May
08

Ambassador Amina Mohamed may have missed the opportunity to become the first woman and indeed first African to head the World Trade Organisation (WTO) recently, but she now has an opportunity to add a feather in her hat with the nomination to become Kenya’s next Foreign Secretary. Mohamed, who currently works as the Assistant Secretary General and Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), was picked to spearhead Uhuru Kenyatta’s foreign policy on Tuesday. She is a seasoned diplomat with an equally vast career in the public sector having worked as the Permanent Secretary for Justice and Constitutional Affairs before assuming her current position. The soft spoken mother of two is a career public servant whose record spans over 26 years and has also worked in the ministries of Local Government and Foreign Affairs. While accepting her nomination at State House on Tuesday, Mohamed said she would discharge her new duties diligently if her nomination is approved by the National Assembly. “I am humbled and I feel privileged and uniquely honoured and I will be waiting for your instructions on what I should be doing next,” she told the Head of State Uhuru Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto. (via Diplomat Amina lands Foreign Affairs docket | Capital News)

Ambassador Amina Mohamed may have missed the opportunity to become the first woman and indeed first African to head the World Trade Organisation (WTO) recently, but she now has an opportunity to add a feather in her hat with the nomination to become Kenya’s next Foreign Secretary.

Mohamed, who currently works as the Assistant Secretary General and Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), was picked to spearhead Uhuru Kenyatta’s foreign policy on Tuesday.

She is a seasoned diplomat with an equally vast career in the public sector having worked as the Permanent Secretary for Justice and Constitutional Affairs before assuming her current position.

The soft spoken mother of two is a career public servant whose record spans over 26 years and has also worked in the ministries of Local Government and Foreign Affairs.

While accepting her nomination at State House on Tuesday, Mohamed said she would discharge her new duties diligently if her nomination is approved by the National Assembly.

“I am humbled and I feel privileged and uniquely honoured and I will be waiting for your instructions on what I should be doing next,” she told the Head of State Uhuru Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto.

(via Diplomat Amina lands Foreign Affairs docket | Capital News)

Source capitalfm.co.ke

East Africa's 'embarrassment of riches' in energy

Mozambique, one of Africa’s poorest states, and neighboring Tanzania are set to become major natural gas producers, while Kenya, deemed the cradle of mankind, sits on at least 10 billion barrels of oil.

These are the centerpieces of a burgeoning energy boom that’s transforming East Africa into a vast source of oil and gas for energy-hungry Asia 3,000 miles away across the Indian Ocean.

“You have almost an embarrassment of riches in Mozambique and Tanzania, in terms of the volumes of gas being discovered,” said Philip Wolfe of UBS financial services, which advises Thailand’s PTT Exploration and Production, now a major player in Mozambique.

“In Mozambique, they’ve only just scratched the surface and have already found so much gas.”

After about two years’ exploration, around 100 trillion cubic feet of natural gas has been found in the Indian Ocean off the former Portuguese colony and Tanzania. That’s equivalent to nearly all of Iraq’s gas reserves.

May
05

We are seeing a lot of international beauty brands entering the East African market. What is driving this? The middle class is growing and consumerism is following right behind. Secondly, the internet, which we easily access via our mobile phones, allows everybody access to information. This means we no longer have to educate people about products. Advertising in the 1990s focused on problems and solutions. Today the focus is on why a customer should choose a particular product or brand. Is the entry of other foreign brands and the growth of local players a threat to L’Oréal? The day you start to compete against competition, you are not really a marketer. You should be in the business to meet consumer needs. The more choice the better; let the challenge be on which is the better brand in terms of meeting consumer needs. Describe the opportunities and trends in the beauty industry? The potential is huge. I spend time observing how people behave in the washrooms. I am fascinated that every single woman, whether an executive or cleaning lady, will come in with a compact and powder their face, line their eyebrows and apply lipstick. Every salon in Kenya offers manicures, whether it is in a shack or a five star hotel; it is just a question of price and quality. This was a luxury but now it is standard. Women are increasingly becoming more confident, are loud at home and hold higher offices. I think the next big thing is deodorants. The beauty industry can only progress. What advice would you give to foreign brands planning to enter the East African market? It is not as difficult as it seems. I had a fantastic experience because I have a lot of networks locally and the backup of a global brand. It is very systematic once you are clear what steps need to be made. The first step is to get a good lawyer who can help with the documentation and registration. You also need to get a good talent recruitment partner. Placing an advertisement in the newspapers will get you all the people you do not need. (via Why Africa is an important market for beauty company L’Oréal)

We are seeing a lot of international beauty brands entering the East African market. What is driving this?

