Connecting Africa’s Skilled Professionals
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A round-up of recent news from the UK, Africa and around the world.
The Awards Committee of the prestigious ADLER Entrepreneurship Awards has announced the next Awards event in 2012. The 2012 ADLER Entrepreneurship Award for the Diaspora region will be held in Germany on 1 December 2012, in Bonn. Deadline for nominations is 30th June, 2012. Organisers are especially encouraging participation from more young women. For further information, kindly contact the coordinator (Ms. Kenida Brown) at: AYF (African Youth Foundation; Afrikanische Jugendhilfe e.V.), Sebastianstr. 177-179, 53115 Bonn, Germany www.ayf.de
Over the course of two days, Operational Excellence in Mining Summit 2012 will be held in Radisson Blu Gautrain, Johannesburg - South Africa on 24 - 25 April. The summit will witness some of the leading speakers from global mining companies such as Mike Rossouw, Executive Director Operations, Xstrata Alloys Head Office ; Pamela Naidoo, Country Manager Exploration, Rio Tinto, President Elect and Vice President, Geological Society of South Africa ; Linas Liubinskas, President, Global Mining Alliance ; Sakhile Ngcobo, Director, De Beers Consolidated Mines Limited. Sipho Nkosi, Chief Executive Officer of Exxaro Resources Limited will be the keynote speaker at the upcoming Operational Excellence in Mining Summit 2012. At this summit, the attendees can look forward to know the latest in geopolitical implications for sustaining mining steadiness, defining best practice in corporate mining health and safety governance, operational excellence and commercial viability, long and short term pit planning and scheduling and environmentally sustainable closure practices in the mining sector. Operational Excellence in Mining Summit has engaging sessions designed to provide a holistic purview on all major aspects of mining bringing the best practices to help evaluate operations strategy, improve mine efficiency and reduce costs. Contact tikenderjit.singh@fleminggulf.com T: + 971 4609 1570 W: www.fleminggulf.com
INDIAFRICA: A Shared Future is a dynamic new platform for young Africans and Indians to collaborate through competition, innovation, and entrepreneurship. A multidisciplinary contest series, in the areas of Business Plans, Essay Writing, Photography and Poster Design, offers cash prizes of US$1000. A Young Visionaries Fellowship Programme, which identifies promising young entrepreneurs in India and Africa, offers opportunities for growth and collaboration including a financial grant of US$10,000 to develop a collaborative project. INDIAFRICA creates a space for talented young Indians and Africans to exchange ideas about emergent realities, successes and challenges, and to imagine future collaborations in business, design and culture, recognizing diverse nations as interdependent creative problem solvers with unique and invaluable resources and talents. To apply, please visit www.indiafrica.in
The new HSBC International SME Fund is designed to support the growth of small and medium-sized UK businesses that trade internationally. Through the scheme, HSBC will provide credit to companies as a means for them to extend their operations abroad. The bank believes that even the smallest businesses are likely to become multinational in the future. A total of £4 billion worth of credit will be available through the scheme. Individual funding allocations to be awarded per applicant have yet to be stipulated. UK-based small and medium-sized enterprises that are planning to trade or expand their operations in emerging international markets such as India and China may apply. The Fund will be available to those businesses with a turnover of up to £25 million. Interested parties can find out how to access the funding by speaking to their HSBC Commercial Manager, who will discuss finance and borrowing options to help the applicant's business trade overseas.
The Diageo Africa Business Reporting Awards for 2012 are now open to submission. Designed to recognise excellent business journalism from and about Africa, the Awards, initiated by Diageo in 2004, recognise journalists and editors who provide high quality coverage of the business environment in Africa. Diageo believes that better and more accurate reporting plays a critical role in framing Africa's economic prospects and challenges. It encourages greater interest in doing good business, which in turns creates the right environment for sustained prosperity on the continent. According to the company, business interest in Africa has accelerated and with greater focus on the African continent's impressive growth prospects, business journalism has an increasingly important role to play in attracting long-term investment. The awards ceremony will be held on Thursday, 28 June 2012 in central London. The closing date for entry is Friday, 23 March, 2012. Entries can be submitted online at: ww.diageoafricabusinessreportingawards.com. There is no entry fee.
