The recent appointment of the 27 year old son of President Alli Bongo Odimba is raising dusts across the country as some opposition politicians warn that this is a subtle way to prepare the youngman to take over from his ailing father. The President’s son, Noureddin Bongo Valentin, was last week appointed the general coordinator of Presidential Affairs a position which according to a statement from the Gabonese Presidency will be to assist the President of the Republic in the conduct of all State affairs. But opposition politicians and some members of the civil society organizations are having none of it, as they claim this was same way the President was propped up by his father, late President Omar Bongo to take over power.
President Alli Bongo Odimba
It could be recalled that President Alli Bongo has been incapacitated for over a year due to stroke he suffered two years ago.
The presidential spokesman, Jessye Ella Ekogha, said the president needed people he could trust to be close to him in order to effectively execute affairs of state hence the appointment. Ekogha said in defense of the appointment of Noureddine: “Why was Mr. Noureddine BONGO VALENTIN appointed to such a position? For two reasons. One, he has all the skills required. She added that Noureddin Bongo Valentin got the appointment basically because of his competence and experience than any other reason, noting that claims by some people that the President’s son was being propped up politically to take over from his ailing father who spent months abroad after suffering a stroke last year.
She added that the youngman graduated from two of the most prestigious institutions in the world, the Eton College, the Institute of Oriental and African Studies, the London School of Economics in particular. And that he has solid professional experience – he was Director General of Olam Gabon, the largest private company in the country – and a perfect knowledge of public affairs and the functioning of the state.
The presidential spokesperson cited the example of the American president Donald Trump who has appointed his children in top government positions he believes they are competent enough to handle.
“First, in Gabon, in the past, we have already experienced such a situation. Then, if we look elsewhere in the world, we see that it is a common thing. For example, the president of the world’s leading power, the United States, Donald Trump, has his main allies in daughter, Ivanka Trump, and her husband, Jared Kushner, both occupying important official positions in the White House.
Ali Bongo, weakened for a year after a stroke, had himself been promoted to prominence in the 2000s, then elected in 2009 after the death of his father Omar Bongo, at the time serving president for 42 years.
Th spokesman also dismissed talk of the general coordinator of presidential affairs being a new creature. He said it existed in the governance structure as far back as 2003 when Noureddine’s grandfather was president.
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
The President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Dr. Akinwumi Adesina has won the African of the Year Award from the All Africa Business Leaders Awards in recognition of his bold leadership and the innovation of the Africa Investment Forum which “opened up billions of dollars of investment into the continent.” The ninth edition of the awards, organized by All Africa Business Leaders Awards in conjunction with CNBC Africa, seeks to honour leaders who have contributed and shaped the African economy.
President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Dr. Akinwumi Adesina
The Africa Investment Forum , inaugurated in 2018, has been a trailblazer in tilting investments into the continent. The second edition of the Forum which was held in Johannesburg, South Africa ended on 13 November. It was attended by over 2,000 delegates and secured investor interest worth $40.1 billion – up from $37.1 billion the previous year.
Responding after being bestowed with the Award, Dr. Adesina said that it is indeed a great honour to follow in the footsteps of his “big brother” President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, who won the award in 2018. “My heartbeat is to serve the people of Africa,” Adesina said.The Award took place last night during the exclusive gala dinner held at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg, at which the awards were announced.
The event was attended by an A-list of business leaders, government representatives including David Makhura, Premier of Guateng Province, who gave the opening address. The event also attracted some of South Africa’s leading personalities. Vibrant music was provided by The Muses, a South African all-female string quartet and “Dr Victor and The Rasta Rebels.”
The awards are decided by a jury of continent-wide judges led by Sam Bhembe, CNBC Africa Non-Executive Director, following evaluation of a shortlist of finalists to determine the overall category winners. Bhembe said the award reflected how the winner would “shape the future of the African continent,” and that the winner would brace the cover of a special edition of Forbes Africa.
