African - Afrikan Heroes

Taking Risk: What African Startup Founders Are Saying

September 22, 2019

Of course, the most crucial moment at Amazon’s re: Mars conference in Las Vegas in June, 2019 would be when Jeff Bezos was asked his greatest piece of advice for anyone still wishing or already running a business.

“Take risk,’’ he was quoted as saying. ‘‘You have to be willing to take risk.’’

Bezos went as far as noting that if you have a business idea with no risk, it’s probably already being done.

“You’ve got to have something that might not work. It will be, in many ways, an experiment,’’ he said. ‘‘Many of those experiments will fail, but “big failures” are a necessary part of the journey toward success.’’

At a time when many African startup founders are increasingly opening themselves up for more funding, letting their doors wide open for equity and debt investors as well as launching bids to scale their operation, risk-taking or dreaming big has almost become inevitable. So, a question may be asked as to what role effective risk-taking plays in growing a startup, from the scratch to the point of a successful exit. A few African startup founders appear to have some suggestions.

Mostafa Kandil, the Egyptian co-founder of Swvl, advises startup founders to consider the path of risk.

‘‘Take risks because what you’re already doing is a risk in its own,’’he said. ‘‘You probably left a job to start a business so you’re already taking it. Make sure you keep doing it onwards a well.’’

Kandil describes the most difficult moment he had ever been faced with to be when he decided to quit Careem, a ride-sharing company similar to his startup. Having spent already spent six months there, it was a big deal to quit.

‘‘When I was leaving Careem, it was quire heartbreaking actually,’’he told MENABytes.‘‘I was in love with Careem. Although my stay at Careem was very short (6 months) but the amount of things I was able to learn in this short time was remarkable.’’

Kandil says it was really a big deal to abandon work for the uncertain terrains of founding a startup.

‘‘To be honest since I started,’’ he notes. ‘‘I have taken quite a few risks. I think the biggest risk was to shift from being Petroleum Engineer to doing something else. It was not easy to study something and then end up doing a completely different thing. Also, your parents could never really understand what you’re doing. When I called my mom to tell her how I made it to Forbes after Careem’s investment. She was like ‘good for you’.’’

Even though the coast may have been clearer for Kandil to predict the outcome of his risk-taking efforts, it leaves a little hint of darkness for Jamila Gordon, the former dish washer born to Somalian parents, who recently raised $3.5 million in a funding round led by the CSIRO-linked venture capital investor Main Sequence for her anti-slavery Australia-based blockchain startup, Lumachain. Gordon has built a culture of dreaming big, a good substitute for risk-taking, over time.

“My father said to me, ‘I might never see you again, but here’s what I would like you to take away,’” Gordon recalls. “The first principle was: ‘Make yourself useful’. For me, in business, that means driving value. The second piece of advice was to remember that wherever I ended up in the world, no-one would know who I was. So I was free to imagine myself as a piece of white cloth on which I could decide what would be written. When I look back now, that meant I should be the best possible version of myself. This has been a core value of mine over the years. The third piece of advice was to dream big. “Throughout my life, I’ve found myself constantly imagining what I can be. It’s a process of dreaming that never ends.”

Dreaming big (and a bit of luck nevertheless) has probably seen Gordon move quickly from escaping his war-torn Somalia to taking a shot at dishwashing in Australia before blossoming fully into a software developer, moving across different continents, and at different times working for the likes of IBM, Deloitte, Qantas as its Group CIO, CIMIC Limited, GetSwift among others.

“Resilience is like a muscle that can be developed over time. And the way to develop it is by consciously putting yourself in situations that stretch you,” she says.

“For example, if someone asks you to do a job you don’t feel fully equipped to do, don’t say no. Take it, and learn it on the job, because by consciously putting yourself in those kinds of situations you will learn so much.”

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

Africa Check in conjunction with Facebook, expands its local language coverage as part of its Third-Party Fact-Checking Programme

August 15, 2019

Africa Check in conjunction with Facebook, expands its local language coverage as part of its Third-Party Fact-Checking Programme.

Facebook’s reality checking project depends on input from the Facebook people group, as one of numerous sign Facebook uses to raise possibly false stories to certainty checkers for survey

Facebook), today with Africa Check reported that it has included new neighborhood language support for a few African dialects as a major aspect of its Third-Party Fact-Checking program – which surveys the exactness of news on Facebook and expects to decrease the spread of deception.

