Why Zimbabwe will suffer lengthy power outages
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Why Zimbabwe will suffer lengthy power outages

A looming power crisis is about to hit Zimbabwe after a surge in electricity imports from neighboring South Africa overloaded its network and caused generating plants to fail. According to Energy Minister Soda Zhemu, the surge caused a nationwide blackout in the wee hours of Monday morning, as it affected output at the country’s main…

South Africa was preparing to formally embrace crypto. Then two brothers vanished with $3.6 billion.
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South Africa was preparing to formally embrace crypto. Then two brothers vanished with $3.6 billion.

Just as South African authorities were gearing for a new approach to the trading of bitcoins and other virtual assets in Africa’s most industrialized country, two brothers have been accused of disappearing with $3.6 billion from a top bitcoin site. If confirmed, Africrypt’s, the platform ran by the Ameer and Raees Cajee, losses would rank…

Why Africa has so many secret billionaires
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Why Africa has so many secret billionaires

(This is a transcript of the podcast posted on Monday, June 28th 2021. You can listen to the podcast by clicking on this link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1655965/8770436) Welcome to The Weekly Beat by Mansa with your hosts, Arnold Segawa, Maggie Mutesi, and Dumi Jere. Giving you all the info on Africa’s big finance and economic stories, The…

World Bank allocates $200 million to Benin for electricity projects
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World Bank allocates $200 million to Benin for electricity projects

Benin will receive a $200 million allocation from the World Bank to boost its efforts to improve access to electricity in the country. The money will be disbursed via the International Development Association (IDA). The electrification project will consist the construction of 2,000 kilometers of medium voltage lines and 4,000 kilometers of low voltage lies….

East Africa’s richest man expects businesses to grow under new president
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East Africa’s richest man expects businesses to grow under new president

Tanzania’s private sector is in line for steady growths as President Samia Hassan Suluhu undertakes various reforms to improve the country’s business environment, billionaire Mohammed Dewji says. Dewji also expects the industrial conglomerate he owns, MeTL, to ramp up sisal production as it targets becoming the world’s largest producer of sisal, a plant whose fiber…

Zimbabwe’s economy boosted by rise in diaspora remittances
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Zimbabwe’s economy boosted by rise in diaspora remittances

Remittances by Zimbabweans in diaspora almost doubled in the first four months of the year providing a timely boost to the country’s struggling economy. According to Central Bank Governor John Mangudya, remittances soared to $411 million in the first four months of 2021, compared with $221.9 million during the same period in the previous year….

President Macky Sall to open Senegal’s first sovereign data center
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President Macky Sall to open Senegal’s first sovereign data center

Senegal’s President Macky Sall will inaugurate the country’s first sovereign data center on Tuesday, June 22, as part of his government’s efforts to make the West African nation a leader in digital technologies. The Diamniadio Data Center will enable the government spread out high speed internet access throughout the country’s territory but also to meet,…

Kenneth Kaunda’s legacy and economic transformation of Zambia
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Kenneth Kaunda’s legacy and economic transformation of Zambia

(This is a transcript of the podcast posted on Monday, June 21st 2021. You can listen to the podcast by clicking on this link: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6N51Sqn8Jzs06kk8j47Owk?si=EQSpY52YSEmks9-Y-p0kFA&context=spotify%3Ashow%3A0iXz0YJU6dWxAxjKHCO8W8&dl_branch=1&nd=1) Welcome to The Weekly Beat by Mansa with your hosts, Arnold Segawa, Maggie Mutesi, and Dumi Jere. Giving you all the info on Africa’s big finance and economic stories, The…

Kenneth Kaunda: The peacemaker who liberated southern Africa
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Kenneth Kaunda: The peacemaker who liberated southern Africa

Throughout the African continent, many streets, buildings, and airports are named after him. Unlike most independence heroes of their time, the name Kenneth Kaunda does not evoke bitter memories and feelings of alienation in different societies. His death on Thursday evening revealed a strong reverence that many across the globe had for one of Africa’s…

Foreign remittances to sub-Saharan Africa dropped by 12.5% in 2020

Foreign remittances to sub-Saharan Africa dropped by 12.5% in 2020

Global remittances to sub-Saharan Africa slumped by 12.5% to $42 billion in 2020 from $48 billion in 2019 in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, a new report by the World Bank and Knomad reveals. The decline has been attributed to movement restrictions introduced in most countries around the world and a rise in unemployment…

