News - Afrikan Heroes

Border Closure: Nigeria, Benin, Niger To Set Up Border Police

November 15, 2019

There is still no end in sight for Nigeria’s border closure, but Nigeria seems to be dragging its feet a little. Anytime, from November 26, there may be joint security forces manning the the closed borders, and at least giving way for certain goods to pass.

To this effect, Nigeria and neighbouring countries Benin and Niger have agreed to set up a joint border patrol force to tackle smuggling between the West African countries, they said in a communique on Thursday.

Here Is All You Need To Know

- Foreign ministers from the three countries met to discuss smuggling following a decision by regional giant Nigeria, which has Africa’s largest economy and biggest population, to close its land borders to trade until at least Jan. 31, 2020.

Nigeria launched a partial border closure in August to tackle smuggling of petroleum products, rice and other goods; and last month, the Comptroller General of Customs confirmed that all trade via land borders had been halted indefinitely.

The joint communique from the meeting in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, said the Benin and Niger delegations had appealed for the immediate re-opening of Nigeria’s borders.

The concerns were noted and the delegates agreed on the “establishment of a joint border patrol team comprising the police, customs, immigration, navy and state security services of the three countries”, the communique said.

The force will hold its first meeting in Abuja on Nov. 25 and 26 and will later advise on the re-opening of the borders.

The delegates also agreed that the ministers of finance and trade from the countries would set up a committee to promote intra-regional trade, and said they would ensure people crossing their borders would display travel documents recognised by the Economic Community of West African States regional bloc.

Since taking office in 2015, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has introduced policies aimed at curbing imports and smuggling, to boost local production.

Despite being Africa’s top crude oil producer, Nigeria imports most of its refined fuel due to the moribund state of its refineries.

Some 10–20% of Nigerian fuel is then smuggled to neighbouring countries, according to the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, as gasoline is heavily subsidised in the country and prices are higher in neighbouring countries.

In July, Nigeria signed up to the African Continental Free Trade Area, a project to create a $3.4 trillion economic bloc, despite its fears that it could be flooded with cheap goods from competitive neighbours.

Source:
Reuters

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

Ghana to Boost Cocoa Production with $600 Million Loan

November 14, 2019

The Ghanaian government has taken a step to further deepen their ongoing economic diversification programme by launching a project aimed at boosting the country’s Cocoa production. This forms part of the government’s efforts to ensure that it does not fall into the trap of allowing its new found petroleum wealth to lead to the neglect of other sectors, notably agriculture which is labour intensive and will help create employment.

To this end, the government yesterday, entered into a historic loan agreement with three key financial institutions, notably, the African Development Bank, Credit Suisse, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China with the Ghana Cocoa Board to ink $600 million loan agreement to boost cocoa product.

Speaking on the development, the President of African Development Bank, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina said that this is a phenomenal event, the result of hard work of everybody to make this happen. He added that “I want to thank the leadership of President Nana Akufo-Addo for making sure that his country and Africa can get to the top of the value chain in processing cocoa into a wide range of chocolates, among others”.

Dr. Adesina was speaking against the background of Africa’s disadvantaged position in the global Chocolate chain where Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire account for roughly 65% of global supply of cocoa beans and Africa accounts for 75% of all that, but only accounts for 2% of the $120 billion chocolate market.

Adesina concluded that “this is a great day, and this is what the Africa Investment Forum is slated for: to make big things happen for Africa. Ghana is bankable. Cocoa is bankable, and of course, Africa is bankable”.

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 is Africa’s Emerging Top Travel Destination

Rwanda’s efforts to turn the country into one of the most alluring tourism destinations in the world seem to be paying off with its emergence as Africa’s top destination to travel to in 2020 and among the top 30 globally. This was released in a new ranking by travel group Travel Lemming which tracks trending destinations around the world as a solution to over tourism.

Among the attributes that were listed by voters on why Rwanda was an ideal destination is the growing connectivity via the national carrier RwandAir, safety and conservation efforts. It could be recalled that the World Economic Forum recently named Rwanda as the safest country in Africa and RwandAir slated to open direct flights from JFK (New York) to Kigali, 2020 is the best year yet to travel to Rwanda. This East African pearl is changing the African travel narrative in so many ways.

