for off-grid Africa

4 November 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Environment, Featured

A British company is bringing pay-as- you-go solar power to rural communities in a dozen countries in East and West Africa with the help of artificial intelligence. With about 90,000 customers so far, Azuri said its PayGo solar system for communities that are too remote to access a power grid has the widest reach of any such provider in sub-Saharan Africa. Using artificial intelligence, Azuri said it has solved a significant problem with off-grid solar systems. On cloudy days, solar systems may not capture and store enough energy to provide electricity for the entire evening, causing frustration for users who may be watching television, doing homework, keeping a business open in the evening or charging their cell phones for the next day.

In addition to providing batteries and solar panels to customers, Azuri offers artificial intelligence technology that monitors each customer’s usage and slightly reduces electrical output to make sure power is not interrupted if the day’s supply is short. The reduction may dim the lights slightly, but it is barely noticeable, according to Simon Bransfield-Garth, chief executive officer of Azuri.

Power available longer

With this reduction, a battery that might only provide three hours of power at regular levels of output can stretch to four or five. People “want to be able to see at night. They’re less concerned about how bright the light is. They just want to be able to see,” Bransfield-Garth said. So the artificial intelligence technology figures out the customer’s average use then looks at the battery in the evening and adjusts the brightness of the lights so customers are “guaranteed to get that duration of light every night.” “It’s like the engine controller in your car that’s looking after all sorts of things in your engine,” he said.

System works in cloudy climates

So far, Bransfield-Garth said, the system has operated well in a diverse range of climates, from Ghana’s lengthy rainy season to Kenya’s abundant sunshine. “We have made technology that works in countries where there is a lot of sunshine and in countries where it is cloudier,” he said. Azuri’s pay-as- you-go system makes buying the package practical for many who would not be able to afford an up-front payment for the Azuri package. Using mobile payment services to buy credit on a weekly basis, customers typically pay for their equipment in 18 months, the company said.

Lower costs, environmental benefits

Bransfield-Garth noted that off-grid electricity costs in Africa are much higher than power costs in the west. He said burning kerosene costs about $8 per kilowatt-hour compared to U.S. electrical prices of about 15 cents. Azuri’s system frees up those costs to cover the solar payments to individuals who may earn only two or three dollars a day. He said the Azuri system is much cheaper than traditional sources, which can cost as much as 30 percent of the income of poor families. According to Azuri, solar power is an effective and environmentally safe replacement for traditional sources of light, which include burning kerosene or candles or using disposable batteries.

A 2014 study of customers of Azuri’s PayGo system in western Kenya found that users expressed pride that they could provide electricity for their children to study in the evening. They also said they were saving money on charging their phones and saving more than two hours each week to go and buy kerosene. More than 85 percent said they had been able to work more since installing the Azuri system. Studying and phone charging were the most common activities, each cited by about a third of the customers. Other uses included cooking, working and socializing. The company, which is based in Cambridge, has an office in Nairobi and additional staff in five other countries.

Students improve

Azuri also sells LED lights, mobile-phone chargers and MP3/radio players. The company also plans to offer a small television set with a satellite connection that can run on 10 watts of electricity. Bransfield-Garth noted that installing solar systems in remote areas has a significant social, economic and education impact as people become more connected and more productive. “On average, children spend two hours a day extra on homework when they have solar lights,” he said. “ It’s entirely normal for kids to go from mid-class to top of their class in three months just because they’re doing more studying.”

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U.S. and Africa: From aid to trade

2 November 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Economy, Featured

U.S companies are just “scratching the surface” of business opportunity in Africa, effectively leaving an expanding market wide open for China, according to advocates for boosting trade, including President Barack Obama. Dismissing the economic slowdown of some African nations as temporary, experts at the second U.S.-Africa Business Forum pointed to the potential offered by an expanding middle class, untapped mineral wealth and expanses of uncultivated farmable land on the continent. Among those urging more trade between the United States and Africa was President Obama, who spoke to the forum in New York on Sept. 21. “We are making progress but we are just scratching the surface,” Obama said. “There is still so much untapped potential.”

Share of trade remains small

Obama and others pointed to significant growth in trade between the United States and Africa. But experts noted that economic activity is tiny as a share of total trade on either side. Sub-Saharan Africa accounted for only one percent of all U.S. trade in 2015. While 5.6 percent of Africa’s trade was with the United States, that amount is much smaller than the more than 19 percent of the continent’s trade with China, which has stepped up economic ties with Africa in recent years. According to the Obama administration, American and African countries have made deals worth $15 billion since the first U.S.-Africa Business Forum two years ago. Another $9 billion in deals were announced at the forum.

