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

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

Koffi Djondo

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

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

A difficult beginning

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

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

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

A meeting of minds

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

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

Koffi Djondo

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

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

Renewed goals for a new century

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

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

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

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

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

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

Doctors in African-American Community

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

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

A founder dedicated to healthcare

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

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

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

Doctor using Dr Linkup

Doctor using Dr Linkup

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

Sharing ideas and information

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

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

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

Working with others

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

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

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

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

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South Africa leads university rankings

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

University of Cape Town, in South Africa

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ratings favor graduate, research programs

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

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

Students in a classroom at University of Cape Town

Students in a classroom at University of Cape Town

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

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

South African universities torn by protests

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

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

Leaders seek to increase participation

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

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

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

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

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Rwanda tops World Bank governance ratings for Africa

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

Life in Rwanda

The African nation, along with Cabo Verde, Kenya and Senegal receive the continent’s highest rankings for efforts to support growth and reduce poverty.

Rwanda, Cabo Verde, Kenya and Senegal lead the continent in the quality of their governance and institutions that support economic growth and reduce poverty, according to a new report by the World Bank.

The Evaluation Policy and Institution Investment for Africa 2015 gave Rwanda a rating of 4 of 6 possible points while the three other countries each scored 3.8. The average score for the continent was 3.2, the same as the year before. South Sudan and Eritrea had the lowest scores, 1.9.

Of the 38 countries evaluated, seven improved their ratings – Ghana, Zimbabwe, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Guinea and Niger. Twelve countries saw their ratings decline, with large drops in Burundi and Gambia.

The report attributed the lack of greater progress on the continent to economic challenges in 2015.

The report ranks national governance based on 16 indicators including economic management, social inclusion policies, public sector management, and structural policies.

Significant progress cited in Rwanda

According to the World Bank, Rwanda has made significant progress in transforming from a low-income agricultural economy to one that is service-based.

The government’s “Vision 2020” plan seeks to speed growth and reduce poverty with a focus on economic transformation, youth employment productivity, rural development and government accountability. The plan seeks to increase gross domestic product per capita to $1,000 by 2018 and reduce poverty so that less than a third of the population lives below the poverty line.

Rwandan youth learning to til

“These goals build on remarkable development successes over the last decade, which include high growth, rapid poverty reduction and reduced inequality,” the World Bank said.

Rwanda, which emerged from a dark period of civil strife and genocide 20 years ago, has seen growth of its gross domestic product averaging 8 percent annually since 2001. The economy grew by 7 percent in 2014 and 2015.

However, the World Bank said poor infrastructure and lack of access to electricity are drags on private investment in the East African nation, which has a population of about 11 million people.

Cabo Verde tourism flourishes

Cabo Verde, an archipelago of islands off the west coast of Africa, has developed rapidly in recent years, thanks largely to a growing tourism industry. The government is also working to make the islands a trade and transport hub, the World Bank said.

The bank described Cabo Verde’s politics as “consensus-oriented,” with established respect for majority rule and civil liberties. It noted that since it gained independence from Portugal in 1975, Cabo Verde has not had a single coup, a distinction shared only with Senegal in West Africa.

Still, economic growth slowed to 1% in 2015 as direct foreign investment fell.

Like Cabo Verde, Senegal is considered one of the most stable countries in Africa, with strong democratic institutions dating from the country’s independence from France in 1960, according to the World Bank. The Senegalese recently approved changes in the nation’s constitution that created a new assembly and will allow independent candidates to run in elections.

Senegal’s economy grew by West Africa behind Ivory Coast. High demand, stimulated by lower energy and transportation costs, as well as a government investment program, drove growth in an economy dominated by agriculture and services.

Kenya reforms economy

With assistance from the World Bank, Kenya has implemented major structural and economic reforms that have sustained economic growth for the past 10 years. While poverty and inequality persist, the bank said the country’s 2010 constitution ushered in a new political and economic governance system that has transformed and strengthened accountability and delivery of services locally.