Chief Tourism Officer of the Rwanda Development Board Belise Kariza noted that this is in recognition of efforts of sector stakeholders in continuously improving Rwanda as a tourism destination. She noted that “visit Rwanda shares this award with the community members, conservationists, tourism operators and hoteliers who contribute every day to making Rwanda a special place to visit.”

Speaking on the development, Amarachi Ekekwe, one of the judges on the panel noted that “it will be exciting to visit Kigali to see its amazing transformation and to see the conservation efforts at its national parks”. Rwanda is at the top of my list to visit in Africa to experience its cultural mix and beautiful natural surrounds. While most people go to see the gorillas there are lots of other cultural heritage sites and experiences to be had,” added Amanda Mouttaki, another judge and the travel blogger behind Maroc Mama.

Travel Lemming is a travel blog founded by Nate Hake, an American who has been traveling the world full-time since 2016. The site’s mission is to help highlight emerging and underappreciated destinations as a way to fight over tourism. In October, Rwanda featured on Forbes’ list of the 20 best places to visit in 2020.
The exclusive list, drawn up based on sales and client aspirations, was made by travel agents of the Ovation Travel Group, a 35-year-old $1.4 billion travel company.A month ago, Rwanda’s tourism brand, ‘Visit Rwanda’ won a top award for destination excellence in luxury and experiential travel at the 2019 Luxperience Awards in Sydney, Australia. The Luxperience Travel Trade Exhibition is a luxury Business event that connects the most innovative experiential tourism and premium events specialists in the travel market.

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.

European Investment Bank Expands Trade & Investment Insurance Benefits to West Africa

November 13, 2019

As part of plans to expand services to the African continent, the European Investment Bank has membership of Africa Trade Insurance Agency Availability of investment insurance to strengthen investment and reduce project financing costs; Agreements for intended financing signed at African Investment Forum.

Ambroise Fayolle, Vice President of the European Investment Bank

The European Investment Bank has formally agreed to support the membership expansion of the African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI) with a concessional financing facility to cover the shareholding of three prospective members – Cameroon, Niger and Togo. This represents the first time the European Investment Bank has backed ATI’s membership expansion. Unlocking additional investment insurance is expected to transform public and private sector investment in the countries. Investment insurance includes the full spectrum of political and credit risk insurance covering both sovereign and corporate risks.

The Agreement with ATI to enable the European Investment Bank to finance membership of countries was signed earlier today at the Africa Investment Forum in Johannesburg by Ambroise Fayolle, Vice President of the European Investment Bank and John Lentaigne, Ag Chief Executive Officer of the African Trade Insurance Agency.

Speaking on this development, the Vice President of the European Investment Bank Ambroise Fayolle said that today marks a significant milestone in the European Investment Bank’s support for private sector and sustainable infrastructure development across Africa. He noted that “the agreements agreed in Johannesburg today will enable West African countries to benefit fully from ATI membership and benefit from increased investment in sectors such as agriculture, energy, manufacturing and health”. He added that as the EU Bank, the European Investment Bank is committed to accelerating sustainable development across Africa. This new cooperation will expand the impact of investment insurance essential for sustainable development in West Africa.

In his response to the development, the Acting Chief Executive Officer of the African Trade Insurance Agency said that “as an African institution, ATI has a strategic focus to de-risk member countries in order to attract investment and promote growth. The European Investment Bank’s engagement to expanding ATI membership in West Africa will help to ensure that the prospective countries’ economies achieve their full potential and follow the success of ATI membership seen in so many other countries across Africa.”

The European Investment Bank, the long-term lending institution of the European Union, will finance capital participation that will enable three countries to access guarantee and insurance mechanisms provided by ATI. Full membership in ATI is expected to follow in the coming months.ATI membership will enable underlying projects to be bankable and able to attract new investors for strategic infrastructure and private sector projects.

The agreement signed today is a key step toward improving private sector investment and sustainable economic development in West Africa by stimulating growth in key economic sectors, driving economic diversification and ensuring more stable and sustainable growth. Once the countries become full ATI members investors will benefit from the full spectrum of investment insurance that protects against non-payment of both sovereign and corporate risks.

ATI membership has already helped other African countries to reduce sovereign borrowing costs. ATI currently insures USD 6 billion of transactions across Africa as a current outstanding portfolio.

The agreement will ensure that projects follow international technical, environmental and social standards that further reassure international investors.

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.

