Year 9 | Edition 35 | 16 September 2022
 
Liquid Cloud brings Amazon Web Service Direct Connect to business customers across Africa

Liquid Cloud, a pan-African technology group, has announced that it has been approved by Amazon Web Service (AWS) as a Direct Connect Delivery Partner.

This prestigious certification secured by Liquid Cloud, a business of Cassava Technologies, ensures that it is one of only four partners in Africa to secure this achievement after undergoing an extensive and rigorous technical and business review by AWS. Available to customers in all countries with Liquid operations, existing and potential AWS customers can...

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Mobile remittances to lead digital revolution in marginal rural areas in five African countries

To harness the development benefits of using mobile channels to send and receive remittances, the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) announced its first grant to a digital payments company, MFS Africa, to promote the use of mobile remittances in marginal rural areas in five African countries; Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, The Gambia and Uganda.

Mobile remittances, the money that migrant workers sent home through digital channels using mobile technology, can play a catalytic role linking individuals and businesses to the formal economy, while providing access to key financial...

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Wasoko partners with the government of Zanzibar to establish an innovation hub

Wasoko (formerly Sokowatch), the African e-commerce company leveraging innovative technology to transform the informal retail supply chain, has announced the official launch of the “Wasoko Innovation Hub” in partnership with the Zanzibar government.

Located in Fumba Town, Zanzibar, the new Hub will focus on building world-class tech solutions that will drive Africa’s e-commerce industry for years to come, becoming home to over 500 visionary engineers, product managers, UX designers...

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Curbon-neutral online shopping launches in South Africa

With a goal to curb carbon emissions, South African startup Curbon, will make carbon-neutral online shopping possible through the launch of the country’s very first plugin created to help fight climate change.

Curbon’s unique offering gives shoppers the opportunity to take direct, meaningful climate action with every online purchase. Using data from the world’s leading climate science institutions, the startup’s flagship product estimates the emissions of customers’ carts at checkout and empowers...

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Jaime Pinto appointed as Software Group’s Chief Commercial Officer for Africa

Software Group has announced the appointment of Jaime Pinto as the Chief Commercial Officer for the Africa region.

Jaime brings his 20+ years of professional experience in Payments, Telecom, Mobile and Financial solutions from Africa, Asia and Europe, having worked at different sized organizations - from large corporates to SMEs and start-ups. His entrepreneurial mindset has brought him to dive deeper and gain expertise in domains like Innovative Solutions...

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Mastercard partners with Google to launch Google Pay in South Africa

Mastercard, a technology company in the global payments industry, has collaborated to launch Google Pay in South Africa.

Cardholders can conveniently and securely tap to pay with their Android phones or supported Wear OS devices in stores, where contactless is in operation, online and through apps, strengthening digital payment capabilities across South Africa. A secure, more seamless way to transact, Google Pay saves customers from handing over their payment cards, touching...

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Bboxx acquires West African solar energy company PEG Africa

Bboxx has cemented its status as the platform for life-changing products and services on the African continent by joining forces with PEG Africa, one of the largest providers of distributed energy in West Africa and one of the continent’s fastest-growing companies.

PEG is a solar energy pioneer in West Africa and has one of the broadest footprints in the region with operations in four countries, close to 100 service centres and over 500 employees. The acquisition will transform the continent’s...

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Flutterwave launches eNaira payments for businesses in Nigeria

Flutterwave merchants can now process payments in eNaira, the Nigerian digital currency issued and distributed by the Central Bank of Nigeria. This aligns with Flutterwave's commitment to providing the best payment experience for businesses everywhere.

The eNaira joins the robust list of payment options available on Flutterwave. Merchants can now enable the eNaira payment option for collection from their customers via API and Checkout.  In what will be perceived as a victory for Nigeria...

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[Ghana] DPO Group collaborates with Mastercard to help businesses accept digital payments

DPO Group has partnered with Mastercard to enable thousands of businesses in Ghana to offer their customers greater choice and convenience by pivoting online and accepting digital payments.

Through the collaboration, DPO will leverage Mastercard’s digital payments technology to enable merchants to safely, seamlessly and securely accept a wide range of digital payment methods including mobile money and via e-wallets – both locally and from abroad – in the currency of their...

