<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Ramaphosa-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-416239" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Ramaphosa-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Ramaphosa-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Ramaphosa-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Ramaphosa-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Ramaphosa-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Ramaphosa-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>President Cyril Ramaphosa: Regulatory reforms are yielding positive results</figcaption></figure>



It was as much about the numbers as the mood. Investor confidence in SA inc as an attractive investment destination was on full display at the recent 4th SA Investment Conference (SAIC) hosted by President Cyril Ramaphosa.



New investments to the value of R332 billion pledged at the conference takes the President’s haul to R1.14-trillion since he announced an ambitious goal in 2018 to raise R1.2 trillion over five years. It’s almost certain that the President will achieve this target at next year’s investment conference.



Against the backdrop of a devastating Covid-19 pandemic, slow economic growth and an energy crisis exacerbated by Eskom’s incapacity to meet rising demand, Ramaphosa maintained an upbeat tone. “I am not here to pretend that these challenges are not real,” said the President. Ramaphosa was however quick to assure that government was doing its best to address the country’s challenges.



With this as a backdrop, the depth and quantum of these pledges &#8211; which if they materialise will flow into the most critical sectors of the economy and rejuvenate growth including in some of the most marginalised regions of the country, is encouraging to SA’s economic growth prospects.



Discovery Holdings CEO Adrian Gore &#8211; in sentiments he shared during a panel discussion with outgoing Anglo CEO Mark Cutifani and Naspers South Africa CEO Phuti Mahanyele-Dabengwa, echoed Ramaphosa’s optimism. Said Gore: “It is critical to shift the negative narrative that was pervasive in the country. This country is more resilient than people think, and our economy is even more resilient and bigger than people give it credit for,” remarked Gore.



And the number of regulatory reforms notably in the telecoms and energy sectors recently announced by government have added impetus to private sector led &#8211; investment. One of the single biggest investments announced came from the African Development Bank (ADB), whose president, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, noted that the ADB’s R42.5 billion pledge would primarily be allocated towards projects designed to support SA’s shift towards renewables. “South Africa has the potential to be a global energy transition leader and deliver social and employment benefits in the process” said Adesina.



Norwegian group, Scatec pledged to invest R16 billion in among others, a solar power plant based in the Northern Cape. Scatec will also channel part of its pledge in the production of biogas, photovoltaic generation capacity and lithium battery technology – technologies which are likely to dominate SA’s energy generation landscape as the country accelerates implementation of a Just Energy Transition. Local energy group, African Rainbow Energy pledged to invest R3 billion in renewable resources.



Nascent confidence in South Africa’s economic reconstruction and recovery is also reflected in the willingness of global leaders in their fields to commit investments in sectors with high potential for growth. From as far afield as Canada and China, Belgium and Turkey, and the Czech Republic there were commitments directed at infrastructure development, healthcare, property, logistics, agri-processing and the creative industries.



Major global vehicle manufacturers doubled down on their long-standing investments in the automotive sectors through the expansion of the facilities in the Eastern Cape and Gauteng. This is a catalyst for smaller industry players – predominantly black-owned – to announce ventures within the automotive supply chains, from tyres, to batteries, to components and assembly facilities.



Success breeds success, and the country’s initial achievements in the manufacturing of vaccines for Covid-19 attracted a host of new investments in the healthcare and pharmaceuticals sector which will greatly benefit the economies of KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape and the Western Cape.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-quotes-verbatim">Quotes verbatim</h2>



The Investment Conference is but one high-profile event in a process of confidence building that has gained traction. The key focus now will be to put the building blocks in place to ensure the sustainability of the commitments that were announced. Phumzile Langeni – one of President Ramaphosa’s investment envoys.



The energy transition could provide an economic stimulus that could yield new industrial opportunities and create a net 160 000 additional jobs. This includes jobs in communities currently linked to coal. Andre de Ruyter – Eskom CEO.



South Africa can be Africa’s innovation hub for health technology and the lynchpin for healthcare in general, communications, infrastructure, biomaterials and in addressing climate change. Dr Patrick Soon-Shiong – SA born entrepreneur based in the US.