U.S. investment grows

American investment in Africa grew by 70 percent with major companies including Google and FedEx increasing their presence on the continent. African nations, meanwhile, have encouraged increased trade and business development by cutting red tape and promoting political stability. The Obama administration has pushed initiatives to double access to power and offer preferential trade terms in order to help the continent develop its manufacturing and agricultural sectors.

Obama said infrastructure will power the economies of African in the future, especially increasing access to electrical power for two-thirds of sub-Saharan Africans who lack access today. Besides the extension of trade accords with Africa and its Power Africa program to boost electricity supplies, the U.S. increased support from the U.S. Export-Import Bank, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency, the Overseas Private Investment Corp. and the Millennium Challenge Corp.

Red tape, political instability slow growth

For its part, Africa is working hard to ease barriers to trade and investment through development of regional free-trade accords and political stability, according to Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, chairwoman of the African Union Commission. Still, there is more to be done as Africa seeks to recover from an economic slowdown prompted by falling oil and commodity prices as well as a drop in demand from China, which has its own economic struggles. The International Monetary fund recently forecast that sub-Saharan Africa’s economy would expand by only 1.6 percent this year, about half the growth rate of 3.3 percent in 2015 and well below the annual average of 5.7 percent in the 10 years before that.

Meanwhile, foreign direct investment in Africa dropped as the commodities boom ended. Foreign direct investment fell to about $71 billion last year, down nearly 20 percent from more than $88 billion in 2014, according to accounting firm EY.

Some African economies thrive

However, the averages for the continent do not tell the whole story. While South Africa and Nigeria, the two largest economies in the sub-Sahara, are struggling, several nations, including Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Ivory Coast and Senegal, are expected to experience economic growth well over 5 percent this year. At the same time, a growing population and increased consumption pose opportunity for businesses that gain a foothold on the continent. Household consumption in Africa is expected to grow 3.8 percent annually until 2025 when it will reach $2.1 trillion, according to McKinsey & Co. It projected that the continent will have a bigger workforce than India or China by 2034.

Amadou Sy, director of the Brookings Institution’s Africa Growth Initiative, said U.S. companies have been slow to shift from seeing the continent as an aid recipient to seeing it as a potential business partner. While aid has long been the primary focus of dealings with Africa, that is changing Sy said. ‘’The other side of the coin is that we have fast-growing economies. We have business opportunities,” he said. “The first accomplishment is getting U.S. businesses and U.S. stakeholders to look at Africa as a business partner.”

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South Africa leads the way with renewable energy

31 October 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Featured, Technology

Long dependent on coal, South Africa has become the leader on the continent in developing renewable energy sources thanks in part to a competitive bidding process that helps keep costs low. South Africa had accepted a total of 92 projects providing an estimated 6,300 megawatts as of April. The projects represent more than $13 billion in private investment.

The Cookhouse wind farm on the country’s eastern cape is the largest installation, producing 138 megawatts of electricity since it started feeding the power grid in 2014. But wind, solar and biomass projects are popping up all over the countryside. Still, South Africa remains highly dependent on fossil fuels. It is the 11 th largest emitter of carbon output from energy use in the world. But it is making progress with renewables. Tina Joemat-Pettersson, South Africa’s minister of energy said the country had added a total of about 4,300 megawatts of renewable energy capacity between 2011 and 2015 alone.

Low cost drives development

One driver is cost. By last year, the price of wind energy from new projects had dropped to five cents per kilowatt-hour, about half the cost of coal. “Not only is technology producing much cleaner power, it is doing so at a lower cost than traditional fossil fuel technologies,” Evan Rice, chief executive of Greencape, a government funded not-for- profit development agency in Cape Town, said.

In partnership with the city of Cape Town, the national government, and Germany, Greencape is launching the South African Renewable Energy Technology Center, which will train 250 technicians annually to operate renewable energy systems around the country.

