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Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi : The Arab World’s Most Powerful Woman

22 March 2016 Comments (0) Featured, Leaders, Middle East

Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi

Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi’s more than decade-long political career began with the groundbreaking distinction of being the first woman appointed to a ministerial office in the UAE.

CEO Middle East magazine has ranked United Arab Emirates’ Minister of International Cooperation and Development (MICAD, also called the Ministry of Tolerance), Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, the most powerful Arab woman for the sixth year in a row. The first woman to hold a government ministerial position in the UAE, Sheikha Lubna’s long political career has enabled her to rise through the ranks of a male-dominated society.

A member of the ruling party, Lubna is the niece of his Highness Dr. Sheiki Sultan bin Mohammand Al Qasimi, the current ruler of the Sharajah Emirate and a member of the Supreme Council of the UAE. Before her political career took off, Sheikha Lubna studied in the United States, where she received her Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science before undertaking her MBA with the American University of Sharajah.

Becoming the Most Powerful Arab Woman: Education, Family and Positions of Power

CEO Middle East magazine creates its ranking of 100 powerful Arab women based upon the number of lives each woman has touched. With more than a decade in political office, Sheikha Lubna’s position of power has enabled her to create and inform UAE policies, impacting the lives of millions.

Her professional career includes a litany of impressive feats across business and financial sectors: in 2000, she became the CEO of Tejari, the first business-to-business e-market place in the Middle East; acted as the head of the Dubai e-Government executive team and was responsible for instituting initiatives throughout Dubai’s public sector in 2004; and Sheikha served as the Chairperson of the board of Directors of the UAE’s Securities and Commodities Authority from 2004-2008. In addition to her MBA, Sheikha Lubna has three Honorary Doctorates: Law and Economics from in science, from California State University (Chico), in Law, from the University of Exeter (United Kingdom) and in Economics, from Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (Korea). Honorary Doctorates are given in recognition of contribution to the field, and are usually awarded after an individual and provided a commencement speech or rendered another service to a university.

In 2004, Sheikha Lubna was appointed Minister of Economy, earning the distinction of the UAE’s first female minister. After a successful tenure at Minister of Economy, Sheikha Lubna became Minister of Foreign Trade in 2008. In 2013, she was appointed Minister of the Ministry for Cooperation and Development, and in March 2014 appointed as President for Zayed University (one of the UAE’s highest ranking tertiary educational institutions), as well as the Head of the UAE Committee of Humanitarian Aid just two months later.

Moving Up, As a Woman

Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi with Bill Gates

Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi with Bill Gates

Sheikha Lubna’s impressive educational, professional and political career would have likely been impossible without her family connections and high standing in Emirati society. That being said, it was due to Sheikha Lubna’s perseverance and persistence that her family allowed her to pursue her academic interests.

“I wanted to be a computer engineer and my dream was to go to the US…It took a lot of [effort] from my brothers to convince my parents to let me go, but I [went to] the UK, and I stayed with a British family. As long as I was within a family environment, it was OK by my parents and eventually I went to the US,” Sheikha Lubna said at the Global Women’s Forum Dubai earlier this year.

Lifting Women along her Journey

Not only does Sheikha Lubna use her position to create positive change for Emiratis, but she is an influential figure for women throughout the Arab world. Her story of academic and professional success is no doubt inspirational for the millions of women who have not had strong female role models.

This highlights the difficulties Emirati, and Arab, women continue to face: Sheikha Lubna is from a very well-respected family, and yet it was her brothers who had to petition her parents on her behalf. When asked why she chose to return to the UAE, where her path would be presumably more challenging than if she stayed lived in a more equitable society, she said “I came back to the UAE because I owed to it to my country and to the leaders, and not many people get such opportunities.”

Sheikha Lubna has been recognized by Forbes and the Wall Street Journal as one of the most influential women in the world, regardless of region. Her sense of duty to her nation and countrywomen is truly remarkable. It has been a challenging road to be the first female minister in the UAE, and her dedication has not gone unnoticed.

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Businessman Patrice Talon elected President of Benin

21 March 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Featured, Politics

Benin’s two-round Presidential election concluded on March 20th with the election of businessman Patrice Talon.

The West-African nation of Benin concluded a peaceful, democratic two-round election on March 20th. Outgoing President Thomas Boni Yayi handpicked his successor, Prime Minister Lionel Zinsou, to run against a former ally turned nemesis, Patrice Talon. This election is notable for several reasons: unlike other African leaders, Boni Yayi did not alter Benin’s constitution in order to remain in power past the two-term limit; Zinsou conceded defeat to Patrice Talon on March 20th after winning the March 6th first-round election, and the election was free from violent protests and uprisings.

