News - Afrikan Heroes

Nigeria Loses Startup Ecosystem Spot to Rwanda

June 10, 2020

The recent country ranking of startup ecosystems has shown that Nigeria has been pushed out of its third place rank to fourth with Rwanda making the leap to occupy that position behind Kenya, and South Africa. The latest ranking is contained in the just released report from StartupBlink, a global startup ecosystem map and research centre that measures ecosystems based on three metrics: the number of startups (quantity), their quality, and their business environment. The Startup Ecosystem Rankings collates data from more than 60,000 startups and over 14,000 coworking spaces. It also takes into account global influencers in different cities of which it has 100 so far.

This year’s startup ecosystem ranking is regarded as versatile and expansive due to the collaboration with partners like SimilarWeb and Crunchbase enabling it to cover a startup ecosystem of 1,000 cities and 100 countries. Expectedly, the United States, United Kingdom, Israel and Canada maintained their spots with Israel and Canada switching in 3rd and 4th for the first time followed by Germany, The Netherlands, Australia, Switzerland, Spain, and Sweden. And breaking the report down to cities, the San Francisco Bay area, New York, and London held their own as the world’s top three, a ranking that has remained unchanged since 2017, followed by Boston, Los Angeles, Beijing, Tel Aviv, Berlin, Moscow, and Shanghai round up the top ten.

But coming to the best startup ecosystems ranking from the continent in the global ranking is not encouraging as African countries lost their positions. For example, as at last year were South Africa (51st), Kenya (52nd), Nigeria (56th), Egypt (60th), and Rwanda (64th). This position remained almost unchanged as no African country could break into the global top 50 this year, even as South Africa lost its 51^st position to stand at 52^nd this year. This is quite troubling because as at 2017, South Africa was 38th globally; forcing analysts to ask what is discouraging people from pushing their ideas from paper to manifestation.

Many are of the view that there are myriad of reasons why startup ecosystems are passing through hard times in Africa. From government policies to infrastructural issues, a plethora of challenges plague the continent’s ecosystem. Judging by this report and the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, 2020 seems to be the year these challenges have reached its peak.

Kenya dropped ten places from last year to 62, however the shock was Rwanda with a population of 12 million displacing Nigeria as Africa’s third-best startup ecosystem at number 65 while Nigeria dropped to is fourth in Africa, but dropping a further 12 spots to 68 globally. And Tunisia completes the top five at number 77 as Egypt drops to 81. Other African countries in the top 100 include Morocco (83rd), Ghana (85th), Uganda (89th), Cape Verde (91st), and Somalia (95th). For city rankings, Lagos was a top 100 city last year at 99th. To complete the top five, Nairobi, Cape Town, Cairo, and Tunis ranked 105th, 157th, 177th, and 223rd respectively. But this year, unfortunately no African city made it to the global top 100 position. Nairobi dropped 11 places to 116 and Lagos dropped to 127 while Cairo dropped to 200^th but Cape Town and Johannesburg rose in the rankings. Cape Town climbed 11 places to 146th and the latter, 88 places to 160th.

Speaking on the new report, the CEO of StartupBlink, Eli David is of the opinion that African startup ecosystem’s drop in ranking boils down to two things. According to him, “the region didn’t move forward as much as other growing regions in Asia and Latin America. Also, our algorithm changed. This gets us closer to real results every year. That said, South Africa, Rwanda, Somalia, and Cape Verde actually had a great year as their city rankings show,” he added. But on Nigeria, using the change in algorithm, it is evident that compared to last year, the scores assigned to StartupBlink’s metrics of quantity, quality, and business have changed. The quality and quantity scores have increased while the business score decreased. Last year, Nigeria enjoyed a business score of 5.89 but stood at a meager 0.46 this year. There’s also the fact that other African countries in the top five, except Tunisia, have a better business score. Nigeria’s woes are not unconnected to inadequate infrastructure, unreliable power, and poor Internet as few of the reasons for the country’s drop in rankings even though Nigeria now has seven cities in the rankings with Kano entering for the first time this year at 995. Nigeria continues to have the highest number of ranked cities for an African nation.

