Why Singapore is courting Africa.

Today, China is by far the most active Asian player in Africa. But with the right approach, Singapore could be at the forefront of Asian engagement - even supplanting China.This week, the government of Singapore will be hosting its third Africa-Singapore business forum. The forum will bring African private and public sector leaders to Singapore to discuss investment opportunities across the continent.  But the forum could also serve a more strategic purpose by encouraging a broader evaluation of Singapore's relationship with the continent. 

China's trade with Africa will total almost US$300 billion this year.  Many African leaders draw many lessons from Singapore, and in addition, Singapore does not pose a strategic threat to Africa, and in fact, attracts admiration., with many African countries wanting to become the Singapore of Africa.

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Zambia's President to appear in public amid concerns over health.

Zambia's President Michael Sata plans to address the nation next month as he officially open parliament, a move intended to contradict reports that his health has led to a power struggle within the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) party.

Sata was last seen in public on June 19 when he met visiting Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao.

Immunity for sitting African leaders condemned.

Civil society organisations (CSOs) in Africa as well as international ones working on the continent, have opposed the recently-adopted Protocol on Amendments to the Protocol on the Statute of the African Court of Justice and Human Rights by the African Union (AU) member heads of states in June.

The protocol extends criminal jurisdiction to the African Court, and offers immunity to serving heads of states and all senior government officials during their term of office for serious crimes. The African Court was

Why human trafficking is still rampant in South Africa.

“Very often a person will accompany the trafficker willingly as they are being deceived into believing that there is a job waiting for them at the other end, at the destination. Exploitation, 99 per cent of the time, is for money but sometimes it is for getting the services of a person: using the person as a domestic help, farming, forced labour.”

Alek Kuhudzai, who is responsible for refugee rights at the Agency for Refugee Education, explains that

Why securing African ports is the key to containing Illegal ivory Trade.

While there are effectively unlimited numbers of poachers and consumers fueling the lucrative illegal ivory market, a new report suggests that nearly all the ivory shuttled from Africa to Asia—the biggest market—is confined to as few as 200 shipping containers a year.

This "transit or supply chain is the single greatest point of vulnerability in the illicit ivory system," says Adam Roberts, CEO of Born Free, an anti-poaching group based in Washington, D.C.

On Wednesday, the group issued what it calls a "landmark" study on how illegal ivory is moved from Africa

China sees new potential in Africa.

Africa’s steadily improving situation with regard to governance (there are still many problems, but steadily less war, steadily more free elections, and so on), and a technological landscape and future that will allow Africa to leapfrog many aspects of the rich life that the rich world takes for granted. And national resources are just icing on the cake.

As is frequently remarked upon, and as a book review in this week’s Economist touches upon, China has a very deliberate and ambitious strategy of investment in Africa. For sure, China’s drive into Africa is mainly motivated by natural resources. But this is merely the catalyst of a broader phenomenon, as China sees a lot of potential in Africa.
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South Africa narrowly avoids recession with modest growth.

The South African economy narrowly dodged recession by growing 0.6% in the second quarter over a year ago, the country's statistics authority said Tuesday.

The latest quarterly assessment of South Africa, the continent's most advanced economy, offered little good news even as growth elsewhere in Africa is accelerating.

The pain in the country's key mining sector, after a five-month strike in the platinum zone earlier this year, has rippled through the economy. The industry's contribution to the economy declined by 9.4% in the second quarter, having shrunk by 24.7% in the first quarter. Full Story here

Diageo targets Guinness for young Africans.

Often sold for almost double the price of local beer, Guinness—packaged in bottles as Guinness Foreign Extra Stout—has for years been a symbol of aspiration for consumers in countries such as Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya. In 2011, Nigeria overtook Ireland as the biggest single market for Guinness. Now, Diaegeo has come up with a new campaign to target younger Africans. Africa accounts for about 40% of the company's roughly $3.7 billion in annual beer sales, with the majority of that coming from Guinness in Nigeria and other parts of West Africa.
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Ebola crippling West Africa economies.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) chief Donald Kaberuka said on a visit to Sierra Leone he had seen estimates of a reduction of up to 4 percent in gross domestic product due to Ebola. "Revenues are down, foreign exchange levels are down, markets are not functioning, airlines are not coming in, projects are being cancelled, business people have left - that is very, very damaging," he told Reuters late on Tuesday. Liberia has already said it would have to lower its 2014 growth forecast, without giving a new one. Sierra Leone Deputy Minister of Mineral Resources Abdul Ignosis Koroma said the government would miss its target of exporting $200 million in diamonds this year because of the Ebola outbreak. It exported $186 million of diamonds in 2013.
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Mozambique in US$30 billion LNG project.

Over US$30 billion is to be committed in Mozambique to produce 20 million tonnes annually of LNG, with the ports of Pemba and Palma to be redeveloped in the massive programme of redevelopment.

The national oil company has verified that the project will be operational by 2018, according to Reuters.

Mozambique’s plans on converting LNG through its large gas deposits can provide profits that will see the country rise from poverty.

Nelson Ocuane, president of the state oil company ENH said: "In an initial phase, liquefaction units with a total capacity for 20 million tonnes a year of LNG will be built and operated. The investment to be made tops US$30 billion."
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Is Singapore upstaging the West and China in Africa?

Most African leaders are familiar with the Singapore story. They in fact would like the continent to emulate much of the successes of Singapore. The story of rising from a backwater Third World country, to a First World country, is a story that resonates with many African leaders. Many have in fact drawn up policies to ensure that Africa does draw crucial lessons from this success. However, even though the story of Singapore is well known in Africa, the fact remains that China is the dominant player in Africa. It has signed huge multilateral deals with several African countries, mainly in the area of minerals and infrastructure development. However, the trade is mostly one way, and African countries are beginning to question the deals that Africa conducts with China. For example, early last year, the immediate former Nigerian central Bank Governor, Lamido Sanusi, warned that China was dumping substandard industrial goods on the African continent, and in the process, killing the African manufacturing sector.

In an attempt to upstage China in the continent, this week, the government of Singapore will be hosting its third Africa-Singapore business forum. The forum will bring African private and public sector leaders to

Are 'seven out of ten fastest growing economies' really in Africa?