Benin’s Landscape

A former French colony, Benin has not followed an easy path to democracy. Despite the challenges of post-colonialism (including a decade-long-stint as a Marxist state, interspersed with bouts of intense unrest and violence), Benin has managed to rise above its neighbors, proving that it is committed to free and fair elections. The fact that President Boni Yayi left power at the end of his two-term appointment is in itself remarkable: many of Benin’s neighbors have struggled to depose rulers who are desperate to cling to power past their time.

Perhaps even more impressive than President Boni Yayi’s peaceful exit is the concession by his chosen successor, Lionel Zinsou. The ruling party candidate and current Prime Minister, Lionel Zinsou faced challenges in his candidacy. Having spent the majority of his life outside of Benin, Zinsou struggled to overcome the perception that he was an outsider in his own country, and that his lack of experience on-the-ground in Benin would hinder his ability to make informed choices for the country. It seemed as though he had proved his worth as a Beninese on March 6th, when he won the first round of elections, but Talon ultimately prevailed.

The Gloves Came Off

Between the first election cycle and the second, Benin’s first-ever presidential debate took place. Talon used this opportunity to outline his vision for Benin, and to launch a litany of personal attacks against Zinsou’s lack of experience in Benin and the likelihood that Zinsou would only continue his predecessor’s policies that had “created a banana republic…[and] become the laughing stock of the world.”

Talon’s platform was centered around his rise to fame and fortune despite his small beginnings. Born in the small coastal town of Ouidah, Talon rose to become a key figure in Beninese business, even bankrolling Boni Yayi’s successful 2006 and 2011 campaigns. Talon’s fortune came through his agricultural business investments, primarily in cotton. After completing his university education in Senegal, Talon moved to France to pursue a career in international business. In 1985, he founded the Inter-Continental Distribution Company (SDI), which provides agricultural inputs like fertilizers and herbicides, to cotton farmers in Benin, Burkina Faso, Togo and other West African nations. Talon profited handsomely from the World Bank driven economic liberalization of the 1990s, winning production and manufacturing licenses for cotton ginning within the country.

A Man Made Through Cotton

It was through cotton that Talon made himself known in politics. Talon formed a relationship with the then-communist-government-owned sugar company, SAVE. Through this connection, communist politicians recognized his potential value as a business ally, and when the country moved to a multi-party state in the 1990s, Talon was able to preserve his friendships within the new government. In 2008, then-President Boni Yayi awarded Talon rights to a total of 15 out Benin’s total 18 cotton ginneries, making the cotton industry a near monopoly.

Boni Yayi

Boni Yayi

Once a close friend an ally of President Boni Yayi, Talon lost favor with the President after being accused of plotting a coup and, later, masterminding a plot to poison the President. Talon fled to France in exile before a Presidential pardon in October, when he returned to Benin, ostensibly in preparation for the election.

The Challenges Ahead

The election of President-elect Talon marks the third truly democratic election in the nation’s turbulent history. Having fought against the odds and being elected to the highest office in the country, Talon has even bigger challenges to face as President.

With his experience in the agricultural and cotton industry, it seems logical that Talon would focus on making these industries sustainable while working to diversify the economy–40% of Benin’s GDP is dependent upon cotton. Talon knows that he has a tough job ahead: he has already voiced his desire to tackle youth unemployment, reduce corruption in politics and business, and improve the health and education for the 10.6 million citizens he now represents.

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Africa 2016 Forum on Investment

17 March 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Featured, Politics

africa 2016 forum

On February 20th and 21st, the Africa 2016 Forum took place at Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt to address possibilities of investment and cooperation between African nations.

In an effort to boost international and regional trade and investment among African nations, Egypt hosted the Africa 2016 Forum in Sharm el-Sheikh over two days (February 20th-21st), the largest to have taken place in the area. Egyptian president, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is hoping to strengthen ties with the county’s southern neighbors to fortify Egypt’s own economy while supporting those of their African counterparts and further co-operations, investments and business strategies were discussed at length as well as push the balance of trade to induce a more cultivated economy.

There were 5 African leaders who participated on the panel for the conference: Teodoro Obiang, President of Equatorial Guinea, Hailemariam Desalegn, Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Ali Bongo Ondimba, President of the Gabonese Republic, Muhammadu Buhari, President of Nigeria and Omar al-Bashir President of Sudan.

There was an impressive attendance of government leaders, heads of state, business investors and promoters, as well as heads of international organizations. There were 1500 delegates in total covering a variety of key sectors including energy, ICT, financial services, trade, agribusiness, pharmaceuticals and health.

What This Means for Egypt

With such an impressive turnout, Egypt is able to act as a catalyst for the continent. They have upwards of U.S. $8 Billion invested in Africa already and trade has risen by U.S. $5 billion. Al-Sisi is of course, looking for investment opportunities for Egypt but also to protect itself from the growth going on around them.