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

Ibrahim Diong Elected New Director General of African Risk Capacity Conference of Parties (CoP)

The Conference of Parties (CoP) of the African Risk Capacity (ARC) has elected Mr. Ibrahima Cheikh Diong, of the Republic of Senegalas the new ARC Group Director General, for a term of four (4) years. The election of Mr Diong, which was ‘without objection’ from all the Members, was consistent with provisions of the Procedure for Electing the Director General which calls for consensus by the Parties, to the extent possible. The CoP commended the ARC Agency Governing Board and the Board of Directors of ARC Insurance Company Ltd (Joint Board) for putting in place a competitive and transparent process for the selection of the ARC Group DG.

ARC Group DG-elect, Mr. Ibrahima Cheikh Diong

The Selection Committee was composed of members of the ARC Agency Governing Board, ARC Ltd Board, representatives of the AU Commission and the World Food Programme, and partners. The Search Committee was assisted by an executive search firm; and the position was widely advertised on the ARC website, leading print media on the continent, and shared with relevant professional networks. An initial list of shortlisted three (3) best candidates was circulated to the CoP for the election. The ARC Group DG-elect, Mr. Ibrahima Cheikh Diong, Founder and Chairman of the Dakar-based Advisory firm, Africa Consulting and Trading (ACT Afrique Group), has over 30 years of professional leadership and management experience in Africa, the United States, Europe and Asia. His areas of expertise include private sector development, resource mobilization, strategic planning, change management, infrastructure development, financial engineering, strategic communication, environmental policy management, civil engineering, public policy development, public private partnership development, etc. He was a Senior Africa Banker/Advisor of BNP Paribas in London for over 3 years. Prior to BNP Paribas, he had held several high-level positions in the government of Senegal including Minister,

Special Adviser and Ambassador at large to the President of the Republic, Chairman of the Board of Senegal Airlines, Director General of International Cooperation and Permanent Secretary of Energy. His other previous senior positions include Regional Coordinator for Africa of the Public Private Infrastructure and Advisory Facility (PPIAF) and Manager of the SME Solutions Centers (SSCs) at the World Bank and International Finance Corporation, respectively, and Associate/Africa Director at Booz-Allen & Hamilton in the United States. He had also served as a senior consultant to several African and the American governments, UN agencies, international Foundations, African and International private companies and think tanks as well as Director of the Water Resources and Environment of the African Network for Integrated Development.

Mr Diong holds a Masters’ degree in International Affairs (MIA) with specialisations in international finance and environmental policy management from the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) at Columbia University in New York City. This is in addition to a Bachelor of Civil Engineering specializing in water resources management from Hohai International University in Nanjing, People`s Republic China among other professional and industry credentials. He is perfectly fluent in English, French, Mandarin Chinese and Wolof, with a working knowledge of Portuguese.In accordance with the Administrative Service Agreement (ASA) between ARC Agency and the World Food Programme (WFP), a recruitment and contractual process for onboarding of the new DG is underway. Mr. Ibrahima Cheikh Diong is expected to assume office latest by 1 September 2020.

African Risk Capacity (ARC) ARC consists of ARC Agency and ARC Insurance Company Limited (ARC Ltd). ARC Agency was established in 2012 as a Specialized Agency of the African Union to help Member States improve their capacities to better plan, prepare and respond to weather-related disasters. ARC Ltd is a mutual insurance facility providing risk transfer services to Member States through risk pooling and access to reinsurance markets. ARC was established on the principle that investing in preparedness and early warning through an innovative financing approach is highly cost-effective and can save upward of four dollars for every dollar invested ex ante.

With the support of the United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Canada, France, The Rockefeller Foundation and the United States, ARC assists AU Member States in reducing the risk of loss and damage caused by extreme weather events affecting Africa’s populations by providing, through sovereign disaster risk insurance, targeted responses to natural disasters in a more timely, cost-effective, objective and transparent manner. ARC is now using its expertise to help tackle some of the other greatest threats faced by the continent, including outbreaks and epidemics. Since 2014, 37 policies have been signed by Member States with US$74million paid in premiums for a cumulative insurance coverage of US$544million for the protection of 54million vulnerable population in participating countries.