African Arguments, a think tank that seeks to promote the understanding of issues about Africa, argues that “One of the most common narratives that has dominated international headlines is that seven of the ten fastest growing economies are in Africa. But does this really stand up to scrutiny? This list was computed by the Economist in 2011, and continues to be quoted by every major world leader and opinion shaper. The exercise excluded countries with a population of less than 10 million and also the post-conflict booming Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Economist was reporting forecasts made for 2011 to 2015, and as African arguments reports, “there is a difference between forecasted and actually measured growth. According to John Kenneth Galbraith, the

Opinion: Why Africa must not forget its women.

In an opinion piece, Llewellyn King argues that the long-term future of Africa lies its attitude toward women.” At present, women in Africa have a raw deal, yet they, and not the natural resources in Africa- are its future.

Women hold Africa together and suffer in silence. They are the ones bent over with primitive implements in the fields, inevitably with their latest infant strapped to their backs. They are the ones who must endure marriage during puberty, bear children before their bodies are fully formed and face the world’s highest rates of death during childbirth.

In shiny office buildings in Accra or Lusaka, it is the women who are moving the work forward. If you need something done, from a permit to an airline reservation, seek out a woman in an office. However, very few

Ghana's manufacturing stars- and what Africa could learn.

Image Courtesy: Aljazeera

It is not every day that you find an average African dreaming of producing a car. Yet, this is what two entrepreneurs from Ghana are attempting to do. Ghanaians Apostle Safo, 66, and his 28-year-old pilot son Kwadwo Safo Jnr are the founders of The Kantanka Group of Companies' , which wants to make cars. And yet, there are many challenges ahead. For one, finding a market for the cars will be hard, as currently almost all the cars in Africa are imported. In addition, many Africans view products produced in their own

countries as substandard, and it would take quite a long time to convince many Africans that products

Why the creativity industry is churning out new millionaires in Africa.

Picture that Nollywood is the world's largest film industry, in terms of the numbers of films produced. This sector has contributed millions of dollars to the Nigerian economy, and created hundreds of thousands of jobs. Crucially, it is one of the sectors that was added to the Nigerian economy, enabling the Nigerian economy to skyrocket to a half a trillion dollars. The Nollywood industry has enabled the Nigerian culture to be exported to the rest of Africa, and beyond. Now, other African countries are learning from this, and are also actively encouraging their creative industry to grow.

Kenya has had Lupita Nyong'o blaze the international scene, with her Oscar for best supporting actress in the twelve years a slave drama. Tanzania's Diamond, Kenya's Sauti Sol and Churchill, Nigeria's P-square, 17 year old Congolese Rachel Mwanza, once a street child, today the first African recipient of the Berlin

Can Africa break the Doha round of talks?

While many experts view agriculture as the solution to the continent's problems, the fact is that Africa will not experience the so called 'green revolution' anytime soon. The continent has very much wanted to copy from the Asian green revolution, but these efforts have largely not borne much fruit. According to an analysis by Andrew L. Stoler, "In 2001, many would have argued that the Uruguay Round agriculture negotiations produced a 'sloppy result' where big players like the USA and European Community had far too much

Is Zimbabwe (and Africa) selling off to China?

In the past ten years, Zimbabwe has had a less than fruitful relationship with the West. As the land redistribution program to indigenous Zimbabweans turned murky, Western countries severed ties, and Zimbabwe was on an economic spiral downwards, as sanctions were imposed. A few weeks ago, the President of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, was not invited for the US-Africa summit, signalling a new low in the relations between Zimbabwe and the West. However, Zimbabwe is fighting back, and currently, President Mugabe is on a trip to China to secure several investment deals through the Zim-Asset project. The country's finance minister, Patrick Chinamasa, insists that the trip is not for budgetary support, but for development projects. In the phase one of the projects last year, some $180 million of funding was signed, and this trip is expected to increase that amount even further.

However, this comes even as more diamond mines are discovered in Zimbabwe, and curiously, the diamond

South Sudan: Is a coalition government the best path to peace?

IGAD has given the warring factions in the South Sudanese conflict to come up with a unity government in the next 45 days. This unity government will draw from both President Kiir's side, and Vice President Riek Machar's side. But is a unity government the best path to peace? From elsewhere in the continent, it appears so. In Kenya, during the 2007/08 conflict, the warring sides in the election dispute, former President Mwai Kibaki and former Prime minister Raila Odinga, agreed to form a coalition government that finally brought peace to the country. Even though the two sides formed a government that was too broad and burdened the Kenyan

Why Ebola is staining the Africa rising narrative.

There are two sides to the Africa story. There is one where there is disease, war, and poverty, and then there is a second one where African economies are growing, lifting millions out of poverty and generally fueling the African rising narrative. The second aspect is what many now refer to as the Africa rising narrative. Now, the emergence of Ebola firmly fits into the the first aspect, of Africa that is afflicted by disease. As Ebola is spreading, it dampens out the Africa rising narrative, and puts the continent on a perpetual emergency mode.

Picture that the Ebola menace has cut about 30 percent of Sierra Leone's GDP. This is much the same GDP that was lost when Sierra Leone was plagued by a civil war in the early to mid 2000s. Flights have been cut to Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone. Even African countries are imposing travel restrictions on citizens of countries affected by Ebola. South Africa has banned entry of persons from Liberia, Sierra Leone, and

South Africa loses dominance to Nigeria, narrowly avoids recession.

The South African economy grew by just 0.6 percent in the second quarter of this year, narrowly avoiding recession. This will put pressure on president Jacob Zuma to do a much better job of implementing urgent economic reforms. Although South Africa is Africa's most advanced economy in terms of infrastructure and per capita income, it recently got surpassed by Nigeria as Africa's largest economy, and now, the country could be losing out to Nigeria as the entry point to Africa. The mines workers strikes have not helped matters,as well as the corruption allegations of Zuma's government. Recently, President Zuma was prevented

Is Japan falling behind China in investing in Africa.