The middle class is growing and consumerism is following right behind. Secondly, the internet, which we easily access via our mobile phones, allows everybody access to information. This means we no longer have to educate people about products. Advertising in the 1990s focused on problems and solutions. Today the focus is on why a customer should choose a particular product or brand.

Is the entry of other foreign brands and the growth of local players a threat to L’Oréal?

The day you start to compete against competition, you are not really a marketer. You should be in the business to meet consumer needs. The more choice the better; let the challenge be on which is the better brand in terms of meeting consumer needs.

Describe the opportunities and trends in the beauty industry?

The potential is huge. I spend time observing how people behave in the washrooms. I am fascinated that every single woman, whether an executive or cleaning lady, will come in with a compact and powder their face, line their eyebrows and apply lipstick. Every salon in Kenya offers manicures, whether it is in a shack or a five star hotel; it is just a question of price and quality. This was a luxury but now it is standard. Women are increasingly becoming more confident, are loud at home and hold higher offices. I think the next big thing is deodorants. The beauty industry can only progress.

What advice would you give to foreign brands planning to enter the East African market?

It is not as difficult as it seems. I had a fantastic experience because I have a lot of networks locally and the backup of a global brand. It is very systematic once you are clear what steps need to be made. The first step is to get a good lawyer who can help with the documentation and registration. You also need to get a good talent recruitment partner. Placing an advertisement in the newspapers will get you all the people you do not need.

(via Why Africa is an important market for beauty company L’Oréal)

Source howwemadeitinafrica.com

Apr
04

Thierry Ntako is the CEO of Open-IT, a Burundi based company. Open-IT came from my meeting with Dr Frank Verbeke, the manager of a Belgian company, Medical Exchange Solutions (MXS). MXS was providing medical IT solutions in hospitals in Rwanda and he wanted to expand their activity in Burundi because he saw that there was a potential market and big opportunities. As an ICT entrepreneur, I was immediately interested by the project. I though about how many times medical records are lost at the hospitals or some cases when a patient in medical emergency is obliged to wait a long time because of the difficulty to find his medical file between thousands of others. Many health institution managers also struggle with administrative and financial management and are unable to produce reliable medical information. An ICT system appears as the best solution. Then Frank and I decided to create Open-IT, which is a joint-venture between MXS and my local IT company, BUSTEC. It was officially launched in January 2011 (via Invest enough time in developing your business plan, says Burundi-based ICT entrepreneur)

Thierry Ntako is the CEO of Open-IT, a Burundi based company.

Open-IT came from my meeting with Dr Frank Verbeke, the manager of a Belgian company, Medical Exchange Solutions (MXS). MXS was providing medical IT solutions in hospitals in Rwanda and he wanted to expand their activity in Burundi because he saw that there was a potential market and big opportunities.

As an ICT entrepreneur, I was immediately interested by the project. I though about how many times medical records are lost at the hospitals or some cases when a patient in medical emergency is obliged to wait a long time because of the difficulty to find his medical file between thousands of others.

Many health institution managers also struggle with administrative and financial management and are unable to produce reliable medical information. An ICT system appears as the best solution.

Then Frank and I decided to create Open-IT, which is a joint-venture between MXS and my local IT company, BUSTEC. It was officially launched in January 2011

(via Invest enough time in developing your business plan, says Burundi-based ICT entrepreneur)

Source howwemadeitinafrica.com

Mar
15

Solar and Steam Revolutionize Energy Use in East Africa

Major expansions to existing geothermal stations are set to resolve the dilemma of insufficient power supply in the very near future.

An AUD$1.5 billion investment in three geothermal power plants around Kenya’s Olkaria resource is expected to lift capacity from 158 megawatts to 734 megawatts by 2017, accounting for 25 per cent of the country’s energy needs.

The Great Rift Valley, which runs for 4,830 kilometres through the northeastern corner of the African continent, is rich in geothermal resources which could provide an abundance of environmentally friendly energy to countries in the region.

Ethiopia alone is estimated by geothermal experts from Iceland to contain at least 1,000 megawatts of accessible energy in the form of the underground steam. Local engineers are now engaged with geothermal prospecting in Ethiopia, Rwanda and Tanzania, abetted by funding from the African Development Bank (ADB).

Gabriel Negatu, regional director of the ADB, expects the exploitation of geothermal energy to radically transform the local economy.