Business should speak responsibly when it comes to public matters and support the government in its drive to grow the economy. We are all in this together. Mark Cutifani – outgoing CEO of mining giant Anglo



South Africa has the potential to be a global energy transition leader and deliver social and employment benefits in the process. Akinwumi Adesina – African Development Bank President.



The ground-breaking changes to the regulatory environment currently in motion &#8211; including the unlocking of spectrum for mobile communications &#8211; will accelerate this momentum. Investments in this sector have been doubling year on year for the past five years. Samantha Pokroy &#8211; CEO of a private equity firm investing in new growth opportunities.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">SAIC 2022 in numbers</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-table aligncenter has-small-font-size"><table><tbody><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1</td><td>African Rainbow Energy</td><td>R3 billion</td><td>43</td><td>Videovision Entertainment </td><td>R7.5 billion</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>Bio2Watt</td><td>R463 million</td><td>44</td><td>PFN</td><td>R650 million</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>Seraphim</td><td>R437 million</td><td>45</td><td>DSV</td><td>R2.2 billion</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>Polarium</td><td>R30 million</td><td>46</td><td>Imperial </td><td>R2.1 billion</td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>Scatec</td><td>R16 billion</td><td>47</td><td>Collins Residential </td><td>R2 billion</td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>Compagnie Mauricienne de Textile Ltee</td><td>R390 million</td><td>48</td><td>Waterfall</td><td>R18 billion</td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>Norfund</td><td>R2.25 billion</td><td>49</td><td>Telkom</td><td>R7 billion</td></tr><tr><td>8</td><td>Meridiam</td><td>R3.3. billion</td><td>50</td><td>RCL Foods</td><td>R400 million</td></tr><tr><td>9</td><td>African Development Bank </td><td>R42.5 billion</td><td>51</td><td>Synergy Blenders</td><td>R94 million</td></tr><tr><td>10</td><td>New Development Bank</td><td>R21.7 billion</td><td>52</td><td>ITAC</td><td>R427 million</td></tr><tr><td>11</td><td>SAB</td><td>R4.5 billion</td><td>53</td><td>VSA Group</td><td>R204 million</td></tr><tr><td>12</td><td>Equator Breweries</td><td>R2 billion</td><td>54</td><td>Government Incentives support programme</td><td>R6 billion</td></tr><tr><td>13</td><td>ECP Private Equity</td><td>R500 million</td><td>55</td><td>IDC support to companies, black industrialists and SMMEs</td><td>R20.1 billion</td></tr><tr><td>14</td><td>Lotus</td><td>R170 million</td><td>56</td><td>Swartland</td><td>R106 million</td></tr><tr><td>15</td><td>Afrigen Biologics &amp; Vaccines</td><td>R652 million</td><td>57</td><td>National Empowerment Fund </td><td>R2.5 billion</td></tr><tr><td>16</td><td>Cato Ridge Logistics Hub Consortium</td><td>R6.2 billion</td><td>58</td><td>SEFA loans to support SMMEs</td><td>R2.3 billion</td></tr><tr><td>17</td><td>Ford</td><td>R16.4 billion</td><td>59</td><td>Everflo</td><td>R65 million</td></tr><tr><td>18</td><td>Africa Auto Group</td><td>R550 million</td><td>60</td><td>Anchora Enterprises</td><td>R1.5 billion</td></tr><tr><td>19</td><td>BMW</td><td>R800 million</td><td>61</td><td>African Quartz</td><td>R139 million</td></tr><tr><td>20</td><td>Daimler trucks &amp; Buses Southern Africa</td><td>R190 million</td><td>62</td><td>Smartway SA</td><td>R75 million</td></tr><tr><td>21</td><td>Fromex Industries </td><td>R102 million</td><td>63</td><td>LM Diapers</td><td>R75 million</td></tr><tr><td>22</td><td>Wheel Assemblers</td><td>R180 million</td><td>64</td><td>African Rainbow Capital Tyme Bank</td><td>R1.1 billion</td></tr><tr><td>23</td><td>Volkswagen</td><td>R350 million</td><td>65</td><td>DiDi</td><td>R1.2 billion</td></tr><tr><td>24</td><td>African Rainbow Minerals</td><td>R11 billion</td><td>66</td><td>Airlift</td><td>R300 million</td></tr><tr><td>25</td><td>Anglo Amercian</td><td>R10 billion</td><td>67</td><td>Teraco Data Environments</td><td>R1.1 billion</td></tr><tr><td>26</td><td>Implats</td><td>R11.8 billion</td><td>68</td><td>Sigma Connected</td><td>R267 million</td></tr><tr><td>27</td><td>Isondo Precious Metals</td><td>R140 million</td><td>69</td><td>P&amp;G</td><td>R450 million</td></tr><tr><td>28</td><td>Ivanhoe Mines New Horizons</td><td>R2.8 billion</td><td>70</td><td>TetraPak</td><td>R500 million</td></tr><tr><td>29</td><td>Sedibelo Platinum Mines Kell Process</td><td>R9.4 billion</td><td>71</td><td>iSanti Glass</td><td>R496 million</td></tr><tr><td>30</td><td>Renergen</td><td>R14 billion</td><td>72</td><td>Huhtamaki</td><td>R150 million</td></tr><tr><td>31</td><td>African Rainbow Capital Kropz Elandsfontein</td><td>R497 million</td><td>73</td><td>Ardagh Group Consol</td><td>R1.5 billion</td></tr><tr><td>32</td><td>Tshwane Automotive SEZ</td><td>R1.8 billion</td><td>74</td><td>Defy</td><td>R317 million</td></tr><tr><td>33</td><td>Biovac</td><td>R2.5 billion</td><td>75</td><td>LVSA Group</td><td>R204 million</td></tr><tr><td>34</td><td>Aspen Pharmacare</td><td>R500 million</td><td>76</td><td>Cape Ocean Terminals</td><td>R2 billion</td></tr><tr><td>35</td><td>Cipla</td><td>R150 million</td><td>77</td><td>Rayal</td><td>R280 million</td></tr><tr><td>36</td><td>Pfizer</td><td>R255 million</td><td>78</td><td>Hangda</td><td>R300 million</td></tr><tr><td>37</td><td>BT Industrial Group</td><td>R226 million</td><td>79</td><td>Highveld Robusteel</td><td>R800 million</td></tr><tr><td>38</td><td>IMT</td><td>R20 million</td><td>80</td><td>Nyanza Light Metals</td><td>R5 billion</td></tr><tr><td>39</td><td>NantSA</td><td>R3 billion</td><td>81</td><td>SA Steel Mills</td><td>R300 million</td></tr><tr><td>40</td><td>Siemens</td><td>R484 million</td><td>82</td><td>Scaw Metals Group</td><td>R2 billion</td></tr><tr><td>41</td><td>Warner Media</td><td>R350 million</td><td>83</td><td>Alfeco Veer Aluminium Veer Steel Mills</td><td>R3.5 billion</td></tr><tr><td>42</td><td>Netflix</td><td>R929 billion</td><td>84</td><td>Velocity Ventures</td><td>R470 million</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>