Propelled in 2018 crosswise over five nations in Sub-Saharan Africa, including South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal and Cameroon, Facebook has banded together with Africa Check, Africa’s first free certainty checking association, to grow its neighborhood language inclusion over:

Nigeria, in Yoruba and Igbo, adding to Hausa which was at that point bolstered

Swahili in Kenya

Wolof in Senegal

Afrikaans, Zulu, Setswana, Sotho, Northern Sotho and Southern Ndebele in South Africa

As indicated by Kojo Boakye, Facebook Head of Public Policy, Africa, stated: “We keep on trying huge interests in our endeavors to battle the spread of false news on our stage, while building strong, sheltered, educated and comprehensive networks. Our outsider reality checking system is only one of numerous ways we are doing this, and with the extension of neighborhood language inclusion, this will help in further improving the nature of data individuals see on Facebook. We know there is still more to do, and we’re focused on this.”

Remarking, Noko Makgato, official chief of Africa Check, said “We’re excited to grow the munitions stockpile of the dialects we spread in our work on Facebook’s outsider truth checking program. In nations as semantically different as Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya and Senegal, certainty checking in neighborhood dialects is imperative. In addition to the fact that it lets us actuality check increasingly content on Facebook, it likewise implies we’ll be contacting more individuals crosswise over Africa with confirmed, believable data.”

Facebook’s reality checking project depends on criticism from the Facebook people group, as one of numerous sign Facebook uses to raise possibly false stories to certainty checkers for survey. Neighborhood articles will be reality checked close by the confirmation of photographs and recordings. In the event that one of Facebook’s reality checking accomplices distinguishes a story as false, Facebook will demonstrate it lower in News Feed, essentially lessening its dispersion.

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.

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

Successful innovations at the 6th edition of the African Football Night in Lomé

August 7, 2019

As a conclusion to 6th edition of The African Football Night, Foot Media Events and the Organizing Committee released the key facts and figures of the event held on 27 July in Lomé under the patronage of His Excellency Mr. Faure GNASSINGBE, President of the Togolese Republic.

With 6 awards given to African football legends including Daniel Amokachi, Shabani Nonda, TP Mazembe, Thierno Seydi, Mohamed Aboutrika and Emmanuel Adebayor, 614 participants to the Gala Dinner, a record attendance of 30,000 enthusiastic supporters at the newly inaugurated stadium of Kégué, 15 media partnerships, a panel and a business networking event dedicated to the African sports industry, the 6th edition of The African Football Night is definitely a success.

“The Togolese Republic was very proud to welcome this federating event in its capital, in line with Togo’s wish to host major Pan-African events,” said Folly Bazi Katari, Minister for Communication, Sports and Education to Citizenship of the Togolese Republic.

“This event also gave us a great opportunity to present Togo’s efforts to promote sports activities, notably through the construction of new infrastructures and through the development of high-level training activities. Togo is committed to its athletes and federations and is keen to promote the sports industry as a whole,” he added.

A member of the organizing committee and director of Impulse Africa, Anne-Elvire Esmel spoke about the innovations of the 6th edition, whose theme was Sport and Development: “First, a business networking event allowed for presenting some key projects of interest to the sports community, including the AfricArena and DiaspoLab funds designed to support initiatives with a strong social and economic impact in Africa, and the MercyShips hospital ship project,” she explained, adding:

“We then organized a high-level panel with Joseph-Antoine Bell, Jimmy Adjovi-Boco, Founder of the Diambars Institute, and Samba Bathily, President of the ADS Group, on economic development opportunities in the sector, particularly in terms of training and enhancing sports infrastructure”. These two concepts have been successfully tested and may be repeated again in the future.

“For the organization of this 6th edition, we have received incredible support from the Togolese authorities, to whom we are very grateful. The coordination process was very efficient and enabled us to reach a result that was beyond our ambitions. I also want to thank all the teams mobilized in Lome, Abidjan, Ouagadougou, Dakar, and Paris for their dedication, enthusiasm, and professionalism.

The African Football Night demonstrates that we now have the African skills and competences to deliver high-quality events on this continent, “said Yves Sawadogo, President of Foot Media Events and promoter of the project.

“We want to remain a key milestone in the African sports calendar while becoming a reference platform bringing together sports communities closer to the private sector and public decision-makers, in order to allow for concrete projects in favor of sports in Africa to emerge” he added, explaining his long-term vision.

A documentary film focussing on key highlights of July 27 will soon be available. The teams have already started to prepare for the next edition, following the same approach consisting in involving sports communities, public institutions, and private sector actors and encouraging them to act positively in favor of the development of sports value chains 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.