In other categories of the 2019 awards, Nigerian Co-Founder of Kobo360, Obi Ozor won Young Business Leader of the Year; Naspers CEO: South Africa, Phuthi Mahanyele-Dabengwa took the Business Woman of the Year award; while Nedbank, won the Company of the Year award. Adesina dedicated his award “to the people of Africa who inspire me… I do not work alone.” He also said it was very rewarding to be at the helm “of an organisation that paves the way to progress.”
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
In line with efforts geared towards getting at least one million young Africans gainfully employed by 2021, 100 African SME’s will benefit from the African Union Development Agency Business Bootcamp starting tomorrow in Lomé Togo, in partnership with Ecobank.
The Business Bootcamp is in line with the African Union Commission (AUC) Chairperson’s “1 million by 2021 Initiative” which aims to provide concrete opportunities for 1 million youth by the year 2021, in the areas of Education, Employment, Entrepreneurship and Engagement. The initiative aims to leverage strategic partnerships, build ecosystems of efficiencies and test new ideas to move the needle on youth development.
Fati N’zi-Hassane AUDA-NEPAD Head of Human Capital,
The opening ceremony will be attended by Fati N’zi-Hassane AUDA-NEPAD Head of Human Capital, Josephine Anan-Ankomah Ecobank Group Executive Commercial Banking.
AUDA-NEPAD aims to contribute towards decent employment for Africa’s youth by supporting sustainable youth owned SME’s especially for young women. More specifically, AUDA-NEPAD seeks to contribute towards the AUC campaign by focusing on building the capacity of young entrepreneurs, engaging various stakeholders to avail sustainable financial mechanisms including the establishment of regional guarantees funds for youth and women led SMEs. There is vast potential for African economic growth to be driven by SME’s and there is even greater potential in the African youth taking up this challenge.
Ecobank, the Pan-African bank, believes in SMEs, not only as clients, but also as partners in driving social economic development. Ecobank, through its Academy and other business units, is working with the AUC on a number of initiatives to support SMEs and the youth attaining their full potential.
The Business Bootcamp will train 100 SME’s on business and entrepreneurial skills, broaden their markets beyond their local markets toward regional trade. It will also contribute to sustainable SME’s through good financial management, increase SME profitability, business growth and expansion to create more jobs.
The 100 SME’s were selected through a rigorous application and assessment exercise to ensure there is full representation of all the regions in Africa.
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 Africans who use cryptocurrencies to wire more money across South African borders than is permitted under the law have got the attention of South Africa ’s government. In the first quarter of 2020 (Jan-March), the country’s central bank is expected to launch new regulations targeted at preventing the use of cryptocurrencies in evading currency control regulations.
Here Is All You Need To Know
According to reports, South African Reserve Bank deputy governor Kuben Naidoo told journalists last week that the rules would be put in place in the first quarter of next year, bringing to an end the consultations that began in 2014.
Under South African laws, there are limitations on how much money individuals and companies can send outside the country.
Sending anything up to R1 million rand ($96,000) would require no declaration to South Africa’s Revenue Service. However, special declaration shall be made to South African Revenue Service for citizens to be able to send up to a further R10m ($750,000) out of the country for foreign investment purposes.
This therefore limits South Africans to a total of R11m that they are allowed to send across the border.
This has led consequently led high net-worth individuals looking to protect their wealth against the rand’s devaluation to look for alternative methods to send their money out of the country.
This has made cryptocurrencies the most popular method of sending money anywhere in the world due to the borderless nature of virtual currencies.
Naidoo and the SARB are therefore hoping to stop this evasion of currency controls through the new regulations expected early next year.
According to reports, a premium on Bitcoin developed earlier this year in the country, partly because of the restrictions people face when sending money accross borders.
The 2019 Global Digital Yearbook ranked South Africa at the top of its cryptocurrency ownership list followed by Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Brazil, and Nigeria, among others.
