The East African Community Partner States are in the process of harmonizing critical policies and putting in place the requisite institutions to attain a single currency for the region by 2024 as outlined in the EAC Monetary Union Protocol.

EAC Secretary General Amb. Liberat Mfumukeko said that the Bill for the establishment of the East African Monetary Institute (EAMI) had already been assented to by the Summit of Heads of State, adding that the EAMI would later be...

A new small-scale agricultural machinery leasing scheme in Amhara region, Ethiopia is offering farmers and group of farmers the opportunity to buy agricultural machineries with only 15-20 per cent advance payment and the rest to be paid during a three-year period.

Three farmers participated in the pilot phase of the project. This initiative, led by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the German Development Agency (GIZ), is one more step to expand small-scale...

Gigawatt Global’s 7.5MW solar plant in Burundi becomes the first grid-connected project supported by the Renewable Energy Performance Platform (REPP) to begin full construction.

The project is also the first grid-connected solar development by an independent power producer (IPP) in Burundi. It is hoped the success of the venture will pave the way for further foreign investment into the country’s renewable energy sector by demonstrating the government’s increased capacity - and...

DPO Group, a payments technology company in Africa, has announced that it is now operating in Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire and the Democratic Republic of Congo in francophone Africa.

The company works with over 100,000 merchants throughout Africa enabling businesses to pay and be paid on and offline quickly, securely and easily. "We believe that there is significant potential for e-commerce in francophone Africa, making the region a key focus area for us. While we've been...

Nigerian fintech startup Paga, poised for global expansion, has announced its acquisition of Apposit, a United States (US)-based technology company with operations in Ethiopia.

Founded in 2009, Paga provides Nigerians with safe and convenient ways of making payments, allowing money to be sent to any phone number for the beneficiary to redeem at a Paga agent or at an ATM via a cardless withdrawal. Customers can also use Paga to deposit money to bank accounts in...

South Africa’s agricultural machinery market is one of those sectors that “feels the cold when farmers are sneezing”, and 2019 was certainly that case. South Africa’s primary agriculture underperformed because of drought and biosecurity issues, amongst other aspects.

The constrained farmers’ income on the back of the aforementioned factors was reflected in agricultural machinery sales for 2019. Tractors and combine harvesters’ sales were...

Often regarded as one of the orphan crops as more farmers abandon it for more modern crops, the West African yam is making a big come back and conquering international markets thanks to the value addition efforts of Lateef Apau Wiredu, the owner and CEO of Ilaha Ghana Company Limited that specializes in the farming and export of agricultural products.

The company has been working with farmers through an out grower scheme in its signature crop, the yam, and then processing the fresh yams into frozen sliced precooked yam...

The eSignature market is highly regulated with a plethora of choices when it comes to vendor solutions. Organisations are often overwhelmed with a vast range of possibilities when implementing electronic signatures into their business processes, and this often stifles the adoption.

Key to any eSignature solution selection is understanding what standards have been established to ensure that the organisation’s investment is protected. Standards have a...

Africa Business Communities is open for networking! Every last Thursday of the month you are welcome to meet our team and network. This edition Africa Business Communities founder Bas Vlugt will join us.

Please note: this is an open, informal, non-sponsored networking event. There will be no program - so no waste of time - this is pure business networking. You will be...