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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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Miner Lonmin reports core profit after cost savings

16 May 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Latest Updates from Reuters

By Barbara Lewis and Mamidipudi Soumithri

LONDON/BENGALURU (Reuters) – South Africa-focused platinum producer Lonmin reported a core profit on Monday after cost savings, and said it expected firm chemical and car industry demand for the rest of the year despite the Volkswagen diesel emissions scandal.

Its shares rose more than 14 percent in early trading, outperforming the wider mining sector, which was around 2 percent higher.

Lonmin’s shares have lost around 90 percent of their value over the last year, hit by a strike, rising costs and plunging platinum prices. In December, the company raised $400 million from selling new shares.

In its first-half results statement, Lonmin said it had cut losses per share to 1.8 cents from a loss of 164.6 cents the same time a year ago, and reported a core profit of $36 million versus a loss of $6 million in the first half of 2015.

Cost-cutting is ahead of schedule, with close to 70 percent of the full-year target of savings of 700 million rand ($45 million) already achieved.

Net cash improved to $114 million at the end of March, compared with $185 million net debt at the end of September.

CEO Ben Magara said in a conference call he did not anticipate further job cuts at current market conditions, but added conditions may change.

Volkswagen’s admission last year that it cheated U.S. diesel emissions tests could, analysts have warned, hit sales of diesel cars, which need platinum for catalytic converters.

But Lonmin predicted emerging markets would spur demand as they seek to catch up with the “ever tightening emission standards of developed markets”.

It also said it saw firm chemical industry demand, while the jewellery market could remain static during the year.

($1 = 15.5008 rand)

(Editing by Adrian Croft and Mark Potter)

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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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Looking Back on Kenya’s First Startup Acquisition

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

Weza-Tele-Founders

Kenyan financial technology startup Weza Tele was acquired by AFB financial group for $1.7 million, the first and largest acquisition of a tech startup in Kenya.

The startup-acquisition cycle is every Silicon Valley entrepreneur’s dream: a tiny idea that results in a multi-million dollar payout when a corporation recognizes the genius of your small-but-wildly-successful company. WhatsApp, the seemingly simple messaging service used around the world, was bought by Facebook for $19 billion; Skype, the Star Trek-like video calling system millennials had been dreaming of since childhood, was bought by Microsoft for $8.5 billion; and Clementine, an app that allows users to make conference calls without being tied to a cell phone, was bought by Dropbox for $100 million after less than one year on the market. In tech-intensive countries, these stories are hardly noteworthy because as soon as a new startup emerges, rumors abound regarding which major company will buy it.

This is not the case for countries like Kenya, where the startup industry is truly only starting up. In fact, the first-ever acquisition of a startup by a major company occurred in mid-2015 when AFB, the consumer finance group based in Ghana, purchased the Kenyan startup Weza Tele for $1.7 million.

A True Start Up

Weza Tele is truly the byproduct of the 21st century competitive yet collective experience: Weza Tele was created at Nailab, a co-working space that provides 3-6 month internships for budding entrepreneurs, and launched at DEMO Africa, a conference that hand picks innovative products and services from around Africa, in 2014. Weza Tele was founded by Hilda Moraa, Sam Kitonyi and Newton Kitonga and is “a leading provider of innovative value added mobility solutions in commerce, supply chain and distribution, and mobile payment options” available not only in Kenya, but also across Nigeria, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.

Weza Tela has two major existing business solutions: MyOrder, which makes supply chains for small and medium distributors transparent and gives greater visibility to individual manufacturers, and Odoo, which is a website-building application that provides a suite of add-ons including SMS ordering. In addition, Weza Tela offers services to streamline businesses’ SMS-ordering processes and can be hired for consulting services. Frost & Sullivan, the entrepreneurial company who awarded Weza Tele with its 2014 Entrepreneurial Company of the Year, said that “Weza Tele has excelled in an untapped market by tailoring flexible solutions for small scale supply chain sector. It offers cost-effective solutions to address the challenges faced by SMEs in the supply chain industry and provides valuable tools to drive their sales and marketing.”

Weza Tele myOrder

Selling Out Encourages Others to Buy In

After its 2014 launch at DEMO Africa, Weza Tela was met with major success, and purchased by AFB just one year later. AFB “provides credit access to customers in Africa through a range of financial products, including mobile loans and retail credit cards.” Launched in Ghana in 2010, AFB now operates in Kenya as well as Tanzania and has more than 400 retail partners. By purchasing Weza Tela, AFB will be able to get its foot in the door of markets in Nigeria and Zimbabwe.