South African Banks Are Already Shutting Down Some Crypto Exchanges
While the country’s central bank is set to release new crypto regulations, it appears that there is an ongoing crackdown on the virtual currency sector. One of South Africa’s biggest banks, the First National Bank (FNB) last week closed all business banking accounts for companies dealing in cryptocurrencies.
“FNB considers this to be a prudent course of action following a comprehensive review of the potential risks currently associated with these entities, particularly given that appropriate regulatory frameworks are not yet in place,” it said in a statement.
Disappointed With Decision — Says Crypto Community
One of South Africa ’s largest cryptocurrencies exchanges, AltCoinTrader, said they were disappointed with FNB’s decision after having been with the bank since 2015.
“We are disappointed that a financial institution would succumb to international pressure like this, with banking services being denied to individuals and industry players around the globe,” AltCoinTrader chief executive Richard de Sousa said.
Crypto Scams Are Mounting in South Africa
South Africa’s governments and regulatory bodies constantly warn investors not to engage in cryptocurrency schemes because of the risks involved. There are cases of bad actors fleecing unsuspecting investors of their money in the country.
Back in July 2019, victims of a bitcoin scam orchestrated by the owner of a fraudulent South African bitcoin company burned down the owner’s house. The man, Sphelele “Sgumza” Mbatha, set up a Ponzi scheme and promised investors bogus returns in 15 working days. As is the case in most situations, the owner allegedly fled town with clients’ funds.
Also, at the beginning of 2019, the South African Cricket Team came out to state that hackers hacked into the team’s official Twitter account to sell fake bitcoin lottery. The cricket team, however, recovered their account and deleted the fraudulent tweets.
Rapidly Rising Rate of Crypto Adoption In South Africa
As reported by Blockonomi back in April 2019, crypto adoption in South Africa was on the rise with South Africans regarded as the highest owners of cryptocurrencies globally. Some of the factors that encourage crypto adoption include a volatile rand and the absence of strict digital currency regulations.
However, the new crypto laws coming in 2020 could stifle the growth of cryptocurrency in the country. For now, the only piece of crypto governance in the country is the tax law drafted in 2018.
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
Over 600 shops belonging to foreign traders particularly Nigerians at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle have been locked up by members of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA).
Nima Divisional Police Commander, ACP Abraham Acquaye
This is not the first time GUTA members had embarked on such an exercise in their quest to rid the Ghanaian market of foreign traders who are engaging in retail.
According to GUTA, government has failed to enforce Section 27 (1) of the GIPC Act, which bars foreigners from doing retail business.
Some of the local traders tell Citi News they will enforce the law if government is not willing to adhere to their request.
“We are trying to enforce the GIPC law because we have seen that, the leaders of the country will not enforce it. So we have to enforce it ourselves. We have been in this thing for twenty years and they are killing our market.
Government upon government have failed to enforce the law, that is why we are where we are today. The only thing that can be done is to ensure that the foreigners do not enter into the retail business. If they don’t come, the case has ended. “
Another peeved Ghanaian trader noted:
“Nigeria has closed their border when we are all members of ECOWAS. It’s because they have their domestic laws. And their local laws come before the ECOWAS law. They don’t have a case there because you can never ascend to an international which goes against your local law.”
Some of the Nigerian traders mostly affected in the operation in their interaction with Citi News reiterated calls for Ghana government to intervene to resolve the impasse between Ghanaian and Nigerian traders.
“Unfortunately, we came this morning and realized that all the Nigerian shops have been locked by unknown persons. So some of our men who got there were so angry and broke the padlocks because we didn’t know the hoodlums who did that. This is a diplomatic issue and the worse part is that the people who are agitated and want us to leave are using a bad approach and are taking the law into their hands. The only solution is that, the government of Ghana must intervene on the matter. Government must look at this because it can be replicated in Nigeria. It’s not good for the nation.”
Police arrest some traders
Meanwhile, the Nima Divisional Police Commander, ACP Abraham Acquaye who was at the scene with his men to maintain order noted that some of the traders who pelted the police have been arrested.
“We went round to inspect the security threat and realized that, the Nigerians had also massed up to face their Ghanaian counterpart with the view to get their locked shops opened. We had even wanted to address the Nigeria Community over there, but before we could do that, people started pelting stones. So, we had to repel the attack by firing shots to control the crowd. We have been able to make a few arrests and they have been sent to the police headquarters for further investigations.”
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
CanGo, the on demand services company with a technology office in Nairobi, Kenya and current operations in Kinshasa and Kigali has launched an interconnected on demand services together in a single smartphone application aimed at consumers within the central African regional market. Sources at CanGo say that the SuperApp is poised to transform lives across the Central African region as it will enable users to achieve so many options at a go like hailing a motorcycle taxi, order food, make orders from a supermarket and so many other things
CanGo’s initial plan was to design an app-based motorcycle taxi model, but considering best practices in larger markets, it had to adjust to focus on even bigger plans. Speaking on the development CCo-founder Barret Nashsaid that “what we realised is we’ve built a logistics network [being that] motorcycles can move anything — people, pizza, or a bag of potatoes. Users have multiple services they want to benefit from, so we started thinking of this as a Super App by the influence of a company called Gojek in Indonesia.” CanGo’s goal he added is to use motorcycle-hailing to build its network after which it will release additional verticals into the same mobile application. The logistics backbone is expected to ultimately make incorporating more revenue streams seamless.
According to Nash, the platform currently boasts of 165 riders and 12,000 registered users, 1,250 of which actively engage rides and other logistics services weekly. All these are in spite of the country’s strong bureaucratic system which could inhibit startup growth, and people’s slow culture of transiting to new innovations. However, he hopes that tech penetration will soon be higher than what obtains now in the country. “Over another year, we’re working to scale in Kinshasa, by growing 20 to 30 times over what our current volume is. We’ll also include around eight new service verticals on the app,” Nash affirms.
Geographical expansion should follow, as he believes that at that stage, CanGo would have grown strong enough to withstand competition in Kinshasa. This will include additional cities in DRC (Lubumbashi and Goma) and other Central African nations (Angola and Rwanda). Ultimately, it is expected that CanGo’s first-comer advantage would make it scale fast while the region is still in the pioneering years in tech adoption.
“What we’re doing is providing a safe, convenient, and affordable transportation solution. We allow you to move around the city with ease and also bring the best of the city’s services to you,” says Nash.
The startup’s model has riders register their bikes on the platform, get onboarded after verification, and then linked with customers through the mobile application. And as is common with ride-hailing platforms, CanGo riders pay a commission on every trip. “We take a commission for every trip/order. For ride-hailing, it’s 20%, while for other on-demand services, it’s about 5% which varies based on the product moved. Although 50% of our rides are discounted at the moment,” explains Barrett.
Although bootstrapped in its early days, at no point has funding stalled the startup’s growth, and this is for an obvious reason — CanGo is operating within an untapped ecosystem in the region. Getting into the SOSV accelerator program in Ireland in its first year largely set the business on the right track. And it has since survived on revenue and venture capital funds.
Earlier this year, CanGo closed a $1.1million funding raise, led by Battery Road Digital Holdings; Silicon Valley VC, TRUCKS; SOSV; Dubai-based firm, HALA; ZEPHYR ACORN, and PAN Group. This round has bolstered the startup’s confidence to plan further expansion into other Central Africa nations while also attracting more investors’ interest.
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
Zion Adeoye an oil and gas specialist who has focused his career on energy law and finance is a Senior Associate at Centurion Law Group. He is the Country Relations Lead for South Sudan at Centurion Law Group. He has been a key legal advisor on over 25 oil and gas investments in 12 countries across Sub-Saharan Africa. Zion holds an LLB from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria and a BL from the Nigerian Law School. He is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association and the Association of Independent Petroleum Negotiators (AIPN). He is currently undertaking an MBA in International Oil and Gas Management at the University of Dundee, Scotland.
Zion Adeoye, a Senior Associate at Centurion Law Group.
No stranger to awards, he was recently awarded an ESQ 40 under 40 Lawyer award at the Nigerian Rising Stars Award, for shaping the future of the legal profession in Nigeria and on the continent. He was significantly involved in the various efforts at amending the Nigerian Petroleum Act and related legislations including acting at one time as secretary to the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) Fiscal and Financial Management Syndicate Session commissioned by the Nigerian Federal House of Representatives and advised the Board of Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) on the fiscal aspects of the PIB.In this interview, he speaks the African oil and gas industry, legal practice in the continent among other issues. Excerpts.
Do you think the current African oil market is adjusting or keeping up with the modern world – enough to play in the same field as America as UAE?
Markets, including the oil market, are significantly driven by demand, and holding a sizeable supply profile. The modern world is in a state of flux in terms of energy demand and supply, whether we are speaking of hydrocarbons or other energy sources. Africa has the ability, more than ever, to shape the energy world order rather than merely keeping up. With the US increasing its production profile, the inevitability of scientific breakthroughs in Shale within the next decade for other regions of the world which are currently major hydrocarbons markets for Africa, and potential significant shift from fossil fuels in Europe, there is a risk that many out-bound African projects might be in limbo. unlocking the African market is not just a nice-to-have, it is a necessity.
Africa must bring the strength of its population to bear on the global market. Through centralised and regional efforts, Africa must diversify its economies and empower its people, creating alongside a demand base to be reckoned with globally. While achieving this, Africa must begin to look inwards, create and power industries through its own energy.
The population of Nigeria alone is more than a quarter of the entire Europe. There is therefore a potentially viable market within Africa, which we must begin to unlock as a priority and Intra-African trade must become a top burner to sustain this. The African Continental Free Trade Agreement is a statement in the right direction, but we must begin to see concrete steps that match this statement.
Considering the strides and discoveries that took place in 2019, where do you see the African Energy (oil & gas) market going in the next year: Trends for 2020/2021 and why?.
Short of fulfilling the Buridan’s ass paradox, Africa is more than justified to aggressively pursue its oil and gas exploration aspirations. What we have seen in 2019 is just the beginning as I believe many new players will join the wagon within the next 3 years. We have also witnessed the ascendancy of African independents oil and gas companies in African E&P across Sub-Saharan Africa and this is a trend that must continue in other to retain value within Africa.
There’s been a lot of talk about carbon emissions; do you see African completely turning away from exploration and production of oil and moving towards green energy any time soon? Or do you think Africa’s oil industry needs to adjust uniquely on how it defines itself to be more eco-friendly. Contrary to general assumptions, even though accidents continue to occur, the oil and gas industry has significantly improved its health, safety and environment (HSE) profile over the last decade, but admittedly, the improvement falls far short of what scientists have established will be needed to reduce carbon emissions in order to successfully combat climate change.
Drilling down to Africa’s contribution to carbon emissions vis-à-vis its dependency on hydrocarbons revenue, it’s a no-brainer that Africa is the least culpable even while countries like Gabon continue to show leadership on environmental preservation. While Africa must have a coordinated plan in the medium to long term on energy base transition and also to achieve zero-flare status in its oil and gas industry, China and the US continue to significantly dominate the global emissions profile and more meaningful cuts will have to come from these countries. China and the US contribute about 40% of global fossil CO2 emissions.
Africa certainly needs a further ramp-up period to grow its industries to achieve a level of economic security at which point a whole-scale energy-source shift will be feasible.
What are your views and predicted operating implications or wins, regarding the recently announced Nigerian Deep offshore and Inland Basin Production Sharing Contract (Amendment) Act 2019?
The new Act codifies the Nigerian government’s position on lingering issues relating to Nigerian deep offshore and inland basin PSCs, especially the fiscal terms. While investors will make a judgment on whether the terms are fair or favourable for investment, clarity and certainty through legislative enactment is always a welcome development for investors.
You were one of the legal advisors that drafted, negotiated and advised on the Exploration and Production Sharing Agreement (EPSA) for the B2 Block signed this week between South Sudan and South Africa. What made this deal the deal of the century for the two countries?
To retain significant oil and gas industry value within Africa, a good number of oil and gas deals must have African players at both ends of the table. Having two African countries successfully complete a deal such as the Block B2 acquisition, goes one step ahead in my opinion as the local content imperatives of both countries will be afforded full expression. Also, for South Africa and South Sudan, the upstream and downstream synergy potentials on the deal is huge and perhaps a worthy model for cementing of relations between African nations.
You’ve worked on some of Africa’s most significant Energy deals and top matters. Where have you seen sustained impact and what can other countries/ministries learn?
I am passionate about the African oil and gas industry working for Africans, not only in terms of revenue generation, but also in terms of other KPIs such as energy availability for African industries, engagement of the local private sector across the oil and gas value chain and the development of technical capabilities. I have seen significant efforts across board with increasing involvement of African players on these KPIs but a lot more are needed.
In terms of scaling up technical capabilities where significantly more impact is required, I believe more opportunities must be afforded to the local private sector players in Africa, because, let’s face it, skills and capabilities are neither gender nor race exclusive. There is an all-but-scientifically-proven standard amount of formal education, practical experience and financial resources required to ramp up to the desired level of capability on any given project. Perhaps regulators will have to be more scientific in aggregating these three elements and making them available to local players.
What do you wish you had known about the legal profession before becoming an attorney?
Simply put, the importance of the legal profession to African economic development. I would argue that many African countries would have been better-served by being afforded sound legal advisers at the deal table than peace-keeping soldiers and foreign aid.
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 leaders have been urged to tackle the youth bulge and address as a matter of urgency the imploding unemployment crisis facing young people across the continent. This was the submission at The 2019 African Economic Conference (AEC) which opened in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm El Sheikh today, with a call on African policymakers to take bold steps to tackle red-tape and high startup costs in order to create decent and well-paying jobs for the continent’s youth.
Egypt’s Minister of Investment and International Cooperation, Sahar Nasr
Addressing the opening plenary of the three-day conference, Egypt’s Minister of Investment and International Cooperation, Sahar Nasr said the conference provided a critical platform to address the challenges of jobs for the youth on the continent.
“Africa is the next development frontier and the youths will be the main drivers of our continent and our hope for a new continent,” Nasr said. “We need to think strategically and plan for the youths of today.”
For the country’s Central Bank Governor, Tarek Amer, who is also Egypt’s Governor for the African Development Bank, “this is a matter that all policy makers across our continent are concerned about – we all have a vision to create jobs and boost entrepreneurship…and the issue is how to convert the vision into reality.”
Charles Leyeka Lufumpa, acting Chief Economist and Vice President of the African Development Bank Group, said a lack of jobs for the bulging youth population has become a troubling socio-economic and political emergency that requires urgent, pragmatic and forward-looking solutions.
“It is troubling because joblessness could result in unrest and conflict. Having a decent job is an essential part of human dignity, and joblessness could threaten our social fabric and cohesion.”
The Bank has several other initiatives that have contributed significantly to youth empowerment across Africa. Notable among them is its Jobs for Youth Strategy to create 25 million jobs by 2025 and to equip another 50 million young people with a mix of hard and soft skills to increase their employability and entrepreneurial success.
With a little more than a decade left to achieve the targets of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development , the issue of youth productivity is critical for Africa, not least because the working age population is central to improving the continent’s productivity and competitiveness.
Adam Elhiraika, Director of Macroeconomics and Governance Division at the ECA, said to prepare young people for productive future work, governments should include in the educational curriculum action-oriented entrepreneurship modules for secondary, technical schools and universities.
