Blog - Afrikan Heroes

Ethiopian Airlines Upgrades, Promises Awesome Passenger Experience

September 11, 2019

Ethiopian Airlines, Africa’s fastest growing airline and one of the world’s most profitable airlines has started series of upgrades aimed at giving passengers to top class experience. Operating at the forefront of technology, Ethiopian Airline with the tag line –The New Spirit of Africa- has become one of Ethiopia’s major industries and a veritable institution in Africa. The Airline has continued in its efforts to create regional hubs across Africa by making its Addis Ababa Bole International Airport hub one of Africa’s busiest, it has over time expanded to West Africa through its part ownership and cooperation with ASKY Airlines based in Togo, and Malawi Airlines in southern Africa.

Mr. Tewolde GebreMariam, group CEO, Ethiopian Airlines.

It is Africa’s most popular airline group commanding a lion’s share of the pan African network including the daily and double daily east-west flight across the continent. Currently, the Airline serves 100 international and 21 domestic destinations operating the newest and youngest fleet.In its seventy plus years of operation, Ethiopian has become the continent’s leading carrier, unrivalled in efficiency and operational success.

To this end, the Airline’s newest development has had passengers’ expectant as Ethiopian introduces onboard internet access with seamless reliable connectivity on its long haul flights on its brand new A350 fleet using the latest broadband satellite technology (Ka-band). According to Airline sources, with the state-of-the-art broadband satellite technology, passengers can rest assured that they will enjoy reliable connectivity for sending emails, shopping online or even chatting on social media while flying over the clouds.

Speaking on the development, the Group CEO of Ethiopian Airline, Mr. Tewolde GebreMariam, said that, “we are glad to introduce inflight internet connectivity with the latest broadband satellite technology, Ka-band, offering our passengers seamless digital experience as they fly Ethiopian”, he noted that the launch of the onboard wi-fi internet is part of Ethiopian Airline’s relentless efforts to further add to passengers’ comfort keeping pace with the technology of the day. He added that “as customer-centric airline, we will remain focused on continuous service excellence, taking advantage of emerging technologies and infrastructure.”

To access the new services, the Airline said that passengers can access the inflight connectivity service by purchasing vouchers at Ethiopian Airlines sales outlets including Addis Ababa International Airport customer service desk, boarding gate and cabin crews onboard the fights. Online sales through credit/debit card and ShebaMiles miles are also additional options for passengers to enjoy the service. The inflight WiFi can be accessed with smart phones, tablets and laptops.

Ethiopian fleet includes ultra-modern and environmentally friendly aircraft such as Airbus A350, Boeing 787-8, Boeing 787-9, Boeing 777-300ER, Boeing 777-200LR, Boeing 777-200 Freighter, Bombardier Q-400 double cabin with an average fleet age of five years. In fact, Ethiopian is the first airline in Africa to own and operate these aircraft. Ethiopian is currently implementing a 15-year strategic plan called Vision 2025 that led it to become the leading aviation group in Africa with Six business centers: Ethiopian International Services; Ethiopian Cargo & Logistics Services; Ethiopian MRO Services; Ethiopian Aviation Academy; Ethiopian ADD Hub Ground Services and Ethiopian Airports Services. Ethiopian is a multi-award-winning airline registering an average growth of 25 per cent in the past eight years.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.

Sierra Leone Launches Visa On Arrival

September 10, 2019

As part of efforts by the government and people of Sierra Leone to attract more visitors to the country, boost tourism, and improve their investment climate, the government through the Ministry of Internal Affairs announced a new visa regime for the country. This development makes Sierra Leone the latest African country to latch onto the growing demand for African countries to make ease of movement across the continent a priority. The new Visa regime gives Visa on Arrival (VoA) for all African nationals and other selected citizens from across the world.

Julius Maada Bio, President of Sierra Leone

The new regime which takes immediate effect grants visa-free entry for countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) who will benefit from the regional blocs visa-free protocol. Also citizens of other countries that have existing Visa-Free arrangement with Sierra Leone will continue to enjoy visa-free access to the country.

The government of Sierra Leone has been engaging in a series of projects as policy changes aimed at making the country investor friendly and also market its huge tourism potential most of which are quite outstanding , relatively unknown, pristine, making it one of the most beautiful and serene countries in the world. This new Visa regime according to government sources will make visiting Sierra Leone hassle free.

