Connecting Africa’s Skilled Professionals
ReConnect Africa is a unique website and online magazine for the African professional in the Diaspora. Packed with
essential information about careers, business and jobs, ReConnect Africa keeps you connected to the best of Africa.
A new venture to provide culturally inspired solutions to daily challenges faced by Africans has been launched. Iya Eko (www.iyaeko.com) is a platform that allows users to be inspired by evolving cultural fashion trends and styles. Users also discover, share and collect cultural fashion images by everyday people. Recently launched, it has served over 15,000 pages with over 2,500 unique visitors and more than 20,000 images on the website. Founded by Adetola Oredope, who has a PhD from Essex University, the platform now plans to extend its reach to support experiences from other cultures, with the intention of creating an avenue for culturally inspired products and services to be showcased and traded globally.
The Office of International Migration (IOM) is working with the Nigerian Government to undertake a mapping of Nigerian professionals working in the Health and Education sectors in the UK and Equinox Consulting, has been commissioned to carry out this work. A survey is now taking place which is intended to collect information about the professional lives of Nigerians in the Diaspora, the areas in which they work and their views on the factors that would motivate them to contribute to and participate in the development effort in Nigeria in the health and education sectors. Anyone interested in participating should go to: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/nigerianmatters to complete the questionnaire. For further information, e-mail at survey@equinoxconsulting.net
The majority of employers (60 per cent) think the UK is facing a skills shortage, with a third of them looking to recruit foreign talent to boost their workforce, a study by City & Guilds has revealed. Of the 1,000 employers questioned for the study, more than half said that Britain’s education system does not meet the needs of business. And three-fifths believed that employment expectations among young people are too high or that they do not understand what employers are looking for. In addition, more than half of employers would like to be more involved in developing qualifications to build a stronger link between education and business needs. Employers in IT, digital and information services (74 per cent) and engineering and manufacturing (72 per cent) were most likely to identify skills shortage in their sectors. Respondents said that core skills such as numeracy, literacy and communication are more valued in a potential candidate than academic qualifications, with the majority of employers (55 per cent) saying they would hire someone without a degree.
England ’s 16-24 year olds have some of the worst literacy and numeracy skills in the world according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Out of 24 countries globally, England’s young people rank 22nd for literacy and 21st for numeracy. When compared to 55-65 year olds, the younger generation of most other countries outperformed their older rivals. However, English young people performed no better than their English elders.The highest performing young people for literacy and numeracy were Japan, Finland and The Netherlands.
Creative England is seeking to identify writers, directors and artists with filmmaking potential in order to provide funding and development support for projects and individuals to develop their first feature or short film. Writers, directors and writer/directors who have some professional experience, and whose work has already garnered positive industry and/or public attention but who have yet to make a feature film are apply to apply for support. Eligible costs that may be contributed towards the development of a live action, fiction feature film project may include: option costs; research; writers' fees; script editing; producers' fees/overhead; directors' services; legal; budget/schedule; casting; recce; pilots; and other costs as agreed. Support cannot be provided for costs already incurred before any grant is awarded, and single project development awards will generally not exceed £30,000. Funding and support is available for two types of projects: the development of live action, fiction feature film projects of all genres, and the production of mid- and higher-budget short films which have been developed to first draft or beyond; have a duration of 10-30 minutes; are achievable within a budget range of £10,000 - £50,000; and are a creatively and professionally purposeful calling card for a first feature. Support is available to 'emerging' filmmakers, which in this context means writer, directors and writer/directors who have already acquired some professional experience or have garnered positive industry and/or public attention for their work. There is no deadline; therefore applications can be made at any time.
Charities and social enterprises throughout the UK can register now for a new interactive online skills platform. Skills-Third Sector has created the first interactive online skills platform to help charities and social enterprises find training to develop their workforce. The Skills Platform will be the first comparison site for the charitable sector. Organisations will be able to access sourcing skills, compare offers and work together to find relevant, well priced and local training. Trainers, consultants, employers and practitioners will be able to help each other out through a new concept of ‘Shout Outs’ to request a meet-up, collaborate with other users to share costs, write invitations to tender or call for help with a task. The site launched on 2 December when people and organisations looking for skills were able to find solutions, make bookings and payments. The site is free to users seeking support. Skills-Third Sector is leading the £1 million initiative and supported by co-investment from UKCES Growth and Innovation Fund. To register for the Skills Platform, please click here
The number of women in top level management positions in the City has doubled according to new research. Astbury Marsden, a financial services recruitment firm, shows that 12% of Managing Directors are now women - up from six per cent in the previous year. The number of female Directors/Vice Presidents has also risen, from 14% in 2012 to 19%. However, although there has been a substantial increase in women taking up senior roles in investment banks, fund managers and insurers, the majority of those roles are non-client facing, non-fee earning roles. This includes HR. According to the research, women represent 60% of HR professionals employed in the City. However, only 19% of Corporate Brokers/Stockbrokers are female. Astbury Marsden says its research demonstrates the fact that a higher proportion of women working in the City are now breaking through the glass-ceiling and reaching senior management positions. Nevertheless, they say, there is also the question as to why the women have a much lower overall representation in some of the higher paid areas of financial services such as positions in corporate broking and stockbroking or positions in private equity.