Governments and development partners must help young entrepreneurs to identify financial help schemes, including grant schemes for innovative ideas with multiplier benefits, revolving and guarantee funds.
“Africa should work hard to make its cities engines of growth that in turn will generate employment for the youth and ensure there’s equitable growth on the continent thus ensuring no-one is left behind as enunciated in the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” Elhiraika said.
One of the highlights of this year’s conference is a session for young African researchers to share their work and be the key proponents in shaping the future of the continent.
The AEC is jointly organized by the African Development Bank, the Economic Commission for Africa and the United Nations Development Programme yearly to discuss pertinent issues affecting the continent. This year’s event, the fourteenth edition, is hosted by the Bank on the theme; “Jobs, entrepreneurship and capacity development for African youth”.
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
The World Bank has declared that Nigeria’s position as the largest mobile market in Africa has had a strong impact in creating a strong broadband infrastructure making the country a very vibrant digital entrepreneurial ecosystem. This was contained in a Report released today by the World Bank Group which is its first Nigeria Digital Economy Diagnostic Report. The Report however, hinted that inspite of the inroads Nigeria has made in telecoms, the lack of infrastructure and connectivity in the country’s rural areas has remained a key challenge.
Shubham Chaudhuri, The World Bank Country Director for Nigeria
This analysts say will work against Nigeria’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan for 2017–2020 (ERGP) which has visible focus on the need for a digital-led strategy to make Nigeria’s economy more competitive for the 21st century. In line with this goal, the Digital Economy Diagnostic reveals that the country has made several positive developments in the digital space including high-speed Internet via five underwater international links. This has significantly reduced constraints in terms of international bandwidth usage and prices, as well as boosting network capacity.
Additionally, the diagnostic found that Nigeria is improving on the provision of digital platforms. For example, the government created a central portal to improve the delivery and quality of public services. With the size of Nigeria’s economy, the report highlighted the enormous opportunities Digital Financial Services (DFS), a driver of financial inclusion, could have for this growing market. The financial sector has already benefitted from investments in payment systems and financial markets infrastructure, such as the Bank Verification Number (BVN). Millions of Nigerians still lack formal identification records to access a range of public and private services. Financial inclusion in the country has effectively stalled with around 60 million Nigerian adults without access to a formal account
“Realizing the full benefits of the digital economy requires Nigeria to focus on accelerating improvements in five fundamental pillars of the digital economy; digital infrastructure, platforms, financial services, entrepreneurship and skills” said Shubham Chaudhuri, The World Bank Country Director for Nigeria. “To ensure that the country is digitally enabled by 2030, investing in infrastructure to bridge the digital divide and creating an enabling regulatory environment for the digital economy to thrive is of paramount importance”
Given Nigeria’s large, young and entrepreneurial population, digital entrepreneurship could become an engine of growth, the report notes. Lagos is a mature and active ecosystem with dynamic incubators, venture capital companies, and digital start-ups. Digital entrepreneurship ecosystems are also growing in the cities of Abuja and Port Harcourt, with a potential for expansion to other cities. But lack of early-stage financing and limited market opportunities outside of Lagos and Abuja remain key constraints.
Nigeria has over 500 tertiary and secondary institutions offering skills development and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programs, some of which also offer digital skills for employment. Some of the dominant education and training programs in Nigeria are offered through private sector–led interventions by (e.g. Andela and Google among others), while the government has also established implementation of digital skills programs as a component of a national digital economy project.
Nigeria can still do more to ensure it takes full advantage of the opportunities bound in its digital economy. The diagnostic highlights the need for strategic investment and interventions needed for Nigeria to kickstart its digital transformation
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
Rwanda’s trailblazing development efforts has scored another point by being the first African country to launch an electronic procurement system which analysts say will improve governance considerably. The electronic procurement system will not will not only cut corruption, but will also improve transparency and efficiency, and minimize potential collusion among bidders, which is why several countries are establishing electronic government procurement systems, also known as e-GP systems.
