Investment banks, brokers, and corporate organisation charts usually classify Morocco as part of the Middle East and north Africa, or MENA — reflecting the country’s strong cultural, linguistic and historical links with the Middle East. But Saïd Ibrahimi, chief executive of Casablanca Finance City, launched in 2010 to help promote Morocco as a “gateway” to investment in Africa, insists that thinking is wrong. “We are more African than we are Middle Eastern,” he states unequivocally, rejecting the entire notion of sub-Saharan Africa as anachronistic. “Africa must trust Africa,” he says, quoting a 2014 speech in Abidjan in which Morocco’s King…
Author: Johnson Akinyi
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In the dynamic world of retail, understanding the evolving nature of the consumer journey is paramount. With increasing technological advancements and rising customer expectations, retailers need to be agile and responsive, ensuring their customers can seamlessly navigate an unlimited array of shopping experiences. To cater to this demand, unified commerce platforms are stepping up, offering solutions that not only enhance customer experience but also help retailers effectively manage their operations. In South Africa, where intermittent power supply often means people have to be tactical shoppers, understanding local nuances of using world-class international solutions become crucial. For instance, local retail customers…
Deion Sanders has brought immense success to “Prime 21” sunglasses. Riding on the Colorado coach’s current fame, Blenders Eyewear has raked in a massive amount of $4.5 million already. Brobible noted that it all started when Jay Norvell, a rival coach, criticized Sanders’ signature eyewear and posture during interviews some days before the Rams faced the Colorado Buffaloes. Norvell remarked, “When I talk to grownups, I take my hat and my glasses off. That’s what my mother taught me.” After Norvell’s comments, the sunglasses quickly went viral. Unaffected by the jab, Coach Sanders even went ahead to provide his entire…
A policy and regulations development specialist, Tunji Ariyomo, has advised the government to seek homegrown solutions to the energy crisis in Nigeria. Mr Ariyomo said the country will achieve rapid economic development if it attains energy sufficiency. Mr Ariyomo, an infrastructure development and finance expert, said this at a public lecture organised by the Nigerian Society of Engineers in Akure. Nigeria’s energy crisis has worsened with the removal of fuel subsidy by the Federal Government in May, leading to increases in the pump price of petrol. Before the step, the national energy outfit, NNPCL, said it spent N400 billion monthly…
Nairobi, Kenya, 7th September 2023 – Africa investor (Ai) participated in the African Unions’ inaugural Africa Climate Summit (ACS), on “Driving Green Growth and Climate Finance Solutions for Africa and the World.” The ACS held between the September the 4th to the 6th of September 2023, bringing together 25 Heads of State and Governments, and over 20,000 delegates, to discuss sustainable solutions to global climate challenges and Africa’s green industrial transformation. Ai, led by Dr Hubert Danso, Ai CEO and Chairperson and Chairperson of the African Union’s Continental Business Network (CBN), participated in ACS Ministerial and Presidential Day panel discussions…
The Federal Government, on Wednesday, announced that it issued letters of award to 42 firms for the 2022 Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme. It announced this in a statement issued in Abuja by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission. The statement read in part, “The NUPRC hereby announces the outcome of the bidding exercise and issuance of letters of award to 42 companies/entities deemed successful in the keenly contested bid for 49 flare sites put forward during the 2022 Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme auction process. “38 of the companies/entities have been awarded 40 flare sites for standalone single flare…
Listen to this story. Enjoy more audio and podcasts on iOS or Android.Your browser does not support the <audio> element.In a hair salon in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital, an argument breaks out over the new president’s performance. “He’s just starting,” says a young man. His barber is less forgiving. “Is that not what they told us about [former president Muhammad] Buhari? The next thing, eight years have passed.” Soon other staff and customers have joined the argument, pointing to the rising price of garri, (cassava flour) and soaring transport costs.After hotly contested elections Bola Tinubu was inaugurated as Nigeria’s president…
Kenya’s Green Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap was launched at the Africa Climate Summit on Tuesday with the signing of a deal that will see the EU invest €12m ($12.9m) in the country’s green economy.The Roadmap, developed with EU experts and forming part of the EU’s Global Gateway investment strategy, sets out Kenya’s ambitions to develop its green hydrogen industry from now till 2032 and beyond. It focuses on domestic market development and growth, exports, and includes specific objectives related to emission reduction, job creation, and direct investments.Through its updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), Kenya’s ambition is to reduce greenhouse gas…
As the global call for sustainable and equitable food systems grows louder, Africa stands at a crossroads. Initiatives like the UN Food Systems Summit and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have ignited momentum for change. However, the path to transforming Africa’s food systems is marred by challenges that demand innovative solutions and our immediate attention.As the world’s political and business leaders gather in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, for the Africa Food Systems Forum Summit 2023 from 5 to 8 September, the biggest puzzle in transforming Africa’s Food Systems remains governance issues. The crossroads is a choice between policy and political…
In a successful effort to propel transitional African economies towards stability and growth, the African Development Bank’s Financial Modelling for the Extractives (FIMES) project has showcased remarkable results, as representatives from eight African countries benefiting from FIMES concluded a final learning workshop in Abidjan last Thursday. Coming from Guinea, Liberia, Madagascar, Niger, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, and Zimbabwe, the participants shared their experiences around the programme launched in 2020 for two days. FIMES is a multi-country project funded by the African Development Bank Group’s Transition Support Facility and implemented by the African Natural Resources Management and Investment Centre (ANRC). The…