More employees are searching for a new role at the same time as fewer organisations are implementing a recruitment freeze, according to new research form the CIPD. After “years of labour market stagnation”, talent was once again on the move with job seeking intentions at their highest since spring 2011, according to the CIPD/Halogen Employee Outlook report. The survey of 3,000 employees revealed that 24 per cent of workers in the private and voluntary sectors, and 23 per cent in the public sector, were looking for a new job. Just 24 per cent of employees reported that their organisation currently had a freeze on recruitment, down from 28 per cent in spring 2013 and 29 per cent in winter 2012. The research also found that the intention to look for alternative employment increased with job dissatisfaction – 62 per cent of dissatisfied staff were looking for a new role, compared with 10 per cent who were satisfied. The same was true of disengagement (71 per cent compared with 9 per cent who were engaged), and those under daily pressure at work (45 per cent compared with 19 per cent who never felt under excessive pressure). Three in five survey respondents also said that an opportunity to progress within their role was important to them, but one in four had never had a performance review at work. Overall, the research showed that net levels of job satisfaction autumn remained similar to spring 2013 (+40 compared to +41), but were down on previous quarters (+44 in winter 2012/13 and +47 in spring 2012). Employees in the voluntary sector remained the most satisfied with their jobs (+54), while satisfaction levels in the private sector continued to decline steadily to reach +39 (compared to +44 in spring 2013 and +48 in winter 2012/13). The research also featured the latest Employee Outlook Engagement Index, which revealed that the proportion of engaged employees in the UK this quarter remained broadly flat at 36 per cent. Some 4 per cent of employees were disengaged and 60 per cent were neutral.
Recruitment of women engineers in the UK is the worst Europe, according to a report. The figures, released in a review carried out for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills by Professor John Perkins - its Chief Scientific Adviser, further reveal that half the country’s mixed sex state schools do not have a single girl studying physics at A-level. According to Business Secretary Vince Cable, the UK is chronically short of people and Britain is the worst country in Europe in terms of female recruitment into engineering; half of all state schools don’t have a single girl studying physics A-level. In addition, the report shows that just eight per cent of engineering professionals in the UK are women compared to 30% in Latvia which has the best record. The report questions whether the thousands of pounds spent in efforts to promote equality in subject choice have been wasted. It also shows that parents are to blame for putting girls off a career in engineering, with 9% less likely to recommend it.
London has been named the Talent Capital of the world by Deloitte. The award comes after 22 high-value sectors such as Banking and Telecoms were surveyed. The results showed that London lead in the number of people employed in high-skill sectors with 1.5 million. In comparison, New York came in with 1.2 million, Los Angeles with 784,000, and Hong Kong with 630,000. Deloitte’s research investigated official employment data in each city and found that London was the city with the most people employed in high-skill sectors. From this new research, Deloitte expects minimum net growth of 300,000 jobs in London by the year 2020 with at least a third of these within high-skill sectors.
UK Ministers will introduce a new faster visa service for global business leaders coming in to the country. Theresa May, the UK Home Secretary, will announce the new “bespoke” service for top talent in an aim to dispel concerns about tighter immigration rules. Around 100 global business leaders will initially be invited to join the new “Great Club” and will get a personal account manager at the UK Visas & Immigration Service to deal with their travel plans. The new scheme will operate as a 12-month pilot, starting in the New Year. Who will qualify for the club is yet to be announced, but are said to be individuals that will make a significant contribution to the economy.
Comic Relief's Generating Ideas strand of its International Grants Programme is now open to applications. Generating Ideas grants are available to UK registered small and diaspora-led organisations working in sub-Saharan Africa. These are organisations with an income of less than £1 million and those where the majority of the trustees define themselves as being of African heritage and retain emotional and cultural links with the continent. Generating ideas grants are usually for no more than six months and, in most cases, have a maximum value of £10,000. Grants are available for planning, consultation, putting together ideas or testing something on a small, pilot basis. Comic Relief has identified seven goals that it believes are crucial to creating a world free from poverty. Applicants can select up to three for each application submitted. Funding is available for work that will contribute to the following outcomes: Better Futures - enabling some of the world’s poorest people to gain access to vital services such as health and education; Healthier finances - tackling financial poverty and enabling economic resilience in families and communities, as well as supporting enterprise and employment.; Safer lives - reducing violence, abuse and exploitation; Stronger communities - empowering people, organisations and networks to play an effective role in their communities and society, as well as nurturing talent and leadership; Fairer society - helping people overcome inequality and have a say in decisions that affect their lives, whoever and wherever they are. Proposals for Generating Ideas are now being accepted with a deadline of 8 January 2014 (noon). Further information is available from the Comic Relief website.
The UK is ranked among the best places to live and work, according to new figures collected by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Higher ratings on environmental quality, personal security, jobs and earnings and housing have placed the UK ahead of countries such as Japan, Germany and France in the OECD study, which aimed to measure wellbeing in 34 industrialised countries. Analysis by the Paris-based think tank reveals that the UK ranked second in environmental quality, with 97% of UK citizens satisfied with the quality of their water - 13% more than the OECD average. The UK ranks sixth on jobs and earnings and seventh on income and wealth, with above the OECD average on employment and below the average working hours. However, a considerable gap between the richest and poorest has grown in the wake of the 2007 recession – the top 20% of the population earn nearly six times as much as the bottom 20%. About 12% of employees work very long hours, more than the OECD average of 9%, with the UK rating 21st on work-life balance. Looking at gender gaps in OECD countries, the research found British women were still 11% less likely than men to have a paid job, and more likely to spend many hours on household tasks. 78% of men were found to have successfully completed high-school level education, compared with 72% of women. However, 18% of men work very long hours, in contrast to just 6% for women. Despite this, people in the UK are more satisfied with their lives than the OECD average. 85% of Brits said that they have more positive experiences in an average day than negative ones.