Hiba Tahboub, Procurement Manager at the World Bank’s Governance practice.
Rwanda was not only the first African country to implement an e-GP system nationally, but also achieved the feat in a shorter span of time compared to other countries. Rwanda’s e-GP journey has the potential of creating a ripple effect across the continent and beyond.
After passing a new procurement law in 2007 which led to the establishment of the Rwanda Public Procurement Authority, the country began looking at relevant experiences on how to modernize its procurement system. Rwandan officials, for example, traveled to the Republic of Korea to learn from that country’s electronic procurement system, one of the most advanced in the world.
Then, in 2013, the Rwandan government approached the World Bank to fund a feasibility study on the implementation of its e-GP system. The feasibility study identified major challenges and recommended solutions. Some the challenges included: inconvenient business registration; inaccurate management information & analytics; lack of one-stop procurement portal; and inefficient document and records management system.
Based on the recommendations to tackle these challenges, Rwanda decided to develop the Rwanda e-GP system called UMUCYO, which means “Transparency” in the local language. UMUCYO, a web-based e-Procurement system, was developed as part of a World Bank-funded Public-Sector Reform Program-for-Results. The system consists of an online portal with modules for advertisement, e-bidding and disposal, evaluation, contract management, inspection and acceptance, framework agreements, catalog and shopping mall, where suppliers can register and submit bids online. The system is open to all, including national and foreign bidders. During the registration process the system automatically access the databases from the Rwanda Development Board to authenticate the registration status of bidders to make sure they are in good standing.
After a bid is accepted, for example, the system allows contract drafting and sending it to the winning bidder for review. After the supplier accepts and electronically signs the contract, the contract is shared with the Rwanda’s Financial Management Information System (SmartFMS) to issue a purchase order and to make payments.
With the support of the World Bank, in July 2016, the government launched a pilot program of the e-GP system in eight government ministries, agencies and districts. The World Bank provided technical assistance and capacity building during the development and roll out of the new system.
Before launching the pilot, a series of training were offered to government officials from the selected entities and the business communities on using the e-procurement system. Media and awareness-raising campaigns also were conducted across the country to encourage contractors and suppliers to register in the new system. The training was also extended to internet cafe operators to ensure that small and medium-size enterprises had access to opportunities in public procurement. The overall one-time cost of the project at $7.8 million covered the development of the e-GP system, data center equipment, and capacity building, as well as about $1.12 million in ongoing costs.
“While the initial investment in the system seems to be high, experience from around the world shows that e-procurement provides powerful cost management solutions that lead to significant savings in public spending,” said Hiba Tahboub, Procurement Manager at the World Bank’s Governance practice.
After one year of successfully piloting the system, the government rolled out the eGP nationwide beginning in July 2017. The only government entities not using eGP are schools, district hospitals and health centers. The system will be progressively rolled out to them in 2019/2020.
The system is already delivering some benefits to users, as per their feedback. The system, for instance, has reduced time and allowed cost savings for both government officials and contractors, as the single online portal provided all the documents and information required, eliminating the need for in-person visits and printing costs.
“The Procurement management of the Ministry has significantly improved as the result of use of the E-Procurement system,” said Mr. Yassin Iyamuremye, Director General of Corporate Service in MINAGRI. “The system also contributed in reducing fraud and corruption as there is no personal contact with bidders, and when complaints are received, these are responded to through the E-Procurement system in a transparent way.”
A World Bank assessment of Rwanda’s e-GP system, following the Multilateral-Development Banks e-GP Guidelines, showed the system and its implementation were in line with good international practices and could be used by World Bank-financed projects, and most likely all donor-funded projects.
The Director General of Rwanda Public Procurement Authority, Mr. Augustus Seminega, nicely summarized the benefits of Rwanda’s E-Procurement system: “Government procurement officials should take advantage of the time saved in transactions to ensure compliance, transparency, competition, fairness and dedicate more time to achieve value for money, efficiency and effectiveness.”
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