Long before the advent of the Chinese investment in Africa, Japan was already doing much of development work in the continent. However, in the past ten years,as China has grown to be the world's second largest economy, Japan has fallen far behind in its influence and investment in the continent. However, that may be changing in due course. According to Japan's business delegation that visited Ethiopia recently, the country is ripe for investment in the areas of agro-processing, renewable energy, construction, and manufacturing.

South Sudan ceasefire, why the war must end.

The regional body, IGAD, has given South Sudan 45 days to implement the ceasefire signed. This will be a long wait for a country that has known only war for much its three years Independence period. The war, which started after rebel soldiers reportedly attacked the army barracks, soon took on an ethnic dimension, and so far, the war has claimed tens of thousands and displaced millions. The country is on the brink of a famine because of the missed agricultural season. Meanwhile, the country's top two most leaders, president Salva Kiir, and former Vice President Riek Machar continue to be at loggerheads, and it is only international

Mugabe courts China as he is shunned by West.

Perhaps in a bid to diversify the country’s partners, President Robert Mugabe left for a five day trip to China. The Zimbabwe President is keen to diversify the trade partners, as the West tightens its purse. President Mugabe was among the few African leaders that were not invited for the hugely publicized US-Africa summit.

The government desperately needs a multi-billion-dollar package to rescue an economy its own advisers warn may be sliding back to the chaos of 2008 and negotiations are understood to have been underway over

South Africa's Deputy President urges against xenophobia.

In the latest move yet, South Africa's Deputy President, Cyril Ramaphosa, has called on Gauteng province to lead in the fight against xenophobia.

Ramaphosa was addressing a Gauteng social cohesion summit in Johannesburg on Friday. The summit comprised of government, NGOs, civil society and was called to promote cohesion in society.

"As the province with the largest number of immigrants, Gauteng must lead the way in combating xenophobia in all its manifestations," Ramaphosa said.

"The people of this province must, through their actions, underscore the fact that foreign nationals pose no

Why China Views Africa as the next superpower.

A piece on Forbes website mentions why China considers Africa as the next superpower. For instance, Africa is young whereas the rest of the world is graying, and any strategic thinking about the 21st century must take this into account.

The same article goes on that “Add to this Africa’s steadily improving situation with regard to governance (there are still many problems, but steadily less war, steadily more free elections, and so on), and a technological landscape and future that will allow Africa to leapfrog many aspects of the rich life that the rich world takes for granted. And national resources are just icing on the cake.

"As is frequently remarked upon, and as a book review in this week’s Economist touches upon, China has a very deliberate and ambitious strategy of investment in Africa. The old categories of “neocolonialism” miss

China's Second Continent: How a Million Migrants Are Building a New Empire in Africa

Two phrases have become quite common in Africa. "NI HAO" and "chi ku". They mean, respectively, "hello" and "eat bitter".

The first is relentlessly used by Howard French, an American reporter with a Ghanaian wife who has been based in both Africa and China for the New York Times and speaks Chinese, enabling him to converse with an array of Chinese people in Africa, from rugged bricklayers in Zambia to engineers in Mali and farmers in Mozambique. Mr. Howard French is the author of the book, "China's Second Continent: How a Million Migrants Are Building a New Empire in Africa"

The second phrase is used by many of Africa's Chinese diaspora to denote their ability to live rough in remote and inhospitable places in Africa.

Even though the numbers are hard to pin down, Mr French reckons that the million cited in his book's title

Are the Chinese outsmarting Americans in investing in Africa?

During an interview with the American national Public radio- NPR, the US National Security Advisor Susan Rice attempted to point out the differences in how Americans and Chinese do business in Africa, suggesting that Chinese businesses bring in their own workers for projects in Africa, while American companies give those opportunities to locals and builds their capacities to maintain the infrastructure once construction is complete. However, Howard French, author of China’s Second Continent, contested those words and pointed out that American engagement on the ground in Africa is nearly absent, bringing up examples of American construction projects in Africa that were outsourced to a Chinese firm.

Take Chinese trader Sun Qiaoming. He operates his import-export business on the Eastern coast of China, where there is plenty of space for a man with his drive and skills to prosper. Already fairly successful, he recently set his sights beyond his country’s borders. “There’s been much talk about the Chinese Dream in the

China's renews commitment to Africa despite Ebola.

As many NGOs from the West pull out of the Ebola hit West Africa, Chinese professionals and business people, including the software giant Huawei, are staying behind. According to Xinhua news agency, “ “Chinese companies undertaking projects in West Africa are not scared away by the Ebola outbreak but hold on to their commitment and win-win cooperation with countries in Africa”.

The outbreak of Ebola in West Africa has given China yet another opportunity to prove its steadfast commitment to Africa, even as Western companies are on full alert to evacuate their staff. However, Chinese businesspeople may not continue for long as the Ebola virus takes a toll on the West African region. For instance, Chinese workers in Nigeria, South Africa, and Zambia, countries where China has huge operations,

Africa Week round up.

Ebola is still in much of the headlines this week, and the situation in Liberia is still very much depressing. The quarantines have only served to increase the fear among the local residents. Still, South Africa moved to ban entry of persons from the three most affected countries; Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. This comes even as WHO warns that blanket ban of flights from affected countries may in fact worsen the situation, rather than curb it. Even as the affected West African Ebola patients continue to face dire straits, two Americans, Dr. Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol, were discharged from the Emory University medical hospital, having recovered from the disease after taking on experimental drugs.

Still, within the same week, two Ghanaians, Robert Lamptey and Badu Boahen, founders of a mobile based firm, Saya, were lucky as their firm was acquired by a US firm, Kirusa, for an undisclosed amount. Kirusa will acquire Saya's intellectual property, technology, and workforce. Perhaps, more African start-ups will be acquired and thrive, and move the African tech scene from one of hype to one of real commercial success. 

Even then, the picture is not so rosy when it comes to poaching of elephants in Africa. According to the proceedings of the national academy of sciences, the number of elephants being poached in the continent is

Ghana's start-up mobile firm acquired by US company.