HSBC is to guarantee the option of a part-time role at current title and salary grade to all staff returning from maternity or paternity leave. Jobs equivalent to at least two-and-a-half days per week on a pro-rata salary and same level as their original role will be offered to returning parents, in a bid to help employees "balance the demands of family life with their career development". While every new parent is entitled to request part-time or flexible working there is no legal obligation for UK employers to provide it. The bank said that the move – believed to be the first by a large corporate – recognised the difficulties faced by staff trying to juggle work and home life commitments. According to the bank, parenthood is sometimes cited as a reason for the under-representation of women at board level, but that HSBC was committed to bringing women into senior positions. Staff seeking an extended period of leave will also be offered a one-year unpaid sabbatical and a 'priority returner scheme' if they rejoin HSBC within five years.
One-in-five (19%) IT professionals are planning to re-skill entirely as mobile computing specialists, a survey by specialist IT recruitment website CWJobs.co.uk has found. 81% of IT professionals plan to improve their knowledge of mobile technology as new research by Antenna Software and Vanson Bourne shows that UK businesses will double their mobile project spend over the next 18 months. Richard Nott, website director at CWJobs, says: "Who would have guessed five years ago that apps such as Angry Birds would turn into a multimillion pound product? Mobile computing presents huge opportunities for businesses, and in turn, fantastic career opportunities for skilled IT pros."
Managing and retaining the right people is a top five concern for senior executives, according to new research from KPMG. The Business Leaders Survey suggests that a quarter (24%) of respondents felt HR issues were critical. This made it a top five priority for business leaders – other issues that caused concern in the boardroom included cost efficiency (43%), cash management (32%), growth opportunities (30%) and business model changes (25%). When asked what managing and retaining top talent actually means, respondents to the survey suggest that 'motivating people is their highest priority' (43%). A third (30%) also claim that offering development opportunities to their key people is critical. HR has become a much greater issue over the year. Last year's findings didn't even see HR issues reach a top ten concern in the survey.
More than eight out of ten employees say that lifestyle factors or personal worries affect their productivity at work, a new UK survey has found. The performance of eighty-five per cent of staff has been impacted by work, health, relationship or financial pressures, according to research from Canada Life Group Insurance. The most common reason for impaired productivity was lack of sleep – cited by 68 per cent of the 1,000 workers surveyed, while four in ten respondents said that problems in their personal lives had prevented them from performing to the best of their abilities. A quarter of employees reported that financial worries – such as debts or unexpected demand on their income – had led to poor concentration levels at work. One in ten people said that they were finding it more difficult to meet basic costs than this time last year, and 18 per cent felt less financially secure. Only 15 per cent of those canvassed did not allow themselves to be distracted by external factors while at work. The study also revealed that employees are working harder and longer, with 30 per cent neglecting to take a lunch break and instead opting to eat at their desk whilst continuing to work. One in six workers said that that they were now unable to keep on top of personal tasks – such as paying bills – outside of working hours. Many respondents claimed that their journey to work was a drain, with 16 per cent arriving late because of transport problems and 10 per cent feeling tired and stressed as a result their commute. The poll results showed that 65 per cent of employees would most appreciate the ability to work flexible hours, which would help them manage their personal lives more effectively. The insurance group said it was important for employers to tackle the root of employee stress before it "spiralled into long term absence."
More than half of employees will work from home within the next ten years, according to an annual study from Virgin Media Business. Of the 5,000 company bosses who took part in the study, 72% believed face to face meetings with colleagues and customers will soon be a thing of the past. According to the report, businesses are already planning to support these changes by ensuring access to super-fast connectivity as standard. This is shown to be the top investment priority for UK businesses as they prepare for staff to work away from the office.
According to South Africa's Minister of International Relations and Co-operation, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, trade has improved between the South Africa and the UK last year after declining 37% from 2008 to 2009, amid the global financial crisis. In the first 10 months of last year, South African exports to the UK had increased 10.7% while UK imports were up 30.6%. Last year, the two countries agreed at a bi-lateral forum to double trade between the two nations by 2015. While the UK remains South Africa's top source of overseas tourist arrivals, with 453 000 arrivals in 2010, the country is also providing support to set up a Free Trade Area (FTA) in Africa and providing development assistance through its Department for International Development. Trade between the two countries increased 77% between 2001 and 2008, growing from R42 billion to R74.5 billion. According to the Minister, there are more than 300 UK companies operating in South Africa and several SA ones in the UK, pointing out that the South African government wants to encourage UK companies to invest in beneficiation and the agro-processing sector in South Africa.