At the bottom of the scale in the new World Bank governance ratings, South Sudan and Eritrea struggle.

One of the least developed nations in Africa, Eritrea has seen thousands of citizens fleeing the country for the European Union via Sudan and Ethiopia to escape what they describe as forced labor and other human rights violations.

In South Sudan, meanwhile, fighting between the government and rebel forces have sent refugees pouring into neighboring Ethiopia and Sudan as well.

 

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1.1 Billion Wallets: Preparing to Meet African Demand

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

Consumer Affluence in Africa

By 2020, the African continent will have two times as many affluent consumers as the United Kingdom and companies should be preparing to market to this enormous group.

According to Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Africa will have twice as many affluent consumers as the United Kingdom by 2020. BCG predicts that Africa will have at least 1.1 billion consumers by 2020 (the current population of the continent is approximately 1.1 billion), more than the population of Europe and North America combined. Their latest report, “African Consumer Sentiment 2016: The Promise of New Markets,” provides marketing firms and corporations with the data they need to capitalize upon the increasing quantities of disposable income across the African continent.

The Numbers Game

Africa is home to nearly 15% of the world’s population–more than 1.1 billion individuals spread across more than 50 nations–while the United Kingdom has fewer than 65 million citizens, so this numerical growth in affluence should not come as a surprise. BCG defines a consumer as an individual between 18-75 years of age with a monthly income between $50 and $7,000 per month. The data for this report was compiled during 2015, when BCG polled more than 11,127 consumers across 11 African countries. Persons with no stated income, with no purchasing freedom (i.e. those who do not make purchasing decisions for their families) or those outside of the age brackets were not included in these face-to-face surveys. While this is likely the most complete data on consumers ever compiled, it should be noted it was created using data from less than one quarter of the continent’s countries.

Key Findings

During their study, BCG found that 88% of African consumers were optimistic about the future which “bodes well for the continent, because optimistic consumers are more inclined to buy.” BCG surveyed citizens in Algeria, Angola, Cote d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa and found that in the most affluent countries with the highest proportions of disposable income (Egypt and Morocco), citizens are more interested in spending on “luxury” items such as bath and beauty products, large appliances, vehicles, clothing and electronics, while those in countries with the lowest financial security (Angola, South Africa, the DRC, and Cote d’Ivoire) are less able to purchase big ticket and luxury items.

BCG helpfully noted that even in financially insecure markets, “certain products–like mobile phones–are a greater priority than food,” highlighting the potential for a wide range of multinational corporations to profit from the growing consumer population.

South African youth on mobile internet

South African youth on mobile internet

The vast majority of Africans access the internet through their phones (as opposed to through laptops or desktops), meaning that mobile phone producers stand a good chance to make a name in this market. BCG found that Africans have a strong sense of what can be considered brand loyalty: brand names play an important role in African society, and “social approval of a brand is an increasingly strong influence on purchasing decisions,” although this has decreased slightly from a similar study done in 2013. Brands are most important in electronic purchases (such as mobile phones or mobile music players) and less important in clothing and shoe purchases.

Following the Flock

Perhaps predictably, younger consumers are more influenced by the opinions of their peers while older consumers are more influenced by their spouses or partners: 59% of Moroccans ages 35-44 said their purchases are influenced by spouses while 31% of Moroccan adults 25-34 agreed (this should not be considered surprising, as those in a higher age bracket are more likely to be partnered or married) while conversely, in South Africa, just 13% of adults 35-44 said their purchases are influenced by friends while 33% of 18-24 year old South Africans agreed.

As well as mapping consumer habits, BCG also researched the most effective ways to attract consumers through advertising. Television was the most influential advertising channel overall (as opposed to radio, newspaper ads, the internet or social media), but other forms were significantly successful in various countries. In Ghana, consumers reported being influenced by radio ads, in Nigeria by online advertising and Egyptians by newspaper ads and billboards. These differing results suggest that advertisers need to know their markets in order to attract the maximum number of consumers. One size certainly does not fit all, particularly when discussing a 1.1 billion people in more than 50 countries.