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

MTN to Face Stiff Competition in Ghana

June 9, 2020

The market dominance presently enjoyed by Africa’s biggest telecoms company MTN in Ghana may head for a stiffer run, which may break their control of the market. This is likely to arise as a result of the new sets of telecoms policies the Ghanaian government plans to implement which analysts say will reduce the dominance of MTN in the country’s telecommunications market.

A statement from the country’s National Communications Authority (NCA) says that there will be an implementation of specific policies to ensure a level-playing field for all network operators within the telecommunications industry. This is because MTN has been declared a significant market power, requiring the regulator to take corrective action to allow more market competition.

Statistics from the NCA showed MTN’s share in mobile data subscriptions accounted for almost 70% of the market from January to March. To correct this, the regulator will implement a series of measures including a favourable connection rate for disadvantaged operators, the setting of floor and ceiling pricing on all minutes, data, text messages and mobile money, and ensure the various operator vendors are not subject to exclusionary pricing or behaviour.

MTN Ghana however said that it is yet to receive any formal notification from the regulator in that regard and was awaiting it to assess the details

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

Mohanty Appointed CFO For Standard Chartered for Africa and Middle East

June 8, 2020

As part of its post Covid-19 efforts aimed at deepening its financial intermediation in the Middle East and Africa region, global banking groups, Standard Chartered has appointed Subhradeep Mohanty as its Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in the Africa and Middle East Region (AME). Subhradeep who brings over 19 years of diverse and international experience in the banking sector was recently the CFO for Standard Chartered Bank’s India franchise, where he played a crucial role in driving the country’s strategic transformation and performance. Prior to this, he was the Global CFO of Retail Banking at Standard Chartered, based in Singapore, where he was integral in the Retail Bank’s large-scale global turnaround efforts.

Speaking on the development, the Regional CEO AME, Sunil Kaushal, said that “we are pleased to welcome Subhradeep to the Standard Chartered AME Management Team. His commercial and management expertise complement our team as we continue to grow the business across our regional footprint. With his extensive experience in the banking sector and thorough knowledge of dynamic and changing markets, I am confident that Subhradeep will play a crucial role in achieving our strategic priorities and look forward to working with him in strengthening our position as the leading international bank in the region.” Prior to joining Standard Chartered, Subhradeep held senior positions at J.P. Morgan in Asia, and at American Express earlier, in strategy, finance and business transformation across a diverse set of markets.

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

Deepening Crude Oil Production Cuts Will Favour African Oil Producers

African Energy Chamber’s Executive Chairman Nj Ayuk

Countries like Nigeria that have adjusted their 2020 budget twice due to the dwindling price of crude oil will heave a sigh of relief with the decision over the weekend by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) decision to extend production cuts. This is in addition to the gradual reopening of world economies along with increased conformity to the production cuts have allowed oil prices to bounce back and reach the $40/bbl threshold.

NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber, CEO of pan-African corporate law conglomerate Centurion Law Group

The 11th OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting concluded on a series of decisions which will help maintain a still fragile market stability, and which should be supported. Held via videoconference on Saturday, June 6th, the Ministerial Meeting reconfirmed the existing arrangements under the April agreement and extended the production cuts of 9.7 million barrels per day by another month, until July 30th 2020. The deal was initially due to expire on June 30th.

In addition, all participating countries subscribed to the concept of compensation by those countries who were unable to reach full conformity to the agreement in May and June. As a result, and in addition to their already agreed production adjustment for May and June, countries who were not able to comply for these two months expressed their willingness to compensate for it in July, August and September.

The reaffirmation of the OPEC+ commitment to the historic deal made last April comes on the back of a steady rise in oil prices. Gradual reopening of world economies along with increased conformity to the production cuts have allowed oil prices to bounce back and reach the $40/bbl threshold. The rise has been especially beneficial for Nigerian and Angolan blends.

“OPEC is taking the right steps to respond to the market and should be commended. Uncertainty is bad for the oil industry and the extension of OPEC’s cuts ensures market stability,” declared NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman at the African Energy Chamber. “African energy companies and even state companies are facing a battle with liquidity because of the price war and the coronavirus. They do not have state bailouts as their Western counterparts. We hope the production cuts will give the market a boost, however compliance and collaboration from the G20 is key. OPEC has proven its ability to show leadership in times of crisis. We are all in this together,” added Ayuk.