Bidding process plays a role

Anton Eberhard, a professor at the Graduate School of Business at the University of Cape Town, said South Africa’s competitive bidding process has helped keep costs low while assuring efficient development. Rather than negotiating with a vendor directly on a case-by- case basis, the bidding process uses competitive tenders and may give awards to multiple bidders,

Eberhard said. He said the transparent process leaves less room for corruption, which has hampered development efforts in other countries. The process also offers financial advantages, Eberhard said, noting that prices bids had dropped by 48 percent for wind and 71 percent for solar energy over the course of four rounds of bids during the past several years.

He said advances in battery technology will reduce the problem of interuptions in wind and solar power when there is no wind or sun. This will drive more development of these resources and reduce reliance on fossil fuels.

Energy installations produce jobs

The developments are also benefitting local communities. For example, a factory that will produce wind towers in the economically depressed township of Atlantis outside Cape Town is expected to employ 200 people to build 150 towers a year. Rice expects employment to grow as production ramps up. Also, 15 percent of the sale of energy itself goes into a community trust that enables local trustees to funnel money into education, health care and economic development locally.

Renewable energy developments will “transform rural communities in terms of health care, education, job creation and a raft of other interventions,” said Johan van den Berg, director of the South African Wind Energy Association.

Nation still banks on fossil fuels

Despite the promise of renewables, South Africa is not turning away from fossil fuels entirely. The government plans to open up 20 percent of the country to shale fracking and President Jacob Zuma has approved a deal to buy eight nuclear power plants from Russia at a cost of $84 billion.

The country is also building Medupi, the largest dry cooled coal-fired power station in the world. Construction began in 2007 but has been mired in cost overruns and delays for years. Once completed, it is expected to produce more than 4,000 megawatts, about the same amount that South Africa developed with renewable projects in just four years. Still, Berg and others see a bright future for renewables in South Africa and beyond.

The continent, he said, has “the opportunity to leapfrog the old centralized large scale fossil fuel power and big grid paradigm. With technology and project prices continuing to drop, and rapid breakthroughs in battery and other storage technologies, I have no doubt that renewables will address all of our power needs in time.”

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Small economies drive growth in Africa

29 October 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Economy, Featured

While sub-Saharan Africa’s two largest economies are struggling, experts say a cluster of smaller nations are driving growth on the continent this year. In East Africa, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda will see growth of more than 5 percent this year, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In West Africa, Senegal and Ivory Coast are also expected to see significant growth.

Meanwhile, two traditional economic powerhouses will see little or no growth. South Africa faces political turmoil, labor unrest and a drop in demand for minerals, while Nigeria has been hit by sagging crude oil prices. The economic forces that challenge Nigeria and South Africa – particularly the oil slump – have helped the East African economies because they benefit from lower energy costs but do not rely on oil exports.

Economic diversity is a factor

“East Africa has been chugging along nicely,” Peter A. Montalto, economist with at Nomura International, told Bloomberg, predicting healthy growth would continue at least until the end of 2017. He said those economies are likely to continue to grow if they take advantage of low oil prices and take steps to attract investment. Economic reform and diversification play a role in the strength of the East African nations, Stuart Culverhouse, chief economist at Exotix Partners LLP in London, said.

Unable to fall back on “behemoth industries,’’ these countries made economic reforms that are benefitting them now. Tanzania’s gross domestic product is expected to grow by 6.9 while Rwanda and Kenya also could top 6 percent. The IMF predicts the economy of Uganda will increase by 5.3 percent. In West Africa, Ivory Coast and Senegal will also grow by, 7.4 and 6 percent respectively, the agency said.

Average growth stalls in 2016 

Since Nigeria and South Africa account for half of the economic output of the continent, growth in other countries is not expected to entirely offset their stagnation. South Africa’s economy will be flat while Nigeria’s is expected to contract by 1.8 percent. The IMF recently predicted average growth of only 1.6 percent on the continent this year, less than half the growth rate in 2015 and well below the average of more than 5 percent annually in the last decade.

Direct foreign investment also dropped last year to $71 billion compared to $88 billion a year earlier. Razia Khan, head of Africa research at Standard Chartered Plc in London, said many investors believe the problems of Nigeria and South Africa reflect on the continent as a whole, which dampens enthusiasm for the smaller economies even though they are doing well.

IMF recommends policy reforms

Nevertheless, the IMF says sub-Saharan Africa has bright prospects for growth in spite a challenging global economic environment. Natalia Koliadina, the IMF’s representative in Ghana, which has seen an economic slowdown, said many countries in the region need to diversify their economies in order to minimize hits from slumps in commodities prices.

