What do European Banks’ Cold Feet Mean for Africa?
Just a few years ago, UK and French banks were hyping Africa as a growth market and a place to burnish their sustainability credentials. But several have since sold subsidiaries across the continent. This might look like a bad sign for a continent with some of the world’s most urgent sustainable development challenges. But it […]
This Year’s African Business Ranking of the Continent’s Top 250 Companies
The value of Africa’s biggest companies has fallen again this year. But one company – Naspers – is mainly responsible. The total market capitalisation of the 250 biggest listed companies in Africa stood at $505bn on 31 March 2024, down 9% from the $556bn recorded one year earlier and even lower than the $597bn recorded […]
Top 10 Billionaires in Africa
In Africa, as in the rest of the world, there has been significant activity in the billionaire sphere, with some billionaires rising in rank, others falling, newcomers joining the list, and some dropping off altogether. For instance, at the beginning of 2024, Johann Rupert & Family held the title of the richest in Africa with […]
The Effects of Flooding Will have a Massive Impact on Kenya’s Economy
The cost of repairing what’s broken will also have a major impact on the country’s budget, which is already stretched.have a major economic impact. Assessments from the last major flooding in 2018 show that the government had to allocate an extra US$120 million (24% of the budget in the previous year) for repairs and maintenance […]
Zimbabwe Will Fine Businesses Using Inflated Exchange Rates
This as the government battles to maintain the value of its newly introduced gold-backed currency, the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG). Any business using an exchange rate higher than the official rate of 13.5 ZiG per U.S. dollar will be liable for a fine of 200,000 ZiG ($14,815), according to a government notice. Anyone offering “goods or […]
American Express Introduces Business Card for Nigerian Users
Card payments provider American Express rolled out four new credit cards in Nigeria this week, in its push to become a dominant player in Africa’s fledgling credit market. The cards, which are dollar-denominated and target both individuals and businesses, are produced with O3 Capital, a decade-old card issuing company in Lagos, Nigeria. American Express credit […]
South Africa Will Provide a New Timeline for the Shutdown of Coal-fired Power Plants
This is in a bid to secure about $2.5 billion in climate finance, an agency in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office said. The timetable to be proposed to the Climate Investment Funds in June aims to ensure the country remains on track to obtain funding under the so-called Just Energy Transition Partnership — a $9.3-billion pact […]
Challenges of Working on the World’s Longest Heated Oil Pipeline
The most worrisome delaying force at Pump Station One, the start of EACOP near the small city of Hoima, isn’t weather, fire, or snakes. It’s money. A megaproject that has drawn together the fortunes of French energy giant TotalEnergies, unpredictable Chinese backers, and big Persian Gulf investors still doesn’t have its funding entirely in place. […]
Namibia Wants to Position itself as a Renewable Energy Hub
The World Bank has approved a $138.5 million loan to help Namibia bolster its transmission network and integrate renewable energy projects into the grid, the bank said. One of Sub-Saharan Africa’s driest countries with plenty of sunshine and wind, Namibia wants to position itself as a renewable energy hub in tandem with massive offshore oil […]
Green Startup Expands Beyond Ethiopia
Ethiopia’s Kubik, which specialises in the transformation of hard-to-recycle plastic waste into affordable, low-carbon building materials, is planning to expand into more African countries next year after banking US$5.2 million in seed funding recently. Founded in August 2021 by Kidus Asfaw and Penda Marre, Kubik produces low-carbon, affordable building materials from plastic waste to tackle […]