Ethiopia is constructing a damn on the Nile River which threatens Egypt’s water security- a resource pertinent to their agricultural economy, and one that, up until now, they were permitted unlimited access. The topic was discussed but the finer details remain unforeseen.

Ambassador Hazem Fahmy, head of the Egyptian Agency of Partnership for Development stated, “We have a lot of catching up to do, this is a start.

Investment Opportunities

The conference also aims to connect the other nations; it had provided at platform for further investment opportunities for countries in the region, the rest of Africa and even internationally. President Sisi is aiming heavily for investment in education; he said “Young people are the focus of economic and legislative reforms that will accelerate investment”, and that “Crossing into the future requires taking into account the advancement of technology and paving the way for generations that have the capability to face current challenges”.

There are large projects in both the public and private sector with huge investment opportunity. The conference itself attracted investors which led to negotiations on business plans and investments throughout the conference. For example, Ahmed Heikal, founder and chairman of Qalaa Holdings discussed the possibilities of investment in the East African Rift Valley Railways and U.S. $3.7 billion refinery project in Egypt. In addition, the Tripartite Free Trade Area and the Suez Canal Hub were topics of discussion. No specific figures were released but agreements in the sectors of health, infrastructure and information technology took place.

Increased communication and co-operation

It is no surprise that the consensus of the Africa 2016 Forum was further unified and shard goals when it comes to looking ahead into Africa’s future. It was agreed that there should be vital focus on human capacity and social development. The President of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang Nguema pointed out the importance of integration between African countries, saying it is “the key point for our development”.

The policy makers need to work together with leaders and investors so they can see clearly the steps that need to be taken in order to optimize investment opportunity with current markets.

The African economy is growing and is expected to reach 5% in 2017, according to Akinwumi Ayodeji Adesina, President of the African Development Bank. Ethiopia’s growing economy is within the top 5 in the world and who’s Prime Minister stated at the conference “Today in our globalized world no country can achieve development in isolation”.

The result of the conference will hopefully not only break some of the national barriers and restrictions in Africa but also contribute to Africa’s presence within the Global Economy.

For the closing words, Hazem Fahmy, the Secretary General of the Egyptian Agency of Partnership for Development in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said “One hand alone cannot clap”, showing the importance of the co-operation of African countries.

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Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala: Economic trailblazer

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

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Nigerian economist and author Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is one of the most celebrated economists in the world today. Renowned for her accomplishments within the country and international institutions, she has impacted the micro and macro economies of Africa, employed successful reforms and won numerous awards.

Born in Ogwashi-Uku, Delta State, Nigeria, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is 61, married to Ikemba Iweala who is a medical practitioner and surgeon and together have four children, three sons and one daughter, Onyinye, Uzodinma, Ikechukwu and Uchechi.

From the hard life to Harvard

At the age of 18 she traveled to the United States to begin her education. She attended Harvard University in Boston where she studied Economics and received her undergraduate degree; she subsequently attained her PhD in Regional Economics and Development from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and has received Honorary Doctorates from Yale University, Brown University, Colby College, Northern Caribbean University, The University of Pennsylvania and Amherst College.

Her tenacity was apparent from a young age when she carried her Malaria-infected sister to a small clinic 10 kilometers away and made her way through the dense crowd to see the doctor; her sister survived and she describes the walk back as “…the shortest walk I ever had. I was so happy that my sister was alive. Today she’s 41 years old, a mother of three and she’s a physician saving other lives.”

The determination she displayed in this situation resonates in her later life as she has held a number of positions within the Nigerian Government and International Institutions. She currently lives in Abuja, Nigeria, working as a Senior Advisor for Lazar Ltd., a position she has been in since September, 2015. Okonjo-Iweala is also the Honorable Minister of Finance of Nigeria and the Coordinating Minister for the Economy, a Member of the Governing Council of Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, a Member of the Board of Governors at African Development Bank, an Advisor to the World Bank, Director of the World Resource Institute and Governor of the Islamic Development Bank. This is preceded by various positions in the World Bank, including Managing Director (2007-2011), Finance Minister and Foreign Minister of Nigeria (2003-2006). She was the first woman to hold these positions. She also ran for President of the World Bank but was defeated by Jim Yong Kim, America’s candidate.

Influence and Accomplishments for Okonjo-Iweala

Before Okonjo-Iweala made her way onto Nigeria’s political scene, the vision of a productive economic future did not look all too promising. Okonjo-Wahala was the name she earned herself after becoming Finance Minister, which means Trouble Woman. “It means, ‘I give you hell,’ she said. “But I don’t care what names they call me. I’m a fighter; I’m very focused on what I’m doing, and relentless in what I want to achieve, almost to a fault. If you get in my way you get kicked.”