The Scottish Government is encouraging BME communities to get involved with the Year of Homecoming 2014. Homecoming Scotland 2014 aims to capitalise on the opportunities presented by both the Commonwealth Games and Ryder Cup taking place in Scotland by presenting a year-long, co-ordinated programme of events designed to welcome visitors around the world in a celebration of some of Scotland’s greatest assets in food and drink; natural beauty and rich cultural heritage. The Scottish Government has announced that almost £40,000 will be provided to BEMIS (Black and Ethnic Minority Infrastructure Scotland) to help the organisation run a number of inclusive events during the Year of Homecoming, including free film screenings and a national showcase of Scotland’s cultural diversity in areas including music, poetry, photography and art. According to Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop, ethnic minorities have a vital part to play in the fabric of Scottish society and, working with partners like BEMIS, the Scottish Football Association and Glasgow University, ethnic communities across the country will be invited to celebrate what Homecoming means for them. Homecoming Scotland 2014 provides a unique platform for celebrating this and reflecting the diverse cultural heritage of Scotland. Further information is available at the Scottish Government website.
Immigrant workers are key to maintaining Europe’s workforce as the European Union is set to lose a sixth of its young workers by 2025, according to a think tank report. Research from the European University Institute found that young working populations in Italy and Spain have decreased by 30 per cent as a result of people living longer and having fewer children. If the continued influx of immigrant workers to the EU was blocked, the number of employees under the age of 45 could fall to 109.8 million in 2025, down from 131.2 million in 2010, researchers said. The report said: “Clearly the implications of an ageing workforce will have sweeping effects across many of the EU27 countries. Spain, Greece and Italy are very prescient examples of countries that require significant policies to cope with such changes.” The report’s authors identified greater female economic participation as one solution, however, this alone will not be sufficient to stop the decline. Increasing occupational mobility in countries that are experiencing imbalances by occupation could be another answer but such structural changes may take some time to implement and would not provide the number of additional workers needed to maintain employment at its 2010 level in the EU and EU27 below 45 years of age, it said. The report concluded: “Complementary immigration is another option. Based on these research findings, it is clear that migration that directly complements the requirements of EU member states will become central to fulfilling the demands of their respective job markets.” Warnings that the numbers of young workers across Europe are falling come as the UK prepares to relax immigration rules on Romanians and Bulgarians who want to find jobs in the country. From January 1st 2014, labour market restrictions will be lifted prompting some commentators to warn of mass migration from these two countries.
A refreshed war for talent is set to hit mid-market employers as the dearth of skilled workers becomes more prominent as economies recover, a survey has found. The Sage Business Index, which surveyed nearly 2,000 medium-sized businesses in 17 countries, said that as confidence rises employers will look to key hires and star employees to drive and sustain growth. However, the survey found that more than a third of medium–sized firms said governments should be doing more to improve skills development and education to boost business confidence (39 per cent across all markets). In addition to concerns about skills, the survey also showed that recruitment and retention is expected to be the biggest challenges for these businesses in Europe over the next 12 months. This was a particular concern for companies in Germany (20 per cent), Poland (17 per cent ) and Austria (17 per cent ). The figure in the UK was 12 per cent , suggesting British firms are focusing on developing new business and expanding into new markets as the UK economy leads the charge in the global recovery. The lack of a skilled people to recruit from was seen as the biggest challenge for 12 per cent of employers across all markets. Mid-market business leaders in Germany were the most concerned about recruitment with 29 per cent citing the lack of a skilled workforce to recruit from as their biggest challenge. However, in the UK this was lower down the list of challenges with just 8 per cent stating this was an issue.
CMT’s inaugural Africa LPG trade Summit will be held on 8 – 9 April 2014 in Accra, Ghana. This summit will facilitate discussion and partnerships to promote regional and international trade of LPG, overcome hurdles in infrastructure and safety standards in LPG distribution and usage. The key highlights will include the following: Outlook of the Africa LPG Production (Angola, Nigeria, Algeria, etc) , Opportunities to Meet Rising LPG Demand Growth in Africa, Evolving Consumption Patterns & Pricing Trends, Case Studies of Successful Implementation of Import Facilities & Distribution in South Africa and Asia, Investment Requirement for LPG Distribution & Infrastructure (Transportation & Storage, etc) in Africa, Current LPG Application in Africa: Residential, Autogas, etc. For more details: www.cmtevents.com/main.aspx?ev=140408&pu=252425
Rwanda’s new parliament has the highest female representation of any country in the world. In its September elections women took 51 of 80 seats in parliament - and at 64 percent, the country has the highest female representation of any nation on earth. Women MPs make up only 22.5 percent of the UK’s House of Commons, and 17.8 percent of the US’s Congress, while Australia’s new cabinet consists of only one woman. Rwanda’s 2003 constitution, heavily engineered by Paul Kagame, focused on issues of social equality and discrimination and mandated that 30 percent of all decision-making positions must be held by women. In 2012, a poll by Gallup showed that Rwanda is now considered the safest place for females to live in Africa by its residents. In 2012, Senegal achieved the highest gains in female parliamentary representation globally, with the number of women MPs reaching 42.7 percent - a 24.7 percent gain on the previous legislature - after it enforced quota laws. Of the 36 global lower houses of parliament that have reached the 30 percent threshold considered necessary for women to have an impact on decision-making, 11 are African. Like Rwanda, a number of those - including Zimbabwe, Angola and Mozambique - are post-conflict nations. However, the Democratic Republic of Congo still lies towards the bottom of the list for female parliamentary representation, while Nigeria - one of the continent’s most advanced economies, and a hub for west Africa - does even worse, with only 6.7 percent female MPs, and tThe parliament of Botswana, which is regularly ranked as Africa’s best governed nation, is made up of less than 8 percent women. There is much they could be learning from their tiny landlocked neighbour.
