BUSINESS NEWS REPORT – JULY 2019
Every month Africa HR Solutions curates the latest high impact news across Africa. Check the top business news for July 2019.
International Development Research Center (IDRC) and Oxford Insights recent study
The most recent study by the International Development Research Center (IDRC) and Oxford Insights reveals that Kenya ranks first in Africa to prepare for the adoption of the new technology. In the global level, Kenya ranks 52nd, leaving behind other African countries.
Google’s underwater cable plans are much further along. It has confirmed construction plans for a cable connecting Portugal and South Africa with the first phase due to be completed by 2021. The new cable, named Equiano (after 18th century Nigerian writer and abolitionist Olaudah Equiano), will have 20 times the capacity of the most recent projects laid in the region and will first branch out in Nigeria— Africa’s largest internet market. The project will be fully funded by Google.
African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement
Nigeria - the continent’s largest economy and most populous country - will finally sign the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement which aims to boost intra-Africa trade and create the world’s largest trading bloc.
The economic play with the AfCFTA INTRA-is simple: African countries look inward and make it easier to trade with each other by removing current barriers to increased trade on the continent, such as current high tariffs. Having access to a larger market of around 1.2 billion people will potentially trigger industrialisation and manufacturing across the continent and, in turn, create vast employment opportunities on a continent home to the world’s fastest-growing labour force.
The number of tech hubs across Africa has grown by nearly 50% over the past year
As startup and innovation culture deepens across the continent with success stories ranging from big-ticket funding rounds to a billion-dollar IPO, tech hubs are sprouting across the continent. A joint report by the GSMA Ecosystem Accelerator program and Briter Bridges identifies 618 active tech hubs across the continent. GSMA said there were 442 active hubs on the continent in March 2018, which was up from 314 in 2016.
Nigeria and South Africa - home to the continent’s most valuable tech ecosystems - continue to lead the way for tech hub presence. Lagos is ranked as the leading innovative city by number of hubs: over the past two years, the city has welcomed hubs led by major innovation stakeholders including Facebook and Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST).
Africa's largest wind power project
This month, Kenya launched Africa's largest wind power project to date. Set on the shores of Lake Turkana in northern Kenya, the country's project aims to reduce electricity costs and fossil fuel dependency, with the ultimate goal of working on 100 percent green energy by 2020.
The wind farm, known as Lake Turkana Wind Power(LTWP), boasts 365 turbines and will boost the country's electricity supply by 13 percent, bringing power at lower costs for Kenyans. Currently, 70 percent of the nation's electricity comes from renewable resources such as hydro-power and geothermal. This is roughly three times more than the average around the world.