The Time is Now

As optimism and disposable income increase across Africa, citizens are more likely to become major players in the global consumer culture. Corporations should pay attention to their markets and create specific, targeted advertising schemes if they wish to profit off of this growing market.

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From Tragedy to Tech Triumph: Mubarak Muyika

16 July 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Featured, Leaders

Mubarak Muyika

The remarkable story of Mubarak Muyika and his burgeoning tech empire.

The tech scene is exploding across Africa as ambitious young entrepreneurs are changing the face of the continent. Kenyans have been at the vanguard of the action in recent years. One individual currently making big waves is Mubarak Muyika, a dynamic 22 year old with a colorful past.

Muyika was born in Western Province, Kenya. His father was a prominent civil servant and his mother was a high school teacher. Unfortunately, his young life was marked by tragedy: his father passed away when he was two years old. Then, when he was ten, his mother died and the young orphan was taken in by his mother’s sister and her husband.

Great Beginnings

It has long been observed that tragedy seemingly makes, or breaks an individual. In Muyika’s case, it was most certainly the former. He was known as a sharp and gifted student and it was in the early days of high school that his tech-entrepreneurial promise first blossomed.

Aged 16, Muyika developed the “enhanced petrol tracker.” The tracking database was designed to mitigate government mismanagement of oil resources by more efficiently cataloguing oil tanker movements, oil flow and demand. The project was incredibly well received. He was recognized as the best student in the computer exhibit category at the annual Kenya Students Congress on Science and Technology.

His adoptive parents were the owners of a book publishing and distribution company, Acrodile Publishers. Mubarak realized that the web presence provided by their current website manager was substandard and expensive, bottlenecking the company’s productivity. He taught himself PhP, Java and HTML and built a highly functional website for the business.

Business Blossoms

On the back of his newly earned skills, Mubarak launched his first business, Hype Century Technologies and Investments LTD. The company offered website designation, management, domain reselling and hosting services. He enlisted the help of two friends and the business quickly began to take off.

In a 2012 interview, Mubarak spoke about Hype Century’s remarkable success in the startup period: “By May after our first financial year we had about 1,800 domains which represented clients in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan and some in the RC (Republic of the Congo). That was something that I can say is the biggest achievement, in terms of where the company is today.”

It was during this early period that Kenyan multi-millionaire Chris Kirudi realized Mubarak’s great potential. Through his contacts he recommended Mubarak for a scholarship to one of the world’s most prestigious universities, Harvard. Incredibly, Mubarak turned down the scholarship in order to focus on his business ventures, demonstrating extreme belief in his own talents and entrepreneurial ability. He is a man who knows his own mind. He gave insight into his tenacious business philosophy, saying, “If you are in a society with intelligent people who have a plan and a strategy, you need a plan, a strategy, speed and aggression. That is the only way to succeed in Africa.”

Soon, Mubarak’s business attracted heavyweight attention. International tech investor Jignesh Patel teamed up with the rising star, buying a 25% stake in the company. This proved to be a shrewd move, as Patel’s connections and experience propelled the firm to even higher heights.

A Bright Future

Zagace platform

Zagace platform

However, Mubarak soon felt the itch to challenge himself further; he clarified his decision to move on from Hype Century saying, “I had the feeling that I was not maximizing my potential. I opted to sell my shares and develop a new venture.”

In 2013, he settled a deal netting himself a cool six figure settlement for his 60% stake. Astonishingly, Mubarak was still only 19 years old.

His newest venture, ZAGACE is both ambitious and innovative. His firm offers a unique service providing a completely integrated, online business management toolkit for small and medium sized companies. ZAGACE allows users to manage human resources, inventory, accounting and communications all through a series of well designed, instanced apps. The concept has been lauded as ingenious and effective.