Policy reforms, improvements in infrastructure and high workforce skills will all be required, Koliadina said. The IMF also encouraged putting in place policies and infrastructure to create an environment that supports businesses, especially small businesses. John Ashbourne, an analyst with Capital Economics Ltd. in London, predicted annual growth of 4 percent for the next five or 10 years.

“At the end of the day Africa is still huge, and it has a growing population and massive natural resources,’’ Ashbourne said. ‘’There will always be opportunities.”

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Japan pledges $30 billion in aid to Africa

25 October 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Featured, Trade

Japan recently promised $30 billion in aid to Africa, a pledge that comes in the face of a spate of major investments on the continent by rival China. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced the commitment at the sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development in Nairobi, Kenya, Aug. 27. The meeting, previously held in Japan, was staged in Africa for the first time this year at the request of the host continent. Abe said the aid will be spread over three years and comes on top of $32 billion Japan pledged to Africa over five years starting in 2013. He said about two-thirds of that money had been put to use. With longstanding trade ties, Japan has a keen interest in Africa’s resources. That interest has intensified since the island nation began to import more oil and natural gas after the 2011 Fukushima disaster shut down nearly all of its nuclear reactors. In recent years, Japan has found a growing rival in China, whose One Belt, One Road trade policy focuses squarely on Africa, Central Asia, and the Middle East.

Funds for infrastructure, education and health care

The latest round of Japanese funding will be used to develop infrastructure and improve health care and education on the continent, Abe said. About $10 billion for infrastructure will be allocated in cooperation with the African Development Bank. It will include roads, ports, airports and power plants that are expected to increase the continent’s electric capacity by 2,200 megawatts.

The money will also be used to train 20,000 mathematics and science teachers throughout the continent, as well as 20,000 experts on how to handle infectious diseases. “Today’s new pledges will enhance and expand on those launched three years ago. The motive is quality and enhancement” Abe said.

Chinese promise $60 billion

Abe’s pledge comes on the heels of a Chinese promise of $60 billion in aid, much of it loans from Chinese banks or export credits rather than direct aid. With its One Belt, One Road policy of establishing trade routes in the West, China has stepped up its investments on the continent in recent years, although the Chinese economic slowdown has reduced trade and posed challenges for African economies that rely heavily on oil and commodity exports.

Still, China has continued to announce large investments on the continent. It plans to build a naval base in Djibouti along with expansions of port facilities and new airports at a cost of more than $12 billion. China will also fund a $4 billion rail link with neighboring Ethiopia. However, with its economic slowdown, China’s investment in Africa decreased by about 40 percent last year.

China dwarfs Japan in trade

Six years ago, China surpassed the United States as Africa’s largest trading partner. The Asian giant has also eclipsed Japan in financial importance to the continent. China’s total trade with Africa of about $179 billion last year dwarfed the approximately $24 billion in trade with Japan.

Japan’s overall direct investment in Africa totaled $1.24 billion in 2015, down from about $1.5 billion a year earlier, according to Japan’s External Trade Organization. China made a single investment of $2 billion in oil-rich Equatorial Guinea in the month of April 2015 alone.

Geopolitics in play

“Japan has a sense of rivalry with China, which has provided large-scale assistance,” Koichi Sakamoto, professor of regional development studies at Toyo University, said. “Since Japan can’t fight China in terms of cash, it needs to stress quality.” Abe said Japanese direct investment totaling $10 billion will begin to flow this year, along with another $20 billion in investment from Japan’s private sector.

In addition to it’s interest in Africa’s resources, Japan has strong political motives on both regional and global fronts for strengthening ties with Africa, according to Seijiro Takeshita, an economist and professor at the University of Shizuoka. For one thing, Japan is seeking support to become a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. Japan and other nations in the region also see China as an aggressor. “This is basically (seeking) to ward off continuous aggression the neighboring nations feel from China,” Takeshita said.

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Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala: An economist, a global leader and a policy maker

23 October 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Politics

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has come from humble beginnings to serve two terms as Nigeria’s finance minister, and has been within a hare’s breath of becoming president of the World Bank. The “Iron Lady” of Nigeria is credited with the emergence of Nigeria as Africa’s largest economy and her work in office and in the humanitarian spheres have been greatly celebrated. She has been described as a “triple threat” with strong experience in economics, finance as well as development and governance.