Ramaphosa

Ramaphosa edges closer to his R1.2 trillion target

Russia’s war against Ukraine is ratcheting up global prices of food and fertilizer, and the stakes for Africa are high.&nbsp; Russia and Ukraine account for&nbsp;<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-russia-ukraine-conflict-could-influence-africas-food-supplies-177843" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">nearly 20 percent</a>&nbsp;of the continent’s&nbsp;<a href="http://www.growafrica.com/blogs/case-market-driven-food-systems" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&nbsp;$35 billion a year on food imports</a>, including large volumes of basics like wheat, maize and sunflower oil. The growing risks of food price inflation, food shortages, and civil unrest underscore Africa’s untenable dependence on food imports, and the limitations of its own food systems.&nbsp;



As a foreign war threatens the continent’s already tenuous food security, African governments must lead the transformation of inefficient food systems into systems that are resilient and productive, sustainable and just.&nbsp; Governments can catalyze change by providing the incentives and partnerships that will transform Africa from a net food importer to a net food exporter, and creating agricultural systems that are engines of sustainable economic development.



The need is clear. Even before this crisis, many African countries confronted rising hunger. Today more than&nbsp;<a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/world/sun-movement-statement-support-african-union-s-2022-year-nutrition-africa" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">30 percent</a>&nbsp;of children aged 0 to 5 years in Africa suffer from stunting—a sign of malnutrition.&nbsp; There is not enough good food for all. On the flip side, obesity and diet-related chronic diseases are rising—there is too much bad food on the market.&nbsp;Furthermore, the system does not deliver fair returns to smallholder farmers who account for 90 percent of food production, yet often just scrape by.