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

Towards an AfroChampions fund to finance the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)

On the occasion of a high-level meeting convened in partnership with His Excellency Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Vice-President of the Republic of Ghana, and bringing together investors, financing institutions and sovereign and private funds, the AfroChampion Initiative has formally launched a private sector investment framework to secure financing for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

The objective is to mobilize the private sector, in Africa and beyond, through a dedicated blended-finance vehicle to accelerate the continent’s economic integration, by rapidly deploying those infrastructure projects which are critical to successfully delivering the AfCFTA and making it a positive transformation for Africans.

The proposed framework is forward-looking and includes many proposals from the AfroChampions Boma on Infrastructure Financing and Delivery organized last April in Nairobi with the African Union’s High Representative for Infrastructure His Excellency Mr. Raila Odinga.

Considering that key enablers of the AfCFTA are the removal of non-tariff barriers, the deployment of transport and connectivity networks, access to cheap energy, and African economies’ upscaling towards more value-added products, the framework defines a range of priority opportunities as well as structuring projects to be financed, under certain conditions, by the fund set up for that purpose.

Most importantly, the AfroChampions Initiative also provides for an annual benchmarking process to follow up on this program as well as on national reforms transcribing the AfCFTA to improve African states’ cross-border business-readiness.

“With the AfroChampions Initiative, we have found partners committed to our vision of a prosperous and integrated Africa and working to implement practical solutions.

The AfCFTA Private Sector Investment and Financing framework is a very thorough approach: monitoring the AfCFTA agreement’s legal implementation, defining certification criteria qualifying projects eligible for funding, mobilizing the private sector in Africa, and a process to coordinate with the public authorities ” said H.E.M. Albert Muchanga, African Union’s Commissioner for Trade and Industry.

“The African Union’s Summit in Niamey gave us a great opportunity to raise awareness among Heads of State and we hope to be able to move quickly on this ambitious roadmap.”

“To address reluctance and concerns about the AfCFTA, we must demonstrate that it is a major and tangible opportunity for all stakeholders, whether states or companies regardless of size, civil society or individual citizens of the African continent. And this AfCFTA Private Sector Investment and Financing Framework is the best tool for realizing that goal,” said Ali Mufuruki, Vice-President of the AfroChampions Club for the East Africa Region.

“We need to work better together across borders and focus on high-impact regional or pan-African projects – because they are the most likely to attract the volume of funds that we need. This is our main challenge today”.

The participants in the Accra session defined at the end of their workshop a detailed roadmap, including various milestones over the next 18 months. Among the key dates is the presentation of the dedicated fund, scheduled for the 4th quarter of 2019 for the next AfroChampions Boma, the first benchmark and a follow-up report on the AfCFTA implementation and the organization of an exhibition on ‘made in Africa’ early 2020.

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.

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

African Polo Extravaganza strikes again in London

Europe’s foremost African polo event graced London for the second time today at the prestigious Ham Polo Club, hosting a glamorous crowd of polo aficionados and those celebrating the style and joie de vivre of African culture.

A sea of well-heeled guests, mostly head to toe in African inspired finery, proudly strutted one of the oldest polo clubs in the United Kingdom, to the soundtrack of Afrobeats and Fela Kuti, as Lux Afrique firmly marked its territory as the go-to annual African polo day.

Being so much more than a sporting event, but a celebration of African refinement and sense of occasion, the Lux Afrique Polo Day offered a myriad of attractions, all adding to the glamour and fun of the day. Fine dining of exquisite African cuisine was provided to guests courtesy of Waakye Leaf. The event also featured a shopping lounge in which deluxe brands, Backes & Strauss, Montegrappa, and Yoko London, showcased their finest products.

The Polo itself was a thrilling affair with two opposing teams with similar handicaps battling it out in front of a captivated crowd, who paused their mingling and revelry to enjoy the spectacle.

The match was opened by Lux Afrique founder Alexander Amosu alongside the Director of The Sofa and Chair Company.

Team Africa was narrowly defeated by Team Rudo – aka The Rest of the World – 4/3. The honor of ‘Most Valued Player’ was awarded to British born Louise Brown, who plays polo both in the UK and Argentina, while the title of ‘Best Playing Pony’ was awarded to Illuminado.

After the match closing, and the prize-giving – which of course involved the traditional spraying of champagne – the crowd voted on the pick for ‘Best Dressed’ at the event. While the competition was stiff, given the abundance of fashionably dressed attendees, a ‘best-dressed man’ and a ‘best-dressed woman’ was selected.

With the match game and set, the guests proceeded to enjoy themselves in true African spirit, as they danced the rest of the afternoon away to the live band, fronted by Nigerian legend Dele Sosimi.

The Lux Afrique Polo Day was fortunate to have exceptional partners, that included Remy Martin, Corinthia London, Artisan du Chocolat, FIJI Water, and the esteemed Val de Vie Events. Media Partners also included BET, Channels TV, Beat FM, Polo Lifestyle and Magazine and Elite Living Africa, and The Outside Organisation.

Lux Afrique used the occasion to shine a spotlight on a worthy charitable cause – Malaika – an initiative to bring education, water, and health to the poorest communities in the Congo. In 2011 Malaika opened a school in the DRC, which today provides an education to over 300 girls. The charity was set up by Congolese model and humanitarian Noëlla Coursaris Musunka who seeks to help communities “escape gender inequality, poverty, and lack of education that currently restricts their choices”. Attendees were encouraged to donate generously to Malaika on the day, and thereafter

Lux Afrique is a lifestyle and concierge company catering to UHNW across Africa, as well as a luxury multimedia platform for marketing and promoting luxury brands, targeting an audience on the African continent. It introduces luxury-focused brands to the high net- worth consumer markets growing throughout Africa, through a number of means, including high profile events, such as the Lux Afrique Annual Polo Day.

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.

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

5 African Startups Secure $25k Funding Each Via The Baobab Network Accelerator

August 6, 2019

Five African startups have each raised US$25,000 in funding from The Baobab Network’s accelerator, which provides a platform for scaling and securing further investment.

A Look At The Funded Startups

The funded startups include Ethiopian ed-tech startup Beblocky, Zimbabwean AI-based health platform Dr. Cadx, Kenyan insurtech startup Kakbima, Nigerian payments platform Gladepay, and Ghanaian digital bank Pennysmart.
Each startup has secured US$25,000 in funding in return for a 10 percent equity stake, as well as access to a tailor-made accelerator programme.
The Baobab Network sends its ventures team to each company’s home city for a weeklong sprint prior to unlocking the funds, and then assigns a venture partner for a period of 24 months to help each startup speed its growth and become market and investor-ready.
Founders of those startups will also gain access to an investor network of over 100 venture capital and impact funds, while a network of global partners is on hand to offer their assistance and explore early commercial partnerships, such as Amazon Web Services, Accenture and Standard Chartered Ventures. Companies will be helped through a seed round within 12 months.

A Look At The Baobab Network Accelerator

Since launching in 2016, The Baobab Network has worked with dozens of startups from across the continent.

The Baobab Network focuses on early-stage startups using tech to solve big market problems.

“We are usually the first money into a business, specialising in pre-seed companies that have shown our team potential for huge scale,” said Baobab co-founder Tom Fairburn.

Fairburn said the accelerator, which accepts startups on a rolling basis, had received over 600 applicants from startups in more than 25 African countries so far this year.

“We hope to do three more deals this year, and support a further 20 companies in 2020,” he said. “The big vision is to have 100 companies in our portfolio by 2023.’’

Funding comes from a mixture of revenue from its data business Baobab Insights and equity funding the company has received over the last three years, which totals over US$1.2 million.

Although Baobab does not prefer certain startups over others, the company’s focus traditionally has been on fast-growing sectors such as e-health, ed-tech, and fintech.

Fairburn said The Baobab Network works exclusively with local founders who are building businesses in markets where they are experts.

“We are currently fundraising to further increase our support for tech entrepreneurs in Africa,” Fairburn said.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

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

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

African Development Bank and South Sudan Recruit Centurion Law Group to Strengthen Capacity in the Oil & Gas Sector

August 3, 2019

Following an open tender and a highly competitive international bidding process, the African Development Bank through its African Legal Support Facility (“ALSF”) and the National Petroleum and Gas Commission, representing the government of the Republic of South Sudan, selected the Centurion Law Group to build capacity in the Republic of South Sudan’s oil and gas sector.

The project is a result of the ALSF’s commitment to foster legal and technical best practices and transparency across South Sudan’s oil & gas value chain. It will focus on providing specialized capacity building training to officials from the National Petroleum and Gas Commission, including the development of best practice procedures for the negotiation, evaluation, and monitoring of contracts in the oil and gas sector.

As South Sudan continues to increase oil production – its most important export commodity – and attract foreign investment into its oil & gas sector, this project will enhance the National Petroleum and Gas Commission’s ability to fully exercise its functions as a regulator and a facilitator in the oil sector.

