BUSINESS

Koroma woos foreign investors for post-Ebola growth Sierra Leone is still counting the costs of the Ebola epidemic, not least on its economy which contracted in 2014 and 2015, after several years of solid growth. Now the West African country is trying to woo back investors and attract new ones. Though Sierra Leone has been declared free of the dreaded …

Afrika-Verein demands more action from the German government as Uganda’s President Museveni makes case for investing in Africa. The federal government must do more to encourage a greater engagement of German companies in Africa, demanded Dr Stefan Liebing, chairman of Afrika-Verein, at this year’s German Africa Business Day in Berlin. He called for the removal of hurdles preventing German companies …

How Africa can learn from Germany’s successful ongoing transition to renewable energy was the theme of the 10th German-African Energy Forum, which took place recently in Hamburg, reports Femi Awoniyi. Willi Meixner, chief executive of the Power and Gas Division of Siemens AG, has advised African countries to focus on creating an encouraging regulatory environment if they are to attract …

A number of leading Russian companies plan to invest US$4.6 billion to create an industrial zone next to the Suez Canal by 2035, Lenta.ru cites the Russian Trade Ministry in a new report. Most of the money will come from private investors. Russian companies Kamaz, GAZ, UAZ, Transmashholding, Gazprom Neft, Tatneft, Inter RAO and others will be part of the …

The UK Authorities charged with enforcing the EU timber regulations (EUTR), have taken action against 14 UK importers sourcing timber from Cameroon linked to illegal logging.[1] Green Peace Press Release This news was presented at a Chatham House meeting in London on June 16, following comparable action by the Netherlands in early March, demonstrating that timber from Cameroon is coming …

Remittance business undergoes silent revolution Before Western Union started offering money transfer services to Africa in 1995, the first company to do so, it used to take weeks if not months to find somebody travelling home to take the envelope along. And the brave ones among us who hid money in mails were often unlucky after post office workers in …

At the end of his three-nation African trip in June, Pranab Mukherjee, the Indian President, said: “We have, through these visits, conveyed the message that India takes its engagement with Africa seriously and intends to follow up with determination on the announcements made at the India-Africa Forum Summit. India is committed to further consolidate our cooperation with all African countries.” …

Ethiopia seems to be attracting the attention of economists interested in Africa, and for good reason. Except for Rwanda, Ethiopia is the only African country whose economic growth has been consistently high for more than a decade without relying on a natural resource boom. Between 2004 and 2014, per capita growth in Ethiopia was 8% per year. This was the …

Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) has announced its acceptance of a US$150 million 15 year loan facility from German development bank KfW. The loan agreement was signed on 22 June in London by Andrew Alli, CEO of AFC, and Jan Martin Witte, Head of Division for Infrastructure at KfW. The funds will be used to refinance projects across the corporation’s current …

Ghana is very serious about attracting foreign investment, says Mawuena Adzo Trebarh, chief executive of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC). During an exclusive interview with our correspondent Francis Sackitey in Accra recently, she talked about the incentives offered by her country, the preferred sectors for investment and the advantages of doing business in Ghana, among other issues. Why should …

Two companies have recently commenced groupage container service to Nigeria from Germany. Groupage means the consolidation of several small shipments into a single container. Eze Shipping Service in Hanover and Vin Kem Shipping in Frankfurt/Main said they introduced the service in response to demand from their customers who would like to regularly send small consignment of goods to Nigeria. It …

The Western media’s picture of Africa is characterised by two extremes: usually depicted are either the very poor masses who cannot feed themselves and who are all allegedly knocking on the door of Fortress Europe or the very rich who make their money at the expense of those poor people. The middle segment of society, however, is ignored in foreign …

In an exclusive interview with The African Courier, Sebastian Kester talks about his company, which is the only African-owned aviation company in Europe, and the opportunities and challenges in African aviation, among other issues.

In 2010, almost 600 million Africans or 57 per cent of the population had no access to any form of electricity. Africa is experiencing rapid economic growth, with estimates showing growth figures for the continent rising from 4.7 per cent in 2013 to 5.2 per cent in 2014. However, if this growth is to be sustained, renewable energy must have …

The recent inaugural Nigeria Manufacturing Expo in Lagos has been hailed as a great success by the event patrons, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, according to organisers Clarion Events. The event, launched in response to the federal government’s commitment to industrialisation and Nigeria’s need to diversify, welcomed more than 2,600 manufacturing experts over three days in March. The top manufacturing …

Do what you are good at, says Ha-Joon Chang “Countries can decide their development path. Countries become good at things because they want to excel at making those particular things,” renowned development economist Ha-Joon Chang told an audience on 3 April at the second Annual Adebayo Adedeji Lecture, part of activities marking the 2016 Africa Development Week, which took place …

Cameroon-born visionary entrepreneur introduces innovative immigration security system Bridge Corporation is a Berlin-based leading biometric technology company that has evolved from a traditional visa application-processing company to implementing finger print scanning technology, to employing biometric technology and finally providing consultancy services on security issues related to immigration. In an exclusive interview with The African Courier, the Cameroon-born entrepreneur and the CEO …

The Africa 2016 Forum, which took place in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el Sheikh on 20-21 February, has called on African countries to create greater trust and co-operation between governments and the private sector. The Forum, the first international business and investment forum of its kind and that was aimed at strengthening business ties within Africa, also charged …

Zambian Minister:  “The only sector that assuredly alleviates poverty is agriculture. Our focus is to grow this industry that is the future of this country.” Zambia’s premier agricultural trade fair Agritech Expo takes place on14-16 April at the Gart Research Centre, Chisamba. In the run-up to the important event, Spintelligent interviewed the Zambian Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, the Honourable …

To boost its export sales, South African wine makers are promoting higher-priced products in European markets. Wine exports fell to 422.7 million litres last year from 525.6 million litres in 2013, according to the Wines of South Africa, the association representing all producers of wine who export their products.  Exports in 2015 are predicted to be on a par with …