To rapidly transform African agricultural systems, the public and private sectors and philanthropy need to work together, with governments leading the way. Only governments can put in place policies and programs that incentivize profitable investments while also prioritizing healthy foods, job creation, and environmental protection.



It is true that many countries have very limited funds to significantly increase agricultural spending—especially as debt piles up in the wake of the COVID pandemic. But this makes collaboration all the more essential.&nbsp; It is not only a matter of how much is invested, but also of how it is invested.&nbsp; The most effective investments align private sector initiatives, philanthropic support, and government policies and programs to transform food systems.



Packaging opportunity



Governments can package opportunities that combine the expertise and capital investment of the private sector with needed public investments in transport, agricultural research, digital infrastructure, clean energy systems, and other essential elements of a fair and future-oriented food system.&nbsp;



Rather than continuing with the status quo – which is expected to see food imports increase to $110 billion a year by 2025 &#8212;&nbsp;Africa could meet all of its food needs&nbsp;with goods that are locally produced, processed and manufactured.&nbsp;&nbsp;



A number of countries, including Malawi and Rwanda, have initiated progress in this direction. For example, the government of Malawi is laying the groundwork for private-sector investments in agriculture by extending electricity to underserved rural regions. Currently, only 11-to-12% of the population has secure access to electricity, with remote agricultural areas the least covered.&nbsp;



Yet, robust agricultural systems able to produce, process and market a range of healthy foods need secure energy supplies—preferably from renewable energy sources. With electricity, farmers can irrigate their fields, and entrepreneurs can invest more confidently in everything from cold storage facilities to food processing plants.



Now, the government of Malawi is working with the Rockefeller Foundation and several private sector partners to design and locate solar-powered mini-grid systems in rural areas best positioned to benefit from them.&nbsp; They are considering factors such as soil quality, irrigation potential, and population density to ensure sound initial investments in energy will catalyze inclusive economic development across largely agricultural regions.



Public procurement policies offer governments another lever of change as they guide food systems transformation.&nbsp; Across Africa, governments purchase foods for schools, hospitals, prisons, and safety net programs that benefit 100 million people.&nbsp; Procurement policies could require a high proportion of sustainably grown fresh vegetables and fruits, and of eggs, milk, and meat to supply essential nutrients for hungry children and sick patients.&nbsp;



In Rwanda, the World Food Programme&nbsp;switched from purchasing refined maize flour to purchasing whole-grain fortified maize meal.&nbsp;The change was nearly budget neutral. The government is considering that approach for the national school feeding program. This would replace empty carbohydrates with protein and healthy nutrients in school lunches, helping to address the country’s serious problem of child malnutrition.



Food system transformation requires governments to abandon a narrow focus on maintaining the status quo, and instead drive change that capitalizes on philanthropic support and inspires private investments.&nbsp; Then African food security will no longer be held hostage by the exploits of foreign countries.



Africa will set its own table with its foods of choice.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="415" height="415" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/William-Asiko-The-Rockefeller-Foundation.png" alt="" class="wp-image-416230" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/William-Asiko-The-Rockefeller-Foundation.png 415w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/William-Asiko-The-Rockefeller-Foundation-300x300.png 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/William-Asiko-The-Rockefeller-Foundation-90x90.png 90w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 415px) 100vw, 415px" /><figcaption>William Asiko is the Managing Director for The Rockefeller Foundation’s Africa Regional Office.</figcaption></figure>

William-Asiko-The-Rockefeller-Foundation

African governments must lead food system transformation

Ukrainian service members are seen at a check point in Zhytomyr

The Russia-Ukraine war will hurt South Africa’s investment ambitions: lessons from nine wars

By September of 1969 when I was born, Makerere University in my home country of Uganda was the most prestigious African university any young person with the rare means to access an education could aspire to. But the college, then affiliated with University College London, had less than 3000 students. This was out of a population of 9 million, some 96 percent of whom were subsistence farmers – simply growing food for survival with nothing left to sell – a typical pre-industrial society.