As per the South Sudan Petroleum Act of 2012, the National Petroleum and Gas Commission notably provides general policy direction with respect to petroleum resources, acts as a supervisory body in matters relating to petroleum resource management, approves all petroleum agreements on behalf of the Government and ensures that they are consistent with the Act.

“The National Petroleum and Gas Commission is a key institutional pillar of South Sudan’s oil & gas sector,” declared Hon. Caesar Oliha Marko, Chairperson of the Commission. “We are delighted to be working with a reputable firm like Centurion to enable our country’s oil industry to meet its obligation to our citizens and investors. Building capacity is key to us ensuring that we deliver on the promise of making oil work for everyone in South Sudan”.

The project will notably focus on reviewing South Sudan’s existing legal and fiscal framework and ensure the transfer of skills and know-how to the government’s representatives and experts.

“It is a real honor to have been selected for this project with the Petroleum Commission,” declared Nj Ayuk, CEO of the Centurion Law Group. “Local content development and domestic capacity building are at the core of everything we do as a firm. We take this project as a unique opportunity to contribute to the development of South Sudan and Africa’s oil industry in general. We are grateful to the African Development Bank and the Republic of South Sudan for entrusting us with this responsibility.”

“As a team, we truly believe in the role the National Petroleum and Gas Commission has in shaping the future of South Sudan’s oil & gas sector,” said Glenda Irvine-Smith Centurion’s Director of Business Development & International Relations, who will coordinate the project on behalf of Centurion.

“South Sudan in East Africa’s most mature petroleum province with the potential to double its current output of over 150,000 b/d in the next five years. Through CenturionPlus, our lawyers and experts on-demand platform, we will mobilize the best African and international experts for the benefit of South Sudan. We are honored to have been entrusted by the Commission and the African Development Bank to accompany South Sudan in this journey.”

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.

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

Fitch Affirms AAA Rating for African Development Bank

July 29, 2019

The Fitch rating, of the African Development Bank, published 24th July in London, is affirmed as AAA, with a stable outlook, on improved assessments, qualifications, and estimates. The rating provides a significant boost for the Bank at a time when it is discussing a substantial general capital increase to finance its strategy and activities over the next few years.

Fitch Ratings is one of the leading global providers of credit ratings, commentary and research. The agency upgraded the intrinsic assessment to ‘aa’ from the previous ‘aa’-driven by an improvement in Fitch’s assessment of the Bank’s business environment.

The Bank’s ‘aaa’ support from its shareholders was based on Fitch’s forecasts that the Bank’s net debt will be fully covered by callable capital from ‘AAA’ rated member countries by 2021.

The projection assumes shareholder approval of an increase in subscribed capital from 2020, and lending growth averaging 7% year on year in 2019-2021.

Other key points from the Fitch rating include the following:

The Bank’s solvency assessment of ‘aa’ primarily reflects its ‘strong’ capitalization.
The equity to asset and guarantees ratio remains within the ‘strong’ range.
Fitch’s usable capital to risk-weighted assets (FRA) ratio, newly introduced, was just below the threshold for an ‘excellent’ assessment (35%) at end-2018 and is likely to be ‘excellent’ in 2019.
The overall risk is rated as ‘low’, with risk management policies seen as conservative and assessed as ‘excellent’.
Concentration risk is considered ‘low’ and has benefited from the Exchange Exposure Agreement with other development finance organizations.
Equity participation is expected to remain below 5% of the banking portfolio by 2021, in line with the internal limit of 15% of risk capital.
FX and interest rate risks are very limited and conservatively managed.
The liquidity assessment is ‘aaa’ and the quality of liquid assets is ‘excellent’.
The Bank’s business environment now translates into no negative adjustment (from a one-notch negative adjustment previously) to the improved intrinsic rating, which reflects a stronger assessment of the bank’s strategy to ‘medium’ risk from ‘high’ risk.
The Bank’s outlook is rated as Stable.

As the Fitch rating states, the process for a General Capital Increase (GCI-VII) is expected to be completed by end-2019, including a final agreement on its amount.

The President of the African Development Bank, Akinwumi Adesina welcomed the assessment and said, “I am delighted by the affirmation of the AAA rating as well as the accompanying explanations, which clearly explain the solid and comprehensive reasons for the overall improvements in the intrinsic rating, as well as the ‘extraordinary support’ we receive from our shareholders. It is a massive boost for the Bank to be encouraged so strongly in the year of the General Capital Increase and with so much hard evidence provided.”