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Mastercard and Ecobank Group partner to digitize agricultural value chains in Africa

Mastercard and Ecobank Group have partnered to connect millions of smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa to Mastercard’s Farm Pass – a digital platform that makes it safer and easier for farmers to sell their produce at a fair price.

Under the partnership, Ecobank will extend the reach and impact of the Mastercard Farm Pass platform leveraging its Pan-African network of 33 countries. Many smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa face several challenges. These include...

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mPharma acquires majority stake in Nigerian pharmacy chain HealthPlus

mPharma, Africa’s patient-centered technology-driven healthcare company, has acquired the majority stake in HealthPlus, a pharmacy chain in Nigeria. mPharma and the former investor, Alta Semper, have signed an agreement leading to the acquisition of a majority stake in the HealthPlus Group.

According to the Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of mPharma, Gregory Rockson, the acquisition is in line with the company’s mission to build an Africa that is in good health by delivering life-changing healthcare services and drugs to...

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Stanbic Bank’s borderless banking platform records demand and growth in East Africa

The growth of Stanbic Bank’s East Africa Borderless Banking platform has revealed a pent-up demand for secure, real-time transactions across international borders.

Spanning a single network that includes Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya and South Sudan, the Borderless Banking solution has grown exponentially between January 2021 to March 2022, at a rate of USD 40 million of transactional volume from virtually zero in January 2021. From February to March 2022 alone, the volume of successful transactions grew 24%, with a total...

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Equity bank set to acquire certain assets and liabilities of Spire Bank, Kenya

Equity Bank announced it has signed an Assets and Liabilities Purchase Agreement with Spire Bank for the purchase of certain assets and liabilities.

In its un-audited half year financial report as at June 2022, Spire Bank reported total customer deposits liabilities of KES 1,938 million and net loans and advances to customers of Kshs.1,745 million together with additional statutory loan loss reserves of Kshs. 800 million that reduce the net loan and advances after applying statutory loan loss provisions of KES...

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Ghana signs RLSF MoU to promote access to reliable, clean, and affordable electricity

In line with its mission to promote access to reliable, clean, and affordable electricity, the Government of Ghana has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI) for the roll-out of the Regional Liquidity Support Facility (RLSF) within the country.

The RLSF, a joint initiative of ATI, the KfW Development Bank on behalf of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad), is a financial product that is designed to address the short-term...

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IFC’s investments in digital infrastructure hit new record, bridge connectivity gaps in emerging markets

For the second year in a row, IFC investments in the telecommunications, media, and technology sector surpassed the $1 billion mark, totaling $1.3 billion and representing a five-fold increase in digital infrastructure commitments over the past five years.

IFC's investments reflect the tremendous growth opportunities presented by the telecom sector across emerging markets globally, including further rollouts of 4G and fiber networks and expansion of digital technologies, enterprise IT services...

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The African Business Roundtable welcomes new members to its organization

Individuals and businesses join the African Business Roundtable for numerous reasons, and the organization’s objectives have been carefully designed to serve them. Today the ABR represents companies of all sizes, and its members include businesses across every sector of the economy, chambers, business associations, and private sector organizations.

The African Business Roundtable’s key activities include trade and investment missions, economic summits, research, business information and communication, policy commission, advocacy functions, general meetings, trainings and...

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[Interview] Dr. Mohamed El Sahili, CEO, Medland Hospital, Zambia

Dr. Mohamed El Sahili is the Chief Executive Officer of Medland Hospital, Zambia. As a medical doctor and entrepreneur, Dr. Sahili also serves on the board of key economic international organizations like the African Business Roundtable, the American Chamber of Commerce, Zambia, Olympic Youth Development Center and the Africa CEO Forum. 

Please tell us about Medland Hospital and how you came to be its leader

From a young age, I always knew that I wanted to be a doctor. I envisioned making a difference in people’s lives by providing access to affordable, timely and quality health care. Today, the vision is a reality by Medland Hospital. Located in Lusaka...

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[Interview] Nixon Kanali, Founder, TechTrendsKE, Kenya

Nixon Kanali is a Kenyan-based tech journalist, blogger and digital influencer. Since 2014 he has been running TechTrendsKE, a platform that highlights developments and trends in the tech space.  He is also the Tech editor at Africa Business Communities. Nick has been nominated in the 2022 Pulse Influencers Awards under the Tech Influencer of the year award category. To vote for him click here

Tell us a bit about yourself

Well, I wear many hats.  I am a tech journalist, blogger and digital influencer based in Kenya. My day-to-day activities involve writing, reporting and blogging on technology trends in Kenya and across Africa including startups, something I...

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[Startup Interview] Tesh Mbaabu, CEO, MarketForce, Kenya

Tesh Mbaabu is a serial entrepreneur who lives to blend commerce and technology. He is the Co-founder and CEO of Kenyan-based B2B platform for retail distribution of consumer goods and digital financial services in Africa Today, MarketForce MarketForce. 

Where is MarketForce headquartered and where else do you have offices? 

MarketForce was founded in Kenya by Mesongo Sibuti and I in 2018. We are headquartered in the US and have offices in Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda. For our readers’ better understanding, who is MarketForce and what...

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[UNICAF] Scholarship Opportunities

Unicaf is an online and blended learning higher education platform that is dedicated to making higher education of international standard accessible, by offering scholarship opportunities to professionals and young school leavers.

What are scholarship opportunities?

A scholarship could be defined as financial aid that relieves the burden of tuition fees and living costs that students and families have to pay to secure a place in secondary and tertiary education. Considering the rising costs of student expenses and debts, we could nowadays describe education...

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The Africa Trade Expo (TATE) | Virtual Conference and Trade Show | 9 March 2022 - 9 March 2023

The Africa Trade Expo (TATE) presents direct access to African buyers whose main aim is to source the latest products, establish partnerships, and conclude import/export deals. TATE is an ongoing virtual trade show for African businesses to network, collaborate, and enter into partnerships with international manufacturers and exporters. Present your new opportunities, network, build relationships and grow your business in African markets...

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Future Foods | African Food & Beverage Industries Virtual Conference & Trade Show | 9 March 2022 - 9 March 2023

Future Foods is a virtual meeting place for importers, F&B managers, retail category buyers, owner-operators, agents, and distributors from across Africa’s diverse and booming market to come to conferences, to network, meet exhibitors, source products, new ingredients, retail shelf-ready products, and the latest processing, packaging, and logistics solutions. Future Foods connects attendees exhibitors across the...

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[Column] Percy Letwaba: State’s developmental role puts procurement at center of economy

Following years of economic hardship caused largely by the pandemic and exacerbated by the ripple effects of a constrained global supply chain, the South African government’s role in driving economic growth and job creation has been put back into the spotlight.

With the Presidency announcing a raft of measures aimed at attracting foreign direct investment, unlocking local investment, improving capacity-building, and creating new jobs, work is underway to repair some of the damage...

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[Column] Agnes Kalibata: Responding to crisis, growing Africa’s food systems

In recent years, Africa has been dealing with a multitude of overlapping food systems shocks — climate-induced drought and floods, locust attacks, the COVID-19 pandemic, and conflict.

The World Bank warns that for each one percentage point increase in food prices, 10 million people are thrown into extreme poverty. If food prices stay this high for a year, global poverty could go up by more than 100 million people. As the world scrambles to address the current crises, the continent...

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[Column] Grant Phillips: Digitally transforming the enterprise

Ask a variety of companies of different sizes in different sectors to define what digital transformation means for them and you will, in all likelihood, receive many divergent responses.

Customers and times are changing, and business must keep apace with those changes. Whilst it is an undeniable fact that in the post-covid world, companies have to embrace new ways of doing business, it is also true that many have not been successful in their migration from paper, bricks and mortar, face-to-face customer services and other ‘analogue’...

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[East Africa Business Week] Bob Koigi: Banking on innovations, partnerships to grow financial services sector

As competition in the financial services sectors to grow customer numbers and strengthen foothold in the region increases,  institutions are innovating through acquisitions, launch of new products and revising strategies.

 These developments have led to improved services and a robust sector that is shaping the region’s financial services industry dynamics. Equity Bank Kenya Ltd, a subsidiary of Equity Group Holdings recently signed an Assets and Liabilities Purchase Agreement with Spire Bank Limited for the...

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News Headlines

28-03-2024 | 13:03:44
Unilever accelerates Growth Action Plan by launching productivity programme
Unilever has announced steps to accelerate its Growth Action Plan (GAP) through the separation of Ice Cream and the launch of a major productivity programme.


27-03-2024 | 14:51:22
JW Marriott unveils second property in Kenya
Standing as the tallest hotel in the country with 35 stories in the Westlands commercial district, JW Marriott Hotel Nairobi captures the essence of Kenya’s natural beauty and heritage.


27-03-2024 | 13:22:16
Uganda set to join Single African Air Transport Market
So far, only fourteen countries out of 29 that belong to the Eastern Africa, Southern Africa and Indian Ocean Community (IOC) have acceded to the Single African Air Transport Market, six years since it was launched.


27-03-2024 | 13:19:37
German manufacturer Karcher invests €3 million in the Kenyan market
This investment was made to operationalize the business into a full subsidiary, which includes a regional distribution center at the Freight Forwarders Solutions warehouse, Tatu City, the 5,000-acre mixed-use Special Economic Zone (SEZ) on Nairobi's doorstep, positioning Kenya as a hub for East Africa.


27-03-2024 | 13:13:32
Nissan Africa announces regional appointments 
Jordi Vila, currently Nissan Divisional Vice President Marketing and Sales Europe has been appointed as President Nissan Africa, as DVP.


26-03-2024 | 14:56:32
Radisson Hotel Group targets to have 25 hotels in Morocco by 2030
As Morocco continues to be a crucial market for development, the Group is accelerating its expansion in the country and has therefore extended the portfolio of Erwan Garnier, Senior Director for Development, to include Morocco.


22-03-2024 | 13:48:59
Kenya Airways and Virgin Atlantic announce new codeshare agreement
The first phase of the agreement will allow customers booking through Virgin Atlantic to directly purchase flights on Kenya Airways’ Heathrow to Nairobi service.  


22-03-2024 | 10:43:33
Mark-Anthony Johnson: Is Africa splitting in two?
Mark-Anthony Johnson: Is Africa splitting in two?


22-03-2024 | 10:18:00
Africa’s vibrant and sustainable creations
In many African communities, creativity knows no bounds. A unique and fascinating trend has emerged, where individuals repurpose flip-flops into remarkable crafts.


21-03-2024 | 07:58:00
Nissan Navara to fly the flag up through Africa in daring expedition
Dubbed Nissan Daring Africa 2024, the expedition will visit Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania and Kenya before ending in Egypt.


20-03-2024 | 14:38:00
[Column] Anthony Mwangi: Road towards gainful employment in Kenya: The Dual TVET approach
The evolving employment landscape demands a fresh perspective, one that champions the pragmatic alternative of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET).


20-03-2024 | 13:25:30
 TradeMark Africa launches Ghana Country Programme Oversight Committee
The Committee will play a critical role in overseeing trade and customs development programs designed to enhance trade growth and competitiveness not only within Ghana, but also along the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor.


20-03-2024 | 09:53:00
[Webinar] Complimentary expert session for Telecom leaders and Startups in Africa, March 21
Designed for telecom leaders and startups, thia event offers invaluable strategies for expanding services, managing FX risks, enhancing cross-border payments, and establishing credibility in the international arena.


19-03-2024 | 15:00:43
Xsolla unveils new payment methods for gamers in Africa
This move addresses the unique financial landscape of Africa, where a significant portion of the population, particularly in regions like Ghana and Uganda, remains unbanked.


18-03-2024 | 11:12:30
[Column] Hassan Egeh: Somalia's battle with climate change effect
Climate change has significant effects on Somalia, impacting various aspects of the country. Droughts and water scarcity have become more severe, leading to a loss of vegetation and livestock deaths. This has resulted in food insecurity, with crop failures and reduced agricultural productivity.


 


 
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