“Energy is not an end in itself; it is an enabler…every part of your life is affected by energy,” he said. “[We’ll see] a robust economy with factories, universities, a full industrial economy, and all of it will be powered by geothermal energy.”

Mar
13

Dialogue on PrepaidAfrica, Africa, an emerging future and more

Meet Niti Bhan. International consultant. Marketing strategist. Research manager. And Founder and Chief Curator of “The Prepaid Economy: African Edition.”

In recent years there has been a noticeable emergence of blogs and websites that share the common mission of shining more light on a neglected and misconstrued Africa. Entertainment, sports, politics, and social justices issues are just a few areas that have been highlighted on various multimedia platforms, sharing information and voicing the opinions of Africans and non-Africans alike regarding matters relevant to the continent.

Niti’s contribution, The Prepaid Economy: African Edition, is dedicated to highlighting the advancement of African nations in the field of business, technology, and their economics, with a particular focus on the “prepaid” or rather, the informal economy and its aspirations towards joining the emerging global middle class.

With a growing readership, it’s only appropriate to give her  a proper introduction and shed light on the mystery person behind prepaidafrica.tumblr.com. Below is a quick snippet of a question and answer session that will be conducted on Thursday 10:00 am ET/ 10:00 pm GMT+8

Question: What is was your motivation behind starting the tumblr blog

Answer: ”In the fall of 2010, a research project on ‘Innovation under conditions of scarcity’ took me to East Africa for the first time, to Kenya specifically where we were going to do exploratory user research on the ‘jua kali’ or informal fabrication and manufacturing industry. That experience opened my eyes to what was happening in parts of Sub Sahara - I remember feeling a strong sense of imminence, like just before a big storm where you have a sense that something big is around the corner but you can’t see it yet. Africa was on its way, even then it was already in the air in Nairobi.

I began having long talks on skype and twitter and email with my Kenyan friends about this emerging future that I could sense in East Africa yet the mainstream global media narrative was still that of the teeming, poverty stricken, war ridden, hungry eyed black babies that mainstream media splashed as “Africa”.

“How can we change this? We are not global media” was the general feeling at that time yet we were all on social media - blogging and writing and tweeting and talking. I remember telling a particular friend of mine - a very strong and accomplished woman who was CEO of a fast growing software house in Nairobi - that we couldn’t sit around and wait for “someone” to come along and change the narrative for us but we had to change it ourselves in order to see it differently. Until we ourselves saw Africa and Africans and their future and potential differently, nobody else would. Even a lone voice could be found online, I said, and here’s what I’m going to do as my 2 shilling worth.

In January 2011, a friend in Boston offered to publish a series of articles on the Emerging Africa story, if I would write down what I was sensing and seeing. Involution Studios hosted these articles and they very generously followed up with a podcast. It was during the background research for this article series that the this tumblr you’re reading, better known as prepaidafrica, was born.

Today, just over 2 years later, there are over 30,000 of you following this tumblog, we’re listed in the front page of the Business section of Tumblr’s Spotlight directory and we’ve taken on our very first employee - Beulah Osueke, as community engagement manager. You’ll be hearing her story next week.”

If you’re interested in finding out more about Niti Bhan, there will be a question and answer session this Thursday 10:00 am ET/ 10:00 pm GMT+8. Feel free to ask questions about her professional career, seek career advice, or inquire about business, entrepreneurship, technology, and/or trade in Africa.