The African Development Bank Group has approved a €15-million general budget support loan for Cape Verde, to help the country finance its Public Corporate Governance and Investment Promotion Support Programme (PAGEPPI). The Programme aims to help Cape Verde to consolidate its macroeconomic framework and foster growth by improving public corporate governance in State-owned enterprises and promoting private investment. The PAGEPPI’s operational objectives are to improve public corporate governance so as to streamline public expenditure and promote private investment to spur economic growth and foster job creation. The PAGEPPI will tackle challenges posed by fiscal deficit, which is a source of public indebtedness, by improving the management of State equity participation in State-owned enterprises and streamlining the public investment portfolio. It will also make the private sector the growth driver through innovative, investor-friendly and PPP-based mechanisms targeting foreign investors and local MSME project developers. On completion, the Programme is expected to strengthen public corporate governance and improve the operational and financial performance of State-owned enterprises. The Programme will enhance Cape Verde’s overall development strategy which rests on economic diversification based on competitive clusters. In particular, it will support governance and private sector development reforms that constitute two main pillars of the government’s Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (GPRSP) 2012-2016. The Programme will benefit the entire population in terms of better public corporate governance which will have a positive impact on the quality of public services, especially water and electricity. It will help contain the tax burden by fostering resource mobilization through the reduction of State-owned enterprises’ losses and streamlining of public investment. It will foster higher private sector contribution to GDP growth by improving the business climate and promoting investment.
Global business confidence is returning, encouraging a fresh attitude to risk-taking according to research published today by Sage.Throughits annual Business Index, Sage surveyed over 11,000 small and medium sized businesses in 17 countries across the world and found thatbusinesses are now more confident than they have been for three years. All global scores recorded this year were at their highest since the Business Index began in February 2011, suggesting that business confidence is recovering rapidly following the worst of the global economic crisis. South African businesses are increasingly optimistic about their own prospects, rising 1.61 points to 65.80 points out of a 100. However, businesses are increasingly pessimistic about their country’s economy. Confidence in the South African economy has fallen 3.11 points from 43.03 in 2012 to 39.92 in 2013. In contrast confidence in the global economy is on the up, rising 2 points to 46.77 since 2012. Business decision-makers identified risk-taking as key to growth. Nearly half (48%) of South African business leaders surveyed described themselves as risk takers, with 80% saying they needed to take risks in order to succeed. While only 32% of South African business decision-makers described themselves as risk averse. According to 23% of South African businesses, the biggest challenge to doing business in the country is the preponderance of bureaucracy and business legislation. Furthermore, 15% name the government’s handling of current economic challenges as an obstacle – more than any other country except Ireland. 48% argue that skills development and education are the most important issues the government should address in order to boost confidence, followed by bringing stability to exchange rates (47%) and reducing bureaucracy and business legislation (42%). Most South African businesses feel that banks and the Government are behind the curve and are failing to make the most of opportunities for businesses. More thanthree-fifths (63%) of businesses agree that banks aren’t doing enough to make funding available to small businesses and nearly half (48%) think the Government should put more pressure on banks to lend. Just over half (53%) of South African businesses agree that they need to look at alternative funding sources. As part of the Sage Business Index 2013, Sage interviewed 11,734 decision-makers from small and medium sized businesses in 17 countries, between 31 July and 28 August 2013.
Gibela Transport, a joint venture 61% owned by French company Alstom, has signed a contract worth US$5.1-billion (R51-billion) to supply 600 passenger trains, comprising 3 600 coaches, to the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa). The contract was signed in Johannesburg by Prasa Group CEO Lucky Montana, Alstom CEO Patrick Kron and Alstom Transport president Henri Poupart-Lafarge in the presence of South African President Jacob Zuma and visiting French President Francois Hollande. This project is one of the biggest in rail transport worldwide and is the largest contract ever signed in Alstom's history, the company said in a statement. In 2010, the South African government embarked on an ambitious fleet renewal programme aimed at revitalising the country's rail industry. The programme will see the ageing fleet of suburban trains currently in service in Pretoria, Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban being replaced with 1 200 electric trains over a period of 20 years. Gibela's 10-year contract represents the first phase of a 20-year programme in which Prasa will procure approximately 7 224 new rolling stock with a projected investment of R123-billion. The contract includes the construction of a local manufacturing facility. Gibela will build a manufacturing site in Ekurhuleni, east of Johannesburg, to produce the trains in South Africa. Construction is scheduled to start in early 2014, with the factory due to come on-stream in 2015. The manufacturing facility will also house an engineering centre and a training facility, enabling Gibela to provide technical support and supply spare parts for the coaches over an 18-year period. According to Prasa, the project will create over 1 500 direct jobs in the local factory and 33,000 indirect jobs over the first 10 years, achieving a local-content level of over 65%.
