Female Entrepreneurship in Sub-Saharan Africa
In
an increasingly interconnected world, the rise in technology-based businesses
is playing a crucial role in narrowing the gender gap and pushing female
entrepreneurship forward. As national economies face stiff competition for
specialist market skills and resources, a number of startups are drawing
international interest. There are also a number of global initiatives
supporting and propelling female-run businesses on the continent. Speaking at
SheMeansBusiness, an initiative designed to empower female entrepreneurs across
Nigeria, Facebook’s policy programmes head in Africa, Sherry Dzinoreva, said
that the company would be intensifying its female entrepreneurship training.
But despite the launch of such initiatives there are still a number of
challenges women need to overcome. Across Africa, women are prevented from
pursuing a career in business through overt and hidden discriminatory
practices. In sub-Saharan Africa, at least 40% of the labour force is female,
according to the Pew Research Centre. However, 74% of women’s non-agricultural
employment is informal, in contrast with 61% for men. In the private sector,
African women hold 23% of positions at executive committee level and just 5% of
CEO-level jobs, according to McKinsey. Access to capital and exclusion from
male dominated business networks constrain women’s participation in business.
SOURCES: AFRICAN
BUSINESS MAGAZINE
Some of the Biggest Challenges Facing Jumia
Like its rivals in many developing countries, Jumia offers
payment on delivery “as a marketing tactic” since customers are worried about
being scammed and are uncomfortable sharing their information online. To
attract as many customers as possible, Jumia also has a travel website, an
event and movie ticket business, a food delivery service and a payments system
that gives users access to microloans. Jumia has spent a lot of money in its
aggressive drive to gain market share, logging roughly $1 billion in losses,
including $195.2 million on revenue of $149.6 million last year. Poignonnec
says Jumia is focused on driving down costs while gaining users, but that the
hundreds of millions of dollars it has invested over the past seven years has
given it the scale to be the only Pan-African e-commerce player — even as
rivals have withered. Last year, Jumia’s Nigerian rival Konga, which is backed
by Naspers, was sold to Zinox, a data center and computer firm, after cutting
roughly 60 percent of its staff. A number of other e-commerce sites have
downsized, shut down or pivoted into other businesses. Being Pan-African has
also helped Jumia sign partnerships with companies like Pernod Ricard,
Mastercard and Xiaomi, the Chinese mobile phone maker, which would prefer to
sign one big deal rather than individual country-level deals, the executives
say. The the diversity of its markets allowed Jumia to use smaller countries
such as Ghana or Ivory Coast as labs for projects they might roll out in bigger
markets like Nigeria and Egypt — or, in the case of JumiaPay, which debuted in
those two large markets in 2017, vice versa.
SOURCES: OZY
More African Firms are Leveraging Influencers as part of their Marketing Strategy
Social and digital media have given room for new ways businesses
can engage and sell to their customers. Increasingly gaining traction in South
Africa is influencer marketing, an entirely new branch of the sales and
marketing funnel which has seen brands leverage popular personalities on social
media to promote their products and services online. Globally, the influencer
marketing industry is forecast to be worth $5 billion to $10 billion by 2020,
according to a study by Mediakix. In the digital universe, content is
king. Authenticity is paramount. A study conducted by the Mobile Marketing
Association reported that most consumers have banner blindness and suffer from
advertising fatigue. They cannot recall the last digital banner ad that they
saw. Ad-blocking continues to be a growing phenomenon, further demonstrating
the shift in consumer behavior. Consumers simply don’t want to be marketed to.
To this effect, influencers assist brands to reach their customers through
content that is more relevant to those consumers.Brands and agencies measure
awareness and engagement by analyzing a few parameters, including, inter alia,
number of likes, comments, shares and followers. Proponents of this theory
believe an increase in these parameters lead to brand success.
SOURCES: FORBES
AFRICA
10 Best African Countries for Doing Business 2019
The Doing Business index is a ranking index system, created by
the World Bank Group, which indicates the regularity environment of businesses.
A higher ranking, which is indicated by a lower numerical value, specifies a
stronger protection of property rights, and vice versa. Over 190 economies have
been scrutinized on criteria including: electrification and ease of business
creation, the tax burden and the protection of property rights. Mauritius is
positioned in 20th place worldwide, and in 1st place in Africa with a score of
79.58. The country is ranked twentieth place higher this year, from its
position in the 2018. Rwanda emerged in the top 30 countries of the World
Bank’s Doing Business report for the first time with a score of 77.88.