Like many African nations, Uganda had gained its independence just a few years earlier. Across the continent then was an opportunity for us to grow our countries. However, those few who could access university went not with an aspiration to enter the hustle and grind of enterprise; rather, in the hope of filling the coveted positions left by departing colonial offers. Families sacrificed much and risked everything to keep their children in school. Even of those who enjoyed access to education, many struggled to pay the fees and students would often have to cover long distances on foot every day. A government job at the end of all this promised security and comfort. Our nascent enterprise and innovation sectors seemed to offer just risk and uncertainty in comparison.



As a result, enterprise and creativity weren’t well promoted at school and at family levels – a problem that persists to this day. Moreover, with graduates then few, the government sector could easily absorb them all. Milton Obote, then President of Uganda, sought to encourage more indigenous Ugandans into the economy and enterprise building, but those who could understand the management of a business were rushing into government instead. Manufacturing, critical innovation and trade craft were instead dominated by Uganda’s small Asian community that had been extracted from their homeland by the British to build the Uganda railway line a century earlier. The resulting success of Asians in the Ugandan economy coupled with their limited intermarriage with local Ugandan communities angered Obote’s successor, the dictator Idi Amin, who driving a wave of populist, anti-Asian sentiment oversaw a mass expulsion of some 50,000 members of Uganda’s Asian community in 1972.



50 years later and happily the Asian community has long since been welcomed back, and continue to play an important role in growing the Ugandan economy. Uganda now has a population of some 44 million and a USD 44 billion economy. There are now more than 50 universities and the old Makerere has well over 40,000 students 10 percent of which are postgraduates studying more than 139 post graduate courses. But it seems old habits die hard. The number of registered enterprises – about 600,000, are just twice that of all public servants combined. Enterprises are still few and so are the tax payers: some 1.8m in an adult population of more than 25 million.



Though the shift to enterprise is slowly gaining pace, a secure government job remains for many young Africans a more attractive prospect than fighting to create their own businesses and take risks – the very risks needed to innovate and set the stage for a new economy for their country. One exception is Hillary Nuwamanya, an orphan whose guardian pushed him into studying law. Hillary skipped classes to run his own fish and chips restaurant in the very downtown dormitory he was renting just below the university.&nbsp;“I knew that if I don’t innovate around food and food products with the student market around my residence, I would struggle to get a placement in government after my law degree”&nbsp;he told me yesterday at the Tomosi Foundation offices in Kampala. Tomosi foundation is our business charity arm that offers small seed capital to young innovators – one of the few emerging in this sector in Uganda.



Hillary’s small, rented one-room restaurant he calls&nbsp;‘The Tasty Dine’makes just over USD 50 a day which he uses to pay to study business instead of law. He doesn’t need a financial guardian anymore, but wants more financial management knowledge. He is seeking a USD 1500 capital injection to buy a new glass refrigerator so his customers can see his array of fresh juices, as well as a table and a used cooker to expand his operation. The foundation will support this growth by offering him the money at 5% interest for a year – the lowest rates on the market but still out of reach to hundreds of young people turning away from the traditional search for a presumed secure government job to start their own businesses and support their families in the current period of post- COVID lockdown economic recovery.



But what do young African entrepreneurs like Hillary need as critical support? First, technical knowledge to keep working and expand their businesses. Second, small seed capital at very low interest rates and finally – and more importantly – free patents on key soft and hard technologies from developed markets in food, pharmaceuticals, transport and energy so they can infuse their enterprises with new thinking and supply the expanding market on the continent.



If we do not do this, the benefits of creating a free continent-wide trade zone (AFCTA) will pass this generation of youth by as their markets remain flooded with cheap products that could be made here if it were not for patents locked onto them by developed economies. With more than 8000 products that can be traded between AFCTA member countries, our young economies are losing more than USD 5 billion in multiple African currency conversions alone with some large countries like the DRC importing more than 60 percent of all food that could be grown, packed and packaged locally by young people.  This could all be fixed at home.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/odrek-pic-1-820x547.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-416142" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/odrek-pic-1-820x547.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/odrek-pic-1-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/odrek-pic-1-135x90.jpeg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/odrek-pic-1-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/odrek-pic-1.jpeg 1024w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Odrek Rwabwogo is the senior advisor to the President of Uganda, an entrepreneur and the Director of Tomosi Group</figcaption></figure>



