BUSINESS

Ethiopia is the fastest-growing economy in 2017, according to the World Bank’s latest edition of Global Economic Prospects. Ethiopia’s GDP is forecast to grow by 8.3% in 2017. By contrast, global growth is projected to be 2.7%. The East African country’s accelerating growth comes on the back of government spending on infrastructure. With a GDP of US$69.22 billion (2016 est.), …

African leaders met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on 12-13 June 2017 in Berlin at the conference G20 Africa Partnership – Investing in a Common Future, where the world’s most powerful economies discussed the initiative to promote increased private sector investment in the continent. The German presidency of the G20 regards the Africa Partnership as one of its important projects. …

Nigeria’s Acting President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, has signed the 2017 Appropriation Bill (also known as budget) into law late Monday. The signing of the record 7.44 trillion naira ($23 billion) budget took place at the presidency in the presence of the heads of the legislature, the minister of budget planning, the finance minister and other top government officials. Osinbajo had …

The chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation in Europe (NIDOE), Kenneth Gbandi, has called on the African Diaspora to become more actively engaged in the continent’s development. Gbandi made the call at the Africa Day Dortmund, organized by the non-governmental organization AfricanTide Union, recently. “For us the time of talking in NIDOE is over, …

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is meeting African leaders in Berlin today and tomorrow (12-13 June) to discuss migration, poverty and development. Leaders from Egypt, Ghana, the Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal and Tunisia will be in attendance at the “G20 Africa Partnership – Investing in a Common Future” conference. The event is one of the activities of Germany’s current …

Nigeria will start an international roadshow next week for the sale of a Diaspora bond and has named Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Standard Bank of South Africa as joint lead managers, its debt management office said on Thursday. Africa’s biggest economy first unveiled in 2013 plans to sell Diaspora bonds worth between $100 million to $300 million from …

A conference of the Group of Twenty (G20) on a global economic partnership with Africa will take place in the German capital on 12-13 June. The conference, which will be attended by heads of state and governments, will propose the “G20 African Partnership” initiative whose chief object is to spur higher investment levels – particularly from foreign investors – in …

Our contributing editor Mickie Ojijo narrates the ordeal of a German man who went to Kenya to invest his life savings in a business venture only to be duped by his local manager, a woman. All the efforts of the German to get justice have so far been frustrated by the police and courts in the East African country. Rudolf …

Brett Parker, Managing Director – SAP Africa, writes on how Africans are coming up with solutions to unique problems they face, leading to the emergence of new technologies. By now, I am convinced that you have heard of M-Pesa, the popular and often-cited mobile banking system that has become Africa’s innovation calling card. But do you know about the Ushahidi …

“Agenda 2030: Sustainable Development Goals” was the theme of this year’s Africa Day in the western German city of Dortmund.  The 3-day congress, which marked the founding of the Organisation of African Unity (now African Union) in 1963 and was organised by the non-governmental organization AfricanTide Union, beamed the focus on Agenda 2030 and its relevance to tackling the knotty …

Much more wealth is leaving Africa, which is generally regarded as the world’s most impoverished continent, than is entering it, according to a new research into total financial flows into and out of the continent.  Nick Dearden, the director of UK campaigning organisation Global Justice Now, argues that it’s time to change the way the West talks and thinks about …

German Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy, Brigitte Zypries, visited South Africa on 3 – 7 May 2017. A high-level business delegation accompanied her. The visit centred around the presentation of Germany’s new plan for engagement with Africa at the World Economic Forum on Africa 2017. The Forum, which took place in Cape Town, was attended by more than a …

The dawn of the Fourth Industrial Revolution is here. Sthe Shabangu, Lead: Public Relations, Public Affairs and Corporate Citizenship, Samsung Africa Office asks whether we are doing enough to ensure Africa is ready. JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, 16 May 2017, -/African Media Agency (AMA)/- Africa is standing before a small window of opportunity to grow future-ready leaders equipped to take on …

SAP, the global company that develops enterprise software for companies large and small, has launched a management system to support and grow East Africa’s smallholder farming sector. SAP Rural Sourcing Management is a new solution that was created to support the connection of smallholder farmers in developing countries with global produce buyers, providing transparency, accountability and access to financial services. SAP …

Germany’s minister of economic co-operation and development, Dr Gerd Müller, is presently promoting a plan to redesign the country’s relationship with Africa. Launched in Berlin early this year, the plan proposes new planks in German-African ties with the aim of promoting sustainable political stability and economic growth in Africa. ‘Marshall Plan with Africa’, in a nutshell, is a way to …

Armed attacks on ships in West African waters nearly doubled in 2016, with pirates increasingly focused on kidnapping their crew for ransom off Nigeria’s coast, a report said on Tuesday. A recent spate of attacks off Somalia, meanwhile, may also indicate a resurgence of piracy in East Africa as a result of less vigilance, the Oceans Beyond Piracy (OBP) project …

Political and business leaders from Germany and Africa converge on Hamburg on 25-26 April for the 11th German-African Energy Forum. The annual event offers a platform for players in the energy sector for interaction and networking. Ministers from eleven African countries and two German State Secretaries will attend the conference. The African ministers, in charge of energy and/or industries, are …

Moscow hosted the third edition of “Morocco Festival” , an event that showcased and introduced Moroccan products to Russian customers, in Moscow on 14-23 April. Organised by the Moroccan Centre for Exports Promotion – “Maroc Export”-, the fair highlighted Made-in-Morocco products such as textile, leather, cosmetics, footwear and decoration articles to target a new strategic market. Through its rich culture, Morocco …

Cameroonian economist and banking executive Vera Songwe has been appointed the new Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission on Africa (ECA). Dr Songwe beat more than 70 candidates to clinch the post which was held by Dr Carlos Lopes of Guinea Bissau who stepped down from the organisation in September last year. ECA is one of the United Nation’s five …

East Africa’s economy has continued to grow despite the adverse effects of drought being felt across the region according to ICAEW’s (the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales) latest report. In Economic Insight: Africa Q1 2017 launched on 13 April, the accountancy and finance body points out that authorities from various East African nations have attempted to mitigate …