German car maker Mercedez-Benz has announced its intention to expand its production in South Africa, while Ford Motor Company reaffirmed the US vehicle maker's commitment to the country. Both developments are aimed at restoring confidence to the local industry following a series of lengthy strikes. In an interview with news agency Bloomberg, Mercedez-Benz South Africa CEO Martin Zimmermann said the company would push ahead with its plan to invest US$302-million (R3-billion) in expanding its production at its manufacturing plant in East London. Zimmerman told Bloomberg that the company would introduce new technology and a third shift in order to boost production from the current 60 000 units to 100,000 units a year. The plant produces the Mercedes-Benz W204 C-Class for both the local and US markets, and is currently preparing for the introduction of the next-generation C-Class in 2014. The East London plant will be one of just four in the world to manufacture the popular luxury sedan.
The African Development Bank Group has approved a grant for an assessment study of a water supply and sanitation program for 11 small and medium-sized towns in South Sudan. The USD 5.4 million grant, extended from the Fragile States Facility, will benefit some 170,000 people living in those 11 towns. The low levels of access to safe and potable water and adequate sanitation coupled with poor hygiene awareness has been the principal cause of water-related diseases such as diarrhea, cholera and guinea worm in the country. Despite the availability of surface and ground water resources in South Sudan, two out of three people in the country do not have access to safe and potable water services whereas eight out of 10 people do not have access to adequate sanitation. The grant will finance the feasibility study and detailed designs for water supply and sanitation infrastructure facilities in the identified towns. In order to address the sustainability of the planned infrastructure and operations, a framework for capacity building of sector institutions within the study area will be developed. Based on an integrated approach, the study will address the challenges to sustainable provision of water supply and sanitation services in a holistic manner. The study will cover aspects of water resources management, knowledge management and capacity building among local institutions as well as facilities for monitoring and evaluation. The study is anticipated to be concluded in September 2015 and the knowledge generated will enrich the AfDB’s continued learning process, and its support to African countries, especially in fragile states.The study outcome will be ready to finance and implement project documents for the identified priority 11 towns in South Sudan. This will provide opportunities for the government to access investment funding for water and sanitation infrastructure development, for which the AfDB will be ready to provide the support.
South Africa will invest over R50-billion in passenger rail infrastructure and services over the next few years, President Jacob Zuma said at the launch of the Bridge City Rail Link project in KwaMashu outside Durban. This follows the government's investment of over R40-billion in the sector over the past four years, Zuma said. The R1.3-billion Bridge City station, which includes a bus and taxi interchange, is the largest rail infrastructure development project in the Durban area. Situated 17 kilometres from the Durban city centre, the Bridge City station links the communities of Phoenix, Inanda, Ntuzuma and KwaMashu directly to the urban transport system. The development is expected to boost economic growth in these communities as it improves their opportunities to work, travel, shop and do business. It will also serve as a social and commercial centre for an area housing a population of over 800 000 people, who at present have generally poor access to facilities and social services. South Africa's urban commuter rail service, Metrorail, ferries about 30 000 people a day and about 256-million passengers a year. The Bridge City project forms part of a massive state-led infrastructure programme that is being coordinated by the Presidential Infrastructure Coordinating Commission.
De Beers, the world's second-biggest diamond producer, has begun construction of a new underground mine beneath its open pit Venetia Mine in Limpopo province, South Africa. The Anglo-American owned miner said the US$2-billion investment would extend the life of the mine beyond 2040 while replacing the open pit as South Africa's largest diamond mine. The new mine is expected to start underground production in 2021, De Beers said, and to treat in the region of 130-million tonnes of ore containing an estimated 96-million carats of diamonds over its life span, in the process creating over 8,000 jobs directly and a further 5,000 jobs through the supply chain. According to President Jacob Zuma, the De Beers' investment is the biggest single investment in the diamond industry in decades and signals that the country’s mining sector is poised for growth.
The African Development Bank has approved a US$ 20 million equity investment in ARM-Harith Infrastructure Fund (ARMHIF), a new infrastructure private equity fund based in Nigeria with a targeted fund size of USD 250 million. The lack of efficient infrastructure is a major obstacle to doing business in West Africa. Better infrastructure in the region would create an enabling environment for economic growth by competitiveness of local production, promoting foreign direct investments and facilitating trade. The level of investment required for infrastructure development is far in excess of public and donor resources. The AfDB support to ARMHIF will catalyze further resources necessary to develop infrastructure projects. ARMHIF has been set up to invest, through equity, in infrastructure projects and companies across West Africa, with a focus on Nigeria. The Fund will invest in assets across a range infrastructure sectors including energy, transport, ICT, water and utilities. ARMHIF is sponsored by Asset and Resource Management Company Ltd (ARM), a leading Nigerian non-bank financial services company established in 1994 and currently managing over US$ 2.7 billion of assets. ARM has formed a partnership with Harith General Partners (Harith), an experienced infrastructure investment manager on the continent, to manage the Fund. Harith already manage the US$ 630 million Pan African Infrastructure Development Fund (PAIDF).