Earlier this month, the African Energy Chamber had called for an extension of the 9.7 million b/d production adjustment and urged all producing countries to ensure their conformity to the agreement. The rebalancing of the market is key for African oil-producing nations to preserve jobs in the sector and give the continent an opportunity to stabilize and recover.

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

Ebola Lessons for Fighting COVID-19

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a former finance minister of Nigeria, a Board Chair of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and Distinguished Fellow at the Africa Growth Initiative at the Brookings Institution

By NGOZI OKONJO-IWEALA

The Democratic Republic of Congo will soon pass a milestone marking its success in the fight against Ebola. As Africa braces for COVID-19, one lesson from the DRC is that the best hope for defeating the coronavirus is not social distancing, but a vaccine that is distributed equitably.This is a significant milestone. It refers to twice the maximum incubation period – 21 days – of the virus, which is how the World Health Organization stipulates when an outbreak is over. If all goes well, it will be a remarkable turnaround for the DRC and a testament to the bravery and dedication of health workers, some of whom lost their lives treating the sick.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a former finance minister of Nigeria, a Board Chair of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and Distinguished Fellow at the Africa Growth Initiative at the Brookings Institution

The DRC’s success in combating Ebola was overshadowed by the fact that, during that fight, approximately twice as many people died from a preventable measles outbreak. One essential lesson for policymakers grappling with the greatest global health crisis in a century is that they must do everything in their power to prevent overstretched health systems from battling two epidemics simultaneously.

Bloodshed and fighting during a brutal civil war exacerbated the challenge facing the DRC as it fought the Ebola and measles outbreaks. The country experienced profound difficulties immunizing its population against entirely preventable diseases. It found itself fighting a multi-front health battle when it desperately needed to marshal its available resources against a major threat.

The trajectory of COVID-19 may be less advanced in many of the world’s poorest countries, but we must not fool ourselves that a warmer climate, or a younger demographic profile, will blunt its impact. The potential for death and disruption is even more pronounced than in the richer countries where the virus has hit hardest.

And yet weathering two significant health threats simultaneously has shown us how to prevent this nightmare scenario. Our first priority is to maintain existing immunization programs. For measles, polio, or any other disease for which a low-cost vaccine is routinely available, it is critical that herd immunity is maintained in order to prevent any unnecessary drain on scarce health-care resources.

Next, we must bolster preparedness. A number of organizations, including Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance (of which I am Chair), have made funds available – $200-$300 million in Gavi’s case – to help the world’s poorest health systems step up surveillance activities, invest in testing, procure protective equipment, and train health workers. Technology is playing a part, too: Despite valid privacy concerns, some countries are rolling out tracing apps – a relatively low cost, effective way to mitigate the virus’ spread. Africa is also using drones to distribute vaccines, protective equipment, and other vital supplies to remote areas.

Social distancing will slow the spread of COVID-19, but it will not win the war. Our best hope lies in finding a vaccine. While there may be 41 candidates of varying promise in the pipeline, we must learn from past mistakes. Too often, governments have sequestered vaccines in the countries where they were manufactured. We must ensure that when an effective vaccine becomes available, it is accessible to anyone who needs it, not just the rich, and fortunate few.

There are ways to avoid the inequitable distribution of vaccines. Gavi, which procures and distributes vaccines to 60% of the world’s children at affordable prices, regularly employs innovative mechanisms such as the International Finance Facility for Immunization, Advanced Market Commitment, and Advanced Purchase Commitment to encourage vaccine production and delivery. In the case of Ebola, Gavi created incentives for Merck to stockpile an experimental Ebola vaccine that was then made available to the WHO, which deployed it in the DRC. It can incentivize the production, scale, and equitable global distribution of a vaccine for COVID-19 as well.

Poorer countries in Africa and elsewhere may be unable to deal with both the health and economic fallout of this pandemic on their own. The global effort that is already underway is essential, because COVID-19 knows no borders. No country is safe until every country is safe.