When two Ghanaian entrepreneurs founded Saya in 2011, they did not have any inclination that the business will turn out to be a success story, and be acquired by a leading US mobile services firm, Kirusa. Theirs was merely a work of passion. Robert Lamptey and Badu Boahen are both graduates of the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST) program in Accra, Ghana. Their platform provides a chat application which eliminates the cost of chat application and also gives the users of the low end feature phones with access to such sites as Facebook, group discussions, and various multi media. Today, the chat is in over 35 countries, and users in Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, India and Indonesia are Saya’s biggest market.  

Kirusa, headquartered in New Jersey in the US, and with offices in Delhi, Bangalore, and Lagos, provides mobile carriers in emerging markets with a portfolio of mobile services in Africa, the Middle East, South

Is Nigeria the testing ground for Africa?

By many accounts, if you want to make it in Africa, then you must first make it in Nigeria, Africa’s biggest economy, and also the most populous. Take MTN for example. The company paid about $285 million as license fees in 2001. The players in the industry thought that this was a big joke. However, consider that the country had 10 million pay TV customers at the time, and so, the MTN CEO thought that if Nigerians could afford Pay TV, then surely, they could afford mobile phones. Currently, MTN has 32 million customers, and has operations in Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. However, Nigeria remains its biggest market to date, and the base of its operations.

Such successes are what makes Nigeria to be the testing ground for businesses that want to operate in Africa, especially those focused on consumer goods. Unilever, Proctor and gamble, and SAB Miller are just

As American Ebola patients are discharged, fear still grips West Africa.

Even as two American Ebola patients Dr. Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol, were discharged from hospital, the patients in West Africa still continue to grapple with the disease. The Ebola menace is taking a toll on West Africa, and officials in the country proclaim that the countries most affected by the disease have almost been cut out of the world. Recently, South Africa banned entry of people from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, countries which have most been affected by Ebola.

Even as the two American doctors were being discharged from hospital, they continued to urge the world

As Afdb moves back to Abidjan, what is its potential for Africa?

This past week, the Africa development bank, Afdb moved back to Abidjan in Ivory Coast, perhaps in a move to show that the Ivory Coast economy had picked up, after the 2003 civil war shaved off nearly 40 percent from the economy.The bank's President, Donald Kaberuka, in a twitter message, explained that the bank couldn't be more positive about the economic prospects in Ivory Coast. Still, the bank was caught up

African elephants on the brink of extinction.

According to research, 35,000 elephants are killed in Africa every year. This could see Africa's elephants wiped out in the next 100 years, if efforts to contain this poaching menace are not enhanced. This is according to a research carried out in the proceedings of the national academy of sciences. Much of the demand in elephant tusks is driven by demand in Asia, and African countries have been asking Asian countries, especially China, to put a ban on the trade on Ivory. What's more worrying, between 2010 and

Why General Electric is betting on Africa.

Adapted from GE reports. 
Consider that just three out of 10 Africans have electricity in their homes. But even those in Africa with electricity are having a bumpy ride. The World Bank estimates that manufacturers on the continent face an average of 56 days a year without power. Although Africa as a whole is growing 2 percent faster than the rest of the world, the lack of power acts like a potent brake on Africa’s economic expansion and standards of living. Controlled power outages to avoid overloading the grid shaved an estimated 2 percent on average

Lupita Nyong'o fits into white America’s stereotype of black actresses.

Kenyan columnist Prof. Makau Mutua offers an interesting perspective on Lupita Nyong’o’s recent wins.  In a column in Kenya’s standard newspaper, Prof. Mutua opines that Lupita’s success has more to do with White Hollywood power brokers extolling her, than it is genuinely about her talents, despite how much of a talented lady Lupita is. For a start, Lupita has won dozens of awards for her role in the 12 Years a slave movie, and her star is set to shine even brighter as she gets nominated for numerous awards. Here is Prof. Mutua’s take.

“I was joyously delirious when Mexican-Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong’o, the daughter of Senator Peter Anyang’ Nyong’o and business executive Dorothy Nyong’o, scooped the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for the gripping historical drama 12 Years a Slave. I texted Senator Nyong’o my hearty congratulations on the incredible feat of his daughter. We exchanged several messages, both of us awed by

What can Africa learn from the Ferguson Protests.

Nilofer Merchant, a contributor to the hbr.org, offers an interesting perspective, on the recent riots in Ferguson, Missouri, US, in which a black teenager was reportedly shot by a white police officer. While showing that that race relations in the US are still a delicate issue, Merchant views the Chief of Police of Ferguson, Missouri, not as a cop, but as a failed leader.
“To start, Chief Thomas Jackson no longer has jurisdiction over his city’s security; the Governor of Missouri has asked his state Highway Patrol captain Ronald S. Johnson to take over. This comes after a national outcry against the police response to protests in the aftermath of the shooting on Saturday of 18-year-old

Tackling ebola in West Africa.

The ebola menace has overwhelmed the health systems of much of the the
countries in which it has spread. But how exactly can these countries
cope with ebola? According to Christopher Graves who is the CEO for
Ogilvy PR, the solution lies in effective communication. Communication
between NGOs, government stakeholders, health professionals and people
will need to be transparent and detailed. For neighbouring countries
improved monitoring of the disease will need to be steadfast. Still,
this is not the time for the international community to abandon the
ebola prone countries. WHO has already claimed that the ebola crisis
was vastly underestimated, and it is time that more effort was put in
place. WHO has okayed an experimental drug that should see some
patients get well, although critics would argue that this merely makes
the patients guinea pigs since the drug has not passed through all the
approval stages.

Tackling Jobless growth in Africa.

That many economies in Africa are growing at an unprecedented pace is
already something that is well documented. For instance, six of the
ten fastest growing economies are in Africa. However, despite high
growth rates in Africa, the unemployment rate still continues to soar.
In South Africa, the high unemployment and low wages was one of the
reasons for the deadly Marikana mines in 2012. In Nigeria, in 2011,
the country's national bureau of statistics reported that the absolute
number of poor people had in fact increased, despite the high economic
growth in the country. So then, perhaps, more emphasis in the
manufacturing and the agricultural sector would help alleviate this so
called jobless growth.

Are the 20 Year Visions Really Working?