According to the new visa fees, citizens of the African Union member states will enjoy visa-on-arrival but will be required to pay a $25 dollar fee, while citizens of other nations will be required to pay $80 visa fee on arrival. Those covered by this arrangement are United States, United Kingdom, European Union member states and those in BRICS – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Others are, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman (the Gulf Cooperation Council nations) as well as citizens of Iran, Cambodia, Indonesia, Singapore, Israel, Japan, and South Korea are listed among others.

The Information Minister, Mohamed Rahman Swaray, was quoted as saying: “This is an indication that the new direction is poised to take the country to another level and our latest step in making the country attractive to tourists and foreign investors.”

In Africa, most regional blocs allow easy entry of citizens across their borders. A very effective measure is in East Africa between Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania.

Ethiopia in 2018 also announced a visa free and visa on arrival regime for all Africans. Rwanda has a global measure in that regard. Mauritius has, however, topped the African Development Bank’s visa openness index. At the bottom have been Eritrea and Equatorial Guinea.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.

African Green Revolution Forum Raises $500 Million for Africa’s Young ‘Agripreneurs’

The best time to do agriculture in Africa is probably now. African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF), has secured $500 million for young ‘Agripreneurs’ across the continent to develop agriculture opportunities on the continent.

Here Is All You Need To Know

AGRF is the first ever forum for African agriculture, pulling together stakeholders across the agricultural landscape to discuss and commit to programs, investments and policies to achieve an inclusive and sustainable agricultural transformation across the continent.
The funding was raised from firms such as Dangote Farms, Press Agriculture, Pearl Dairies Ltd, and Fresh Ltd. In addition, a Unilever-IDH partnership committed $28.6 millions towards investments in small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) working in variety of food-related endeavors.
Some 17 country delegations presented investment opportunities worth in excess of $2 billion.
The proposed investments, coupled with support from various stakeholders, is anticipated to impact more than 15,000 smallholder farmers and create seven million jobs.
Mastercard Foundation announced plans to invest $500 million to launch a new Young Africa Works program. The initiative will provide a major infusion of capital to support the efforts of a new generation of young “agripreneurs” who are investing their talent in farming and other agriculture-oriented ventures.
The forum also set up a “Deal Room” that delivered some $200 million in new investments to support digital infrastructure crucial for powering innovative farmer services, significant actions on climate change adaptation, and the launch of a major food trade coalition.
The Agribusiness Deal Room at the AGRF was made possible with the support of core design partners, including the African Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF), AGRA, the African Development Bank (AfDB), CrossBoundary, GAIN, GrowAfrica, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, and the US Agency for International Development (USAID). The Deal Room also received advisory support from the World Economic Forum (WEF).

“The potential benefits of the AGRF to the African continent are beyond contention,” said Ghana President H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. “We must galvanize our collective resources and energy to fully exploit the opportunities it presents.”

The Agribusiness Deal Room saw private and public sector stakeholders commit over $200 million to develop and strengthen several value chains in Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Uganda and Eswatini.

Embracing the Potential of Digital Innovations for African Agriculture

The theme of this year’s AGRF was “Grow Digital: Leveraging Digital Transformation to Drive Sustainable Food Systems in Africa.” AGRF 2019 featured a rigorous and informative series of technical assessments, policy analyses, and political discussions that produced a new level of consensus that could dramatically accelerate efforts to use digital innovations to make farming in Africa more productive, profitable, sustainable and inclusive.

The discussions were anchored by the presentation of the Digitalisation of African Agriculture report from the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) and Dalberg Advisors. Its key findings include the fact that some 71 percent of users of digital agriculture or D4Ag services across the continent are under 35. The CTA report found more than 90 percent of the market for digital services that support African smallholders remains untapped and could be worth more than $2.26 billion. The study also found nearly 400 different digital agriculture solutions are currently in play, serving 33 million registered farmers across sub-Saharan Africa.

The report estimates the number of registered farmers and the number of digital solutions are growing so rapidly that they are likely to reach the majority of the region’s farmers by 2030.

“Digitalisation can be a game-changer in modernising and transforming Africa’s agriculture, attracting young people to farming and allowing farmers to optimise production while also making them more resilient to climate change”, said Michael Hailu, Director of CTA.