He added that “It is also a tribute to all our stakeholders, partners, and those who have been working at and with the Bank during this past year. Fitch’s rating is not just about our credit; it speaks volumes for the Bank’s solid achievements, consistent strategy, development impact, leadership, and overall direction.”

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.

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

AfCFTA holds the prospect of transforming African economies— Ekra

July 27, 2019

Jean-Louis Ekra, an Ivorian national, and former president of Afreximbank, in this interview, he spoke on Africa’s trade relations, especially on Russia-Africa relations and AfCFTA, Africa’s expected game changer. Excerpts:

What are the prospects of African Continental Free Trade Area agreement hold for Africa’s development?

You know that Africa is a continent that trades the least with itself. There are benefits trading with your neighbors, like reduced costs and so on. The first thing that African countries will benefit from this agreement is the opportunity to trade with their neighbors by just opening borders.

The second is that it will push countries to transform their usual commodities into manufactured goods. You need to have complementary products to trade effectively with your neighbors. So, it will be a good incentive for African economies to enter a process like AfCFTA that will help to transform their economies.

What is your view on the future of Africa-Russia relationship?

Africa needs to diversify its relationships for its own benefit. A diversified relationship protects one if one of many partners falls on bad times. So, it is important for Africa, from that perspective, to diversify its relationship. So the Russia-Africa relationship is welcomed in that context.

How best can Africa leverage on its relationship with Russia to bridge its infrastructural gap?

Russia, as you know, has advanced technology. In infrastructure, Russia is well known for power. It has capabilities in solar and hydropower energy that can be implemented in our continent. So, I think that it will be good for African and Russian private sectors to jointly develop those activities.

Some are canvassing that Africa countries should bring home some of their foreign reserves held abroad for investment in Africa. What is your view? There is an initiative that we launched in Afreximbank when I was there, which is ongoing. Yes, it is correct for Africa to try and use, as much as possible, its own resources, including external reserves. There is no reason the continent should be borrowing money when it has money in deposits in other places.

Won’t it have an adverse impact on foreign exchange markets on the continent? No. It won’t. These reserves are backed by strong ratings of an institution like Afreximbank. You have currency in America or in Europe. If you have it in Africa it is still your own, so it should not affect your exchange rate.

On the event that this becomes a reality, which institution will warehouse the foreign reserves?

Foreign exchange reserves have to be held in a strongly rated institution because they are important assets of a country. So, AfDB can hold those reserves likewise the Afreximbank. In my view, these are the two institutions that can hold such a reserve.

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.

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

Reuel Khoza appointed chair of PIC and aims for ‘former glory’

South Africa’s special investment arm, Public Investment Corporation (PIC) has appointed Reuel Khoza as its chair, boosting the independence of the custodian of SA government worker pensions by ridding the board of politicians.

Khoza is the first non-political chair of the PIC in nearly two decades and has vowed to restore Africa’s largest investment manager to its former glory.

“We will also restore the PIC to its former glory days when it was held in very high esteem, not only by its shareholder [the government] but by the various other publics it addresses itself to,” said Khoza, shortly after being elected chair at the first meeting of the new board, appointed by finance minister Tito Mboweni earlier in July.

Mboweni announced a 14-strong set of directors after the previous board resigned following a string of scandals. Speaking in Pretoria on Thursday, he said it was “bad practice” for the chair to be a lawmaker, and instead named serial board member Khoza to the position.

Khoza is a former chair of Eskom and Nedbank and holds the same role at Dzana Investments and AKA Capital. His deputy is Sindi Mabaso, a chartered accountant with experience on the boards of a number of other state-owned entities (SOEs).

In contrast to the established practice of the past two decades, and the PIC Amendment Bill which still awaits President Cyril Ramaphosa’s signature, Mboweni selected a board that did not include the deputy finance minister as chair, saying it’s a decisive moment for the PIC to go “fully corporate”.

Other new directors include Ivan Fredericks, GM of the Public Servants Association of SA, and Maria Ramos, a former director-general of the Treasury and CEO of Absa until earlier in 2019.

“The board will be totally autonomous. We want to believe that based on the kind of people that have been invited to the board, it will be a strong board,” says Khoza.

Khoza identified restoring stability at the PIC and recruiting a new CEO as the company’s immediate priorities. “So, the first thing we would like to do is to restore stability, and simultaneous with that we will be on a search for a CEO. But not only for that position, but for other senior positions that are currently populated by acting people.”

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.