Every sane company has a vision and mission statement. For a majority of companies, these vision statements are nothing more than a loose three or four sentences compiled together to be included in the company’s website and newsletters. However, for other companies, the vision statements are not mere words, but capture the heart and soul of the company and its essence.

Increasingly too, countries, in Africa especially, are drawing their own vision statements, usually outlining the goals that the country should have achieved in the next 20 or 30 years. This is no different than what China coined last year, urging its citizens to aspire for the ‘Chinese dream’, although opinions diverge on what this really means. America has also for the longest time always had the American dream, although increasingly, for many Americans, the American dream appears ever more distant.

Rwanda’s Vision 2020 was launched sometime in 2000. In it, Rwandans asked themselves pertinent questions. ‘How do they envisage their future?’ ‘What kind of society do they want to become?’

How Africa could create more manufacturing jobs.

Even though the IT sector in many parts of Africa is growing, many economists still think that manufacturing holds the key to solving the rampant youth unemployment in th continent. The argument is that while IT no doubt creates tremendous economic value and wealth, the industry does a poor job in creating new jobs. This is just not in Africa, but globally. For instance, in the United States, hundreds of thousands of jobs have been shed as American companies outsourced manufacturing jobs to cheap sources of labor, mainly in Asia. The IT start-ups, while producing great wealth for shareholders, have not replenished the jobs lost as a result of outsourcing. Many economists agree that the loss of the manufacturing jobs is one reason why the middle class in the United States is ‘hollowing out’.

The important thing is that wages are rising in China and elsewhere in Asia, and this puts Africa at a good position to position itself as a hub for manufacturing firms looking to produce cheap goods. The

Is GM Technology really safe for African farmers?

In the past few years, there has been a raging debate in Africa as to whether transgenic crops, more popularly known as GM crops, should be adopted. GM foods currently suffer a bad press in Africa and in many developing countries, and it will take a long while before GM crops can be grown on a small scale, let alone on a large scale.

Nevertheless, GM crops are currently being grown in a number of African countries. In 2010, almost 100,000 farmers in Burkina Faso planted GM cotton on some 260,000 hectares of land. This represented a 126 percent increase over the previous year. According to GM technology expert Dr. Ademola Adenle, GM cotton contributed at least $100 million to Burkina Faso’s economy over this period. In South Africa, the continent’s biggest producer of GM crops, GM technology is reported to have enhanced farm incomes by $156 million in the eight year period from 1998 to 2006.

If these statistics are to be believed, then there is real potential that gene researchers could use GM technology to develop drought resistant crops which could potentially help alleviate the perennial famines in the continent and in the process, help boost food security. Institutions such as the African

Social Entrepreneurship- Changing Lives in Africa.

While NGOs have operated in Africa for a long time, there is a new paradigm in the industry. The social entrepreneurship sector, even though nascent, is being embraced by many of the continent’s leaders to help fight some of the most debilitating conditions in the continent. The social entrepreneurship sector spans a large array of sectors, and it is hard to think of any sector that will not be disrupted by this mode of solving the continent’s most pressing problems.

At the South Africa based African Leadership Academy, the school’s founders, Fred Swaniker, Chris Bradford, and Acha Leke, envision a school that is going to create the next generation of African leaders. The school admits some of the most gifted students from Africa and around the world. Acceptance rates in the school are less than 5 percent. The school relies on a large number of donors, who help educate the students. The most needy students are awarded full scholarships, while those who can afford to pay cough up rates that they will be comfortable with. The school’s vision is to produce the next generation of African leaders that will push the curve in entrepreneurship,

How African stock markets can power the continent’s economy.

African stock markets are fairly nascent, especially when compared to the big global exchanges like NYSE, or the London Stock exchange. However, even though miniscule at present, the African stock markets prominence is growing ever more by the day. As of December 2009, the world’s stock exchanges had a market capitalization of $46.5 trillion. Africa accounted for only 2 percent of this capitalization. In that year, South Africa, Nigeria, and Egypt stock exchanges accounted for much of the stock exchange activity in the continent.

Still, more needs to be done to increase the number of listed firms in the stock exchanges. As of 2009, the listed firms in Africa accounted for only 3 percent of the global listed firms. What’s more, in recent years, there has been a reduction rather than an increase in the number of listed companies in the stock exchanges. There are many reasons why more companies are not trooping to the stock exchanges as happens elsewhere in the world.

For one, many businesses in Africa are family owned. This is the same scenario with other businesses elsewhere on the globe. However, in Africa, we find that there is an even more resolve for the small and medium owned family businesses to retain full control over their businesses. Given the general nature of funding for such businesses, it becomes easier to see why this trend is so widespread. Most

Insights from General Electric on integrating African economies.

According to General Electric, African economies must do certain
things right in order to integrate their economies. They must build a
denser interconnected network of transport and communication lines
that would link together Sub Saharan African countries. This would
facilitate trade within African countries. Currently, intra-African
trade is just 10 percent, while it is 40 percent for intra-north
American trade, and 60 percent for intra-Europe trade. Communication
and transport challenges have been cited as the reason for low trade
volumes within the continent. Africa's richest man, Aliko Dangote,
says that he needs 36 visas to travel around Africa, and only one for
the US. May be, this should be a lesson for African countries.

What will be Obama's legacy for Africa?

As US President Barrack Obama begins his sunset days of the American
presidency, historians will begin to get pensive on what his legacy
for Africa holds. It is fair to say that the euphoria with which
Africans greeted his Presidency has all but died down. When President
Obama spoke at Cairo University in 2009, and the Ghanaian parliament
in 2010, many African thought leaders had hoped that he would set his
mark on the continent. However, the US-Africa summit may be a defining
moment for the US Africa relations. The US government initiative,
Power Africa, has pledged at least 5 billion dollars to connect
African homes and companies to the electricity grid. There were also
investment pledges of at least 30 billion dollars in Bloomberg
supported US Africa business forum. Still, the Obama administration
will train young African leaders on leadership. Even then, Bill
Clinton is known for the AGOA export act, and George W. Bush for
malaria and AIDS drugs. What will Obama's legacy for Africa be?