We are not yet near the end of the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis. We must use what precious time we have to bolster our weakest health systems and economies. But shoring up our defenses is not enough. We must go on the offensive by making the development and global distribution of a vaccine our highest priority.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a former finance minister of Nigeria, is Board Chair of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and Distinguished Fellow at the Africa Growth Initiative at the Brookings Institution.

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

US Court Files Fresh Charges Against Africa’s Telecoms Giant MTN

Fresh charges against Africa’s biggest telecoms firm, MTN was deposed by the weekend in a Washington D.C. District court alleging that MTN’s actions in Afghanistan and Iran was in breach of American laws, and interests. The law firms filed the new amended complaint, as they alleged MTN’s “conduct targeted the United States”. Insider sources pointed out that some Washington based law firms filed the new amended complaint, on Friday, as they alleged MTN’s “conduct targeted the United States” by executing a strategy reliant on dominating markets in unstable countries not allied with Washington.

The initial lawsuit had eight (8) multinational companies which include MTN, security firm G4S, US infrastructure group Louis Berger and consultancy Janus Global that operated in Afghanistan and Iran between 2009 and 2017. The suit which was filed in December 2019 in the United States District Court in the District of Colombia, alleges that these companies violated the US Anti-Terrorism Act by paying protection money to al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

MTN which is Africa’s largest telecoms company by size and reach operating in far more African countries than any other was said to have aided militant groups in Afghanistan, including paying protection money. This was contained in the amended lawsuit filed on behalf of hundreds of families of US soldiers. MTN also allegedly violated the Anti-Terrorism Act by paying protection money of more than $100 million to al-Qaeda and Taliban so that its cellular towers would not be targeted for destruction. The telecoms firm is accused of deactivating the towers at night, preventing US intelligence operations, and allegation the MTN has however, denied, asking the court to dismiss the original suit.

The telecoms giant was also criticized for its activities in Iran’s telecommunication sector. A US-based advocacy, united against nuclear Iran alleged that MTN technology is enabling the Iranian government to locate and track individual cellphone users which it says as a violation of users’ human rights. In 2012 it was alleged that MTN Group may have been complicit in securing American telecommunications technology from sun microsystems, Hewlett-Packard and Cisco Systems on behalf of Irancell in violation of trade sanctions against Iran.

This development puts MTN on a very bad spot as this is not the first time it is being alleged to have breached security concerns from a government. It could be recalled that MNT’s Nigerian subsidiary was fined $5.2 billion by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in 2015 for partial compliance of regulatory guidelines by not disconnecting improperly registered subscribers’ identification module.

The compliance audit carried out by NCC on the network showed that 5.2 million customers lines were not deactivated as had been directed and so were fined the sum $1,000 for each unregistered SIM according to the Telephone Subscribers regulation law. The federal government feared that this might have contributed to the security crises in the country. The fine was later reduced to $3.2 billion after pressure and negotiations with the South African government and the telecoms firm.

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

Nigeria To Tax Twitter, Facebook, Other Foreign Digital Service Providers

Nigeria’s Federal Government has concluded plans to tax foreign digital service providers offering services to Nigerians and earning revenue in naira, otherwise known as over-the-top (OTT) services providers in Nigeria such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Blackberry Messenger and many others. This is one of the major fallouts of the new finance Act which now subject all multinational digital companies operating abroad with significant economic presence in Nigeria to taxation.

*Nigeria’s Vice President Yemi Osinbajo*

“So, most digital and multinational technology companies do not have a physical presence in Nigeria, yet make significant income in Nigeria from online activities. They pay no tax to Nigeria because they do not have a physical presence in Nigeria, now we are no longer relying on physical presence,” Nigeria’s Vice President Yemi Osinbajo had earlier said in February, 2020.

Here Is What You Need To Know

The Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, had issued the Companies Income Tax (Significant Economic Presence) Order, 2020 as an amendment of the Finance Act 2019. The order aimed to impose tax on a foreign entity with respect to certain services or digital transactions if it had a Significant Economic Presence in Nigeria.
It further stated that the finance minister may by order, determine what constituted SEP in Nigeria.
By this move, Nigeria is following the steps of many countries which have policies that guide these services.
Only companies that have a physical presence in the country were being taxed previously

“Under the new Act, once you (foreign digital company) have a significant economic presence in Nigeria, you are liable to (digital) tax whether you are resident here or not,” Osinbajo had earlier noted.