Eager to feed his business with the best talent available, Mubarak has recently moved his operations to Silicon Valley, USA. The young Kenyan means serious business, and the world has noticed. In 2015, he was named one of Africa’s most promising entrepreneurs in Forbes 30 under 30, while Yahoo named him one of nine “Mark Zuckerbergs” of other countries. With his talent, resilience and determination, Mubarak Muyika is setting the tech scene ablaze. We will no doubt be hearing more about him, very soon.

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Beninese doctor honored for “green” anti-malaria drug

15 July 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Featured, Leaders

Valentin Agon

Valentin Agon wins $100,000 innovation prize for an effective and inexpensive treatment made from a plant extract.

A Beninese doctor has won a top innovation prize of $100,000 for an anti-malaria drug he developed from a natural plant extract.

Valentin Agon received the Innovation Prize of Africa in June for his creation of the drug, Api-Palu, which is already being marketed in Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Central African Republic.

The drug is significantly less expensive to produce than other anti-malarial drugs and is more effective.

“Api-Palu is a remarkable product that (has) affordability, a good safety profile, and a fast rate of malaria parasite clearance from the blood following short-term treatment at relatively lower doses,’’ innovation prize officials said.

Nearly 1,000 contestants

Agon won first place in the competition among 10 finalists chosen from nearly 1,000 applicants.

Imogen Wright of South Africa took 2nd place for Exatype, software that helps health care workers determine whether HIV patients are responding to drug treatments. Eddy Agbo of Nigeria received the Special Prize for Social Impact for Urine Test for Malaria, a medical device that can diagnose malaria in less than a half hour. Wright and Agbo each received $25,000.

Innovation Prize for Africa 2016

Innovation Prize for Africa 2016

The awards program, a project of the Africa Innovation Fund, rewards healthcare solutions that address Africa’s malaria and HIV/AIDS problems.

Jean Claude Bastos de Morais, founder of the innovation competition, said the project had amassed a database of more than 6,000 innovators and made cash investments of $1 million since it began five years ago.

He said the award to Agon for his anti-malaria drug was particularly gratifying.

“A product for malaria coming from Africa for Africans, this is my dream. My dream comes true. Finding a solution based on a natural product is what I have dreamed about,” de Morais said.

Green medicine researchers

Educated in Canada and Cuba, Agon has researched green medicines for 25 years and has spent 16 years developing the drug. He plans to use the prize money to increase production and hopes to distribute the drug in every country in Africa by 2017.

His discovery is cheaper because it is extracted from a plant that is abundantly available on the continent. It is also more effective than other anti-malarial drugs because it inhibits 3D7 strains of Plasmodium falciparum, which cause malaria, and can act against the disease within a few hours, the innovation judges said in awarding him the top prize. It is available in the form of tablets, capsules or syrup.

An estimated three billion people are at risk for malaria worldwide. The World Health Organization estimates that sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 88% of all cases of malaria and 90% of reported deaths.

Costly treatment

“Some African governments spend up to 40% of their public health budgets treating malaria,” the innovation contest said. “In this context, Api-Palu, can be considered a significant contribution in the fight against malaria.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Africa is highly vulnerable to malaria because the predominant species, Plasmodium falciparum, is most likely to cause death, and the climate allows transmission to occur year round.

In other areas of the world, such 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.

The disease continues to be a serious problem, but eradication efforts are showing results.

Since 2000, malaria death rates globally have fallen by 60%, and new cases have dropped by more than a third, according to the World Health Organization. In Africa, death rates dropped by more than two-thirds.

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After two decades, Gabon returns to OPEC

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

Tullow Oil in Gabon

The West African nation becomes the smallest producer of oil in the cartel, producing only 200,000 barrels a day.

More than 20 years after Gabon left OPEC in a dispute over its budget contribution, the West African nation has rejoined the oil cartel.

Gabon returns to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries amid a two-year oil glut that has reduced the cartel’s power to prop up global oil prices.