The Board of Directors of the Databank Group announced the retirement of Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta as the Executive Chairman of the company effective 14th February 2012. Mr. Keli Gadzekpo, Co-founder and formerly Executive Vice-Chairman of the Group, has consequently been named the Chief executive Officer. Mr. Ofori- Atta remains the non-executive Chairman of the Group.
Global Venture Capital Trust, Acumen Fund has established its West African headquarters in Ghana. Acumen Fund was established in 2001 to assist low-income earners with funding and technical support in their entrepreneurial pursuits.
Aureos Capital has become the latest private equity investor to come under the hammer as it is sold to Middle-East giant Abraaj Capital. Abraaj has wholly bought the UK-based emerging market small and medium enterprises (SME) specialist, taking over its $1.3billion in assets under management across 20 countries. The deal sees UK's CDC Group and Norway's Norfund completely exit Aureos. The dual created the company in 2001 to focus on SME investing in emerging markets. Aureos will continue to implement its current fund mandate and investment guidelines. Since its inception, Aureos has completed 250 deals in the SME space. Aureos will also carry on operating under its existing brand, retaining its current structure and team. Abraaj will integrate Aureos into its $ 650million SME platform, Riyada Enterprise Development which has so far only been focused on the Middle-east and North Africa region. Through Aureos, Abraaj will now have its footprint in Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and South America. The purchase raises Abraaj's global holdings to approximately $7.5 billion in assets under management across 30 countries. The combined entity now has 153 investments managed by over 150 investment professionals. The deal is the latest in Abraaj's buying spree, as it works to broaden its foothold across the emerging market region. The investor last year acquired Amundi's North African private equity platform from Société Générale and Crédit Agricole.
An estimated $50-billion is exported out of the African continent illegally every year, according to former South African President Thabo at the launch of a United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (Uneca) high level panel in Johannesburg. The panel, chaired by Mbeki, will investigate illicit and financial flows of finance out of the continent. Mbeki said the loss needed to be addressed before it undermined the prospect of Africa's development. Mbeki said that almost $25-billion comes in to the continent, which means that it loses twice the capital it receives in financial assistance. The panel will study the flow of money and understand how it is done, and provide practical measures to stop the flow. It will take a year for the panel to complete its investigation and although the panel has no punitive measures, it will make proposals to those with punitive power and provide sufficient information about the different methods of the outflow. This will include over-invoicing and under-pricing of exports and money laundering strategies.
The landscape of e-banking services in Nigeria is set to witness a major shift as two leading companies in banking and telecom sectors of the economy, FirstBank of Nigeria Plc (FirstBank) and Airtel Networks Limited have agreed to combine their strengths to provide seamless mobile money services to millions of Nigerians. Following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding, the two companies promised to combine their strengths to provide secure, convenient and user-friendly mobile banking services to unbanked people throughout via mobile phones. Mobile banking is the use of mobile phones to remotely access bank accounts, primarily for account inquiry, mobile transfer, retail payments, micro insurance, savings remittances, mobile top-up, utility bill payments and government collections among others. The mobile money initiative, an integral part of the broad objectives of the FSS 20:2020 was conceived by the Central Bank of Nigeria because of its critical nature to achieving a "cashless society which is fundamental to the nation's goal of becoming one of the top 20 largest economies in the world by the year 2020.
Nigeria's Unity Bank has launched a mobile payment service that is expected to create hundreds of jobs. The new UnityBank QikQik mobile-based payments will include QikQik kiosks in all the 774 local government councils in the country to deliver financial services to previously excluded segments of the population, according to the bank's Group Managing Director.
Angola is currently the third main source of remittances from Portuguese emigrants and accounted for 147 million euros entering the Portuguese economy in 2011, according to figure published by the Bank of Portugal (BdP). In a year in which total remittances from Portuguese emigrants remained almost the same as in 2010, the amount sent by Portuguese people residing in Angola rose by almost 10 percent. In the figures from the BdP, remittances from Portuguese emigrants to Angola in 2011 were substantially more than those from traditional Portuguese emigration markets, such as the United States (130 million euros), Germany (113 million), Luxembourg (68 million) or Canada (40 million). The main sources of remittances from emigrants continued to be France and Switzerland, two countries that together accounted for over half the cash sent to Portugal in 2011, with 868 million euros in France's case and 681 million euros in Switzerland's case. The European Union countries continue to account for just over half the remittances sent by Portuguese emigrants, but the value of intra-EU transfers fell from 2010 (1.413 billion euros) to 2011 (1.354 billion euros).
