Corporate Council on Africa’s latest news

 

(Posted 20th July 2023)

 

CCA IN THE NEWS

Botswana hosts 1,0000 business, political leaders for US-Africa Business Summit
The Africa Report
More than 1,000 African and American business leaders and government officials are expected to descend on the landlocked nation of fewer than three million people from 11-14 July for this year’s US-Africa Business Summit… Read More>>>

Botswana: US-Africa Summit to Elevate Nations Voice
All Africa
The leadership of Francistown has hailed the US-Africa Business Summit an opportunity to create investment synergies and expose Botswana to international investors. Commenting on the side lines of the summit on Wednesday, Botswana Investment and Trade Centre (BITC) Manager in Francistown, Mr Kebaswele Kebaswele said BITC was ready to scout for new business opportunities during the ongoing US-Africa Business Summit… Read More>>>

U.S.- Africa Trade and Investment Flourish, Fueling Economic Growth And Job Creation
The Seattle Medium
According to a White House Fact Sheet, these deals have an estimated total value of $5.7 billion, bolstering economic growth and fostering shared prosperity on both continents. Since 2021, the U.S. Government has successfully closed over 900 deals across 47 African countries, amounting to a total estimated value of $22 billion in two-way trade and investment… Read More>>>

“Namibia Open for Business” – Mbumba at 2023 US-Africa Business Summit
Economist
The Vice President, Dr Nangolo Mbumba reiterated that Namibia is open for business and that it welcomes investors interested in exploring potential prospects for shared economic growth. Mbumba emphasized the government’s unwavering commitment to creating a conducive environment for business, noting that “we are doing this by removing legal or administrative impediments, and ensuring that our trade and investment landscape remains fit for purpose…” Read More>>>

 

CCA MEMBERS IN THE NEWS

Botswana: Axxess Exploring Investment Oppurtunities
All Africa
Botswana is an economic success story and the country is worth considering for various investment opportunities, Mr John Olajide, the Founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Axxess, an international healthcare technology company has said...Read More>>>

Flutterwave Joins With IATA to Simplify Payments for Airlines Serving Africa
PR Newswire
Flutterwave, Africa’s leading payments technology company, has joined the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) payment orchestration platform to facilitate travel to sub-Saharan Africa. With this integration, airlines across the world are able to process payment from customers through cards, bank transfer, mobile money, alternative payment methods and other payment modes available on Flutterwave… Read More>>>

Standard Bank chief touts East Africa pipeline at US summit
PR Newswire
Standard Bank is still awaiting the results of its internal review of an independent environmental and social consultant’s findings before deciding whether to finance the 900-mile heated crude oil pipleline between Uganda and Tanzania… Read More>>>

Ethiopian Airlines, Boeing, and ThinkYoung Inaugurate STEM School and Ethiopia
Airspace-Africa
Ethiopian Airlines, in partnership with Boeing and ThinkYoung, has launched the STEM School, an innovative initiative aimed at equipping young individuals and teachers in Ethiopia with the skills necessary for better employment opportunities. This collaborative effort focuses on underprivileged African youth, particularly women, fostering their pursuit of higher education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), with a special emphasis on aviation… Read More>>>

VISA and U.S. Soccer Announce Multi-Year Partnership Extension Ahead of FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023
Business Wire 
Visa and the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) today announced a renewed partnership agreement to remain the exclusive payment services partner of the U.S. Women’s and Men’s National Soccer Teams, while providing unique benefits to cardholders through 2028. Extending its historical push for parity, the extension again ensures that at least 50% of Visa’s investment going towards soccer programming will be directed to the Women’s National Team and women’s soccer initiatives… Read More>>>

Standard Bank at the forefront of smart agricultural finance
Business Live
With agriculture accounting for 75% of Africa’s trade, 70% of its employment and more than 20% of the continent’s GDP, it is critical for farmers to understand how climate change affects agriculture and how agriculture influences climate change… Read More>>>

 

U.S.-AFRICA RELATIONS
Scott Nathan of DFC on US Investment in Africa
Bloomberg
Scott Nathan, CEO of the United States Development Finance Corporation, on US investment in Africa speaking at the US-Africa Business Summit in Botswana on 12 July 2023... Read More>>>

United States AGOA and Private Sector Collaboration as Backbone for Strengthening Relations with Africa
Modern Diplomacy
With over 1300 delegates at the US-African  Business Summit held mid-July in Gaborone,  Botswana, the main focus was on mapping out strategies to strengthen trade and economic relations between the United States and Africa. Majority of the speakers emphasized reviewing and widening collaboration between governments, while others underlined the importance of the private sector as the key driver in achieving  robust economic growth in African countries… Read More>>>

US trade ties must go beyond AGOA- Gordhan
Bloomberg
As a high-level South African government delegation was in Washington this week, public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhansaid South Africa needed to look beyond the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa)...Read More>>>

AGRIBUSINESS

Why Africa Is Becoming the Next Serious Player in Entrepreneurship 
Entrepreneur
Entrepreneurship in Africa is on an exponential upsurge. The vibrant entrepreneurial landscape is being propelled by several factors: a young demographic driving innovation, increased access to technology breaking down traditional barriers and an indomitable spirit refusing to settle for the status quo... Read More>>>

Africa Must Embrace New Tech in Agriculture to Overcome Climate Crisis
All Africa
The agricultural sector should embrace new technologies to overcome climate change-related challenges, panellists including Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa and Mozambique’s Filipe Nyusi at the US-Africa business summit said… Read More>>>

‘Eliminate NTBs to boost intra-African food trade’
Daily News
AFRICAN Union member states have been called upon to adopt policies which encourage intra-African trade in food production by among other things, removing Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs). It is said that NTBs currently make imports from outside the continent costly, compared to locally produced food… Read More>>>

ENERGY
COP28 Presidency Releases Ambitious, Inclusive Plan to Fast-Track the Energy Transition and Supercharge Climate Finance
All Africa
COP28 President-Designate Dr. Sultan Al Jaber has called on  governments, industry, and all stakeholders to “disrupt business as usual” and take decisive action to tackle the climate crisis… Read More>>>
A new energy pact for Africa
ASPI
Many people associate technologies like solar and wind power with efforts to tackle climate change. But for the world’s most vulnerable populations, they are much more than a clean-energy solution. By creating jobs, improving health and increasing social mobility and gender equality, they build a path to a more prosperous future… Read More>>>

Africa Looks to Energy Future
Energy Intelligence
The great fear of African producers was that the energy transition would kill off any prospect of an oil recovery. Transition pressures remain very real, and a major renaissance for Africa’s oil sector is not on the cards. Investors are looking to exit mature onshore areas in Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea and Chad. But a short term bounce back looks more than possible for oil, with gas prospects even brighter. Oil governance is improving in key countries. Refining is set for a major boost, with Nigeria’s new 650,000 barrel per day Dangote plant due on stream early next year. And longer term, the continent is well placed to become a clean energy superpower… Read More>>>

Diversifying Africa’s mineral supply chains for a smooth energy transition 
ESI Africa
The energy transition needs a significant increase in the supply of critical materials, yet their supply chains remain vulnerable to a range of geopolitical risks… Read More>>>

ICT

Gambia Joins Smart Africa Alliance to Accelerate its Digital Transformation
Ecofin Agency 
The Republic of Gambia officially became the 39th member of the Smart Africa Alliance. The organization, which promotes the use of ICT to boost economic and social development in Africa, made the announcement on July 12. This aligns with the country’s objective to leverage digital transformation opportunities in the global telecommunications and ICT market… Read More>>>

Utilising artificial intelligence for crop disease and pest detection and management in African agriculture
The Cable

Unleashing the power of technology to revolutionize African agriculture is no longer a distant dream. With the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI), we have entered an era where machines can assist farmers in detecting and managing crop diseases and pests efficiently. This ground-breaking innovation has the potential to transform the agricultural landscape in Africa, addressing crucial challenges faced by farmers and propelling them toward a more sustainable future. This article will explore how AI can be harnessed for crop disease and pest detection and management, paving the way for enhanced productivity, reduced losses, and ultimately, thriving agricultural communities across Africa… Read More>>>

HEALTH

Africa CDC, WHO Robert Kock Institute Launch Disease Surveillance Partnership
Genome Web
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization, and the Robert Koch Institute on Tuesday launched a program called the Health Security Partnership to Strengthen Disease Surveillance and Epidemic Intelligence in Africa… Read More>>>
Building resilient healthcare systems in Africa with a focus on outbreaks and epidemics
Gavi
In the past 20 years, Africa has experienced an escalation of public health emergencies due to emerging infectious diseases. Its healthcare systems, often underfunded and underequipped, are among the weakest in the world, contributing to the continent’s susceptibility to outbreaks and epidemics. Additional factors include extreme poverty and malnutrition, lack of access to clinics and immunisation in rural and remote communities and microorganisms adapting to climate change… Read More>>>

Empowering African Public Health: Africa CDC Launches Restructured Advisory and Technical Council in Strengthen Continent-wide Disease Control
Africa CDC
Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) took a significant stride towards enhancing disease prevention and control measures in Africa by introducing its revamped Advisory and Technical Council (ATC) during the 6th Ordinary Session held in Nairobi, Kenya on July 10th 2023… Read More>>>

INFRASTRUCTURE
Putting Africa’s pension funds to work for Africa’s social infrastructure
Impact Alpha
Drawing Africa’s pension funds deeper into impact investing is one of the goals of this week’s Africa Impact Summit in Cape Town, South Africa… Read More>>>
Mobilising capital for Africa’s prosperity: Second Annual Meeting of Africa Sovereign Investors Forum highlights importance of strategic partnerships
African Development Bank Group
African Development Bank Vice President for Private Sector, Infrastructure, and Industrialisation Solomon Quaynor has called for unity to unlock the potential of African sovereign wealth funds, strategic investment funds, pensions, and life insurance assets, estimated at $2.3 trillion…Read More>>>

FINANCE

Ministerial meeting of the African Union Commits to More Continental Trade and Integration
African Union
The meeting of the African Union 5th Mid-Year Coordination Meeting bringing together Regional Economic Communities (RECs), Regional Mechanism (RMs) and member states kicked off on the 13th of July 2023 with the Ministerial Meeting of the Executive Council… Read More>>>

Adesina outlines future vision for sustainable growth and climate resilience in key African Union speech
African Development Bank Group
African Development Bank Group President Dr Akinwumi Adesina on Sunday, outlined the Bank’s significant achievements and commitments to Africa, underscoring the Bank’s determination to mobilise resources for driving economic transformation, climate resilience, and addressing the continent’s debt challenge, among other priorities… Read More>>>