Tizeti Launches Accelerated Broadband Penetration in Nigeria

November 12, 2019

Efforts aimed at accelerating broadband penetration in Nigeria got a boost recently with the launch of Tizeti’s 4G Network in Nigeria. With this development there is more opportunity to drive growth in demand for eCommerce, music, interactive games and video consumption across the country. Company sources say that this is in line with its focus on accelerating access to affordable broadband connectivity in Africa’s underserved populations, using solar-based internet service provider, the first of such in West Africa.

Tizeti launched its 4G LTE network in Nigeria with the plans to extend to leading cities in Nigeria and West Africa in 2020. Announcing the rollout of high-speed 4G services to Rivers, Ogun and Edo States, in a first phase launch, Tizeti’s Chief Executive Officer, Kendall Ananyi promises its 4G connectivity will empower more Nigerians in Nigeria’s South-South and South-West states, stimulate economic activities and provide unlimited access to affordable and reliable broadband services. This launch follows the build of brand-new, solar-powered, 4G-capable towers in Port Harcourt, Rivers State where Tizeti will offer its first 4G and ISP services, to be followed by new towers in Ogun and Edo.

Mr. Ananyi believes that this new solution will boost internet penetration in the new states and contribute to accelerating digital transformation across Nigeria ”Access to affordable and reliable unlimited internet connectivity has been an intractable problem for a lot of Nigerian businesses and residential customers, especially for people in Edo, Rivers and Ogun States. To address this and provide a sustainable and cost-effective solution, we leverage our solar-powered, always-on towers and robust internet bandwidth from MainOne to create a low CAPEX and OPEX network of owned and operated towers. This allows us to offer customers unlimited internet at 30 to 50% the cost of traditional mobile data plans”.

The launch of its 4G network provides Tizeti the opportunity to drive the growth in demand for eCommerce, music, interactive games and video consumption in Nigeria, especially from popular social media apps that have integrated video calling and video stories as well as content sites such as YouTube, Netflix, and Iroko. The price for a Tizeti unlimited plan is 9,500 Nigerian Naira per month. The company has 1.1 million unique users and internet services that include a new Skype-like personal and business enterprise communications service and access to video streaming sites & services.

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.

Cote d’Ivoire to Build Industrial Park Development

November 11, 2019

The Republic of Cote d’Ivoire has taken a step further in its industrlialisation efforts with the planned construction of industrial park development projects in select parts of the country. This dream became a reality over the week end with the signing of the development agreement for Industrial Park PK 24 in Abidjan by the government of Cote d’Ivoire and the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank).

Speaking on the development, the President of African Export and Import Bank (Afreximbank) Prof. Benedict Oramah said that Industrial Park PK-24 is expected to cost $290 million and the capacity to host up to 60 tenant companies would focus on the processing of key commodities, including cocoa, cashew nuts, fruits and vegetables, and on light manufacturing in pharmaceuticals, equipment assembly and home appliances, among others.

It would feature inside-the-fence infrastructure, such as roads, power, water, information and communication technology and waste management, manufacturing plants, warehouses, a logistics complex, offices, and commercial and residential buildings, continued the President.

According to him, the Industrial Park is expected to contribute to the industrialization objectives of the Ivorian Government by creating over one million jobs, increasing foreign exchange earnings by increasing value-addition and non-traditional exports, and increasing foreign direct investment by offering world-class facilities and infrastructure that will attract investment. He announced that Afreximbank was mobilizing international companies to acquire and set up agro-processing and pharmaceutical factories and warehouses within the industrial park, saying that the interest from global companies had been significant.

Responding, the Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibally told Prof. Oramah that the Cote d’Ivoire needed the continued commitment of Afreximbank in order to establish local industries. He commended Prof. Oramah for his leadership of Afreximbank, which, he said, had helped to position the institution as a leading financial institution contributing to Africa’s industrialization and promoting intra-African trade.

Afreximbank according to Prof. Oramah wanted to create capacities that would help Africa to overcome the infrastructure deficits that, for long, has been the bane of its industrialisation by not only creating the capacity for value addition but by also attracting global manufacturing investments and ensuring improved and competitive access to African and global markets. “We want to make sure that as African markets are opened for African goods under the African Continental Free Trade Area, Africa has goods to trade,” stated Prof. Oramah.

Afreximbank was equally urged to continue its drive to promote Africa’s industrialization by ensuring the speedy completion of the Abidjan Industrial Park PK-24.

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.