For Association of Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), the umbrella body of telecom operators in the country, it is not right that a company providing traditional telecommunications services has to meet certain regulatory requirements, like those concerning data protection and taxes while a company providing comparable services over the web does not.a

An over-the-top (OTT) media service is a streaming media service offered directly to viewers via the Internet. OTT bypasses cable, broadcast, and satellite television platforms that traditionally act as a controller or distributor of such contents.

Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, ALTON, recently said that:

“We are beginning to see the need for regulators to look at regulating technology instead of services.
“These over-the-top services have social, economic and security implications. If they are not licensed, it means they are not regulated, and in that case, there is no limit to the scope of what they can do. There is also no control over services and content they may provide,” he said.

Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) which until now has insisted on technology neutrality of the OTTs may be forced to facilitate the revenue generating process with the right technological devices to ensure transparency.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer.

Egyptian minister says airlines may not be required to leave empty seats between passengers

June 7, 2020

Contrary to expectations from airlines on modalities to be adopted going forward in tackling the Covid-19 pandemic while opening up the economy, the Egyptian Aviations Minister is proposing a different strategy different from what most airlines planned to adopt. According to Mohamed Enaba who said he plans to meet with government officials managing the response to the coronavirus pandemic to determine the date when international flights would resume. He however hinted that while Egyptian airports will follow social distancing rules that airlines may not be required to mandate empty seats between passengers when flights resume. It could be recalled that the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) had proposed that airlines shelve the middle seats to ensure social distancing compliance inside the aircraft.

Mohamed Enaba, minister of civil aviation

Egyptian airlines:https://afrikanheroes.com/2020/06/05/european-bank-calls-on-startups-in-egypt-morocco-tunisia-to-apply-and-secure-up-to-113k-in-funding/

Mohamed Enaba who is the Minister of Civil Aviation said he is expecting flights to resume within the coming weeks, as a number of other countries have said they will also reopen their airspace to flights in the coming period. But added that “the return of aviation depends on the return of aviation in other countries,” pointing out that Egypt’s airports were ready to receive visitors and tourists. The minister said airports would follow social distancing rules, while meals would be distributed in closed packets, and passengers and crew on planes would be required to wear gloves and masks. However, the decision on empty seats between passengers has yet to be decided.

Egypt’s national carrier EgyptAir, and other private airlines, had lost billions in revenue due to the suspension of flights since March, according to the minister. Enaba met with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and Tourism and Antiquities Minister Khaled El-Enany on Tuesday to discuss preparations for the return of international tourism.

Last month Egypt shortened a mandatory quarantine period for Egyptians arriving from abroad from 14 days to one week. Returnees who test negative by the end of the period can spend the rest of their quarantine at home.

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

Uganda Suspends Tax Payment For Startups And Businesses

In a raft of 11 stimulus plans, President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda has announced relief for businesses by suspending payment of Pay As You Earn (PAYE) for four months, and said the government would expedite payment of its domestic debt to provide liquidity for private firms that have been affected by the Covid-19 lockdown.

“He is limited on what he can do,” said Fred Muhumuza, an economics lecturer at Makerere University to The EastAfrican. “I would advise those businesses that can afford to pay, for example, PAYE, because this is not a waiver it’s only a suspension to aid short-term liquidity pressures. But you will still have to pay later so you don’t want to be under pressure to make bulk payments in December when you can afford to pay it today,”
Read also:https://afrikanheroes.com/2020/05/13/tanzania-kenya-uganda-agribusinesses-secure-e2-million-grants/

Here Is What You Need To Know

According to the new order, corporations and medium-sized enterprises affected by the lockdown in Uganda will be allowed to delay payment of corporation tax or presumptive tax due between April and June, while those in manufacturing, tourism, horticulture and floriculture have up to September 2020.
President Museveni also proposed waiver of interest on tax arrears and said the Bank of Uganda had already announced measures to ease pressure of loan repayments to commercial banks. The Uganda Development Bank will be recapitalised to the tune of Ush1 trillion (about $2.5 billion).

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer.