Author: Frank

AfDB and Italian Technical Cooperation Fund extend US$1.18m grant to boost agriculture value chains in Mozambique

Frank

MOZAMBIQUE – The African Development Bank (AfDB), with financing from the Italian Technical Cooperation Fund, has provided a €990,000 (US$1.18 million) grant to help smaller agro-processing enterprises in Mozambique boost production and quality control. The project will enable the businesses to better tap into national and regional markets and capitalize on the opportunities created by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The Confederation of Business Associations of Mozambique is the implementing agency. “We are pleased to receive this grant from the African Development Bank and the Italian Technical Cooperation Fund,…

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Kenya to sign trade agreement with EU without her EAC partners

Frank

KENYA – The European Union plans to sign an Economic Partnership Agreement(EPA) with Kenya, leaving out the rest of East African Counties that have failed to ratify the trade deal. According to Valdis Dombrovskis, the block’s executive vice-president and trade commissioner, the European trading block will first sign the agreement with Kenya as other EAC counties wait for ratification. The EPA agreement was concluded seven years ago but had not come into life due to lack of signatures from other EAC counties. Kenya has already signed the regional EPA and…

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Qatar Airways to add Lusaka, Harare routes starting August 2021

Frank

ZAMBIA – Qatar Airways will add Zambia and Zimbabwe to its expanding list of destinations in Africa beginning early August 2021. The launch of Lusaka and Harare supports increased demand for trade between Zambia and Zimbabwe and destinations on the Qatar Airways network such as London, Frankfurt and New York and from multiple points in China. With a total of 30 tonnes of cargo capacity on the aircraft per flight, Qatar Airways Cargo will play a key role in facilitating key exports from Zambia and Zimbabwe. The new service to…

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Windhoek invites bids from IPPs to generate 25MWp of solar power

Frank

NAMIBIA – The municipality of Windhoek, Namibia has launched a call for expressions of interest for the financing, construction and operation of a 25 MWp solar photovoltaic plant. The Independent Power Producers (IPPs) interested in the tender have until 19 August 2021 to submit their bids. The municipality intends to rely on an independent power producer (IPP) to install a solar photovoltaic plant in a public-private partnership (PPP) with the city for a period of 25 years. The power purchase agreement (PPA) that will be signed for this project is…

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OeEB, EIB launch US$119m private sector financing initiative for businesses affected by COVID-19

Frank

AFRICA – The Development Bank of Austria (OeEB) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) have launched a new EUR100 million (US$119.38m) private sector financing initiative for entrepreneurs and businesses most impacted by economic, health and social challenges triggered by COVID-19. The programme will enhance access to long-term financing across sub-Saharan Africa, help to create thousands of jobs and accelerate sustainable development and poverty reduction. The first joint business financing supported by the two institutions will provide both direct loans to companies in Africa and financing managed by local banks. “This…

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Emerson releases its 2020 Environmental, Social and Governance Report

Frank

GLOBAL – Emerson, a multinational corporation, has announced the publication of its 2020 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report highlighting how the company develops and delivers technologies, software and services to enable greater sustainability, efficiency and safety for essential industries while supporting communities worldwide. Within the new report, Emerson shared its goal to double representation of women globally and U.S. minorities at the leadership level by 2030. This goal underscores Emerson’s commitment to empowering a diverse global workforce. This is as Emerson helps drive progress across industries. The company is…

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Fintech startup Chaka receives license to operate its digital platform for buying and selling stocks

Frank

NIGERIA – Chaka, a fintech startup, has received a license from Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to operate its digital platform for buying and selling stocks after months of uncertainty regarding regulations. Chaka becomes the first to acquire the digital sub-broker license introduced by SEC in April of this year. As part of a major amendment to its Consolidated Rules and Regulations, SEC recognised sub-brokers who use digital platforms to serve multiple brokers. Tosin Osibodu, the startup’s CEO, said that the acquisition took a tremendous amount of effort and…

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Recruitment startup Giraffe acquired by Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator

Frank

SOUTH AFRICA – Mobile recruitment platform Giraffe has been acquired by the Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator, with the start-up’s existing base of jobseekers and employers to be invited to join the South Africa Youth Initiative. Founded in 2015, Giraffe is a fully automated, low-cost recruitment agency service operating across South Africa and focusing on medium-skilled jobs such as call centre, field sales, customer service and retail. The start-up’s mobile app enables jobseekers to make a CV on their phone for free, take educational courses and apply for jobs, and is zero-rated on…

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America’s FM:Systems acquires South Africa’s visitor management startup WizzPass

Frank

SOUTH AFRICA –  FM:Systems, a dominant provider of digital workplace solutions globally, has announced that it has acquired WizzPass, a rapidly growing leader in the visitor management system and workplace management market. Used and trusted by leading companies across multiple continents, the WizzPass system is efficient, easy to use and can be configured to suit any facility or organization. Founded in 2015 and based in Johannesburg, WizzPass focuses on improving the often manual and insecure processes and systems involved with traditional facility visitor management and its visitor management system revolutionises the experience, security,…

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Mozambique to offload majority stake in US$2.4b Mphanda Nkuwa hydropower dam

Frank

MOZAMBIQUE – Mozambique has announced plans to sell a majority stake in the planned US$2.4 billion Mphanda Nkuwa hydropower, which is set to be one of the biggest in Southern Africa. The aim is to reach a financial close by 2024 on the 1,500MW facility and an associated transmission line that could increase the total project cost to as much as US$4.4 billion. The government will issue a request for proposals this year 2021 and will take up to four months to select the winner and another six weeks to…

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