Dangote Group Appoints Halima Dangote as Head Commercial Operations

One of Africa’s largest and most diversified conglomerates, Dangote Group has appointed Halima Aliko Dangote as the Group Executive Director, Commercial Operations of Dangote Industries Limited (DIL). The Dangote Group which is actively involved in manufacturing cement, sugar, salt, flour, poly-products as well as logistics, oil & gas and real estate won the award of the Most Admired Brand in Nigeria last year.The appointment which was made known through a release by the company today pointed out that Halima Dangote is returning to the Group after serving on secondment in several capacities across two of its Business Units over the last five years. Halima is also a Trustee of the Aliko Dangote Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the conglomerate.

In her most recent role, Halima served as Executive Director of Dangote Flour Mills. Remarkably, she led the turnaround of the business from loss in turnover to a profitable status; a feat derived from consistent high performance over time. Previously, she served as Executive Director of NASCON, a manufacturer of salt, seasonings and related consumer products, which are enjoying huge patronage among consumers. She continues to serve as a Non-Executive Director of NASCON. Halima is the president of the Board of The Africa Center in New York, a uniquely focused center providing a forward-looking gateway for engagement with Africa, while encompassing policy, business and culture. She is a Board member of Endeavour Nigeria, and is also a member of the Women Corporate Directors (WCD).

She has over 12 years of professional experience and has held several executive management roles. In her new role, Halima will be responsible for leading the development and implementation of the Dangote Group’s customer strategy to drive customer growth, improve customer relationship management, enhance customer experience and increase long term customer value, according to the release.

She will also be responsible for the implementation of the Group’s shared services strategy with specific oversight for the following functions; Commercial, Strategic procurement, Administration and Branding & Communications. Halima, who has a strong passion for women empowerment, holds a Bachelors’ Degree in Marketing from the American Intercontinental University, London, United Kingdom and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Webster Business School, United Kingdom.

She has attended a number of high profile leadership development programmes including: the Programme for Leadership Development (PLD) at Harvard Business School; Executive Development Programme at Kellogg School of Management; Finance and Accounting for Non-Financial Executives at Columbia Business School.

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.

Selam Amare is the New Country Leader for General Electric in Ethiopia

General Electric has shown commitment to the company’s efforts to promote diversity and inclusion with the appointment of Selam Amare as GE’s new Country Leader for Ethiopia. In this role, Selam will oversee GE’s operations in the country and strengthen our businesses presence in the market. She will also play a crucial role in implementing GE’s growth strategy for Ethiopia and leading the company’s public and private sector initiatives.

Prior to her appointment, Selam was GE Healthcare’s Life Care Solutions (LCS) Sales Manager for East Africa, responsible for defining strategy, growing the business through direct & indirect markets and driving clinical awareness for the LCS products for stakeholders in both public and private sectors.

Speaking on the development, the President and CEO of General Electric Africa Farid Fezoua, said that Ethiopia is a key country for GE. With projects in Healthcare, Aviation and Power, there is a huge potential to grow GE’s business. Selam’s experience, performance and reputation according to Fezoua make her the right person to continue our vision for the market, working closely with our government and private sector partners.

Selam joined General Electric in 2012 as the Product Manager for Interventional Radiology in Buc, France. She held several Global and Regional Product marketing roles in GE Healthcare while based in France and Turkey before moving to Ethiopia as the East Africa Sales Specialist for Maternal and Infant Care. She holds degrees in Electronic Engineering and Biomedical Engineering from Universite Claude Bernard Lyon, France. She also holds a degree in Medical Devices & Pharma Marketing from IAE de Nantes, France.

“I am excited about the appointment and the opportunity to work closely with our public, private and NGO sector partners to deliver solutions that help move, power, and cure the people of Ethiopia.” Selam said. “This appointment is also a testament of GE’s commitment to diversity and inclusion to drive true localization”.

GE has been doing business in Africa for 120 years plus and in Ethiopia for over 10 years investing in the healthcare, aviation and power sectors and driving capability and capacity building for local talent. This commitment is in line with the country’s five-year growth and transformation plan that aims to move the country towards middle-income status by 2025 by sustaining accelerated growth and speeding up structural 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.

Controversy Trails CAF’s Scrapping of $1 billion deal with Lagarde Sports

November 10, 2019

The decision of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to cancel its $1 billion television and marketing rights contract with French sports agency Lagardere Sports has been enmeshed in more controversies following different court judgments that questions the contract. Different court rulings on the issue highlighted that the contract itself should not have been signed as it went against existing laws and regulations.

