Zambia’s currency (kwacha) has become the world’s best-performing currency since Hakainde Hichilema was announced the winner of the August 12 presidential poll. The value of the kwacha rose by 7.8% this week to 17.92 against the U.S. dollar, the best performance out of more than 140 currencies tracked by Bloomberg. It’s rally wiped out the…
For years, economists have called on African governments to offer tax incentives to global firms as a way of boosting foreign direct investment (FDI). Countries such as Singapore, United Arab Emirates, and Bangladesh are touted as examples of why this model works, despite their different underlying contexts. Nevertheless, Malawi tried this framework in its entirety,…
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been given the greenlight by a Federal High Court in Abuja to freeze the accounts of Nigerian investment-tech companies Bamboo, Chaka, Risevest and Trove. The order is limited to six months pending investigations to be carried out by the bank. CBN had sought temporary freezing of the bank…
(This is a transcript of the podcast posted on Tuesay, August 17th, 2021. You can listen to the podcast by clicking on this link https://mansamedia.africa/the-weekly-beat-august-17-2021/) MAGGIE MUTESI: Good evening and welcome to yet again, another episode of The Weekly Beat by Mansa. My name is Maggie Mutesi, I’m coming to you from a Cape Verde…
In June, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced that it will launch its digital currency by the end of 2021, with a pilot scheme running from October 1st. Digital currencies are not a new phenomenon. They are becoming increasingly popular as a response to the global rise of digital payment solutions. The rise of…
Last year was a difficult one for economies across the world due to the ravaging effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, one landlocked African country did remarkably defy the trend through a combination of prudent leadership and trade with a neighbor that also recorded positive growths. Malawi’s economy grew by 0.9% in 2020. Only one…
Trading in Southern Africa is set to become faster and easier, following the introduction of the region’s first cross-border e-payment solutions that taps into a market characterized by inaccessible formal banking systems. BankservAfrica, a Johannesburg-based clearing firm, is behind the establishment of the project dubbed Transactions Cleared on an Immediate Basis (TCIB). TCIB allows for…
Mpesa is a word ingrained in every Kenyan’s lingua franca. The mobile money service that was founded in 2007, and run by telecommunication giants Safaricom, is a force of nature that has led the country to top the world in this sector. It is this dominance that has in turn fuelled the rise of another…
(This is a transcript of the podcast posted on Monday, August 9th, 2021. You can listen to the podcast by clicking on this link https://www.buzzsprout.com/1655965/8988981) ARNOLD SEGAWA: Greetings and welcome to this edition of Mansa’s The Weekly Beat, I’m Arnold Segawa joining you from Johannesburg, and Maggie Mutesi I think you’re in Cape Verde this…
Zambians head to the polls on 12 August amid mounting economic challenges, reports of election-related political violence and Covid-19. With nineteen candidates vying for the presidency, is the incumbent President Edgar Lungu on his way out?
Mureza, a car manufacturer whose story transcends borders, will begin sales in the Namibian market next month after a successful release of its first batch of units in Zimbabwe and South Africa a fortnight ago. Mureza was founded by Tendai Mungofa, a Zimbabwean national based in South Africa, and the company aims to create a…
Thousands of Ghanaians descended on the streets of the capital Accra on Wednesday, demanding President Nana Akufo-Addo’s administration do more to create jobs for the youth, bring down the cost of living and improve healthcare and education standards. The demonstrations, peaceful in nature, were held under the slogan #FixTheCountry. Youthful protesters dressed in red and…
As economies worldwide were struck down by the COVID-19 pandemic last year, a new form of investment, fuelled by climate change and social activism, gained ground. The term impact investing has been around for a decade now, but its crescendo only arrived in 2020, according to a report released by the International Finance Corporation (IFC)….
In May, Exxon Mobil pulled out of an offshore project in Ghana, hurting its nascent oil and gas sector. The move was part of a wider push to reduce carbon emissions by the American multinational, but it subsequently forced the government to draft a new investment plan that will accelerate oil and gas exploration by…
(This is a transcript of the podcast posted on Monday, August 2nd 2021. You can listen to the podcast by clicking on this link https://www.buzzsprout.com/1655965/8924559) ARNOLD SEGAWA: A warm welcome to this edition of Mansa’s The Weekly Beat. As always we’re joined by Dumi Jere and Maggie Mutesi. How are you doing guys? Let me…
How easy is it to start a business on the continent? For many costs of starting a business are always as hindrance and a recent report by Business financing UK highlights this. With wide gaps from Equatorial Guinea’s $2,322 to Rwanda were it is free to open up a business, this episode unpacks the different…
Burundi has accepted the World Bank’s offer to deliver COVID-19 vaccines into the country, a remarkable reversal that has now left Eritrea as the only Africa country without such a plan. “Anyone who wants will be vaccinated,” Health Minister Thaddee Ndikumana told a presser. “We have accepted the request of the World Bank to avail…
The Central Bank of Nigeria will no longer sell foreign exchange to Bureau Du Change operators, accusing the parallel market of becoming a conduit for illicit forex flows and graft. In announcing the move, the regulator said it will sell dollars and other foreign currencies directly to commercial banks, which have been mandated to sell…
Despite battling the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Zimbabwe’s economic resilience was on show as government authorities released data on inflation and economic growth this week. According to the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZNSA), consumer prices climbed 56.37% from a year earlier, compared with 106.6% in June. The last time the Southern African nation’s inflation…
As many living in the continent continue pondering on the often repeated statement that “Africa is rising”, a new report indicates that it one specific sector, it is. The research carried out by American firm Boston Consulting Group (BCG) found out that Ghana and Kenya have the second and third highest mobile payment usage in…