There was much discussion at AGRF 2019 about the need for investments in the basic infrastructure and data systems that will provide the critical foundation for D4Ag services. To that end, there was news at AGRF that the World Bank plans to invest US $50 billion in Transforming Africa’s Digital Economy.

The Bank is committed to ensuring every African, including every African business and government, is digitally enabled by 2030. The investments include support for broadband infrastructure; digital skill development; digital platforms; digital financial services; and digital entrepreneurship. One key goal is to double access to broadband services across the continent by 2021.

The Forum Also Saw A New Alliance on Food Trade

The AGRF 2019 featured the launch of the new Africa Regional Food Trade Coalition. The Coalition was developed by a large and diverse coalition of leaders from the public and private sector. They are building on the foundation established by the new African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and market opportunities evidenced in the region’s $35 billion annual food import bill. The goal is to increase regional food trade via more predictable policies and mechanisms that encourage new agribusiness investments that capitalize on the rich diversity of farming ecologies across the continent.

A Regional Food Trade symposium showcased a number of data innovations that could help advance food trade in the region.

SMEs are Big Business in Africa Ag: The “Hidden Middle” Takes Center Stage

AGRF 2019 featured the launch of a provocative new report that busts a major myth of Africa agriculture: that there is a “missing middle” of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) available to power the region’s food systems. AGRA’s 2019 Africa Agricultural Status Report (AASR) presented new evidence that the “missing middle” is actually a “hidden middle” of SME-powered agri-food supply chains that recently has experienced a “quiet revolution.”

The report found that today, millions of SMEs are sourcing directly from millions more smallholder farmers across Sub-Saharan Africa, accounting for 64 percent of the volume of food consumed in the region. The report noted that the rise of SME’s has been largely unrecognized by policymakers, even as it has bridged gaps that previously separated most small-scale farmers from commercial markets.

“SMEs are the biggest investors in building markets for farmers in Africa today, and will likely remain so for the next 10-to-20 years,” said Dr. Agnes Kalibata, President of AGRA. “They were not missing, just hidden.”

For more information visit African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF)’s website

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.

Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/Afrikanheroes/

Egypt Is Set To Change Its Tax Procedures To Attract Investors

September 9, 2019

The competition for international investors is on. Three years off IMF-backed reform. A 5.6% growth in GDP in the 2nd Quarter of 2019. A fast-declining pace of on-boarding new investors. Egypt is set to introduce a new legislation on tax that will bring the country back on track.

Here Is The Deal

The new legislation will focus on automating and simplifying customs and tax processes, Egypt’s Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said on Monday,

“Just yesterday, I contracted a company to automate all these unified tax procedures.” He said IBM (IBM.N) and SAP (SAPG.DE) secured the contract but did not disclose its value.

Now the government is working on a bill to unify tax procedures, Maait said.

“By the end of October, we will have the chance to issue the first draft to the business community, to civil society,” he added.

Maait however acknowledged that a lot still need to be done.

“I have to be very honest. There is a lot of work we have to do in order to make us more attractive to foreign direct investment,” Maait told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of the Euromoney Egypt conference.

Egypt Has Launched A Series of Reforms So Far

Apart from devaluing its currency by half, Egypt has also been introduced a value-added tax and slashed fuel subsidies. One such significant innovation is Egyptians’ ability to now file their taxes electronically.

Changes to income tax would be procedural, and no changes would be made to overall tax policy or tax rates, Maait added.

Automated customs procedures are already in place at Cairo airport, Maait said, and are being developed at Port Said.

Aggressive Efforts At Privatisation

Apart from these tax procedural reforms, Egypt is also planning to sell off its long-delayed stakes in state-owned enterprises, with Maati saying plans to do so would definitely resume in the coming months.

“We strongly believe the private sector will be the main driver for this economy and for creating jobs,” Maait said. “We have to do a lot to give them the confidence, and to make the environment for them easy to do business.”

Euroclear Deal Will Now Allow Holders of Egypt’s Sovereign Debt to Clear Transactions Outside The Country.

Egypt recently signed, in April 2019, an agreement with Euroclear, Europe’s biggest settlement house for securities, to allow holders of its sovereign debt to clear transactions outside the country.

*A clearing house manages the post-trade process of getting to a point where settlement can take place*

“It is on track, but might not be next month,” Maait said on Monday, adding that a legal change was needed to govern the process and he hoped it would be ready at the beginning of 2020.