This landmark acquisition, says Jessica Colaco (director of partnerships and community at iHub), is “history in the making as it opens doors for growing startups in this ecosystem. The Weza Tela team are a lighthouse for others in the Kenyan startup ecosystem” and will encourage others to continue working towards their goal. AFB’s purchase shows Africans that major, multi-national companies have confidence in homegrown ideas.

A Vote of Confidence for Homegrown Ideas

Weza Tele has promised customers that the transition will be seamless and services will not be interrupted. Should this transition go as planned, big things may be looming on the startup horizons for Kenya and beyond.

By demonstrating their confidence in Weza Tele through a massive purchase, AFB is not only showing young entrepreneurs that their ideas have value and may result in a big payday, but demonstrating to Africans in general that they do not need to rely on outside ideas to move their countries forward. If large financial institutions are willing to take the risk on relatively young startups, then perhaps more ideas will come to fruition through co-working spaces and conferences meant to showcase and launch the best and brightest.

Encouraging young leaders to create their own solutions to local problems is of the utmost importance for any community, particularly one that has had been so directly and heavily influenced by outside forces for centuries. It is ideas like those behind Weza Tele that show a deep understanding of the needs of local businesses. Hopefully, Weza Tele’s success story is just the first chapter for Kenyan technological innovation.

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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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Zambia’s Lungu sees single-digit inflation, 2016 GDP growth of 3.7%

13 May 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Latest Updates from Reuters

LUSAKA (Reuters) – Zambian President Edgar Lungu said on Friday he expected inflation in Africa’s second-biggest copper producer, currently running at almost 22 percent, to slow to single digits “within months”.

Lungu, who faces a tough election challenge in August, also said in a televised press conference that economic growth was seen accelerating slightly in 2016 to 3.7 percent from 3.5 percent last year.

 

(Reporting by Chris Mfula; Writing by Ed Stoddard; Editing by James Macharia)

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Coca-Cola HBC would consider expanding in Africa

13 May 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Latest Updates from Reuters

LONDON (Reuters) – Coca-Cola HBC, a bottler of Coca-Cola drinks, is open to further acquisitions in Africa if the right opportunity became available, its chief executive said on Friday.

Coca-Cola and brewer SABMiller are combining their African soft drink bottling operations, but the future ownership could change, since SABMiller is in the process of being bought by Anheuser-Busch InBev.

The chief executive of Coca-Cola HBC, which has extensive experience operating in Nigeria, said it was too early to comment on the impact of those deals, but in response to a question added that if “the right strategic opportunity” were to come along, it would “certainly (be) something we would consider”.

 

(Reporting by Martinne Geller in London; Editing by Alexander Smith)

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Recession looms as South Africa’s manufacturing, mining contract

12 May 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Latest Updates from Reuters

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s manufacturing output resumed its decline and mining production contracted as weak global demand pushed the country’s ailing economy closer to a recession.

Manufacturing production shrank 2 percent in March and mining output plunged by 18 percent – the most on record – figures from Statistics South Africa showed on Thursday.

“The economy is very weak, and with these set of figures, we’re looking at the possibility of a contraction in the first quarter,” said Dennis Dykes, the chief economist at Nedbank.

South Africa’s economy grew 1.3 percent last year and 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter, and in its February budget, the National Treasury lowered its forecast for 2016 to 0.9 percent from 1.7 percent. The International Monetary Fund has cut its outlook for 2016 to 0.6 percent.

All three major ratings agencies have cited weak growth and policy upheavals as major risks to South Africa’s investment-grade rating.

Last Friday, Moody’s maintained the country’s Baa2 rating but with a negative outlook. Fitch and Standard & Poor’s rate the country’s debt just one notch above sub-investment grade and are due to revisit the ratings in June.

“You go back to brass tacks and ask if government is sending the right signals when it comes to a stable policy environment. But you look at sectors like mining and agriculture and the policy environment there is terrible,” Dykes said.

Last year, South Africa recorded its lowest annual rainfall since comprehensive records began in 1904, as an El Nino-driven drought ripped through the region, putting millions at risk of food shortages.

The government and mining companies have been deadlocked for years over proposed changes to the Mining Charter that will require the companies to keep black ownership at 26 percent.

South Africa, one of the world’s biggest metals producers, has been hit by a slide in commodities prices that has come on top of widespread labour unrest among miners.

“We need to be cognisant that our mining sector is under pressure and that it’s a global theme,” said Elna Moolman, an economist at Maquire First Securities. “We need to look for alternatives. And given that we are very strong in the services, this is an area we need to focus on.”

Moolman said an increased focus on tourism, which has already benefited from a weaker currency, and upping the export financial and business services would help lift the economy.