Gabon was the second former member to rejoin OPEC this year, following Indonesia, which quit in 2008 then returned in January.

Gabon is the smallest producer among OPEC’s 14 member countries. It produces 200,000 barrels of oil per day, but according to the International Energy Agency, the nation’s output is declining.

Gabon, which joined OPEC in 1975, left in 1995 after the cartel refused its request to reduce its financial contribution to the organization, making it more proportionate with its production. At the time, Gabon produced about 340,000 barrels of oil per day, about one percent of total OPEC production.

Struggling with oil slump

Like other OPEC members, Gabon is struggling with the slump in global oil prices, and rejoining the cartel enables the country to strengthen its ties with countries that share similar challenges.

In response to the slump, Gabon is also working to shift more of its economy to agriculture. The nation, with a population of less than 2 million, currently imports nearly all of its food.

Working with Olam International Ltd., the Gabonese are trying to persuade young people to take up farming.

Farming in Gabon

Farming in Gabon

“We need to foster development of an agro-industry here,” Gagan Gupta, country head at the Singapore-based company’s Gabon unit, told Bloomberg. “It’s about creating human capital.”

As part of the effort, about 2,500 Gabonese will observe cocoa farming in Ivory Coast, learn techniques at a palm-oil plantation in Asia, or train as bulldozer operators in Morocco, Gupta said.

Unemployment high, despite growth

Olam also will work with Gabon to develop nearly 250,000 acres of oil-palm plantations.

According to the World Bank, Gabon is an upper-middle-income country that experienced strong economic growth during the last 10 years, mostly from oil and manganese production.

In 2015, oil accounted for 70% of Gabon’s exports, and 20% of the nation’s gross domestic product. Economic growth weakened to 4% in 2015 because of the drop in oil prices, forcing the government to cut investments designed to promote economic diversity.

Even though Gabon’s economy has been growing, it has failed to create enough jobs, the World Bank said. Unemployment in 2010 was more than 20%.

Nations seek production freeze

OPEC, meanwhile, has seen its global clout diminished. The cartel has attempted to negotiate a deal with Russia to freeze production levels in order to prop up prices. However, OPEC disunity has stalled the effort so far.

In June, Venezuela oil minister Eulogio del Pino said talks might revive in September, when Iran reaches pre-sanction output levels. Iran, freed last year of international sanctions that limited production, has sought to boost output and has resisted limits.

Del Pino said he also would propose that OPEC adopt “production ranges” that would allow production to fluctuate, rather than talking about an unpopular production ceiling.

Venezuela has suffered badly from the oil price collapse production declines. Del Pino said recent rains that helped power production have prompted a recovery.

In 2014, OPEC abandoned its policy of limiting oil production to shore up prices.  Steep price declines followed. Oil, which sold for $110 a barrel in 2014, slumped to a low of $26 per barrel earlier this year. It recovered somewhat this spring with prices mostly in the range of $45-$50 in recent months.

OPEC nations, led by Saudi Arabia, have been willing to absorb the financial impact of plummeting oil prices in order to preserve market share and hurt competitors with higher productions costs, such as U.S. shale producers.

OPEC also accounts for a smaller share of global production that in the past, when the cartel dominated the marketplace. Total OPEC production is nearly 37 million barrels a day while non-OPEC production is nearly 57 million barrels daily, according to Global Risk Insights.

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Chinese demand for peanuts boosts Senegal’s economy

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

Peanuts

The West African nation, the seventh largest exporter in the world, reached a record yield of one million metric tons in 2015.

Fueled by Chinese demand for peanuts, the price of the groundnut is on the rise in much of the world to the benefit of major exporters such as Senegal.

China, a major peanut producer itself, imports Senegalese peanuts to make oil, which is becoming increasing popular among Chinese consumers.

The West African nation, the world’s seventh largest exporter of peanut, has steadily increased its crop. Peanut production reached a record one million metric tons in 2015 and even greater yields are expected this year if rains are good.