A clearing house is a financial institution that acts as an intermediary between buyers and sellers of financial instrument. They take the opposite position of each side of a trade, acting as the buyer to the seller and the seller to the buyer.

Egypt is now Euroclear’s 47th market by this agreement, said Sudip Chatterjee, head of global capital markets at Euroclear.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.

Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/Afrikanheroes/

Business People Call on Governments to Tackle High Business Risks in Africa

Business people across the continent have called on the governments and regional development institutions to join hands in fashioning out ways to help reduce the high business risk in the continent. This call was made against the backdrop of recent findings by global consultancy firm PwC Group which identifies among other things the growing socio-political and economic uncertainties are undermining efforts by African businesses to grow, and by extension contribute to the growth of the continent. Worst hit by this development are small to medium scale businesses and the conglomerates and multinationals have the financial muscle and political connection to push through without much hassles.

An executive of a Lagos based microfinance bank that funds small and medium scale businesses that service the sub region explained that some of the present policies put small businesses that rely on regional markets at a disadvantage whereas big multinationals survive because they have established outposts across the countries which help them to mitigate some of these challenges. He cited example with a very popular household manufacturing conglomerate Unilever Group which he said manufactures some of its products in either Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire of Nigeria— depending on which country provides comparative advantage in manufacturing a particular product–and distribute across the region using its well oiled logistics network. But smaller holdings that do not have such huge capacity are left out in the cold, he said.

The Report captures some of the stumbling blocks businesses face in the face of bureaucratic redtapes across the continent. For example, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Protocol mandates free movement of goods and services across the 15 member countries, but this exists only on paper as businesses are made to go through untold hardships at various border posts incurring high demurrage and in some instances, loss due to border thefts and other hazards. Another challenge being faced by businesses is exchange rate volatility between the three major currencies in the region—naira, CFA Franc, and cedi— this has remained a detriment to regional business transactions in the region.

For example a Nigerian businessman who spoke with this Correspondent pointed out that it has become extremely difficult to make estimates of cost of logistics and successfully build it into a business plan because of policy changes along the West African coast. He said that sometimes, between the time it takes to load his goods in Lagos, and offload in Accra Ghana, he may be shocked with three to four different policy changes affecting excise and duties on the goods. He lamented that it is becoming increasingly difficult to operate in the region, doubting the rhetoric of economic integration being parroted by African leaders on a daily basis.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.

South Africa is one of the worst places to be a woman

The rape and murder of a young South African undergraduate of University of Cape Town, Uyinene Mrwetyana in a Post Office in Cape Town has brought to the fore the ugly trend which South Africa has become very notorious for; rising rates of domestic and sexual violence targeted against women. This development led the country’s president Cyril Ramaphosa to declare that there is truly a crisis of violence against women in the country. Uyinene’s death sparked off dozens of protests and calls by women for the country to bring back the death penalty as way to curtail the rising trend of femicide in the country. StatsSA, the country’s official statistics agency defines femicide as: “The intentional killing of females (women or girls) because they are females.”

The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that 12.1 in every 100 000 women are victims of femicide in SA each year – a figure which is over 100 times worse than Italy in their newly-announced “state of crisis”, and five times worse than the global average of 2.6. However, the actual murder rate of women is even higher. Not every case can be defined under the blanket term of “femicide”. So by ingraining other factors provided by the South African Police Service, the overall picture shows that there are 15.2 female victims in every 100 000. By those calculations, a woman is murdered every three hours in South Africa.

While South Africa is not alone in countries with very high femicide rates, the development is quite troubling say officials who have been monitoring the trend over time. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), there are about three countries with higher femicide rates than South Africa. Honduras, by a wide margin is regarded as the worst place to be a woman, with a femicide rate of 32.7 – more than double that of its nearest competitor, Jamaica which stands at 15.5. While another southern African nation, Lesotho completes the top three with a femicide rate of 15.4 murdered women out of every 100 000 citizens. South Africa stands at fourth while Guinea-Bissau completes the top five with 11.1.

Observers say that the need for South Africans to take drastic actions against this trend became necessary when one factors in the fact that South Africa’s femicide rates are five times the global average. This becomes even more imperative when figures of related crimes start rolling in, showing that the need for self introspection by all strata of the South African society cannot be postponed. The numbers, experts say is nothing to be proud of pointing that the Police recorded about 177,620 reported crimes against women in the month of March 2019 alone while about 60,000 rapes takes place each year. However some dispute the official figures because of the stigma attached to rape saying that the figure is at least 10 times that, meaning the real figure may be around 600,000.