Globally, Rwanda is 29st on the “ease of doing business” ranking, compared to
the 41th position in last year’s report. In addition, the country has made 52
reforms over the last decade, bringing significant improvements to the
environments of business and investment. Morocco came in 3rd in Africa and in
60th position with a score of 71.02 points. Therefore, Morocco confirms its
position as a leader in North Africa, ahead of: Tunisia (80th), Egypt (120th),
and Algeria (157th). Kenya came in 4th among African countries and 61st
position globally with a score of 70.31 points compared to the 2018 report when
it was ranked 80th.
SOURCES: AFRICA.COM
Plastic Bag Bans are Working and are Especially Effective in African Nations
As of June 1, travelers to Tanzania will have to pack very
carefully. The country announced the implementation of the second phase of its
plastic bag ban on May 16. Visitors are advised to avoid packing or carrying
any plastic bags as they’ll have to leave these at a designated desk in the
airport. The first phase of the country’s anti-plastic initiative began in 2017
to “protect the youth and environment,” with an initial ban on the manufacture
of plastic bags and in-country distribution. Phase two extends to tourists.
There are exceptions to the new rule for medical, industrial, construction,
agricultural, and waste management packaging, as well as for the small “ziploc”
bags used to carry toiletries (as long as these leave the country when the
visitors do). Still, Tanzania aims to be plastic bag free, and it’s just one of
34 African nations fighting against single-use plastics with such bans. In
fact, the African continent is leading the world in plastic bag regulations.
Notably, 31 of these bans have been passed in sub-Saharan Africa. In Kenya, the
penalties for ignoring the ban are the world’s most punitive. Manufacturers,
importers, distributors, and users found with plastic bags face up to $38,000
in fines or four years in prison. The ban has faced resistance, and enforcement
is also a problem—it’s spotty, which means that plastic bags are still
circulating despite the potential penalties. Still, in a country that once used
about 100 million plastic bags a year, according to UN estimates, the reduction
efforts are notable and seem to be effective. Rwanda is aiming to be the
world’s first plastic-free country, and its prohibitions appear to be working.
The UN named the country’s capital, Kigali, the African continent’s cleanest
city, thanks in part to a 2008 ban on non-biodegradable plastic.
SOURCES: QUARTZ
AFRICA
Making Nigeria’s Movie Scene a Contributor to the Economy
Top producers, filmmakers, and executives from Nigeria’s film
industry travelled to France for the Cannes Film Festival’s first “Pavillon
Afriques,” a series of sessions and screenings highlighting the opportunities
and challenges facing filmmakers from across the continent. Their goal: raising
visibility for Nollywood and participating in discussions about financing,
dealmaking, and the expansion of distribution. Nollywood, the nickname for
Nigeria’s robust film industry, has long been hamstrung by piracy. For years
filmmakers have watched with frustration as swarms of illegitimate DVDs quickly
overwhelmed their promising cinematic efforts, slashing potential profits and
making it difficult to raise money to produce future films. But in the spring
of 2019 the makers of Chief Daddy managed to cash in on a new window of
opportunity, this time online. EbonyLife sold the movie’s global streaming
rights to Netflix Inc., for an undisclosed sum. In March the streaming service
made the movie available to 149 million customers in 190 countries, most of
whom live well beyond the reach of those pirated DVDs. That’s welcome news to
the Nollywood community, which since its inception in the 1990s has emerged as
a promising source of growth within the Nigerian economy. According to a 2017
report by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Nollywood is the second-largest producer
of films in the world, trailing only India’s Bollywood. Nigeria’s arts,
entertainment, and recreation sector, of which Nollywood is a significant part,
generated 239 billion naira ($664 million) in 2016 and is projected to continue
growing.