 

 

(By Mfuneko Toyana. Editing by James Macharia, Larry King)

 

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South Africa’s mining output plunges the most on record in March

12 May 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Latest Updates from Reuters

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s mining output fell the most on record in March, a result of last year’s ramp up in mining activity after a five-month strike two years ago, a statistics body said on Thursday.

Total mining output plunged 18 percent in March year-on-year compared to an 8.3 percent drop the previous month.

“It’s the biggest year-on-year drop ever,” Statistic South Africa statistician Juan-Pierre Terblanche said. “It’s a base effect of last year when there was a big spike after the mines recovered fast after the strike.”

Platinum mining companies Anglo American Platinum, Impala Platinum and Lonmin are still reeling from effects of the record 2014 pay strike and sustained low commodity prices.

 

(Reporting by Zandi Shabalala, editing by David Evans)

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Nairobi establishes itself as one of Africa’s leading tech hubs

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

nairobi

Nairobi leads the way as Africa’s most recognized tech hub and it is set to get bigger.

Nairobi has been establishing itself as a tech hub for several years now. The high numbers of STEM graduates that come through the doors of the several colleges around the city have helped sustain this reputation. However, it is only in the past few years that the entrepreneurial ethos which fuels startups has really begun to flourish.

As things stand, Nairobi still has an unemployment rate of 40%, but the government is hopeful that by investing in the technological talent pool of the city, startup companies will help address this problem.

Quite simply, startups create jobs but only in recent years has the proliferation of mobile phones and the internet in Nairobi allowed tech startups to prosper.

Investing in the infrastructure of growth

Nairobi has had the potential to explode as a thriving tech hub for some time, but without the average person having access to the technology to provide a large customer base, the progress of the city was stifled.

However, Internet penetration has rocketed, with 43% of the Kenyan population having access in 2014, compared with only 14% in 2010. In addition to this, by 2014 82% of Kenyans had a mobile phone. These factors are instrumental in opening up markets for tech-based startups.

A prime example of this is the 2010 startup M-Farm that allows farmers to get instant access to market prices and where they can buy and sell goods at the click of a mobile phone button. The business was set up by three women who wanted to help farmers cut out middle men and make a greater profit. Co-founder, Linda Kwamboka sums up the importance of technological access by saying, “Mobile phones are the best way to go (for business).”

The enterprising nature of local people, together with the government, has ensured that the city and nation do not miss out on the opportunities that a tech centered industry could provide. In 2010, Nairobi’s iHub opened, a large complex for investors, entrepreneurs and tech graduates to converge and develop new ideas. In only 6 years, the hub has spawned 170 startup companies and created over 1,300 new jobs.

iHub in Nairobi

iHub in Nairobi

The iHub complex now seeks to be entirely self-funded and one of its creators, Erik Hersman told Forbes magazine that, “A group of people are investing in the iHub in order to help us grow…The iHub’s mission is to catalyze the growth of the Kenyan tech ecosystem.”

To help sustain such growth, the Kenyan government partnered with the firm Nailab to create a technology program worth $1.6 million that would provide funding and educational support to entrepreneurs. The support has worked.

By 2014, technology accounted for 8.4% of Kenya’s GDP, but this is a proportion that is continually rising. In fact in the summer of last year, Bloomberg reported that Kenya’s tech industry could be worth $1 billion over the next 3 years.

A city evolving

Despite the development in Nairobi, it is obviously a long way off catching up with the hugely prosperous cities of the developed world. But this is something that could well change. The range of startups is already hugely diverse, from laptop manufacturers like Taifa to the likes of Rehau HomeGas, which creates micro-biogas equipment that runs off cow manure.

New hubs for innovation are opening, with both the aforementioned startups coming from the newly established Nairobi Industrial and Technology Park. Moreover, the Economist Intelligence Unit has predicted that by the end of this year, Nairobi will be one of the 40 fastest growing urban economies on the planet.

What seems likely to maintain this meteoric rise is that the government continues to commit itself to investing further in the city’s development as opposed to treating its new success as a finished task. The country’s grandest plans center on a Techno City, which they hope to have opened by 2025. This complex would provide housing and work spaces for 200,000 professionals. Bloomberg reported that major corporations such as Samsung and Blackberry are already expressing interest.

When the US President Barack Obama visited Kenya last year, he spoke of an emerging economy and entrepreneurial spirit within the country.

The attitude of Kenya’s government, graduates and the people working within its tech industries can perhaps be summed up by a line from Obama’s speech that drew warm applause:

“Because of Kenya’s progress, because of your potential, you can build your future right here, right now.”

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