On the rising femicide rate for example, every three hours, a woman is murdered and every six hours, a husband or boyfriend kills a woman. In 2018, femicide rates increased by 117 per cent while the age-standardised interpersonal violence death rate for females was 4.8 times the global average rate of 2.6 leading the World Health Organisation (WHO) to rank South Africa as having the fourth highest female interpersonal violence death rate out of the 183 countries listed .

Children are not spared by this madness, says an official of the World Health Organisation who craved anonymity. Every three minutes a child is raped, making the country one of the highest incidences of child and infant rape in the world with one notable report citing 400 per cent increase in sexual violence against children and that it may still be on the rise. One out of every four women in the country had been raped, and a woman raped over the age of 25 in South Africa has a one in four chance that her attacker is HIV positive and more women than men are affected from HIV/AIDS.

Children are the victims of 41 per cent of all rapes reported in the country and of the 124,526 total rape cases reported in a particular three year period; children were the victims of a sickening 40 per cent of these cases. Between 2014 and 2015, there were 15,520 child rapes reported. Between 2015 and 2016, there were 16,389 child rapes reported and between 2016 and 2017, it rose even further: 19,071 child rapes reported. Infant rapes are common in South Africa—so bad that the babies and toddlers had to undergo extensive reconstructive surgery to rebuild urinary, genital, abdominal, or tracheal systems.

This is why President Cyril Ramaphosa is under enormous pressure to deliver serious changes that can protect the women of South Africa, many of whom no longer feel safe in our fractured society.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.

African Development Bank wins prestigious global procurement award

Africa’s premier development finance institution, the African Development Bank (AfDB) yesterday saw its efforts at improving procurement process paid off with the recognition in commendation for exhibiting procurement excellence by the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS). The CIPS is the world’s largest professional body for procurement and supply management professionals, with offices all over the world including Africa. This Award came at a very auspicious time and captures efforts being made by the Bank’s management led by Dr. Akinwumi Adesina is building a world class development finance institution.

Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, President, African Development Bank.

Moreso, the African Development Bank is the first multilateral development bank in the world to receive this recognition. Commending the efforts of the African Bank, Alan Martin, Head of Procurement Excellence expressed a sincere congratulations to the Bank for achieving the CIPS Procurement Excellence Award at advanced standard silver level, noting that it is clear that the Bank has the right procurement governance mechanisms in place for effective supply assurance and compliance. “We hope the Bank will continue to effect change while adding value from procurement processes”, he added.

The Bank was awarded a silver award at advanced standard level following the CIPS Procurement Excellence Programme for having successfully developed its corporate procurement processes from an operational focus to managerial and strategic, building performance, capability and value. Speaking on the Award, the Vice President Corporate Services and Human Resources at the African Development Bank Mateus Magala, said that winning this globally-recognised award is welcome news and that the staff and management of the Bank are delighted to be commended for demonstrating advanced levels of corporate procurement capability.

This goes to show the level and depth the Bank ensures that special attention is paid to economy and efficiency in its procurement processes, both internally and externally across bank-funded projects. Transparency and open competitive procedures for procurement of goods, works and services are also essential. The Bank has been proactive in enhancing its corporate procurement processes and pinpointing the procurement department’s role as a fundamental activity in its strategic operations. “We have made significant progress in improving corporate procurement performance to catalyse the Bank’s efforts in achieving sustainable development and poverty reduction on the continent,” Magala added.

The CIPS Procurement Excellence Programme is an in-depth benchmarking process measuring an organisation’s procurement function against CIPS world-class standards of excellence and its global framework.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.

Numu Capital Invests In Egypt’s Medical Tourism Startup

Egypt’s startup Doctoorum, a curated marketplace for medical tourism, has raised funding from the Dubai-based Numu Capital to help it grow locally and expand internationally.

Founded by Yemeni entrepreneur Begad Nasser, Doctoorum allows patients from around the world to get affordable and high quality medical treatment in Egypt, handling all other aspects such as transport and accommodation.

The startup graduated from the AUC Venture Lab accelerator earlier this year, at which time it secured an undisclosed investment from Numu Capital. The Dubai-based firm invests in startups to help them increase their traction and secure their next funding round, and prides itself on funding successful applicants within 30 days of the initial pitch.

“Doctoorum is a very promising venture, and Begad has a solid understanding of the industry and has built a top notch team that we believe in. We have been eyeing the medical tourism industry for a while, and we were thrilled when Begad pitched Doctoorum to us,” said Jamal Al-Mutarreb, managing director of Numu Capital.

Doctoorum is currently ramping up its growth, and plans to raise a Series A round in the next few months. With medical tourism on the rise globally, and the market expected to be worth US$180 billion by 2026, the startup is planning to expand its operations beyond Egypt and the MENA to destinations such as Turkey, India, Germany, and Thailand.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.

Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/Afrikanheroes/

DHL Africa eShop Online Retail App Now In 34 countries

It would now be safe to conclude that DHL is positioning itself to become the largest logistics company in Africa, a network it could leverage to crush all existing logistics startups in Africa and invade all ecommerce businesses available across the continent. In its latest move, DHL has further expanded its Africa DHL Africa eShop business to 13 additional markets, increasing the presence of the global shipping company’s e-commerce platform to 34 African countries.

“For some of these countries no one has really tapped into e-commerce the way we’re tapping into it, with an ability to buy online and also buy online directly from places like Macy’s or Amazon,” MallforAfrica CEO Chris Folayan was quoted as saying, pointing to the novelty of online sales in many of Africa eShop’s new markets

Here Is All You Need To Know

DHL Africa eShop works by using startup MallforAfrica.com’s white label fulfillment service, Link Commerce.
The MallforAfrica’s model allows Africa eShop users to purchase goods directly from the websites of any of the app’s global partners.
This week’s expansion is the second for DHL’s Africa eShop, after adding 9 markets in May.
DHL’s moves run parallel to significant developments this year in the Africa’s online retail scene — namely Jumia’s big capital raise through its IPO.

List of Countries DHL Africa eShop Is Now Available In

DHL Africa eShop’s latest expansion efforts have seen the addition of these countries to the list: Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Chad, Ethiopia, Guinea, Lesotho, Namibia, Niger, Sudan, Togo, and Zimbabwe.

DHL is leveraging existing startups across Africa to execute its programme. Users of the platform could make payments using local fintech options, such as Nigeria’s Paga and Kenya’s M-Pesa. DHL Africa eShop is also banking on its existing shipping delivery structure on the continent, through its DHL Express courier service.

In Practical Terms, This Is How Disruptive This Could Be

Under DHL’s disruptive order, someone with a mobile phone and bank account in, say, Niger can now use DHL’s app to shop at Macys.com and have anything from designer sneakers to kitchenware shipped to their doorstep in Central-Africa.

The DHL Africa eShop project is also getting aggressive as it is also offering incentives to entice first-time digital consumers.

“We will be launching with a promo, buy any 5 items from over 100 retail partners and get a $20 flat shipping fee. This is DHL’s way of showing they are dominant in shipping and eCommerce in Africa.”

According to online technology magazine Techcrunch, the launch and expansion of DHL’s MallforAfrica supported platform is creating a competitive scenario with e-commerce unicorn Jumia.

Jumia is Africa’s most visible e-tailer and operates consumer retail and online service verticals in 14 African countries. Headquartered in Lagos, the company raised more than $200 million in an NYSE IPO this April.

DHL launched the Africa eShop product the day before Jumia went public and made its first country expansion only weeks after.

DHL and partner MallforAfrica plan to bring Africa eShop to all 54 African countries in coming years.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.

Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/Afrikanheroes/

Three Years After Launch, World’s First Gaming Robotics Company Owned By A Nigerian Shuts Down

September 8, 2019

This would be a major test for African entrepreneurs going into the business of consumer robotics. Barely 3 years in operations, Reach Robotics, the Bristol, United Kingdom-based consumer robotics company co-founded by the Nigeria-born Silas Adekunle has shut down, even with over $7.8 million in funding received by the company.

