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 July 6th
"Netflix of Africa" Brings Nollywood to World
CNN interviews tech entrepreneur Jason Njoku, founding of iROKO Partners, which is distributing Nigerian films to over 500,000 viewers around the world. Njoku believes that his business has the capability to expand from the "30 million African diaspora" toward Western audiences in the future.Read More »
Source: CNN
Want an Easy Entry into Africa? Partner with Established Players
How We Made It in Africa gives examples of companies in agriculture, natural resources, and other fields that have succeeded by partnering with local companies in Africa, and offers perspectives on how to engage with local business.Read More »
Source: How We Made It in Africa (South Africa)
Nigeria Rebels Swap Weapons for Welding
The Financial Times describes the successful result of a $405 million/year amnesty program that provides job training and monthly payments to former Nigerian rebels, stating that in a year since the program started, more than 26,358 armed agitators had surrendered their weapons and joined training programs.Read More »
Source: Financial Times
Nigeria Signs $4.5 Billion Deal with U.S., Nigerian Companies to Build Six Much-Needed Refineries
U.S.-based Vulcan Petroleum Resources Ltd. and Nigerian-based Petroleum Refining and Strategic Reserve Ltd. have reached an agreement with the Nigerian government to construct six new refineries, with the intention of making Nigeria less reliant on exports of oil products. Read More »Source: The Washington Post
South Africa House Prices Grew by 8.9 Percent in June
South Africa house prices grew in June by the highest rate since 2010, according to the June FNB House Price Index. Property strategist John Loos states in the report that the resurgence in house price growth “comes largely as a result of a late-2011 strengthening in the domestic economy after two weak winter quarters in 2011.” Read More »Source: Property24 (South Africa)
Morocco Plans New Mining Law to Boost Investment
Morocco intends to implement reform in its mining legal system next year, overhauling rules that have stood for 60 years, in order to attract investment in the sector. This reform, however, will not affect phosphates, which are the country's top export earner. Details on the legislation will be released later this summer. Read More »Source: Reuters Africa
Beijing, a Boon for Africa
Dambisa Moyo of the New York Times writes that, despite popular warnings of a "new colonialism" stemming from China, "China's motives for investing in Africa are actually quite pure." She also emphasizes that polls throughout the continent demonstrate that common people in Africa have a more positive view of China's involvement in the region than America's. Read More »Source: The New York Times
Tanzania: Land Rights Versus Biofuel Development in Pictures
The Guardian emphasizes, in a photo-essay, how biofuels and energy groups that export to the EU are pushing out local Tanzanian farmers, leading to "increased greenhouse gas emissions, rising food prices, and more hunger." Read More »Source: The Guardian
Oil Shutdown Piles Pressure on South Sudanese Pound
South Sudan cessation of oil production has caused depreciation of the country's currency by 40 percent since January. The country's Central Bank Governor Kornellio Koryom Mayiik recently warned that South Sudanese hard currency reserves would run out in less than a year if exports cannot be increased. Read More »Source: Africa Review (Kenya)
Nationalization Back-and-Forth Damages the Economy
Economists warn that confusion over nationalization in South Africa is causing rampant destabilization in the regional economy, and cutting off foreign investment into South Africa. The article addresses the current status of the nationalization debate, and the effects this controversy is having. Read More »Source: Mail & Guardian (South Africa)
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