South Africa, rising economies, ahead in curbing climate change.

Brazil, South Africa, India, and China, otherwise known as BASIC
countries in climate negotiations, are ahead in combating climate
change. In a meeting held in New Delhi last friday, BASIC countries
maintain that they have done their part in curbing climate change, and
developed countries must do more. Also, the BASIC countries accuse the
developed countries as being illogical for asking developing countries
to slow down on their carbon emissions since this would curtail the
economic growth of their countries.

Kenya Airways to issue statement on West African flights.

Kenyan national carrier Kenya Airways is to issue a statement on the
flights to West African routes, after Kenya was placed under a high
risk alert by WHO. Kenya Airways has still maintained flights to the
West African countries, despite the region being highly encumbered by
ebola. Major international airlines have withdrawn from the region but
major African airlines are still operating in the region. Even if
Kenya Airways pulls out of the region, Ethiopia airlines and South
Africa Airways still operate in the region. Kenya is a major travel
hub in Africa, and the country's airport, JKIA, acts as a connection
point for West African travelers to Dubai and the East.

African Development bank, AfDB, relocates back to Abidjan

The African Development Bank, AfDB, is finally back to Abidjan, after it relocated to Tunis 11 years ago at the height of the civil war in Ivory Coast. Africa Development bank has been at the forefront of major infrastructural projects in the continent, and it plans to incraese its lending to grand infrastructure projects in the contiennt, and take roles that the World bank and the IMF had been playing. In a twitter message, the Banks CEO, Donald Kaberuka, posted this,

 ""First day in office in Abidjan checking on our facilities as #AfDB returns to its HQ in #Ivory Coast after 11 years in #Tunis.Thanks all."

Encouraging more African women to take up tech careers.

Over the past decade, the number of African women venturing into the tech scene has been increasing. However, the numbers are not anywhere near the numbers of African men in tech. In a university in Uganda for instance, in one mechanical engineering class, there was only one female student in a class of 35 students. While the numbers in computer science or electrical engineering may not be as low, the truth is that women are still utterly underrepresented in the technology and engineering careers. However, this doesn’t have to be so.

Already In Africa, there are women who are breaking the glass ceiling and trailblazing in the tech sector. For example, we have examples of African female tech entrepreneurs like Regina Agyare (Soronko Solutions), Anne Amuzu (Nandi Mobile), Rebecca Enonchong (Apps Tech), who are all

Is Nigeria prepared to lead Africa?

About six months ago, Nigeria declared itself as Africa’s largest economy, after a rebasing of its economy saw its economy nearly double to half a trillion dollars. The rebasing of the economy saw previously unaccounted for aspects such as Nollywood, and the booming telecommunications industry included in the compilation. But in so doing, Nigeria put itself at the front row seat, and it must now take the leadership reigns of the continent, aside from South Africa.

Due to the large population of the country- at more than 170 million, Nigerian citizens’ lives haven’t changed much since the country was declared the largest economy in Africa. Even then, the rebasing placed the country at position 26 in the world, and near its goal of becoming among the 20 largest economies in

Illegal African migrants- Who is to blame?

Spain and Morocco are trading accusations over who exactly is to blame for the increase of illegal migrants to Spain. The last two days alone, more than 1,200 migrants have been trafficked to the borders of Spain, and Spain accuses Moroccans authorities of failing to carry out border patrols. Every year, thousands of Illegal migrants, mostly from sub Saharan Africa, make it to the borders of Europe, and border patrols have done little to dissuade these mostly young migrants from seeking a better life in Europe.

This comes even as most of Europe is deeply anti-immigration, and there has been a spate of right wing conservative parties and advocacy groups gaining ground. UKIP party in Britain is one such

What African tech innovators can learn from buzzfeed's fundraising.

Buzzfeed, which aggregates content from news sites, and also does help
clients create viral messages, managed to raise 50 million dollars.
What can African Technology entrepreneurs learn? First, that the
platform is all that matters. Buzzfeed raised this amount, while
actual news sites can't principally because Buzzfeed is a platform. In
fact, one pundit puts it succinctly that the true wealth on the
internet is made from distributing information rather than actually
owning the content.

Spain guards letting in illegal African immigrants.

Spain authorities are alleging that guards on the mediteranean border
are lazy and letting in migrants especially from Africa. Every year,
thousands of African migrants make it to Europe illegally through the
Mediterranean sea. Many die on the sea as a result of their boats
capsizing due to overcrowding. Many migrants hear of success stories
of their relatives abroad and are enticed by this seemingly fast paced
life. Many of the migrants from Sub Saharan Africa are jobless, and
any glimmer of hope is a chance that many cannot let go.

Ethiopia- Adopting a new kind of model for Africa?

The Ethiopian government has been on an all out roll out to adopt a new kind of development model. The Ethiopian government is actively investing in key projects, and preferring what is known as state directed development. For example, the country  has a huge stake in the yet to be launched Ethiopia grand renaissance dam, which is set to power much of Ethiopia and the Eastern Africa region with electricity.

The Ethiopian government is also actively investing in the Ethiopian Airlines, and this is seen in the way the airline has almost become the leading airline in Africa. However, contrary to many governments investments in Africa, the Ethiopian government leaves the management of these state enterprises to well capable

Africa's young- What opportunities lie ahead for them?

According to numerous reports, Africa is the youngest continent in the
world, with an average age of just 19 years. This explosion of the
youth population in Africa presents both opportunities and challenges
for the continent. It is an opportunity in that this demographic group
presents marketers and consumer companies with a mass market that
companies will be able to take advantage of. According to a UN report,
this young population will be more than 2 billion in 2050. Typically,
four in ten children in 2050 will be an African. However, this will
present serious challenges for African policy makers. Youth
unemployment will be a thorny issue, as more young Africans graduate
from colleges and universities. So, job creation should be of utmost
priority.

South Africa- Tackling Xenophobia.