“Unfortunately, for Reach Robotics, in its current form at least, today marks the end of that journey, ’’ Adekunle announced on his Linkedin page

Here Is All You Need To Know

Called MekaMon, Reach Robotics describes its product as a “battlebot” that uses augmented reality technology to allow gamers and robotics enthusiasts alike to play around with the device in both the real and virtual world.
You can control the MekaMon with a smartphone or tablet (they’re compatible with both iOS and Android-supported devices), making the four-legged robots walk around or do flips right in front of you. Connecting the MekaMon to a smart device via bluetooth and opening a free-to-download MekaMon app also unlocks a world of virtual gameplay where your robot can do virtual battle in your actual living room.

“The best way to think of a MekaMon [is] as an entertainment platform,” Adekunle told CNBC Make It. “You’ve got this robot that’s got four legs — really agile, lots of personality, lots of character. You control it from your smartphone or tablet. The more you play with it, the better it gets. You can compete with other people.”

After selling out its initial run of MekaMons, Reach Robotics landed a major investment round in July 2017, raising $7.5 million from a group led by Korea Investment Partners and iGlobe Partners. (Reach Robotics’ total fundraising now tops $10 million, Adekunle was onve quoted as saying.)
In November 2017, Reach caught the attention of Apple and the tech company signed an exclusive deal to sell the robots online and in brick-and-mortar Apple stores across the US and UK. For Adekunle, it was an amazing feeling to have Apple take an interest in his product and it gave the MekaMon a stamp of approval from one of the biggest companies in the world.
While Reach’s distribution deal with Apple was initially exclusive — meaning that MekaMons were only sold either by Apple or on Reach’s own website — now, the robots are also sold by Amazon as well as by the Harrods department store in London and, soon, the MekaMon will be sold by the US toy store FAO Schwarz, Adekunle said.

“These are some of the strongest brands in the world, so that gives our customers confidence that the products that they’re buying are also high quality,” he said late last year.

End of The Road

The latest announcement is coming rather surprisingly.

In a post called “Reach Robotics — End of the Road,” Adekunle mentioned the “consumer robotics sector is an inherently challenging space — especially for a start-up.”

One of the Co-founders John Rees confirmed that “the decision has been made to close the business and appoint administrators, effective as of 02/09/2019,” according to a report by therobotreport.com

Below is Adekunle’s LinkedIn post reprinted in its entirety:

“I am immensely proud of what we have achieved. Since founding Reach Robotics at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory, we made huge strides in our technology both in terms of our hardware and app development. We took MekaMon from prototype to market, introduce the world to the first gaming robot with seamless AR integration, launched in dozens of territories and developed a unique education offering that will live on through many initiatives.

“This simply could not have happened without the highly skilled and creative people that have been part of the Reach Robotics journey. I speak for myself and my fellow co-founders Chris Beck and John Rees when I say it has been a privilege and we have no doubt that they will continue to innovate and enrich the sector. Personally, I am grateful for the experience, lessons learnt, the connections and the opportunity to inspire young people from under-represented backgrounds in STEM and entrepreneurship.

“I am thankful to everyone who has been a part of this journey, from my co-founders Chris and John, who have been there through thick and thin, to members of the management team who were supportive in the most difficult of times, Jonathan Quinn, Kathryn Green, Philip Green just to name a few.

“Thank you to all of our investors, advisers, mentors, family and friends over the years. Special thanks to UWE, Bristol Robotics Laboratory, Pervasive Media Studio, SetSquared and so many others who have supported our growth. Reach Robotics began with the vision of creating advanced and accessible robotics to entertain, inspire and educate. I hope to carry that vision forward into the future.

“Following some travel and much needed rest, the journey will continue in the Non consumer Robotics sector and the STEAM Education sector.”

Ran Out of Cash or Unprofitable?

The Times, a British newspaper, reported in July 2019 Reach Robotics was cash-strapped. The report said, “Reach Robotics is under pressure from a creditor and is looking for investment or a sale to stave off collapse. Reach filed notice of its intention to appoint an administrator last week, giving it 10 working days to settle its debts. It has been laying off some of its 30 staff.”

Adekunle however fired back, however, telling BusinessCloud, “sometimes you file to give yourself just enough time to settle creditors so you’re not forced into liquidation where the assets then become at risk.” The report added that Reach Robotics was in “due diligence discussions for acquisition as it repositions itself from a consumer-facing robotics firm to one with education at its core.”

Reach Robotics launched a division in May 2019 aimed at the STEM education sector called ReachEdu. It is unclear if ReachEdu will continue as a business unit.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.