Growth in peanut yields, along with targeted growth in rice production, could make the country self-sufficient by 2017, Senegalese President Macky Sall said. Rice production has doubled to 900,000 tons in the past four years and is on track to again double in the next two years, Sall said.

The country’s farmers have adopted genetically modified seed to improve yields, and improvements in transportation and energy supplies have helped drive growth.

Senegal plans bond issue

Doubling down on crop exports, Senegal plans to issue a bond of $500 million to $1 billion this year to fund infrastructure development to spur more growth in the agricultural sector, Sall said.

Senegal’s economic ambitions are benefitting from a surge in peanut prices, driven by an increase in Chinese demand and weather disruptions in key growing regions.

According to the Financial Times, health-conscious Chinese consumers are snacking more on peanuts and using peanut oil for cooking.

Women sorting peanuts in central Senegalese village

Women sorting peanuts in central Senegalese village

As a result, China is going from being a leading exporter of peanuts to a major importer. Chinese exports have declined by about half to about 500,000 tons during the past 10 years while imports have increased by 50%.

According to the National Peanut Board, China remains the largest producer of peanuts in the world, with yields of more than 16 million tons per year, followed by India and the United States. Global production totals about 29 million metric tons a year with about 1.25 million tons making up exports. India, the United States, and Argentina are the largest exporters of peanuts.

Prices raise 20-30 percent

Chinese demand has pushed the price of peanuts up by 20-30% this year. “They are just hoovering everything up,” one London trader said.

While the weather looks promising for peanut yields in Senegal, other major producers have see disruptions because of bad weather. India has suffered poor harvest for two years because of weak monsoons.

Argentina, a leading supplier of Europe, is expected to suffer crop losses of 20-40% because of rain damage. Poor weather also may limit this year’s crop in South Africa.

Ironically, the United States, which produces about 10% of global supplies, is experiencing a peanut glut and lower prices. As a result, farmers are turning their crops over to the federal government as a form of repayment of annual loans. The U.S. government, in turn, plans to send 500 metric tons of peanuts to Haiti as humanitarian aid.

China helps increase yields

In 2014, China and Senegal completed a cooperative agreement designed to boost the African nation’s production of peanuts as well as its exports to China. Under the deal, China helped establish an agricultural technology demonstration center in Senegal in order to increase the capacity of farmers to adopt more efficient and competitive methods such as those employed by Chinese farmers.

In addition to assistance from China, the Islamic Development Bank has committed $220 million to finance water and other infrastructure projects related to groundnut production in Senegal. The World Bank has approved $20 million in financing to help boost crop yields.

Senegal’s bond issue later this year will also spur growth.

“The money will be used totally for infrastructure, roads and power. A little bit may be for health facilities and education,” Sall, the nation’s president, said. The government is targeting a yield of 6% or less for the new bond.

Economic success story

Sall, a geological engineer who won the presidency in 2012, has overseen steady expansion of the Senegalese economy as the country has improved transport connections and power supplies. Since 2012, economic growth has averaged 4.7% in Senegal – one of the highest rates in sub-Saharan Africa – and the economy is expected to grow by 6.6% this year.

Senegal is also counting on energy to boost its economy. Gas production from two offshore fields is scheduled to start in 2020. A year or two later, Senegal expects to start producing oil from a deep-water well.

Senegalese production also has plenty of room to grow. Yields are approximately 950 kilos per hectare in Senegal, less than a third of the 3,500 kilos per hectare that the Chinese produce and slightly more than half of the average global yield of 1,674 kilos.

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Keeping House: Cleaning Up Nigeria’s Oil Industry

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

Nigerian Oil Industry

After the rollout of a $1 billion cleanup plan for Ogoniland, Nigeria–a region that has been severely damaged by the oil extraction industry–Nigeria’s state-owned petroleum corporation has voiced its support for environmental reform within the sector.