South Africa is set to renew about 250,000 Zimbabwe visas, in a move
aimed at curbing illegal immigrants to South Africa. The visas had
been set to expire in December. The number of Zimbabweans crossing
over to South Africa has been steadily increasing, ever since
President Robert Mugabe began plans to redistribute land back to
indegenous Zimbabweans. The number of Zimbabweans crossing over to
South Africa reached a high in 2008 after the post election violence
in the country. However, ordinary South Africans are getting concerned
fearing that immigrants from other African countries are taking over
their jobs.

Africa's youth population to Increase to 1 billion by 2050- Report.

According to a new report by Unicef, Africa’s young population will swell to 1 billion by 2050. This means that Africa will account for about 40 percent of all children in the world by 2050. In 1950, African children made up only 10 percent of the world. Even then, infant mortality remains highest in Africa, and by these projections, infant mortality will contribute to about 70 percent of the infant mortality rate in the world.

According to the report, the high fertility rates and rising numbers of women of reproductive age over the next 35 years, will mean that almost two billion babies will be born in Africa. This

South Sudan-US gives 180 million dollars in aid.

The US is putting pressure on both sides of the conflict in South
Sudan to put an end to the 9 month conflict. The conflict that began
in December last year has left thousands dead and nearly a million
displaced. The conflict pitting former Vice President Riek Machar and
President Salva Kiir, has ground the South Sudan economy to a near
halt, and more than a million people are set to be affected by famine,
after the agricultural season failed due to the coflict. Currently,
oil revenues account for about 98 percent of the government's foreign
exchange. As a result of the raving famine, the United States has given an aid worth about $180 million to combat the looming famine in the country.

WHO ebola experimental drugs- Is it ethical?

The WHO has okayed the usage of the experimental Ebola drug zmap,
which in itself is fraught with a lot of ethical questions. According
to the WHO, the drug's benefits and side effects will have to be
explained to the patients before the drug can be administered to them.
However, this will raise a lot of ethical questions, not least if the
ebola patients are not infact being used as guinea pigs.

Ugandan to set up African Kickstarter.

Ugandan Andrew Rugasira has intimated that he wants to set up a
kickstarter kind of platform for Africans who want to set up social
enterprises. Mr. Rugasira is famed for his coffee brands, which are
exported to the EU, and has supported thousands of farmers through his
coffee factories. Mr. Rugasira plans to use the mobile payments
platform, MPESA, as a form of payment. Kickstarter has funded mostly
American causes, although a Kenyan innovation, BRCK, managed to raise
170,000 dollars on the platform recently, before securing a 1.2
million dollar venture capital funding. With a kickstarter kind of
model, more African entrepreneurs will be able to raise more money for
worthy social causes around Africa.

Can democracy really work in Africa?

Africa’s real problems manifest around the time of elections. Picture that in the last five years, there have been coups or near coups in Guinea, Mali, Central African Republic, and South Sudan. Let’s not forget the fragile situation in Northern Nigeria, where the instabilities continue to persist. So, what mus Afdrica do to curb these instabilities?

Many suggest that the real problem with Africa is democracy. That democracy as envsioned in the West cannot simply work in Africa. But is this really true? While Japan has managed to change govenrments left right and center within the last ten years, its stability and general economic prospects have not been affecetd much. The same could be said about Italy. These govenrments basically function even when the sitting

South Africa after Nelson Mandela.

It is now nine months since the iconic South African leader Nelson Mandela was laid to rest. His passing on, like that of many great leaders, inevitably leaves a void in the fabric of a nation. It is true that South Africa has produced many leaders, among them Steve Biko, Walter Sisulu, and Thabo Mbeki, just to mention a few anti-apartheid struggle leaders. However, it was Mandela whom the international media and the world embraced most.

While self rule was no doubt achieved, the country is still far from realizing an economic freedom for blacks and whites alike. True, the country is still the largest economy in Africa, and has an economy that many African nations can only dream of. Its universities are ranked the top in Africa, with a few competing with the best of the best in the world. It has a sizeable manufacturing industry, and is the leading auto maker in the continent. The gold and platinum mines are some of the largest in the world, and help propel the economy of the country. It is the only African nation to have hosted the

How Africa could benefit from its diaspora remittances.

When Microsoft board appointed CEO Satya Nadella to take over at the helm from the long time CEO Steve Ballmer, The Indian media was splash with several headlines. They all pointed to the increased number of powerful positions that the Indian born immigrants were playing in The United States. In August 2011, Time Magazine splashed the cover story ‘India’s Leading Export: CEOs.’ It is estimated that a third of Microsoft employees are of Indian descent. While many immigrants from Africa have not risen to the powerful positions as the Indian immigrants, they too have occupied important positions in Wall Street, leading universities, and even in Silicon Valley itself. There clout has grown so much that The African Union has recognized them as a special pillar of development in the continent. The AU secretariat has created a special institute, to be headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, to specifically research on the Africa diaspora remittances. 

Many immigrants from Africa hold at least a college degree, and are engaged in all sorts of economic activities. In a recent book written by Amy Chua and her husband Jed Rubenfeld, ‘The Triple

Top five growth trends for Africa to pay attention to.

In the wake of the recent US-Africa summit, in which many pundits now agree that the continent is on a positive growth trajectory, here are the top five growth trends for Africa currently.

1. The number of middle class Africans is increasing.

Regardless of what this definition means, the fact is that more and more Africans are joining the middle class ranks, thanks to economic growth that has been brought about by increased direct foreign investment mainly in the commodities, the telecommunications industry, and the service sector. This middle class is likely to drive the GDP of many African countries upwards.

2. The Fashion and Arts Scene is expanding.

The Oscar academy win by Lupita Nyong’o for the best supporting actress in the drama ‘12 Years a Slave’ is likely to inspire more Africans to move into the arts scene, which traditionally has been

Paula Kahumbu- Saving the extinct African elephants.

Dr. Paula Kahumbu is one of the forces behind Kenya’s, and by extension- Africa’s, wildlife conservancy movement. She says that, “If we are serious about wildlife conservation, we have to accept that the African leadership must be part and parcel of the fight against poaching.” Currently, as many as 50,000 elephants every year are shot to satisfy the surging ivory market, which is largely driven by China.