Having to face issues such as extreme corruption, billion dollar debts and a GDP headed in the wrong direction, she had her work cut out for her. During her average seventeen hour work day, she fought corruption by addressing the issue of financial kickbacks, terminating the jobs of those involved, imposing jail sentences on scammers and investigating corruption within the oil industry resulting in improved transparency of the sector.

Nigeria had been experiencing a negative per capita growth for the past ten years. She came up with a solution that rearranged the budget which led to the stabilization of the economy as well as savings during upwards fluctuation of crude oil prices; these savings were used during the financial crisis to stimulate the economy.

A more adjustable exchange rate was imposed which complimented market-determined rates and from there, she shifted focus to one of the looming issues: debt. The country’s largest debt was for $30 billion form the Paris Club. In 2005 she was able to make a deal which cleared this debt; before this, Nigeria was paying $1 billion per year, with none of the money actually going toward the principal debt.

Okonjo-Iweala also pushed for the privatization of certain government sectors, such as telecoms, power and ports, the result of which was a six percent economic growth which is still maintained.

Dedication does not go unnoticed: awards and accolades

Okonjo-Iweala has been celebrated throughout her career for her contributions to the economic world. She is the author of two successful books and a member of numerous advisory groups including the Nelson Mandela Institution, ONE Campaign, the African Institutes of Science and Technology and Friends of the Global Fund Africa.

She was #48 on Forbes’ The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women in 2015, named by Time magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World, chosen as one of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders by Fortune, selected as African Finance Minister of the Year by the Financial Times/The Banker in 2005 and recognized as Global Finance Minister of the Year 2005 by Euromoney Magazine.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s career has directly aided Nigeria progressing to a leading African economy. She continues to be active in her field and is an advocate of change, growth and equality.

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The Middle East connects on social media

15 March 2016 Comments (1) Business, Featured, Middle East

Facebook and WhatsApp are the most popular social platforms. But more people in the region are using new tools for sharing photos and videos.

On the 27th day of Ramadan last year, millions of people around the world were able to see photos and videos taken by pilgrims in Mecca during a social media campaign that gave non-Muslims a rare glimpse of worshippers in the holy city.

The #Mecca_live campaign, in which 300,000 people used Snapchat and Twitter to capture or distribute images, was emblematic of the growing use of social media in the Middle East and North Africa.

Facebook and WhatsApp dominate social media in the Arab world. But there is growing use of new tools for capturing sharing photos and videos, content that can cross boundaries of cultures and language in the diverse region.

#mecca_live

Social platforms enable consumer outreach

Several studies have documented to rise in social media in the Middle East and North Africa. Information about usage is important for businesses and institutions that want to reach users at a time when digital and social media are changing practices and attitudes in the region, especially among young people.

Businesses, news organizations, and other institutions that want to understand and connect with the region’s growing market and figure out how to direct their efforts need to understand social media usage, said Damian Radcliffe, a University of Oregon journalism professor who compiled the most recent report.

While Facebook is the dominant social platform in a number of countries, WhatsApp, Instagram and Snapchat have pockets of popularity, Radcliffe writes in his fourth annual report, “Social Media in the Middle East: The Story of 2015,” Radcliffe looks at data from a variety of sources to outline social media usage in the region.

Facebook has 80 million users in region

Facebook has about 80 million users in the region, which has a total population of more than 350 million, and is adding more than one million new users a month. By comparison, the United States has 195 million Facebook users.

Egypt has the most Facebook users – 27 million – or about a third of the nation’s population.

At the same time, the United Arab Emirates has the most active Facebook user base. On average users spend an hour a day on Facebook, compared to 40 minutes globally, according to Facebook. With a population of nearly 10 million, the UAE has nearly four million Facebook users, or about 40 percent of the total population.

Other nations with large Facebook user bases are Saudi Arabia, with 12 million users, about 40 percent of the population, and Iraq, with 11 million users or about a third of the country’s residents.

Facebook widely popular

A 2015 study found that Facebook is also the most popular social platform in the Kuwait, Oman, Iraq, Palestine, Jordan and Tunisia in addition to Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

WhatsApp, a messaging service acquired by Facebook in 2014 for $19 billion, is the leading platform in Lebanon, Sudan and Algeria, the study said.

The two platforms are equally popular in Qatar, Bahrain, Yemen, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt and Libya.

Radcliffe noted that WhatsApp is being used for more than text messaging. He said it is increasingly used to discuss different interests from religion to cooking to news and is becoming a platform for e-commerce.

#mecca_live

#mecca_live

Photo-sharing popular

Instagram, a photo-sharing platform that Facebook bought in 2012 for $1 billion, has 25 million users in the Middle East and North Africa.

One marketing expert attributed Instagram’s growing popularity to the fact that visuals cross language and cultural boundaries.