Arnaud Lagardere, managing partner at the French firm — Arnaud Lagardere, managing partner at Lagarde Sports

Lagarde Sports declared the action of the Confederation of African Football’s (CAF) as “unlawful, unreasonable and unjustified” insisting that it would take the matter to the highest arbiter to ensure justice is done. The company noted that it has existing agreement with CAF which runs from 2017 to 2028 pointing out that while it is open to changes in the terms of the deal but will not leave any stone unturned in seeking for compensation in cash if all overtures fail to arrive at an amicable solution. CAF however maintains that it had no choice but to cancel the deal after two court judgments went against it.

A Cairo court ruled last November that the agreement breached “Egyptian competition rules because Lagardere was appointed as CAF’s exclusive agent for marketing and media rights for an uninterrupted 20-year period without any open tender,” CAF said in a statement. The court fined CAF 100 million Egyptian pounds ($6.2 million).

The Competition Commission of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (CCC) had also found in 2017 that the agreement infringed competition regulations.

“Given the above developments, CAF had no choice but to terminate the agreement,” it said. “Termination of the agreement is the legal consequence of the judgments of Egyptian courts and the recommendations and imminent decision of the CCC,” CAF said.

Arnaud Lagardere, managing partner at the French firm, said it would fight CAF’s move, accepting changes if necessary – or seeking cash compensation for the lost business. “We have here a very, very strong case and we’ll do whatever it takes either to maintain the contract, deal with more changes or get a significant amount of cash,” he was quoted as saying noting that “it is unfair and even if I know that no one should be too candid or naïve in this business, I think we don’t deserve such a treatment.”

Lagardere Sports did not directly address the court or the CCC’s view that its agreement breached competition regulations. Lagardere has been involved in television production of CAF events for almost two decades. Broadcasters said planned coverage of next week’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, which Lagardere was responsible for, had been cancelled. Such cancellations have occurred previously, although usually for logistical reasons.

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.

Zambia Looks to Honey for Economic Salvation

As the Zambian economy goes through a very rough patch, the country has expressed her commitment towards ensuring that rising debt is contained within sustainable levels even as the austerity measures introduced by the President kicks in. The fluctuation in commodities prices has had a very negative impact on the economy which has led to high debt levels and shrinking foreign currency reserves with no expectations of substantial growth. Zambia’s external debt rose to $10.05 billion at the end of 2018, compared with $8.74 billion a year earlier, raising fears that the country is headed for a debt crisis. Zambia has delayed the receipt of loans totaling $2.6 billion contracted last year in order to rein in its soaring debt.

This has led the country to look inwards for ways of addressing the situation, and one of the most practical options available is honey export. Zambia hopes to use honey export as a cushion for falling Copper prices. This follows spates of economic adjustment measures launched by the government recently which has seen to the reduction in the cost of running the government via the medium-term debt strategy.

Though the country has made progress in its energy sector reforms, intended to leave fuel imports to the private sector and to increase electricity tariffs to cover the cost of producing the power, the President said that Zambia could generate adequate resources internally to meet its development needs but this was being compromised by low tax compliance levels.

As the second largest copper producer on the African continent, Zambia has been trying to expand exports beyond the metal while diversifying its economy and lifting thousands out of poverty, for instance, developing honey export. Tons of raw honey used to be sold cheap or to brew alcohol in the country, but now it is processed to be unique products and then exported to the rest of the world, which has become a driving force for the country to fight against poverty.

Currently, the country’s honey production sitting at 2,000 tons per year is set to grow to over 10,000 tons because of increased exports, whose value has already jumped from 1.6 million U.S. dollars in 2015 to 3.1 million U.S. dollars in 2018. According to the acting director of Export Promotion agency Jessica Chombo, ‘’we have been known to be copper producers for centuries, now we want to diversify and go into other industries. Honey exports can be a key component in the growth of the economy and fight against poverty in Zambia through job and wealth creation”. More than 30,000 rural bee-keepers are expected to propel the industry – which has radically changed their way of life. A Bee farmer in Zambia was quoted as saying that Bee keeping can really help people out there where there is nothing. “Like where we are getting this honey, there is literally nothing, there’s just dense forest, a couple of mud huts, this and that. So that way we feel proud in a sense,” he added.

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.