Nigeria is Africa’s largest producer and exporter of crude oil, and is estimated to have one of the world’s largest oil reserves. Unfortunately, Nigerians have yet to reap the benefits of such a potentially lucrative industry due to historically lax regulations. Nigeria has not been a competitive operator in the oil industry due to its historically bad practices, such as lack of oversight in production, virtually non-existent environmental regulations and not infrequent oil spills.

In early June 2016, Nigerian Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo set a $1 billion project to clean up Ogoniland, a part of the Niger Delta that has been intensely contaminated by the oil extraction industry. Following the example of the federal government, The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has decided to voice its concern for Nigeria’s environment as well. Following the federal roll-out of the massive internationally-funded cleanup plan, the NNPC announced their intention to reform the oil sector, although did not provide any details on how this would be done. The NNPC did, however, encourage members of the corporation to support conservation centres and parks.

Why Now?

Following an expansive 2011 study by the UNEP on the impact of oil extraction in the Niger Delta, Nigeria has been in the spotlight as one of the industry’s worst environmental offenders. The report found severe and widespread contamination of groundwater and soil across Ogoniland. In a number of areas, public health was compromised through contaminated drinking water and the presence of unnatural levels of certain carcinogens associated with oil extraction. Ecosystems unique to the delta region, such as mangroves, have been decimated by the virtually unregulated operations of the petroleum industry. All of the report’s findings pointed to a lack of institutional control within the oil industry and within the regulatory systems of the government. The report recommended that an initial investment of $1 billion would be needed to begin the restoration process.

It has taken more than five years to establish the infrastructure and amass the funding necessary to begin what is considered the “world’s most wide-ranging and long-term oil cleanup exercise ever undertaken,” but the project is finally underway. Experts estimate that it may take up to 25 years to restore the Ogoniland ecosystem to its pre-contamination status, but that such a long-term commitment is the only way to reverse the damage caused to the region.

Healthy on the Inside, Healthy on the Outside

A cleanup is a good place to start, but in order for the $1 billion investment to really contribute to positive change, a complete overhaul of Nigeria’s oil industry is vital.  Recognizing its role in the project, the NNPC announced its “20 Fixes” plan, aimed at reforming the chronically mismanaged oil industry. Among these “20 Fixes” were goals such as reducing and auditing costs, restructuring corporate centres and staffing, renegotiating existing contracts, unbundling the Nigerian Gas Company and improving information technology, among others. Reducing environmental impact was, surprisingly, not among these 20 top-concerns. Following the announcement of Ogoniland project, however, the NNPC voiced its support for the project, encouraging its workers to support environmental conservation, and committed to improving its environmental protection policies. A concrete plan to turn verbal commitments into action has yet to materialize.

Kachikwu pointed to the Lekki Conservation Centre, established in 1990, as an example of its commitment to conservation efforts. The NNPC claims that, with the support of Chevron Nigeria and others, it has contributed to the creation of the 78-hectare conservation centre, although no evidence for that is available.

This is not to say that the NNPC is not making a positive change, because it is. Recently appointed Managing Director Dr. Ibe Kachikwu has been hard at work to bring transparency to one of the world’s murkiest oil production lines. The World Bank, which committed more than $1 billion to a variety of projects in Nigeria for 2016, applauded the efforts of Dr. Kachikwu for the initiatives outlined in the aforementioned “20 Fixes.” Dr. Kachikwu urged the World Bank to offer additional support for an institutional framework “and training for the ministry and NNPC, [because] the training would provide the necessary skill sets that are required to grow Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.” With such financial support, the NNPC may be able to make the reforms necessary to clean up its act.

Time for Change

After decades of mismanagement, Nigeria’s oil industry may finally be at a turning point. Under the new direction of Dr. Kachikwu, the NNPC may be able to institute real, positive change that will make the cleanup efforts long-lasting. It is only with the moral and financial investment of the oil industry that the environment can be protected. Ogoniland will not be restored overnight, and it is of the utmost importance that the oil industry do its part to ensure it does not simply move the problem elsewhere.

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