“No one country behaves and speaks with the same language or dialect and they certainly don’t have the same dynamics in terms of economy, language, lifestyle, religion, and ethnicity,” Ema Linaker said.

Saudi Arabia has 10.7 million Instagram users, while there are 3.2 million in Egypt and 2.2 million in the United Arab Emirates.

Video viewing on the increase

Videos are also becoming a staple of social media.

The region is the fastest growing consumer of videos on Facebook with consumption is twice the global average.

Periscope, a live-streaming application launched last year by Twitter, is popular in Turkey. Turkey has the highest use of Periscope of any country in the world after the United States. Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir are among the top 10 cities for Periscope use.

Periscope has a strong connection to Turkey. Its inventor created the application after a he visited then country when civil unrest erupted in 2013. Unable to get a street-eye view of Istanbul protests on traditional media, he came up with the idea of creating an easy-to-use live-streaming application.

According to Google data, video viewing on YouTube is also increasing. The amount of time spent watching videos on YouTube increased by 80 percent and the region is second only to the United States in online video viewership

Twitter less popular

Twitter, meanwhile, has very mixed adoption. On the high end, more than half of all social media users in Saudi Arabia and UAE have Twitter accounts although actual daily usage is quite low in Saudi Arabia.

Jordan, Palestine, Syria and Libya have low Twitter penetration but their users are very active.

Twitter users are mostly young, with people aged 18-24 accounting to 45 percent of users in the region.

Among young, digital access change attitudes

Digital and social media are having a profound impact on young people around the globe and no less in the Arab world.

Born between 1977 and 1997, they are tech savvy and account for 40 percent of the population of the region.

Access to information and debate on digital and social platforms is propelling them away from the traditional perspectives of their elders, according to Booz & Company, a strategy consulting firm that has surveyed thousands of young people in the region.

“These young people are far more active as consumers and as critics. They are involved more directly than their parents in the media they consume and purchase, and they are more outspoken about society, economics, and politics.”

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Nine international “Top Employers” have operations in Africa, Middle East

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

top employer africa

The annual certification recognizes more than 1,000 companies globally for creating good working conditions.

The Top Employers Institute has recognized nine companies that do business in Africa and the Middle East for providing a good working environment for employees.

AbbVie, Becton Dickinson, DHL, Old Mutual, EY, G4S, JTI, Orange and Unilever were certified as top employers, according to the 2016 ratings by the Netherlands-based institute.

The Top Employers Institute evaluates companies at their request, considering companies that operate in at least five countries and have at least 2,500 employees. The institute audits human resource practices to determine whether a company is fostering a good work environment for employees.

The certified organizations have created forward-thinking human resources practices and work continuously to improve working conditions and provide employees opportunities to develop, according to the institute said.

Abbvie pharmaceuticals recognized

Abbvie operations in South Africa, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates were among those recognized as Top Employers.

Abbvie is a Chicago-based pharmaceutical company that has 15 manufacturing facilities around the world and sells products in more than 170 countries. The company employs 28,000.

The instituted cited Becton Dickinson operations in East and West Africa as well as in Zambia as top employers.

Becton Dickinson is a medical technology company whose products include laboratory instruments, medical devices and diagnostic products. It has operations in more than 40 companies.

DHL cited in 13 countries in region

The institute also certified DHL operations in Nigeria, Uganda, Ghana, Angola, Gambia, Botswana, Madagascar, Mozambique, Kenya, Ethiopia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

DHL, based in Redwood City, California, is a global delivery service and the world’s oldest international air express company. With more than 325,000 employees worldwide, DHL delivers to 70,000 locations in 220 countries.

EY, or Ernst & Young, was cited as a top employer including businesses in Kenya, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and South Africa.

The company, based in London, offers tax, audit, business risk, technology and security risk services, and human resources services worldwide. One of the Big Four accounting firms, EY has more than 200,000 employees and operates in 150 countries.

Security company G4S tapped

The institute recognized G4S operations in Botswana, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Africa, and Zambia.

G4S is a security services company headquartered in London. Active in 110 countries, G4S has 623,000 employees.

JTI, based in Geneva, was recognized as a top employer in Dubai. JTI is a tobacco manufacturer with about 25,000 employees.

Old Mutual was recognized as a top employer for operations in South Africa, Namibia, Kenya, Botswana, Swaziland, Malawi and Zimbabwe.

Old Mutual provides banking, investment, asset management and insurance in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas. The company, based in London, has about 61,000 employees. Nearly half its holdings are in South Africa, where the company was founded.

Orange business services highly rated

Among Orange outlets recognized were operations in Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Madagascar, Mali and Senegal as well as Egypt and Jordan.

Orange is a business services corporation with offices in 160 countries. Orange specializes in information technology and communications support to businesses in more than 200 countries.