At African Business Awards, an awards ceremony organised by African Business magazine, Brand Africa awarded MTN and Coca Cola the prize for the best brands in Africa, based on its survey. Africa's most valuable brands are dominated by South African brands, MTN, and three retailers: Woolworths, Shoprite and Pick n Pay. The Nigerian Globacom comes in at number five with two drinks companies taking the next two spots, Castle beer and Tusker. The survey was conducted in two parts – one studies the most admired brands on the continent and the other looks at the most valuable brands operating in Africa. Brands originating in Africa are not only holding their own against international household names, but in some instances outperforming international brands. While brands such as Nike and MTN rule the roost, the high placing of expensive brands such as Rolex reflects the growing trend in Africa towards the high-end of the luxury market. The rankings published by African Business have major implications as they demonstrate why some brands are regarded more highly than others by consumers and provide insights into the current state of the consumer market in Africa.
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved an additional US $10 million equity investment in Atlantic Coast Regional Fund (ACRF), a 10-year US$ 72 million generalist private equity fund whose area of focus includes fragile states and low income countries in Western and Central Africa. Through this targeting of growth and expansion oriented opportunities in the region; supporting indigenous entrepreneurs and converting promising local enterprises into regional players, ACRF is contributing to the development of the region’s Private Sector. AfDB’s financial contribution will therefore enable ACRF to scale up its operations and thus its contribution to poverty reduction, economic growth, capital markets development and regional integration. ACRF is managed by the Advanced Finance & Investment Group (“AFIG Funds”), a Mauritius-registered limited liability company headquartered in Dakar with offices. AFIG’s investment team has over 40 years of combined experience in Africa. With this additional investment, AfDB is participating in the recapitalization of ACRF, and supplementing its earlier investment of US $15 million in 2007.
The African Guarantee Fund for Small and Medium sized Enterprises (AGF) has signed a protocol agreement worth USD 100 million with the GICAM and a consortium of banks (SGBC, BICEC, Afriland First Bank, Ecobank, BGFI) to set up a pilot project for financing and support Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SME) in Cameroon. The inaccessibility of finance is a major obstacle to small business growth and development, with only 20% of African SMEs receiving a credit line from a financial institution. The facilities received under this project will allow Cameroonian SMEs to position themselves competitively on the market of the Central African region and Nigeria. This comes just weeks after AGF signed a USD 50 million guarantee facility agreement with Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (“Ecobank”), the leading pan-African banking group. AGF is a Pan-African non-bank financial institution owned by the African Development Bank (AfDB), Danish International Development Agency (Danida) and Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (aecid). AGF was officially launched on 1st June 2012. AGF’s primary mandate is to assist financial institutions (banks, private equity funds, lease finance houses and development finance institutions) in Africa to scale up their SME financing through the provision of partial loan guarantees and SME financing Capacity Development Assistance. Widely referred to as the Missing Link to the scaling up of African SME financing, AGF assists financial institutions with the following products; Equity Financing Guarantees; Loan Guarantees (both Portfolio and individual loan guarantees); Resource Mobilization Guarantees; Counter-Guarantees; and SME Financing Capacity Development Assistance.
African Development Bank President, Donald Kaberuka, has been named African of the Year in recognition of his role in spearheading the Africa50 Fund to mobilize the financing of infrastructure projecs on the continent. The $50 000 award was announced in Addis Ababa during the African Media Leaders Forum. The Africa50 Fund seeks to leverage infrastructure financing for transformational development projects from African central bank reserves, pension and sovereign wealth funds; the African diaspora; and high net worth individuals on the continent. The Fund was endorsed in May 2013 by African Finance Ministers during the Bank’s Annual Meetings in Marrakech, where Kaberuka underscored the critical role of infrastructure in Africa’s development. In July, African institutions including the African Union Commission, UN Economic Commission for Africa, Regional Economic Communities (RECs), regional Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) and NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency endorsed the Africa50 Fund as the continent’s vehicle for facilitating large-scale mobilization of resources to unlock international private financing with a view to addressing Africa’s $45 billion infrastructure gap, according to some estimates. The African Development Bank will play a lead role in the Fund, said Kaberuka, and it will be a vehicle which can build on the AfDB track record and financial strength as investor, financial engineer, attract local and international pools of savings, utilize smart aid and leverage that to up the bank’s funding of infrastructure. The award will be presented at a ceremony in January in Abuja.
The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) (http://www.afdb.org) and Namibia have signed a ZAR 2.9 billion (US $338 million) sovereign guaranteed loan to Nambia Ports Authority (Namport) to finance the construction of a container terminal at Walvis Bay New Port. In line with its Ten Year Strategy and focus on infrastructure development and regional integration, the AfDB Group approved the construction of the New Port of Walvis Bay Container Terminal Project in July 2013. The Bank also provided a UA 1.5 million grant (US $2.3 million) to the Government of Namibia for logistics and capacity building complementing the port project loan. The project will enhance international and inter-regional trade and regional integration and Namibia will be able to fully exploit its unique geographical location to facilitate trade to and from the region. The Project is expected to enable Namport to triple the container-handling capacity at the Port of Walvis Bay from 350,000 TEUs to 1,050,000 TEUs per annum. It will also finance the purchase of up-to-date port equipment and the training of pilots and operators for the new terminal. The grant component will fund the preparation of the National Logistics Master Plan study, technical support and capacity-building for the Walvis Bay Corridor Group and training of freight forwarders with particular emphasis on female staff. he projected project outcomes include improvement in port efficiency and increase in cargo volumes by 70% in 2020 as a result of increased trade in the region. The benefits of the project will include among others, the stimulation of inter-regional trade and regional integration, private sector development, skills transfer and most importantly employment creation, leading to significant economic development and poverty reduction in Namibia, and the SADC region.