She was born in 1954, in a village in the south of Nigeria when the country was still a jewel in the heart of the British Empire. She reportedly perfected her English reading Louis Stevenson and Enid Blyton and had a charmed, “wonderful” childhood. She credits her early upbringing with her later tenacity: “I learned real life, fetching wood, water. At five I could cook. This life has given me strength and a strong character.” When she was 15, she carried her Malaria stricken three-year old sister on her back for 10 miles to reach a doctor, and then insisted on her treatment, ultimately saving her life. Her sister is now herself a physician, and a rock of support to Okonjo.

Nigeria’s civil war and the end of her childhood years 

Her childhood ended in 1967 when the civil war broke out, and her father was called away to fight in the army. She explained that her parents lost “everything” and she learned what it was to have nothing. They moved frequently and often survived on one meal a day; resilience and tenacity became essential to survival. These early experiences crafted Okonjo into the woman she is today. Interestingly, she describes her humble beginnings and later greatness as similar to that of her country, Nigeria.

Her escape came at 18, when she left her warring Nigeria to study at Harvard University, followed by a Phd in Regional Economics at MIT. A prodigious talent, she was headhunted for the World Bank and spent the next 21 years here as a development economist.

Her financial experience with the World Bank

After a strong and steady tenure at the World Bank, she was elected to serve as Finance Minister in her homeland. This began her defining years. She served two terms between 2003-2006 and 2011- 2015, punctuated by four years as a Managing Director at the World Bank. During her tenure, she also held the post of Minister of Foreign affairs. Okonjo was the first female to hold either position.

Although she didn’t act alone, Okonjo is credited with being an instrumental figure in shaping Nigeria’s modern economy, bringing in necessary reforms and increasing governmental transparency. Her biggest achievements include targeting Nigeria’s rampant corruption by identifying and eliminating 5000 fake civil servants on the payroll. She also fastidiously cracked down on political and military leaders who were stealing crude oil. For this, she received death threats, her addresses were published in the media and her mother was kidnapped. She told the Observer: “Fighting corruption, corruption tends to fight back”. She did not falter and in the end, succeeded in her war against the insidious nature of Nigeria’s administration.

Shaping Nigeria’s future by fixing its economic deficit

Her economic background was showcased by her greatest achievement in office: securing a cancellation of $30bn debt from Nigeria’s name. She also added strength and stability to the country’s public finance systems by obtaining its first sovereign debt ranking in 2006. She later established the Mortgage Refinance Corporation which stimulated Nigeria’s housing market and was involved in numerous gender and youth empowerment schemes. The most recognized, the Youth Prize with Innovation, which supports young entrepreneurs and has created thousands of jobs, was evaluated by the World Bank to be one of the most successful of its kind globally.

During her time as finance minister, Nigeria emerged as the largest economy in Africa with a GDP of $481bn in 2015. After stepping down last year, she has dedicated her time to humanitarian causes. She currently chairs the board of the Global Alliance of Vaccines and Immunizations and the African Risk Capacity, a weather based insurance for African countries. Still regularly leading “top 100” lists of the world’s most influential people, it’s clear that Okonjo is still a force to be reckoned with, both in Nigeria and worldwide.

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Peter Njonjo : from a top IT job to BBQ!

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

Peter Njonjo made a risky decision last year. He left his top IT job at the European Union to launch his own prepared meats company, Gregos Foods. He says he was compelled by his love of cooking and his search to finding high-quality barbecue products in his native Kenya. He explained: “Kenya has the best meat in terms of the world, but what we are actually getting in terms of retail is not the best. I thought we could do better so we started off.” In just over one year he’s gone from a backyard conversation to seeing his products on supermarket shelves. This is a massive achievement in a country that is dominated by one industry leader: Farmer’s Foods, which has an enormous 44% of the market share. Avid cooks, Njonjo and his friends were inspired to make their own meat products by a lack of processed meats available in stores. They realized there was a gap in the market and that their homemade products were in demand and could be produced on a larger scale. He conducted a vast amount of market research and customer testing before deciding that this was a viable business. They created products such as goat sausages, bacon and beef burgers and wrapped chicken thighs, which were all extremely popular with their product testers. Although he initially knew very little about this industry, he was determined to make the company a success.