Mobinil was recognized in Egypt. Mobinil, a subsidiary of Orange headquartered in Cairo, provides wireless telecommunication services in Egypt. Mobinil was rebranded as Orange in March.

More than 1,000 companies certified

Unilever was recognized for operations in Ivory Coast, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa.

The company, which produces and distributes food and household care products with brands that include Lipton, Dove and Suave, employs 172,000 people.

More than 1,000 organizations received the Top Employer rating for 2016, the institute said.

The institute also certified eight companies as Top Employer Global 2016. They are

Saint-Gobain, DHL Express, Dimension Data, JT International, Orange, TATA Consultancy Services, Technip and Valeo.

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Gulf airlines stage price war

12 March 2016 Comments (0) Business, Featured, Middle East

emirates

Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways cut regional airfares as they seek to increase their market share.

The Arab Gulf’s three major air carriers are slashing their fares as they compete for market share in the region.

With the help of low oil prices, Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways have cut fares on some Middle Eastern routes by as much as 20 percent compared to a year ago.

Qatar Airways has also sharply cut fares to Europe and India, while Etihad fares to Europe rose more than 20 percent, according to data from the travel portal Cleartrip.

Qatar cuts across the board

Qatar made cuts on fares to Europe and Indian and within the Middle East. For example, the average price of a ticket to Europe on Qatar airlines was $540 in 2016, compared to $660 a year ago, a decrease of 18 percent. The average roundtrip fare to India decreased by $50 to $300, a decline of about 15 percent. The average price of a Qatar ticket in the Middle East declined 20 percent to $290.

On Emirates, the average roundtrip ticket to destinations in the Middle East dropped by more than 17 percent to $390. Emirates’ average fare to Europe edged up slightly from $850 to $875 while fares to India dropped by $30 or nearly 9 percent to $310 in 2016.

Etihad also cut fares within the Middle East by 12 percent, from an average of $375 for a roundtrip ticket in 2015 to the current average of $330. However, Etihad’s average fares to India declined only slightly, from $385 in 2015 to $380 in 2016. Etihad fares to Europe jumped from $660 to $805, an increase of more than 21 percent.

Low oil prices fuel fare drop

The airlines are taking advantage of the slump in oil prices to improve their market share on many routes where they compete head-to-head in the region, according to Amit Taneja, Cleartrip’s chief revenue officer.

Oil fell to a record low of less than $30 a barrel in January, a fall of more than 70 percent, before rallying to its current $40 per barrel. OPEC producers hope to stabilize the price at $50 a barrel this year.

At the same time, Taneja said, higher demand for travel from the United Arab Emirates to Europe has tempered airlines’ willingness to drop prices as significantly as on Middle East routes.

India demand grows

Demand for travel from the United Arab Emirates to India, a major market for Gulf carriers, has also increased. However, competition from non-Gulf carriers has put downward pressure on fares, according to Taneja.

Emirates is the largest and oldest of the three Gulf airlines. It is based in Dubai with a fleet of 250 aircraft and in business since 1985. Qatar Airways, based in Doha with a fleet of 153 aircraft, began operations in 1994. Etihad, based in Abu Dhabi, is the newcomer, launched in 2003 with a current fleet of 121 aircraft.

The three are competing to become the dominant international hub in the Gulf region.

Qatar opened Hamad International Airport in 2014, with a capacity to handle 30 million passengers annually. Abu Dhabi International said it would open a new Midfield Terminal, which also will have the capacity to serve 30 million passengers a year, in 2017.

Competition from Turkey

But they also face a rival in Turkey, which will open a new international air hub next year. Turkish Airlines plans to spend $3.7 billion this year to grow its fleet to 261 aircraft.

The new airport in Istanbul, with investment of about $35 billion, will be able to accommodate 150 million passengers a year and has parking spots for 500 aircraft. That would give Turkey the potential to more than double the number of passengers it saw at Istanbul Ataturk Airport last year.

Ataturk Airport served more than 60 million passengers last year, while Dubai handled 78 million. Dubai expects to handle 85 million passengers this year.

Bertrand-Marc Allen, the president of Boeing International, called Turkey “a significant opportunity” with its capacity, location, population and likelihood of growth in the coming decades.

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Top Cities for Expatriates in Africa

11 March 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Featured

Every year, Mercer Consulting publishes a list ranking the quality of life for expatriate or highly-skilled immigrants based upon surveys conducted in cities around the world. Mercer conducts these surveys in order to provide employers, and employees, with a comprehensive analysis of the world’s largest cities to use when, for employers, considering sending employees abroad or, for employees, relocating. The surveys include questions on a variety of metrics including personal safety (new in 2016’s survey), political stability, banking security, quality, accessibility and cost of healthcare, standards of education and history of natural disasters, to include a few.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, cities in developing countries and regions struggled to break into the upper levels of this ranking. Considering the current global political, social and economic crises, it is no wonder that peaceful, wealthy Vienna was ranked the number one best city in which to live, followed by Zurich, Switzerland, Auckland, New Zealand, Munich, Germany and Vancouver, Canada. The Mauritian capital of Port Louis, was the highest ranking African city at 83rd out of 230 cities. Mauritius is a wealthy island off of Africa known for its pristine beaches, booming tourism industry and high standards of living.