DHL, the world’s leading logistics company, has announced an investment in both a facility and air infrastructure in West Africa, to meet the demand for express and freight services in the region. The recent investment includes the launch of a new airside facility in Dakar, Senegal, and the addition of 3 aircraft – a Boeing 757 and two ATR72s. The express operator, which already boasts a large hub and gateway in Lagos, Nigeria, opened the facility in early November, to handle transit volumes. The facility will enable the handling of material destined for Senegal and transit material through Dakar to help with the improvement of the service quality delivered to a market with ever increasing activity, consistently under time pressure. The two ATR 72’s, each with a capacity of 7 tonnes, will connect countries including Senegal, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Cote d’Ivoire, Mali and Mauritania. These aircraft are ideal since they have large cargo doors and provide a fully palletized loading capability, making them more efficient for handling.
With African Development Bank backing, Liberia has garnered support for a far-reaching renewable energy investment plan with $50 million from the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) Program to Scale up Renewable Energy in Low Income Countries (SREP). Liberia will use these resources to bolster its intention to reach a 35% electrification rate by 2030, a critical step forward in this country where less than 2% of Liberian citizens have electricity. The plan is designed to help increase energy access through off-grid electricity schemes based on small hydro, solar PV, biomass, and hybrid systems. As a first step, the country will use a $1.5 million SREP project preparation grant to develop an AfDB-supported project entitled Renewable Energy for Electrification in Eastern Liberia. The plan is designed to be carried out in two financing phases. In Phase I, implementing partners will rely more on public investment to help mitigate risks associated with country conditions, lack of an enabling environment suitable for renewables powered off grid schemes, and new and/or untested business and technology models. In Phase II, the private sector will take the lead with development partners’ support to scale up the program based on the results of Phase I.
South Africa's Promotion and Protection of Investment Bill will enable a comprehensive and uniform legal framework to govern investments in the country, according to the country’s Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies. The draft law will replace existing bilateral investment treaties between South Africa and a number of European Union countries while extending protection to investors from all other countries. The Bill, which has been adopted by the Cabinet and gazetted for public comment, has caused apprehension among investors, who say the new legislation will provide less protection for foreign investors. According to Davies, the Bill seeks to achieve several balances between the rights and obligations of investors, and will provide "adequate protection to all investors, including foreign investors" while ensuring that South Africa's constitutional obligations were upheld, giving the government "the policy space to regulate in the public interest". Davies said a review of South Africa's bilateral investment treaties had found that there was no correlation between the existence or absence of a bilateral treaty with a particular country and the flow of foreign direct investment (FDI) from the country. According to the minister, the new Bill is based very much on South Africa's Constitution, which provides that there cannot be expropriation without a law of universal application or just equitable compensation. The treaties, by contrast, were based on outdated laws applicable before the country's Constitution came into effect. In the event of expropriation, investors would no longer be assured of compensation at full market value. However, in line with the Constitution, the compensation would be fair and equitable. Davies said the compensation would take into account "both market value and a range of interest concerns". The Promotion and Protection of Investment Bill is out for public comment for three months, ending 31 January 2014.
Telkom, South Africa's main fixed line operator, is doubling broadband ADSL connection speeds for existing consumer and business customers, following its recently announced ADSL speed increases for the country's internet service providers. The increased speeds will allow for improved video streaming, online gaming and video conferencing by reducing buffering and delays.
The Republic of Turkey has participated in the African Development Bank Group’s Board Meetings for the first time in Tunis, following the country’s admission as the 26th State Participant in the African Development Fund and the 78th Member State of the African Development Bank. Turkey’s membership comes as it enters into a new phase of deepening its engagement with Africa. A Declaration issued by the Bank Group’s President, Donald Kaberuka, on October 29, 2013 formalized Turkey’s membership in the Bank Group. Turkey’s admission to the Bank Group followed the completion of the membership process after the approval of its membership application by the Bank Group’s Board of Governors on May 14, 2008. Membership of the Bank Group is subject to the completion of the membership process including signing of the Agreements establishing the Fund and Bank, deposit of the instruments of acceptance/approval of the Fund and the Bank agreements, and the payment of the initial subscriptions to the Fund and capital stock of the Bank. The agreement establishing the AfDB was signed by 23 newly independent African countries on August 4, 1963 in Khartoum, Sudan. It became effective on September 10, 1964, when 20 member countries subscribed to 65 per cent of the Bank’s capital stock which then stood at US $250 million. The inaugural meeting of the Board of Governors (mostly Finance Ministers) was held from November 4-7, 1964 in Lagos, Nigeria. The Bank Group’s key mandate is to contribute to the sustainable economic development and social progress of its regional members, individually and jointly.