Smart business decisions that have led to success

Seven months later the first factory was opened. There were a number of factors that determined the success of the company, most of which were related to Njonjo’s business acumen and sharp, academic mind. First, he chose to rent space in an already operational factory that was running under capacity instead of an expensive new build. This factory was located in Kikuyu, a small agricultural town about 20 km outside of Nairobi. It was a central location for distribution, but considerably cheaper than renting inside the capital city, and much closer to the meat producers they would rely on. Next, he reached out to his network of friends and ex-colleagues for assistance in areas that he lacked specific expertise, such as HR, finance and marketing. This avoided expenses on external consultants services, and reduced the startup costs considerably. They relied on social media marketing, local events and word-of- mouth for publicity and slowly built a loyal consumer base through their home and business deliveries. They eventually broke into retail and secured deals with supermarkets to stock their products.

Savvy spending of profits, brand awareness and driving sales

He explained that they don’t expect to make any money in the first year, offering deals to spread brand awareness and ploughing profits back into increasing production capabilities. The company also elected to use influencers and food bloggers to drive sales and publicity. The biggest challenge, says Njonjo, is competing with industry leaders, who have significant visibility and customer loyalty. The focus has been maximizing their exposure to challenge these market leaders, something many competitors/newcomers have failed to do in the Kenyan food industry.

The future for Njonjo and Gregor Foods

After just one year in business, “Gregos Foods” is booming. The company has plans to expand its manufacturing capacity to meet growing demand and have recently expanded into wholesale, as well as catering for hotels and restaurants. The long-term goal is to expand into the export market, supplying products to neighboring African countries, and even beyond. They intend to collaborate with other small-scale producers who have unique recipes and are looking for production and distribution partners. This could see Gregos Foods growing into a parent company for a number of different producers, while at the same time helping other people like Njonjo who had a plan/an idea but struggled to compete with dominant giants in the food industry. His advice to other entrepreneurs is to be realistic about the market: “Give yourself time to grow, go for what you can do best and ensure that you add value as opposed to being ordinary.” With the rise of food and manufacturing entrepreneurs across the continent, people like Njonjo have been encouraged to follow their dreams. Although he has no experience in the in food industry, his business expertise has enabled him to succeed where others have failed.

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With fiber optics, Ivory Coast seeks to become a tech hub

13 October 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Featured, Technology

Pushing its nascent digital economy to catch up with its booming commerce, Ivory Coast is investing $165 million to lay more than 3,000 miles of additional fiber optic cable. The West African nation has already installed nearly 400 miles of fiber optic cables and planned to add another nearly 900 miles this year, according to Andre Augustine Apete, Minister of information and communications technology. When the work is completed, the country will have more than 4,000 miles of cable, about one-fifth of its goal of more than 12,000 miles. As Ivory Coast emerges from a decade of political turmoil, the government has adopted an ambitious agenda of investment in infrastructure that has driven economic growth to about nine percent during the past four years, one of the highest growth rates on the continent. While commodities-reliant economies elsewhere in Africa have slowed, Ivory Coast posted growth of 8.4 percent for its gross domestic product and projects growth of 8.5 percent this year, according to the World Bank. The country has seen large increases in overall production, particularly in agriculture, as a result of regulatory reforms, public investment programs and infrastructure development.

Mobile banking, shopping boom

The world’s top cocoa producer, Ivory Coast has also experienced a boom in digital activity driven by mobile banking and shopping that total nearly $2 million profits a day, outpacing traditional banking. “I don’t think all our banks put together are doing as much”, Apete said. However, the government has more ambitious plans to grow the emerging digital economy, which today directly or indirectly employs about 150,000 people out of the country’s population of more than 20 million. Until recently, mobile access has dominated the marketplace with more than 85 percent penetration, while the internet and broadband sectors have been largely undeveloped in the Ivory Coast.

High costs limit development

High international bandwidth costs played a major role in limiting development because the unique submarine fiber optic cable served merely Ivory Coast. With the landing of a second cable in 2011 and as many as three additional cables expected to be added, prices have begun to decline. Another major development in Ivory Coast was the introduction of 3G mobile services in 2012, with the launch of the first 3.5G mobile broadband service. The wide geographic reach promised by 12,000 miles of fiber optic cable is intended to position the country to develop a booming digital economy. Fiber optic cable is much less expensive than copper wire, and, importantly for digital communications and data, it has a higher carrying capacity and provide fastest broadband connexion.