South Africa: The Next (three) Best Things

South Africa claims the next three best-ranked African cities: Durban at 85th, Cape Town at 92nd and Johannesburg at 95th. Durban is a beautiful oceanside town and is the largest city in the South African province of Kwa-Zulu Natal. Kwa-Zulu Natal is home to some of Africa’s largest game reserves, and, in 2015, Durban was ranked Africa’s number-one best city in which to live, citing the availability of high quality housing and variety of leisure activities. Cape Town, 3rd for Africa, is perhaps best known for being the port closest to Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was held captive for 27 years during the anti-apartheid movement. Cape Town has a large tourism industry, internationally renowned medical school and university, and an abundance of outdoor activities. Johannesburg comes in at a surprising 95th: once ranked the seventh most dangerous city in the world, Johannesburg is no longer a leader in violent crime, but whether this speaks to the increasing danger of the rest of the world, or an increased rule of law, is unaddressed. While the overall standard of living has increased in South Africa, endemic poverty and widespread, systematic racism are still enormous barriers to improvement in the life of the average South African.

Victoria, the capitol of the Seychelles islands, is ranked 97th overall. A major exporter of items that are in high demand in western countries (such as coconut oil and vanilla bean), Victoria has a variety of business opportunities and is relatively safe.

The next three African cities are Tunis, Tunisia (113th), Rabat (116th) and Casablanca (126th), both in Morocco. Ironically, Tunis was the focal point of Tunisia’s Jasmine Revolution, a widespread series of protests against the low standards of living, poor economic opportunities and repressive government. Morocco boasts a large expatriate community across tourism, import/export industry and banking. Rabat and Casablanca are relatively safe, although less so for women, and provide wealthy workers with many opportunities for travel within and outside of the region.

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Bint el Sudan, a fragrance across the sands of time

10 March 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Featured

bint el sudan

A small factory on northern Nigeria continues to produce a legendary perfume despite the ravages of the jihadist group Boko Haram.

While the ravages of Boko Haram have shut down much of the industry of northern Nigeria, production of a legendary perfume continues uninterrupted at a small factory in Kano.

Bint el Sudan, known for nearly a century as the “Chanel No. 5” of Africa and once the best-selling perfume in the world, is known for its musky fragrance and oil, rather than alcohol base, which made the scent popular with Muslims.

Bint el Sudan means “Daughter of Sudan” and a girl wearing the traditional topless garb of 1920s Sudan appears on the label.

Most of the fragrance – about seven million small 12-mililiter bottles a year – is produced by a dozen workers from inside a larger, ultra-secure bunker of a factory that also manufactures pesticides, detergents and disinfectants.

Shipments across the northern Africa

About 80 percent of Bint el Sudan is produced in Kano for shipment to local markets across the region and as far away as Libya. Factories in Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Sudan, Ethiopia and Zimbabwe produce the rest of the perfume, primarily for sales in their own local markets.

That the Kano production continues is quite a feat, given the devastation Boko Haram has brought to the region. In Kano, once a great Nigerian industrial center and historically a hub of regional trade, most factories are shut down today, victims of waves of attacks by jihadists since 2012. As it is, business executives in the city have been forced to use armored cars and bodyguards for security.

Stephane Malaussene, owner of the Gongoni Company, which produces the perfume under a franchise arrangement with U.S. owner International Flavors & Fragrances, said production has actually increased from about 500,000 bottles 10 years ago. Production in Kano began in 1952.

“It’s a pride to produce and distribute this fragrance that crossed the sands and time,” Malaussene said.

Fragrance dates to 1920s Sudan

Bint el SudanBint el Sudan was created in the 1920s when, according to legend, fourteen leaders of Arab tribes approached a British traveler and adventurer, Eric Ernest Burgess, in Khartoum and asked him to create a fragrance. The perfume was developed in six months in the lab of Burgess’ employer, W.J. Bush & Co. in London.

Burgess also photographed the Sudanese girl who appears on the label, topless wearing a traditional elephant-hair red skirt and bracelets on her ankles and wrists and her dowry and purse around her neck. The girl also appeared on posters used to market the perfume throughout the region in what was the first advertising campaign for a perfume at the time.

It was sold in markets rather than stores at low prices and for a time was used as currency.

