Every week, we review the best Africa-related business and finance news across the web and deliver to you the top 10 pieces of the week!
Week of May 25th
Ten Businessmen Who Have “Made It” in East Africa
Ten successful east African entrepreneurs, including Kenya’s James Mwangi, chief executive of Equity Bank Group, and Ethiopian billionaire Mohammed Al Amoudi, are analyzed on how they made their business breakthroughs and what they have accomplished since then.Read More »
Source: How We Made It in Africa (South Africa)
MTN Makes the Right Connection
Telecommunications firm MTN is now the first African brand to be listed on the BrandZ Top 100 global ranking system, placing 88th. The recent successes in Africa by MTN, and other brands such as Diageo, are also discussed.Read More »
Source: Financial Times
Africa Plan for $1 Trillion Trade Bloc on Track
The three major African trade blocs are on schedule to be combined into a 26-nation free trade area with a population of 525 million by July 2014. This follows a World Bank report in February that stated that red tape and trade barriers were costing Africa billions of dollars.Read More »
Source: Reuters
Air Nigeria to be Privatized in Two Years—Jimoh Ibrahim
Chairman Jimoh Ibrahim recently stated that Air Nigeria will be privatized within two years. He further indicated that Air Nigeria would also place more of a focus on international flights, saying that “there is no continent we won’t be flying to five years from now.” Read More »Source: The Nation (Nigeria)
GE Targets Double-Digit Growth in Africa
General Electric has recently begun to expand outside the established African economies into frontier markets such as Cameroon, Zambia, and Mozambique, supplying much of the heavy equipment for local power and infrastructure investment. A team of regional executives has been appointed to manage the transition. Read More »Source: MSN Money
Kenya’s Exports to Region up 34 Percent
Due to improved commodity prices impacting the tea, horticulture, and coffee industries, Kenya’s regional exports to the East African Community (EAC) grew by 34 percent last year. Exports to neighboring Uganda, another East African nation where oil was recently discovered, increased by 47 percent. Read More »Source: The East African (Kenya)
Standbic Announces Landmark $300m Loan Syndication for MTN Ghana
Stanbic Bank Ghana and Standard Bank South Africa have raised GH¢410 million to finance operations of Ghana’s leading telecom operator, MTN. CEO of MTN Ghana Michael Ikpoki, commenting on the deal, stated that, “this is a demonstration of how we see our business in Ghana. By looking within to raise this amount of money, we are indicating to the people of Ghana that we have absolute confidence in the economy and more importantly, the Ghana Cedi.” Read More »Source: Daily Guide Ghana
South Africa Approves $3.4 billion Renewable Power Plan
Nineteen wind, solar, and hydropower proposals were recently approved in South Africa in a second bidding round. Total capacity in the round totaled 1,275 megawatts, toward the 3,725 megawatt expansion goal that the government intends to reach by the end of 2016. Read More »Source: Bloomberg
Petro SA, Sinopec Partner on Refinery
PetroSA and China’s Sinopec Group have partnered with the intention of constructing of the largest crude oil refinery in Africa by 2015, in the industrial port of Coega near Port Elizabeth. The Mthombo project is anticipated to have a 400,000 barrels-a-day capacity. Read More »Source: SouthAfrica.info
Africa Hotels: Lots of Plans, Hard to Build
A report published by W Hospitality Group, a Nigerian hotel and tourism services advisory firm, states that while there are 208 signed deals for international hotel projects on the continent, and that on-site construction has begun on 55 percent of the projects slated for this year, there are worrying signs that some of the projects may never be built. Read More »Source: Financial Times
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