Ivory Coast aims to become a regional tech hub

Innocent N’Dry, head of new technologies, innovation and services development at Ubifrance in Abidjan, said the Ivorian government wants the country to become a regional hub for communications and information technology. The sector has seen sustained growth in the past decade, and it was one of only a few countries in West Africa that obtained 3G coverage by 2012. However, the lack of a fiber-optic network has held the country back at a time when technological entrepreneurship is emerging. “In terms of young companies and new technologies, there is real entrepreneurial dynamism, with the creation of incubators,’’ N’Dry said. He cited development of the Orange Technocenter in Abidjan, where marketing, research and engineering teams develop new products and services for the Orang telecommunication company’s customers.

Support for startups is key

N’Dry said Ivory Coast is emulating a model from Senegal in which the government provides support for young companies. To encourage new digital businesses, the Ivory Coast government implemented a free zone dedicated to information and communication technology companies. More recently, the government in July announced a fund of more than $260 million to strengthen the infrastructure for tech innovation and to support tech companies, especially startups. The fund, created with support from the African Development Bank, will also be used to help establish networks of investors and to train entrepreneurs from Ivory Coast and other countries in the region.

Mobile improvements sought

While the Ivory Coast government seeks to develop broadband capacity, it is also moving to encourage improvements in mobile services. This year, Ivory Coast will limit the number of operating licenses for telecoms to four. Three companies, which account for 96 percent of the country’s more than 20 million mobile subscriptions, will be re-licensed. They are France’s Orange, South Africa’s MTN and Mov, which was sold the Morocco Telecom by the United Arab Emirates’ Etisalat in 2014. At the same time, the government said it was withdrawing the licenses of several smaller mobile operators, stating that they had not paid for due taxes and fees. Apete said smaller companies might have the opportunity to merge into one single company controlled if a new majority shareholder emerges. “We are leaving this fourth place free in case a significant operator comes in tomorrow and says it’s interested. Those companies can then join with it”, Apete said.

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The race to succeed to UNESCO leader Irina Bokova has started

12 October 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Middle East

unesco-Moushira Khattab

At the end of her second mandate as head of the UNESCO, Irina Bokova will no longer occupy her position as Director-General of UNESCO in 2017. Eight years after her first nomination, will the Arab world manage to access the presidency of the United Nations body?

Since summer, rumors have gone strong, and the idea of nominating a representative from the Arab world as head of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has resurfaced. No country from the Arab region has ever managed to arise their candidate to the top of this organization. Against a backdrop of anti-Semitism Egypt former Minister for culture Farouk Hosni missed the opportunity by next to nothing in 2009 faced with the current Director-General at the fifth round of the ballots.

In 2009, the Egyptian press and Cairo’s intellectual circles spelt out against what they identified as pressures from “Jewish lobbies”, the United States and the polarization between the North and the South. On the same occasion, Farouk Hosni’s director of campaign condemned member states’ intention to block a cultural movement. So what? Under the pretext that European officials had been elected several times, would the UNESCO be in need of quotas established by Egyptian representatives themselves?

Moushira Kattab on the run to take the succession

Now that Egypt is reassured, it seems like it is willing to give a it go once again after the candidature for nomination of Moushira Khattab was made official on last July during a ceremony with grand apparat. Under Hosni Moubarak, Moushira Khattab was responsible for the Ministry of Family and the people from 2009 to 2011 and had no governmental role since the fall of the former President after the Arab Spring. From 2017 onwards, the diplomat – highly sensitive to children’s rights – will have to prove herself and legitimize her candidacy and that of her country.

Interviewed by Al Monitor in August 2016, Moushira Khattab was aware that there still was a long way to go. She has focused the arguments of her campaign on two major pillars to set sights on the presidency of the organization: Egypt’s legitimate demand and her past experience. On her background first: she can hardly compete with that of her competitors especially in the field of cultural affairs which she has barely dealt with along her career.  But most importantly, she bears an unforgiving burden, that of her government’s reputation and that of a country beset by many problems, in particular in terms of fundamental rights.

Egypt to head the UNESCO: still a long way to go?

Official member of the UNESCO since 1946, Egypt is nonetheless far from respecting the organisation’s premises. Freedom of the press is under threat, human rights regularly challenged and artistic freedom censored under the pretext of “religious exception”. The idea of nominating an Egyptian representative as head of a body like the UNESCO would send a rather paradoxical message. Current political and legislative affairs of the country hardly comply with both the moral values and the ideals of an organization that seeks for example to “protecting freedom of expression”, “building intercultural understanding” or even “learning to live together”, all of it put together on a bedrock of the defense of human rights. These are advocacy fields upon which shadow is cast in Egypt.