It was Vinod Khosla, who bagged a billion at Sun MicroSystems in Silicon Valley, who said, ‘The future is not seen in the rear view mirror.’ I started my journey from Mombasa, spent half my life in the City of London running interest rate trading desks, packed my bags when I turned 40 and returned home in 2005. The Nairobi Securities Exchange quadrupled from 2002 through 2007. I spent two years at the Nation Centre in Nairobi. In those days, prices were projected onto a screen, Kenya had embarked on a Thatcher-style shareholder revolution and 2m newly minted shareholders were created out of thin air. I rubbed shoulders with folks who had sold their cattle, parlayed the proceeds into a line and were swinging the line like we all did when the Nasdaq boomed in the late 1990s. The Kenyan economy expanded at 7.1 per cent in Q4 2007, the fastest rate it had achieved since a brief Brazil coffee frost related boom in 1977 and, before then, just after independence in the 1960s. Cynical sorts – and most of the seasoned Africa hands tend to be hard-bitten – would whisper, ‘It can’t last, it never does’. I was one of the crazy ones, an Afro-optimist, when it was not very fashionable. […] Last Year, I was in Zurich and it felt a little circular because I had started my career with CSFB many years before and they had sent me to Zurich for my internship. I listened to the Swiss central banker, the chairman of Credit Suisse and a number of other personalities. And when it was my turn to speak, I said: ‘Do you know what the year on year growth rate for Johnnie Walker was in east Africa?’ I answered my own question. It was 74 per cent. I said, this is a popping over the radar moment. You do not need a McKinsey report to tell you about the emerging African middle class. Africa is a statistical black hole but in that Johnnie Walker data, a very simple truth is distilled. The emergent middle class is here and it is no different from the middle class in Washington, London, Shanghai or Bombay. It has grabbed the attention of Ivan Menezes, COO of Diageo, and his executive committee who swung through Nairobi a couple of weeks ago. In fact, my proprietary foot traffic indicator of global CEOs passing through Nairobi has been flashing green for quite a while now. These folks are not on some kind of Bob Geldof circa Live Aid mission. They are coming because they can smell a profit. The big oil majors have also arrived in a big way. I happen to believe that the eastern seaboard of Africa, from Mozambique through Somalia and all points in between, might well prove the last great energy prize in the 21st century. Did you see that CNPC is set to offer $4b to ENI SPA for just 20 per cent of its offshore gas concession in Mozambique? We sit on a geothermal juggernaut. East Africa is not about derivatives. Its not about structured notes which require a degree in rocket science to understand. It’s about simple things. It’s about the building blocks. (via Guest post: Africa’s future is not seen in the rear view mirror | beyondbrics) Read the rest or follow the author at @alykhansatchu

It was Vinod Khosla, who bagged a billion at Sun MicroSystems in Silicon Valley, who said, ‘The future is not seen in the rear view mirror.’

I started my journey from Mombasa, spent half my life in the City of London running interest rate trading desks, packed my bags when I turned 40 and returned home in 2005. The Nairobi Securities Exchange quadrupled from 2002 through 2007. I spent two years at the Nation Centre in Nairobi.

In those days, prices were projected onto a screen, Kenya had embarked on a Thatcher-style shareholder revolution and 2m newly minted shareholders were created out of thin air. I rubbed shoulders with folks who had sold their cattle, parlayed the proceeds into a line and were swinging the line like we all did when the Nasdaq boomed in the late 1990s.

The Kenyan economy expanded at 7.1 per cent in Q4 2007, the fastest rate it had achieved since a brief Brazil coffee frost related boom in 1977 and, before then, just after independence in the 1960s.

Cynical sorts – and most of the seasoned Africa hands tend to be hard-bitten – would whisper,

‘It can’t last, it never does’.

I was one of the crazy ones, an Afro-optimist, when it was not very fashionable.

[…]

Last Year, I was in Zurich and it felt a little circular because I had started my career with CSFB many years before and they had sent me to Zurich for my internship. I listened to the Swiss central banker, the chairman of Credit Suisse and a number of other personalities. And when it was my turn to speak, I said: ‘Do you know what the year on year growth rate for Johnnie Walker was in east Africa?’

I answered my own question. It was 74 per cent.

I said, this is a popping over the radar moment. You do not need a McKinsey report to tell you about the emerging African middle class. Africa is a statistical black hole but in that Johnnie Walker data, a very simple truth is distilled. The emergent middle class is here and it is no different from the middle class in Washington, London, Shanghai or Bombay. It has grabbed the attention of Ivan Menezes, COO of Diageo, and his executive committee who swung through Nairobi a couple of weeks ago. In fact, my proprietary foot traffic indicator of global CEOs passing through Nairobi has been flashing green for quite a while now. These folks are not on some kind of Bob Geldof circa Live Aid mission. They are coming because they can smell a profit. The big oil majors have also arrived in a big way. I happen to believe that the eastern seaboard of Africa, from Mozambique through Somalia and all points in between, might well prove the last great energy prize in the 21st century. Did you see that CNPC is set to offer $4b to ENI SPA for just 20 per cent of its offshore gas concession in Mozambique? We sit on a geothermal juggernaut.

East Africa is not about derivatives. Its not about structured notes which require a degree in rocket science to understand. It’s about simple things. It’s about the building blocks.

(via Guest post: Africa’s future is not seen in the rear view mirror | beyondbrics)

Read the rest or follow the author at @alykhansatchu

Source blogs.ft.com

Mar
11

Kenya prepares for US$22 million online cargo system launch | News | HumanIPO

Kenya is to launch an online cargo clearance system valued at US$22 million by the end of the year, intended to increase cross-border trade.