Zimbabwe's trade with the European Union increased by 36 per cent last year, reaching 664 million euros from 488 million euros in 2010, the European Union Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Mr Aldo Dell'Ariccia, has said. Meanwhile, trade between the two partners is set to receive a further boost as Zimbabwe is now very close to completing the ratification of an Economic Partnership Agreement with the EU. There are concerns, however, that Zimbabwe's full EPA ratification will pose further challenges for local industry.
The South African government has moved one step further towards the establishment of the massive National Health Insurance scheme for South Africa, with Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan announcing an allocation of R1 billion to the scheme's pilot projects. The money comes from the R121 billion health budget which aims to improve hospital infrastructure and strengthen the public health system ahead of the introduction of the NHI, which will be phased in over a period of 14 years, starting this year. The government has said the new system will provide equitable health protection for all South Africans. In his presentation of this year's national budget in the National Assembly, Gordhan also announced that R450 million has been put aside to upgrade about 30 nursing colleges, while a further R426 million is allocated for the initial work on rebuilding five major tertiary hospitals. Also, the national Department of Health will this year complete an audit of all health facilities in the country and was working with the Council for Scientific and industrial Research and Development Bank of Southern Africa to develop what is called a targeted response to the infrastructure needs of the sector. General taxes will remain the primary financing of the NHI projects while new funding resources will be explored over the long term depending on the progress of institutional reforms and health delivery capacity. Preliminary modelling suggests that full implementation of the system may be realised by 2025 but this will require financing to rise from 4% of the GDP to 6%. A discussion paper on revenue option will be released later this year, together with other associated transitional issues including the role of medical schemes. To accommodate provisions of HIV drugs, the budget makes R968 million available over the next three years. The move is expected to bring up the number of antiretroviral recipients from 1.5 million last year to about three million by 2015.
Government is going ahead with plans to build nuclear power stations - a scrap by local and international companies to get a slice of the staggering R300-billion tender. The South African National Treasury revealed the rollout - which will see the construction of the plants along the country's coastline - would ensure a supply of an extra 9600 megawatts of electricity. The stations are expected to be fully operational by 2029 and signalling will be the largest infrastructure programme undertaken by government.
Kenya's earnings from horticultural exports rose by 18% last year, despite a marginal dip in volumes, buoyed by a favourable exchange rate and strong prices for vegetables and fruits. The country earned Sh91.6billion in exports in year 2011. Horticulture is the country's leading source of foreign exchange alongside tourism.
Carlyle has raised $50 million from the African Development Bank for its maiden $500million sub-Saharan Africa vehicle. This fund is the first investment vehicle that the US-based private equity giant is raising for Africa. The vehicle has been structured to allow Carlyle to invest up to $1billion across the region through co-investments with the group's other global funds. The Carlyle team expects to spread its capital across 15 countries, primarily targeting buyout and growth capital deals. Carlyle plans to back large national companies seeking intra-regional market expansion and vertical integration across neighbouring countries. Initial investments will go into South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya, its investment anchor countries. The team has also reviewed deals in Angola, Botswana, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, and Zambia. The investor is also eyeing investment opportunities in Tanzania, Botswana and Benin. As part of its Environmental and Social Governance Standards commitment, the fund will create a development outcomes tracking system to monitor job creation, tax revenues and incremental capital flows to portfolio companies.
South Africa's Public Investment Corporation (PIC) is planning to branch into the broader African continent with plans to invest almost $670 million (R5billion) outside its local markets, according to reports. The public institutional investor has named private equity as one of the spaces it is looking to put money into, in a bid to diversify its portfolio. The move comes just after the government authorized it to invest up 10% in assets outside South Africa. PIC hopes to spend the R5billion over the next financial year, starting April 2012. Egypt, Kenya and Nigeria are some of the initial markets that PIC is looking to get into.