The country continues to evolve under a very restrictive vision of freedom of the press and freedom of expression. In 2015 still, Sissi’s government passed a law seeking to harshly sanction journalists who would cover terrorist attempts without strictly referring to official information released by the government. A law that not only constitute a move backwards for freedom of the media, but also applies to social media networks that are under strong scrutiny. This law was made official in a judicial report handed to the Egyptian state council in last September. Such a decision reminds repression to limit the role of social networks during the Arab spring and infringes the freedom of expression of an entire people whose liberties in the end are never really set in stone.

The announcement sparked outrage among human rights’ observers and defenders from all across the world. The candidate has not expressed her opinion about these measures, but she will certainly have to during her campaign to win the nomination to the UNESCO.

 

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African Union launches electronic passport for the continent

11 October 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Featured, Trade

Seeking to boost trade, tourism and investment, the African Union has launched a common electronic passport that the organization hopes eventually will give holders visa-free access to all of the organization’s 54 member nations. The African passport initially is being made available to heads of state and diplomats. The goal is full use by all citizens by 2018, although because of complicated logistics that aim is far from guaranteed. The passport, launched in July at the 27 th African Union Summit in Rwanda, is part of the African Union’s Agenda 2063 plan to develop a more unified “One Africa” economy on the continent in order to boost development and growth. Officials say the common passport is aimed at facilitating free movement of people and goods around the continent as a way of fostering intra-African trade and development.

One step toward economic integration

The passport “is a steady step toward the objective of creating a prosperous and integrated Africa,” outgoing African Union chairman Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said at the launch. The African Development Bank has been a strong advocate for the common African passport, noting that cumbersome visa requirements in many countries limit intra-African tourism and make trade between African countries cumbersome and expensive. “African countries are closed off to one another, which makes travel within the continent difficult,’’ the development bank said, noting that the continent has some of the toughest visa restrictions in the world. Moreover, restrictions are particularly high from Africans traveling within the continent compared to European or North American visitors, the bank said, noting that business visas are more difficult to obtain than tourist visas. The cost of visas places a burden on citizens who would travel or do business across borders. According to the bank, Central Africa, the region with the highest use of traditional visas, is the least connected to other regions. At the same time, East Africa, with the highest number of visas available on arrival, is among the most open regions in the world.

Benefits in Rwanda cited

Rwanda, which allows entry visas for all African citizens who come to its borders, has seen a 24 percent increase in tourist frequentation from other countries on the continent since it loosened requirements in 2013. The African Development Bank estimated that easing visa requirements could generate an additional $200 billion in the tourism sector and create as many as 5 million new jobs. The bank also said visa restrictions limit the ability of businesses to attract and retain the best African talents, saying that the lack of mobility of professionals is impeding economic growth. Emerging fields such as banking, mining and information technology in particular require more flexibility to compete in the marketplace. A new Visa Openness Index developed by the bank in support of easing restrictions concluded difficulty for business travelers was underscored. According to the index report, more than half of the 55 countries ranked require visitors to obtain visas in advance. Only 20 percent do not require visas and only 15 percent offer visas on arrival. Moreover, many of Africa’s strategic hubs have more restrictive visa policies while smaller nations tend to be more open.

10 countries stand out for openness

The top 10 nations for openness posted an average score of 0.86 (out of 1) on the ADB index, twice the overall average. The top 10 countries are Rwanda, Seychelles, Mali, Cape Verde, Togo, Guinea-Bissau Mauritania, Mozambique, Uganda, and Mauritius. At the bottom of the rankings were Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan, Angola, Gabon, Libya, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Western Sahara.

Access to biometric systems not assured

While the African Union wants full implementation of the new passport by 2018, the logistics of that timeline are daunting. Each country can decide when to begin accepting the new passport. But many nations do not have access to biometric systems that are required to access the electronic passports. Despite the challenges, advocates say the transition to a common passport is a vital part of the goal of “One Africa,” embodied in Agenda 2063. Visa “restrictions harm our integration efforts, negatively affecting tourism, investments and trade. A more relaxed visa landscape could help push our shared vision of one competitive African market,’’ said Moono Mupotola, manager of integration and trade at the African Development Bank. “To encourage intra-African trade, without a doubt, we need to work on visa openness.”

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