South Sudan targets increased oil production to boost economy

South Sudan targets increased oil production to boost economy

South Sudan is looking to boost oil production and build local refineries as part of a sweeping government effort to revive an economy battered by years of war and a global pandemic. Oil production, which accounts for nearly all of government revenues, has plummeted and according to Bol Ring Mourwel, managing director of state-owned Nile…

Chinese brands dominate Africa’s rebounding smartphone market

Chinese brands dominate Africa’s rebounding smartphone market

Africa’s smartphone market rebounded strongly in the first quarter of 2021 following a difficult year characterized by the coronavirus pandemic, a report from the International Data Corporation (IDC) indicates. The continent’s smartphone sales rose by 16.8% to 23.4 million units in the first three months of the year compared to a similar period in 2020….

Why Kenya has increased its security budget in a pandemic year
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Why Kenya has increased its security budget in a pandemic year

Kenyan 2021-2022 national budget has increased allocation to the security sector by Sh6 billion ($60 million), bucking a trend that has endured over the last decade. According to the Sh3.63 trillion budgetary estimates presented to Parliament by the Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani, the government is planning to spend a huge Sh340 billion on internal…

Ghana’s inflation rate hits record low of 7.5% as central bank cuts lending rates
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Ghana’s inflation rate hits record low of 7.5% as central bank cuts lending rates

Ghana’s inflation rate dropped to a record low in May, defying targets set by the central bank and economists. Consumer inflation in the West African nation fell to 7.5% from 8.5% in April, Samuel Kobina, Government Statistician told reporters in Accra. Prices climbed 0.8% in the same month. “Last month we saw food inflation was…

South Africa’s business confidence jumps to pre-pandemic levels despite record unemployment
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South Africa’s business confidence jumps to pre-pandemic levels despite record unemployment

Business confidence in South Africa skyrocketed to pre-pandemic levels according to a quarterly business confidence index published on Wednesday by Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) unit and Stellenbosch University’s Bureau for Economic Research. The index jumped to 50 in the second quarter, up from 35 in the preceding three months, the highest level since the end…

How one of Africa’s oldest airlines is plotting a comeback
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How one of Africa’s oldest airlines is plotting a comeback

Sudan Airways has walked the proverbial journey to the top and back. In December 2011, the national carrier had 1700 employees, but fast forward today it only has one operational aircraft, an A320-200, formerly operated by Comoro Islands Airline. Unlike most African airlines that suffered their demise due to rampant corruption and chronic mismanagement, Sudan…

Nigeria’s plan to rebuild oil refineries ignores one key detail – oil is no longer valuable
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Nigeria’s plan to rebuild oil refineries ignores one key detail – oil is no longer valuable

(This is a transcript of the podcast posted on Monday, June 7th 2021. You can listen to the podcast by clicking on this link: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0Vw5MYhMNXmYwMsM5O6FLh?si=V22y4gYeSnmURwk24gNRPA&nd=1) Welcome to The Weekly Beat by Mansa with your hosts, Arnold Segawa, Maggie Mutesi, and Dumi Jere. Giving you all the info on Africa’s big finance and economic stories, The…

Tanzania to begin construction of $30 billion natural gas project in 2023
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Tanzania to begin construction of $30 billion natural gas project in 2023

Tanzania’s government has laid out plans to kick start the construction of a delayed $30 billion liquefied natural gas project in 2023 as talks with interested companies resume. In an address to lawmakers, Minister of Energy Medard Kalemani said construction is expected to take about five years. Plans for an LNG plant on Tanzania’s southern…

Zimbabwe’s diamond production set to increase by 30% in 2021
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Zimbabwe’s diamond production set to increase by 30% in 2021

Zimbabwe’s state miner has announced it will be able to increase production of diamonds by about 30% to 3 million carats this year thanks to newly enhanced mining methods. Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company’s mines in the east of the country have so far met monthly targets of 200,000 carats, Chief Executive Officer Mark Mabhudhu said…

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Senegal mulls launch of $500 million ‘youth bonds’

In a historic first in the continent, Senegal’s government has announced that it will allocate $836 million in proceeds from a 16-year Eurobond to a new fund created to solve youth related issues raised in protests that engulfed the West African nation earlier this year. The fund aims to address youth unemployment by supporting the…