Our mandate is to drive the coordination of export systems for Uganda and help double revenues earned by the country by 2026. We also train and support young entrepreneurs to build their startups in order that they create own jobs along with the teaching of national collective values to them to shape a united and prosperous Uganda we need.

odrek-pic-1

Lack of patents and small cash investments for African youth undermines innovation

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/363560203-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-401468" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/363560203-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/363560203-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/363560203-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/363560203-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/363560203-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Shipping containers sit at the Kwai Tsing Container Terminal in Hong Kong, China, on Monday, July 27, 2020. Hong Kong&#8217;s economy may take longer than expected to recover due to the fluidity of the local virus situation and global economic uncertainties, Financial Secretary Paul Chan said. Photographer: Paul Yeung/Bloomberg</figcaption></figure>



The sea carries more than 80 percent of the world’s traded goods, most of which sail inside 40-foot-long steel containers stacked by the thousands atop some of the largest vessels ever built.



The shock of the pandemic underscored just how crucial the maritime container trade is to the global economy. From Shanghai to Rotterdam to Los Angeles, the coronavirus upended supply chains. Ports lacked workers who were home sick. Truck drivers and ship crews couldn’t cross borders because of public health restrictions. Pent-up demand from huge stimulus programs during extended lockdowns overwhelmed the capacity of supply chains. Besides causing delays in getting goods to customers, the cost of getting them there surged.



As the Chart of the Week shows, the result of those challenges was that the cost of shipping a container on the world’s transoceanic trade routes increased seven-fold in the 18 months following March 2020, while the cost of shipping bulk commodities spiked even more. Our new research shows that the inflationary impact of those higher costs is poised to keep building through the end of this year. Our analysis predates the war in Ukraine but isn’t isolated from it: the conflict will likely exacerbate global inflation.



Studying data from 143 countries over the past 30 years, we find that shipping costs are an important driver of inflation around the world: when freight rates double, inflation picks up by about 0.7 percentage point. Most importantly, the effects are quite persistent, peaking after a year and lasting up to 18 months. This implies that the increase in shipping costs observed in 2021 could increase inflation by about 1.5 percentage points in 2022.



While the pass-through to inflation is less than that associated with fuel or food prices—which account for a larger share of consumer purchases—shipping costs are much more volatile. As a result, the contribution in the variation of inflation due to global shipping price changes is quantitatively similar to the variation generated by shocks to global oil and food prices.



Our findings also reveal some of the mechanisms at work. We show that higher shipping costs hit prices of imported goods at the dock within two months, and quickly pass through to producer prices—many of whom rely on imported inputs to manufacture their goods.



But the impact on the prices consumers pay at the cash register builds up more gradually, hitting its peak after 12 months. This is a much slower process than what is seen after a rise in global oil prices, which drivers feel at the pump within a couple of months.



Rising shipping costs affect inflation in some countries more than others. First, our research shows that the structural characteristics of an economy matter. Countries that import more of what they consume see larger increases in inflation, as do those who are more integrated into global supply chains. Similarly, countries that typically pay higher freight costs—landlocked countries, low-income countries, and especially island states—see more inflation when these rise.



Second, a strong and credible monetary policy framework can play a role in mitigating the second-round effects from import prices and inflation. Our analysis shows that keeping inflation expectations well-anchored is key to containing the effect of soaring shipping costs on consumer prices, particularly core measures that exclude fuel and food.



Our results suggest the inflationary impact of shipping costs will continue to build through the end of 2022. This will create complicated trade-offs for many central bankers facing increasing inflation and still ample slack in economic activity. Moreover, the war in Ukraine is likely to cause further disruptions to supply chains, which could keep global shipping costs—and their inflationary effects—higher for longer.

