BUSINESS

Google Play apps and games store has started accepting payments in Kenya through Safaricom’s mobile phone M-Pesa service to boost downloads in a market where many people do not have a credit card. M-Pesa, which enables customers to transfer money and pay bills via mobile phone, has 27.8 million users in the nation of 45 million people where Google’s Android …

The economy of many African countries are booming. How can German small and medium enterprises profit from this success? The 5th German-African Business Forum  NRW (das 5. Deutsch-afrikanische Wirtschaftsforum NRW) will deal with this question on Tuesday 27 February 2018 in the western German city of Dortmund at which President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana will deliver a keynote speech. Under …

Landing of South Atlantic Undersea Cable in Brazil signals new chapter in Africa-America’s Telecoms Angola Cables, a telecommunications multinational, has reported that the South Atlantic Cable System (SACS) has made landfall at Fortaleza on the Brazilian coast. Company CEO, António Nunes, said that the arrival and installation of SACS on the Brazilian coast was “an important strategic milestone for the …

Namibia has as once again been accorded the top position of having the best roads in Africa by the World Economic Forum (WEF). The results were released via the WEF’s Global Competitiveness Report for 2017/18, which tracks the performance of approximately 140 countries on 12 pillars of competitiveness, including the quality of road infrastructure development. The development of road infrastructure …

Britain’s Export Finance Agency will add the naira to its list of “pre-approved currencies”, allowing it to provide financing for transactions with Nigerian businesses denominated in the local currency. The naira will become one of three West African currencies that UK Export Finance has pre-approved for its programme of funding transactions that promote trade with Britain, it said. Britain voted …

DHL Global Forwarding, a leading provider of air, sea and road freight services, has appointed Agnaldo Laice and Maureen Adibuah as Country Managers in Kenya and Nigeria respectively. Both of them are industry veterans who possess strong local market knowledge and have been with DHL for almost two decades – having risen through the ranks in different portfolios. They will …

Unemployment in Germany hit a new low in January, official figures showed on Wednesday, as Europe’s largest economy made a strong start to the year while Berlin inches towards forming a government. Just 5.4 percent of workers were jobless in January, the Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit or BA) said in figures adjusted for seasonal and calendar variations, down …

The US government has blocked the sale of Texas-based international money transfer company MoneyGram to Chinese online retailer Alibaba, both corporations have announced. The MoneyGram deal is the latest in a series of Chinese acquisitions of American companies that have failed to clear US financial authorities. The $1.2 billion deal’s failure represents a blow for Jack Ma, the executive chairman …

Official figures released on Wednesday show that Germany’s unemployment rate has hit a record low. December’s unemployment rate was 5.5 per cent, the lowest level since German reunification in 1990, the Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit or BA) said. In 2017 as a whole, the jobless rate fell to 5.7 per cent or just over 2.5 million people, from …

African presidents have reached a strong consensus to focus on regional integration, inclusive growth and youth empowerment in order to achieve continued and sustained growth on the continent at the Africa 2017 Forum in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi of Egypt hosted African heads of state and business leaders including President Alpha Condé of the Republic …

A 709 carat uncut diamond discovered in March 2017 in Sierra Leone fetched a lower-than-expected $6.5m at a New York auction on Monday (4 December). The stone was found by diggers working for Pastor Emmanuel Momoh in Koryardu, located in the country’s eastern Kono district. It is one of the largest ever discovered in Sierra Leone and the 14th largest …

Awagomè, 4 December 2017 – The Government of Togo’s “CIZO” initiative has made a significant stride forward as BBOXX, a new generation utility which provides reliable energy access to communities with its solar home systems, officially launched its operations in Togo today. President Faure Gnassingbé, President of the Republic of Togo, visited one of BBOXX’s first customers in the rural …

EU-support for Swaziland’s monarchy-controlled sugar industry undermines the fight for democracy, even though it nominally benefits smallholders, says new report from Danish solidarity organization, reports Peter Kenworthy. A new report from Afrika Kontakt commends the EU for supporting Swaziland’s sugar industry, which benefits thousands of smallholder growers of sugar cane. The problem is, however, that the smallholder growers are also …

A trip to South Africa can be life-changing. Every year, millions of people visit the vibrant country to enjoy its unique natural beauty and experience its rich cultural diversity. South Africa’s reputation as a world-leading tourist destination is firmly established, and the nation is increasingly an exciting proposition for investors from across the globe. In the 21st century, South Africa …

Investment potential in the African nations of Ghana and Ethiopia will be key focal points during the Germany African Business Forum, to be held on 28 November in Munich. Hon. Ibrahim Mohammed Awal, Minister for Business Development for Ghana, and H.E. Dr. Mebrahtu Meles, State Minister for Industry of Ethiopia, will be delivering key presentations to attending investors at the …

Nigerian militant group Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) said on Friday its ceasefire on attacks in the country’s southern oil-rich region was at an end. “We can assure you that every oil installation in our region will feel the warmth of the wrath of the Niger Delta Avengers,” the group said in a statement on its website. The NDA took the …

German Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Brigitte Zypries opened the Start-up Night! Africa on 26 October in Berlin. The Start-up Night! Africa is the latest event to take place as part of the successful series of Start-up Nights!, a string of business-matching events hosted by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs designed to bring young businesses and established companies …

Unemployment and poverty are serious concerns for the continent, where more than 70% of the working age population is unemployed or has no job security, prompting the UN to declare 2016-2025 as the Third Industrial Development Decade for Africa (IDDA III). African leaders deliberated in New York on how to industrialise the continent in a socially inclusive, environmentally sustainable manner to …

Four West African presidents said on Tuesday they planned to accelerate the creation of a shared currency for the 15-country ECOWAS bloc by 2020, according to a joint statement. The future currency, whose name is yet to be determined, would replace the dominant CFA Franc introduced by former colonial power France in 1945 and whose treasury still backs it. “Our …

Six crew members from a German-owned container ship, including the captain, have been kidnapped off the coast of southern Nigeria, maritime security analysts said. The Sea Guardian consultancy said the Demeter “was attacked by pirates” at about 7:00 am (0600 GMT) on Saturday south of the Nigerian oil city, Port Harcourt. “Pirates boarded the ship, kidnapped six crew, including (the) …