Staple for cosmetics and other uses

Widely used in courtship and circumcision rituals, Bint el Sudan became a staple of women’s cosmetics, especially after the wave of national independence and modernization that began in the 1960s.

With its mix of jasmine, lilac and lily scents, it is also used as a skin moisturizer and bath oil.

The fragrance is a top seller on the continent, particularly in western, central and northeastern Africa while women in the eastern and southern regions prefer western scents.

Boko Haram destroys local industry

The continuing production of Bint el Sudan belies the devastation of industry in Kano, Nigeria’s second largest industrial center and its largest producer of textiles, tanning, footwear, cosmetics, and ceramics.

Industrial activity was reduced by 50 percent since 2012, according to Ali Madugu Safiyanu, vice president of the Association of Industrial Nigeria. Boko Haram undermined the whole economic and agricultural ecosystem in the Kano region as well as Mali, Burkina Faso and the Central African Republic, Safiyanu said.

The region has seen bloody raids on markets, mosques and universities by Boko Haram, which is allied with the Islamic State, have left hundreds dead as well as abductions and forced marriages.

A military coalition of soldiers from Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon and Niger has driven Boko Haram into the far northeast of the country but the group continues to attack.

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Peace Hyde: Entrepreneur, broadcaster, actress

9 March 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Featured, Leaders

peace hyde

The British-born personality promotes education, entrepreneurship in Ghana and Nigeria.

As a child growing up in the United Kingdom, Peace Hyde had two dreams: One day moving to Africa, home of her Ghanaian forbearers, and launching a career in television.

Today, Hyde is living that dream in high style as an award-winning broadcaster, internationally recognized entrepreneur, West Africa correspondent for Forbes, and founder of a nonprofit that promotes education in Ghana and Nigeria.

Two years after leaving a teaching career in England to move to Ghana, Hyde, 30, was recently named African Broadcaster of the year at the Nigerian Broadcasters Merit Awards 2016.

Awards for leadership, influence

Hyde also was one of five people in media and entertainment named to a prestigious list of 50 most influential young Ghanaians in 2015 and was recognized as a Young Chief Executive Officer leader by the young CEO Business Forum in London for her work with Aim Higher Africa, a nonprofit she founded to promote education in Ghana and Nigeria.

She is also currently nominated for International Business Woman of the Year at the Women 4 Africa awards in London in May.

As a teacher in England for seven years before relocating to Africa, Hyde learned two important lessons: the importance of education to motivate and empower young people and the ability to multi-task, which has served her well in her many roles.

Education is a critical tool in the fight to empower communities and lift them out of poverty, she said.

Encounters with young people who carried goods back and forth at the markets of Accra convinced her that education was their way out. Seeing young girls who had no future but laboring at the marketplace, she said she “felt a deep sense of injustice. Something needed to be done for these girls.”

Without funding initially, she began to teach the children at the marketplace. Later, she found support to start Aim Higher Africa, a nonprofit that focuses on education and entrepreneurship.

Project creates digital classrooms

Initially, working in Ghana, Aim Higher Africa focused on improving standards at rural schools, including providing teachers with guidelines on discipline, testing, evaluating and grading.

As the program has grown and expanded to also work in Nigeria, where Hyde is currently based, she said it has become more strategically focused on bringing digital education to rural classrooms.

Currently, the organization is working with 30 schools in Ghana and Nigeria, Hyde said.

Promoting African entrepreneurship

She wants to help build a generation of young African entrepreneurs to help improve employment opportunities on the continent.

She said discussions traditionally have focused on job creation. But her philosophy with Aim Higher Africa is that empowering the next generation entrepreneurs and leaders who can create new industries “the only way you can create sustainable and scalable opportunities.”

Aim Higher Africa organizes Ignite events where entrepreneurs share their expertise and encouragement with young people.

She also hopes to tell success stories in her role as a television host and Forbes West Africa correspondent. As more stories of successful entrepreneurs are told, the environment and opportunities for the next wave of entrepreneurship will improve.

She sees “a new Africa where we are proudly exporting our heritage to the world,” she said. “I believe it is time to highlight the move towards digital platforms and technological advances that were not present (in Africa) a couple of years ago.”

Started with a teaching career

Born to Ghanaian parents in the United Kingdom, she was raised in England and received a degree in psychology from Middlesex University. She went on to receive a master’s degree in journalism and communications as well as a teaching qualification.

Once she completed her studies, she taught in middle and high school for seven years.

She said her experience as a teacher gave her a lot of practice in multitasking, which has paid off as she juggles roles that include broadcasting, running a nonprofit and even some acting.

Her current broadcast projects include hosting a popular celebrity talk show, The EFGH Show (Entertainers from Ghana) and hosting Friday Night Live, a lifestyles show. She has occasional roles in television programs, including a role as a Yoruba mother on the MTV program “Shuga.”

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