Marriott International, the largest publicly traded hotel chain in the United States, is set to acquire South Africa's Protea Hotels, in a transaction that will make Marriott Africa's biggest hotel company by number of rooms in operation or under construction. The company announced that it signed a letter of intent to acquire Protea Hotels' brands and its management business. The South African group operates or franchises 116 hotels across three brands with 10 184 rooms in South Africa and six other sub-Saharan African countries. In addition to its industry-leading 80 hotels in South Africa, Protea Hotels has a significant presence in Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. The transaction would nearly double Marriott's distribution in Africa to more than 23 000 rooms, and would also provide Marriott with a proven operational platform and leadership team to accelerate Marriott's expansion plans and solidify its leadership position in the dynamic and growing African hotel market, the company said. Marriott said the transaction could close in the first quarter of 2014.
Total Malawi and Airtel money have entered into a three year business partnership that will among other things see people buying fuel in all total filling stations using mobile phones. The partnership will also allow Malawians load money in their phones, cash out and register as Airtel money customers at any total filling station while at the same time enable people access services offered by the biggest fuel service company. Total expect to see an increased number in fuel purchases over a period of three years. With Airtel money, total customers are expected not to travel with cash and be assured of refueling their cars everywhere in the country.
Sub-Saharan Africa's economic growth is expected to increase to 6 percent in 2014, from 5 percent in 2013, supported by investment in infrastructure and production capacity, according to the International Monetary Fund. The IMF had predicted in May 2013 that the region would grow 5.7 percent last year and 6.1 percent in 2014.
It said the slight downward revisions were due mainly to weaker global economic conditions, while budget delays in oil producer Angola and oil theft in Africa's top crude exporter Nigeria also hurt growth. Inflation on the continent is expected to be less than 6 percent in 2014, its third year of decline due to benign prospects for food prices and the continuation of prudent monetary policies, the IMF said. Countries like Kenya and Uganda were in high double digit inflation and are now in single digits, and a lot of it has to do with the conduct of monetary policy. The fund expects growth to pick up next year. The main factor behind the continuing underlying growth in most of the region is strong domestic demand, especially associated with investment in infrastructure. Despite the strong growth outlook, the region remains vulnerable to lower commodity prices and a slowdown in developed and emerging economies, the report said. The strongest growth will be felt in mineral-exporting and low-income countries, the IMF said, with examples such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique and Sierra Leone. Africa's top economy South Africa is expected to grow 2 percent in 2013 and 2.9 percent in 2014, as it lags the broader region due to the relative maturity of its industrial, extractive and services sectors. South Africa has suffered this year from industrial strikes, slowing private investment and disposable income growth and weakening consumer confidence, the IMF said. The World Bank sees growth of 5.3 percent for sub-Saharan Africa in 2014, underpinned by strong private and public investment. The IMF gave similar policy prescriptions to previous reports. It recommended African nations allow their currencies to fall if they were being pressured by low commodity prices or capital outflows rather than propping them up too much. Some nations, such as Nigeria, intervened to prop up currencies after portfolio outflows surged between May and August 2013. The IMF also said that African economies were more vulnerable to volatile portfolio flows than ever before. It suggested "capital flow measures", meaning restrictions on capital coming in or out, should only be used to combat volatility as a last resort, after addressing imbalances in things such as interest rates had been tried. The fund also suggested they work to improve the ease of doing business and the collection of economic statistics.
IOM (International Organization for Migration) has launched a project to support the Government of Lesotho to address labour shortages in the country’s health sector. Funded by the IOM Development Fund (IDF), the USD 200,000 project aims to attract diaspora health professionals in South Africa, the UK and the US to fill critical labour shortages in Lesotho’s health sector. A large number of Basotho professionals, especially in the health sector, continue to seek better opportunities abroad, contributing to constant brain drain in Lesotho. Research shows that 33 per cent of physicians born in Lesotho are registered working abroad, mainly in South Africa. Most cite low wages, huge salary differences, better social lives and better infrastructure as push factors. Retaining health professionals in Lesotho is very difficult once they are trained and deployed. Most seek better opportunities elsewhere. Health personnel to population ratio in Lesotho as a result is severely compromised, with 5 physicians and 62 nurses per 100,000 people. This critical shortage of skilled health professionals has negatively affected health care in Lesotho. In close collaboration with the Government of Lesotho and its missions in South Africa, the UK and the US, IOM will analyze the needs of the health sector in Lesotho and map the locations and profiles of the Basotho diaspora abroad. This is important in order to match the skills shortage with available human resources abroad.IOM will also conduct information campaigns to raise awareness of opportunities available for Basotho in Lesotho’s health sector. For the Basotho diaspora who have shown interest in supporting the health sector in Lesotho, a one-day on-site visit to Mamohato Hospital, Lesotho’s newly refurbished hospital, will be organized. A website will also be developed to serve as a platform for the exchange of information with the diaspora. The website will feature a database of existing skills in the diaspora and available opportunities in Lesotho. The website will also be used to promote diaspora interest in outreach campaigns in South Africa, the UK and the US. IOM has carried out several diaspora mapping exercises worldwide. In the Southern African region, IOM has assisted the Government of Mauritius in mapping their diaspora and in developing an overseas employment and diaspora mobilization strategy in 2007. IOM has also supported mapping exercises involving the Zambian and Zimbabwean diaspora in South Africa, the UK, as well as the sub-Saharan region, Canada and South Africa.
Keep yourself updated with our FREE newsletters now!