According to the Independent UK newspaper, at least 45 tonnes of ivory were sized in 2013, believed to be the biggest annual haul in the last 25 years. In South Africa, about 1,000 rhinos were killed, a 50 per cent increase on 2012. Dr. Kahumbu says that African leadership is still trying to understand why wildlife conservation matters. Currently, the only people making noise are non- African leaders.

Is the Africa rising narrative real?

Everyone seems to have woken up to the Africa rising narrative, and at least, the continent’s perception to the outside world seems to be changing from one of war, disease and poverty, to one of genuine development for the people. However, is the continent really on an upward trajectory, and is this rising tide lifting all boats on its way, especially the poorest of Africans?

At the moment, multinationals and consumer companies seem to be benefiting the most from this rising tide narrative. For example, the number of phones in Africa is well over 600 million, while the number of smartphones has exceeded the 100 million mark. The financial industry is also experiencing a boom, and

What kind of aid is appropriate for Africa?

As the curtains fell down on the US-Africa summit last week, there was a sudden realization of one thing. That the usual lectures about democracy, governance, and rule of law had been toned down, and that the United States was even willing to accommodate seasoned dictators like Equatorial Guinea’s Teodoro Obiang Nguema and Gambia’s Yahya Jahmmeh. That the United States engaged almost wholly on business and economic matters is both a good and a bad thing. 

It is a good thing in that the US has finally acknowledged the true potential of Africa aside from the usual aid towards humanitarian needs. The US now sees Africa as a continent beaming with opportunities, and one that might serve economic interests of the US well. In fact, the United States is late to this party, as other

Containing Ebola Virus in West Africa.

In a piece in the Harvard Business Review blog, the CEO of Ogilvy Public relations, Christopher Graves, makes the case that communication is the key to containing the spread of Ebola in West Africa. He argues that “Whether the world’s scariest outbreak of Ebola can be managed may come down to communications. Can governments, NGOs, and doctors communicate with very different audiences – with accuracy, agility, and ingenuity? Can they be convincing?”

While communication may be key in containing the spread of Ebola, Mr. Graves misses the big picture here. It is simply that the health infrastructure in these countries is overstretched, that even effective communication alone cannot do the trick. To start with, the number of public health staff in the affected countries is simply low, staff that would have been used for the very communication that Mr. Graves argues for. The hospitals themselves do not have any decent equipment, and the pay for the few specialized health workers is pitifully low. When you have health workers themselves fearing that they may be infected, and people refusing to go to hospitals fearing that they might contact the virus while in hospital, then you know that you have a crisis on your hands. Already, Nigeria and other countries in West Africa, as in the rest of Africa, are facing a migration of qualified health professionals.  For instance, there are more specialist Nigerian doctors in the West than there are in Nigeria itself. The case is no different from Liberia, Sierra Leone, and the other affected countries.

What’s needed then is for the affected countries, and the African countries in general, to increase the quality and training of its health personnel. For instance, when Ethiopia realized that it couldn’t compete with the Western countries, it increased the number of trained doctors and nurses by four times. This had the effect of keeping the numbers of these health professionals uniform, even after the others had left.

Still, even after the Ebola virus is contained, African countries must increase their efforts in curbing common diseases such as malaria, HIV, and the other communicable diseases. Currently, Africa relies too heavily on the efforts of outsiders to curb common diseases, which is welcome in times of crisis, but should not be the basis for long term health infrastructure development of the continent. Otherwise, history rhymes, and African countries will continue to have an escalation of preventable diseases. 

Can Africa claim the 21st Century?

The US-Africa Summit just concluded, and many declarations were made. Still, opinion is divided on the real potential of Africa. One school of thought is that there are ever more conflicts and instabilities in Africa, and the poverty levels in Africa have gone up, rather than down. For instance, according to the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics report in 2012, the absolute poverty numbers had in fact gone up, even while the country was growing at a rate of 7 percent per year. Even with the huge mineral resources in Nigeria, the country has not yet been able to lift millions of its people out of poverty. And yet, Nigeria’s situation, so often referred to as the paradox of plenty, in which a country has high poverty levels despite huge resources, is so widespread across Africa.

Still, a second school of thought is that African economies are growing at a rate faster than before. The World Bank cites that six of the ten fastest growing economies in the world are in Africa. The increased optimism in the continent is further fuelled by the increasing number of African middle class. The African

Should Africa lean to the US or to China?

The United States seems to be late in the party in wooing African leaders, and the invitation by US President Barrack Obama seems to be the first in this long journey. The Chinese have since gained ground, and the country regularly hosts leaders from Africa. This is in line with investments mainly in the minerals and infrastructure, which together total in the billions of dollars. African leaders crave Chinese aid since it doesn’t come with the usual lectures of good governance and corruption, which the West has been known to give African leaders.

And yet, there are many points to argue on why Africa should neither stick to China, nor to the US, or more broadly, the West. First, China is not as benevolent as we might want to think. It invests in Africa primarily to assure itself of a constant supply of mineral resources. How then is this different from the exploitation by Western countries for nearly 500 years? Besides, some African thought leaders are already warning of deep Chinese involvement in the continent. In an opinion piece in the Financial Times in March 2013, the immediate former central bank governor for Nigeria, Lamido

Building a better mechanism for funding African Start-ups.

A few weeks ago, a notable Kenyan innovation, BRCK, secured Series A venture capital funding of about 1.2 million dollars. BRCK is a kind of a modem router that lets users access the internet in the remotest of regions. Previously, BRCK had raised about $170,000 dollars from the fundraising website, kickstarter. BRCK is one of the many innovations that have come out of Ihub, the others being Ushahidi, a disaster monitoring site, that has also gone global.

And yet, BRCK is a notable exception to the general lack of funding for startup businesses. Too often, banks seem to be making quite cheap money from the real estate and the personal loan industry, that many would deem it extremely risky to lend to start-ups, especially the intangible ones in the IT or internet and e-commerce industry. What then are the options for start-ups looking for funding?

Most would turn to their savings, but this is not sustainable in the long run, especially if the venture is a new innovation that will take time to pick in the market. For small start-ups that only require a few thousands of shillings, personal savings could be effective. Also, some micro enterprises could turn to