The objective of this programme is to enhance entrepreneurship, develop the international outlook and competitiveness of European SMEs and foster potential start-up entrepreneurs and newly-established micro & small enterprises in Participating Countries. Public or private entities (individually or in partnerships composed of at least two entities from one or several Participating Countries) can apply to take part in the programme and become Intermediary Organisations. A maximum of €3.1 million is available for this Call. It is expected that funding will be awarded for 17 to 20 projects. EU co-financing will be 90% of eligible costs. The co-financing rate for financial support paid to new entrepreneurs is 100%, but a maximum of 75% is available for programme management costs. The maximum available per partnership is €180,000; with €150,000 for individual applicants. The deadline for submissions is 31 May 2012 (17.00). Click here for further information.
A new gender law in Mauritius that requires one-third of candidates in local elections to be women represents another small step towards parity in decision-making. The gender quota is contained in the new Local Government Act that entered into force on 1 January 2012 and compels all political parties to field more women to contest in local elections due by April this year. Under Mauritian law, the town and village councillors are elected every five years and their main role is to ensure the smooth running of five towns and 108 villages, overseeing the provision of services such as garbage collection and road maintenance.
Abraaj has backed a Morocco-based insurance holding company Saham Finances with approximately $125 million. The investor was attracted to the company because of its leading positions in Morocco and Francophone West Africa, and the sector's strong growth opportunities. Abraaj was also impressed by the company's history of successful acquisitions and its management team. The investment will finance the company's plans to expand into the broader African continent, where insurance penetration rates are comparably low. Saham has already lined up a number of acquisition targets in Southern and Eastern Africa, and also the Middle East. The bulk of the financing is expected to be channeled through Colina, a life and non-life insurer it acquired in 2010. Colina has presence in 11 countries including Angola and Ghana, and is expected to be the main platform to be used to grow Sanham into the rest of Africa. The funds will also bolster synergies between Colina and CNIA Saada, which is also part of Saham Finances. CNIA Saada is a non-life insurance company listed on the Casablanca Stock Exchange. Saham Finances also owns a third company, Isaaf, which is focused on offering assistance services in Morocco. The company expects local growth within the Moroccan market to be fueled through public-private partnerships, set up to boost the penetration rates of insurance in the country. Saham Finances is headquartered in Casablanca, and has operations in Angola, Morocco, Cote d'Ivoire, Senegal, Cameroon, Togo, Benin, Gabon, Mali, Burkina Faso, Madagascar and Ghana. Prior to the investment, Saham Finances was 100% owned by Saham Group, which in turn is 95% owned and controlled by the founder of the group Moulay Hafid Elalamy.
The Brazilian government is stepping up South-South aid, to strengthen the South American giant's status as a donor country and its international clout. It now provides assistance to 65 countries, and its financial aid has grown threefold in the last seven years. A project to extend financing for food purchases to five countries in Africa has helped confirm that Brazil, traditionally a recipient of aid, has taken its place among the group of foreign donor countries.
The government of The Gambia through the office of the minister of Agriculture has declared the 2011-2012 farming season a failure resulting from severe crop failures and a corresponding soaring of food prices. The post-harvest assessment of the 2011 farming season, which was characterised by below normal and poorly distributed rainfall, indicated a reduction in total crop production of more than 70%.
Zenith Bank Plc has emerged the bank with the highest market capitalisation on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). As at the end of February 2012 the market capitalisation of the bank stood at N424billion. Guaranty Trust Bank Plc was ranked second with a capitalisation of N415billion.
The government has licensed Tullow BV to carry out oil exploration in the Kerio and Turkana regions. Tullow has already been carrying out oil explorations in parts of Uganda.
Despite losing ground as Uganda's main foreign exchange earner to the tourism sector and remittances from abroad, coffee exports last year earned Uganda a total of $466m. This was a 1.9% and 28.8% increase in quality and value respectively compared to December 2010.
The Ghana Stock Exchange is finalising plans for a new Ghana Alternative Investment Market (GAIM) for SMEs, to be launched in June, Bloomberg reports. The Africa Report offers a useful overview: Modelled after London's Alternative Investment Market (AIM) and South Africa's AltX, the market will make reporting easier for small companies, lower listing fees and set up a revolving fund to pay for them. Companies will only need a minimum stated capital of GHS250,000 (USD145,000), and regulators hope it will take no more than 15 days to vet listing documents. Last year, the GSE signed a deal with Ghana-based private equity fund Fidelity Capital Partners to promote the new board as an exit avenue for their portfolio companies. The exchange has also partnered with Ghana's Venture Capital Trust Fund. GSE is hoping for four companies in the first year, but observers say there could be as many as 40 SMEs looking for public market exits.
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