The online cargo clearance system is expected to reduce the clearance time through automated cross-border trade procedures. The current system is reported to be costing the country approximately US$300,000 in losses due to cargo clearance delays.

The average of eight days clearance time under the current system will be reduced to a maximum of three days under the new system, which will be implemented in phases and established at Kenya’s main port in Mombasa, the main international airport and land border posts.

The first phase of the project will see the automation of all cargo documentation processes through the synchronisation of the systems of the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA), the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) and the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Services (Kephis).

Mar
03

Sahan Journal | A social news website for the connected generation of East Africans and the people of the Horn.

Sahan Journal is an African-powered social news website for the connected generation of East Africans and the people of the Horn. SJ is dedicated to separating news from the noise by delivering distilled, exciting, fresh and more visual content that’s interesting, engaging and shareable. This website also seeks to inspire discussion and intelligent debate among readers.

Feb
25

Sundance Institute East Africa (SIEA) is a program that supports the work of theatre artists in East Africa by creating exchange and exposure opportunities between U.S. artists and East African writers, directors, and performers. In the spirit of this exchange, Sundance Institute East Africa engages with East African artists in Africa as well as East African artists sharing their work in the U.S. East African artists are fully engaged with often wrenching social upheavals and transformations. Within these fragile societies, Sundance Institute has encountered a generation of emerging artists whose artistry and insight offer the potential for authentic cultural revitalization – a first step towards social, political, and economic equilibrium. These artists inspiringly embrace the contradictions and paradoxes of a complex interdependent world. They recognize the powerful artistic platforms upon which they speak to their communities about positive social change. These artists are laying the groundwork for healthy productive societies by generating public dialogue with an engaged and compassionate citizenry. While advancing the growth of individual artistic voices, we also provide mentorship and professional development opportunities-recognizing and honoring the specific cultural, social, political, and artistic realities of East African life (unique to each country as well as to the continent) within both the design and the implementation of the Program. Sundance Institute East Africa is not a training program. The primary goals of this exchange are to foster: -The growth of the American theatre artist and field through interactions in East Africa and with East African artists -The growth of the East African theatre artist and field through international exposure and exchange For more information about Sundance Institute’s activities in East Africa, please contact Deborah Asiimwe (Specialist-East Africa) at deborah_asiimwe@sundance.org. How Can You Get Involved? Submissions are now being accepted for the Fall 2013 Theatre Lab on Zanzibar in Tanzania. click through for links (via Sundance Institute East Africa Theatre Labs Call For Entries (March 21, 2013 Deadline) | Shadow and Act)

Sundance Institute East Africa (SIEA) is a program that supports the work of theatre artists in East Africa by creating exchange and exposure opportunities between U.S. artists and East African writers, directors, and performers.

In the spirit of this exchange, Sundance Institute East Africa engages with East African artists in Africa as well as East African artists sharing their work in the U.S. East African artists are fully engaged with often wrenching social upheavals and transformations.

Within these fragile societies, Sundance Institute has encountered a generation of emerging artists whose artistry and insight offer the potential for authentic cultural revitalization – a first step towards social, political, and economic equilibrium. These artists inspiringly embrace the contradictions and paradoxes of a complex interdependent world. They recognize the powerful artistic platforms upon which they speak to their communities about positive social change. These artists are laying the groundwork for healthy productive societies by generating public dialogue with an engaged and compassionate citizenry.

While advancing the growth of individual artistic voices, we also provide mentorship and professional development opportunities-recognizing and honoring the specific cultural, social, political, and artistic realities of East African life (unique to each country as well as to the continent) within both the design and the implementation of the Program.

Sundance Institute East Africa is not a training program.

The primary goals of this exchange are to foster:

-The growth of the American theatre artist and field through interactions in East Africa and with East African artists

-The growth of the East African theatre artist and field through international exposure and exchange For more information about Sundance Institute’s activities in East Africa, please contact Deborah Asiimwe (Specialist-East Africa) at deborah_asiimwe@sundance.org.

How Can You Get Involved?

Submissions are now being accepted for the Fall 2013 Theatre Lab on Zanzibar in Tanzania. click through for links

(via Sundance Institute East Africa Theatre Labs Call For Entries (March 21, 2013 Deadline) | Shadow and Act)

Source blogs.indiewire.com