SOURCES: BLOOMBERG
People Wait for Zimbabwe’s Mega Deals to Materialise
Together with the enthusiastic support of state media, Mnangagwa
and his officials have announced more than $27bn of planned investment ranging
from new platinum mines to steel mills and hydropower dams. Medicines, fuel and
foreign currency are in short supply, prices of basic goods such as bread are
surging and the International Monetary Fund has forecast the first economic
contraction in 11 years. And many of the investment projects announced by the
government haven’t progressed beyond the memorandum of understanding or
feasibility stage. Few companies with a “rational level of risk
appetite” will invest in the country in its current state, said Jee-A van
der Linde, an economist at NKC African Economics. The African Development Bank
estimated foreign direct investment last year at $470 million, about a third of
the $1.1 billion attracted by northern neighbor Zambia and a fraction of the
$2.3 billion that flowed into Mozambique, which lies to the east. For some
Zimbabweans, the investment pledges evoke memories of Mugabe, who was prone to
announcing mega-deals that didn’t materialize. For example, in September 2017
Mugabe announced plans to revive Zimbabwe Iron & Steel Works Ltd., once the
second-largest steelmaker in sub-Saharan Africa. The project never got off the
ground.
SOURCES: AL
JAZEERA
Going Down for Mozambique Maritime Scandal
An ex-Credit Suisse Group AG banker became the first person to
plead guilty in what U.S. prosecutors called a $2 billion fraud and
money-laundering scam tied to loans to Mozambique that were used to pay bribes
and kickbacks. Detelina Subeva, 37, a former vice president in the bank’s
global financing unit, pleaded guilty on Monday to one count of conspiracy to
launder funds. The U.S. agreed to drop three other conspiracy charges against
Subeva, who’s one of three Credit Suisse bankers accused of working with
Mozambique’s ex-finance minister in a secret kickback scheme. The case centers
on deals that allowed Mozambique to borrow $2 billion for maritime projects and
coastline protection in 2013. The bonds sold to finance the loans were marketed
to international investors to aid the economy and thwart sea piracy, but
prosecutors say at least $200 million were plundered in the form of bribes and
kickbacks.
SOURCES: BLOOMBERG
Ethiopia’s Cash Cow Programme
Farmers in Ethiopia have joined a program that helps them borrow
money to purchase a dairy cow and get it insured. The milk would bring in
much-needed income – as much as $10.45 a day. As climate change tests the
livelihoods of crop farmers and herders, the innovative scheme aims to foster a
culture of saving and micro-insurance – but not all has gone smoothly. Run by
UK-based nonprofit Farm Africa, the project organizes farmers into savings
groups and links them with micro-finance companies that give them loans to buy
cows for extra income. They then sign up to insurance policies to ensure they
can still repay their loans if their cows die. But some farmers complain such
market-driven initiatives leave participants waiting too long for the money to
come in. According to Farm Africa, since the project launched in 2015, it has
established more than 340 village savings and loans associations, through which
households have put away more than $100,000 and farmers have accessed nearly
$70,000 in loans. Addis Ababa-based Nyala Insurance S.C., which provides the
livestock cover, said payouts to a few farmers had been delayed. That was
mainly because of the technology Nyala agents use to record and submit claims
while in the field, said Solomon Zegeye, micro-insurance business manager at
the company.
SOURCES: REUTERS
AFRICA
Rwandan Genocide Survivor Starts Empowerment Programme
Safi Mukundwa knows what it means to be young, fearful and
desperate. She was just 8 years old when she hid among bloodied bodies,
emerging as the only one in her family to survive the 1994 genocide that swept
through Rwanda. She remembers the man who killed her mother and brother. “I
told God that if I can get out of this place alive, I will dedicate my life to
helping others,” she says. Now 33, Mukundwa has made good on that commitment
through Safi Life, the nonprofit organization that she inspired. Its mission is
to educate, empower and advance young Rwandan women. Safi Life was formally
launched in 2012, growing out of a friendship between its namesake and Devon
Ogden. Both women were college students when Ogden, an American from
California, visited Rwanda in the summer of 2007 and heard Mukundwa’s testimony
at the Kigali Genocide Memorial. They met over lunch, and Ogden eventually
asked how she might help the young Rwandan. The foundation’s Facebook page
brims with photos of college graduates. In early 2018, Safi Life launched an
outreach project to aid young women, especially those who are single and
pregnant or with young children. It opened a center in the Kigali suburb of
Karembure, welcoming dozens to learn knitting, tailoring and other income-producing
skills. The project, called Ndashoboye, a Kinyarwanda word that means “I am
capable,” also provides mentoring on how to run a business. A second center
opened in January in Ndera, a few kilometers from the capital city’s downtown.
SOURCES: VOA