Cargo Ships and Container Terminal Operations as Hong Kong Recovery May Take Longer Than Expected

How Soaring Shipping Costs Raise Prices Around the World

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="462" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/MaxPixel.net-Metaverse-Vr-Virtual-Headset-Man-Reality-6882917-820x462.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-416120" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/MaxPixel.net-Metaverse-Vr-Virtual-Headset-Man-Reality-6882917-820x462.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/MaxPixel.net-Metaverse-Vr-Virtual-Headset-Man-Reality-6882917-300x169.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/MaxPixel.net-Metaverse-Vr-Virtual-Headset-Man-Reality-6882917-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/MaxPixel.net-Metaverse-Vr-Virtual-Headset-Man-Reality-6882917-768x433.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/MaxPixel.net-Metaverse-Vr-Virtual-Headset-Man-Reality-6882917-1536x866.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/MaxPixel.net-Metaverse-Vr-Virtual-Headset-Man-Reality-6882917.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Metaverse Vr Virtual Headset Man Reality Photo: via Max Pixel</figcaption></figure>



Welcome to the metaverse, the digital future we’ve been imagining for many years. A virtual world where we can meet, explore, shop, collaborate and create. Some fear this is the beginning of a dystopian future envisioned by the 1992 sci-fi novel Snow Crash, while many more see it as the next big evolution of the internet, opening a world of new opportunities.



The metaverse is all the rage in the world of IT and most certainly one of the latest buzzwords. While there has been hype around virtual reality before, with it not quite taking off as was expected, this time it looks different, as though the horse has bolted. To enable true interoperability and ensure a real-time experience, there will need to be lakes of data shared instantaneously across platforms and ecosystems. Legal and regulatory issues aside, businesses and vendors will need to be able to move huge workloads safely and on-demand, in real-time, every time, over and over again. A clear Modern Data Protection strategy and effective management is already crucial for any information-dependent operation. But in this world, it will become even more so.



C-suites need to start asking questions about how their organisations will exist in the era of the metaverse and how they intend to use it or build a strategy around it. Will it be for immersive workspaces, to interact with customers, to sell goods and services or to add value to or streamline their real-world operations? A good starting point would be to consider the data and then think about the infrastructure required to support it.



Facebook has changed its name to Meta, in a bet upon our future being built around the metaverse. Big tech is moving fast and investing huge amounts of resources into the concept.,&nbsp; Microsoft’s moves and investments hint at a whole new world of business applications to come for South African businesses (not just those in Silicon Valley).



Imagine something like the full Microsoft 365 experience being augmented with virtual reality. Imagine meeting co-workers and clients from around the world in a virtual boardroom with windows opening onto the shores of the Pacific Ocean without leaving your home office. Imagine being able to interact with this world the way you would in a physical space. Imagine your customers strolling through a virtual mall, touching, and interacting with your product before buying it. Imagine selling a product that’s used exclusively in the virtual world &#8211; perhaps a new work wardrobe for your avatar.&nbsp;



While AI and smart glasses are already in use to guide critical workers through complex operations such as assembling power plants or jet engines, imagine all your complex manufacturing happening in a virtual twin world. Exciting or terrifying? You decide, but the metaverse race is on.



Before the C-suite can start thinking ahead and building the metaverse into its long-term strategy horizon, it needs to comprehend exactly what we are talking about. The metaverse will exist despite place and time &#8211; one can see why it was the stuff of sci-fi in previous years. Those using the metaverse will be able to interact with each other in real-time, no matter where they are physically in the world. We’re not talking about a video call, such as those the pandemic has made people very familiar with. Rather, we are talking about interacting as if they were in the real world.&nbsp;



While those of us with children understand games such as Fortnite, the metaverse will take this up many notches. It will be interoperable &#8211; meaning that avatars or items built or purchased in one platform will be able to be used in another, and the physical devices that are used to enter the virtual world will be able to be used anywhere &#8211; the days of vendor-locked access will be long gone.&nbsp;



It will spur a whole new economy where people and businesses exchange goods and services. While this is not unusual in games such as Fortnite, the value being traded will be recognised by everyone and may well be cryptocurrency based on the blockchain or flat currency transferred digitally &#8211; we just don’t know yet.



But what does any of this mean? To be frank, it means nothing without data. This is not a rewrite of the laws of computing or a rethink of reality. It is an evolution of how we generate and manage data. Yesterday (and today) the focus was on big data, efficiency, business intelligence, user experience, unified communications, and much more. Our next quantum leap in commuting &#8211; into the metaverse &#8211; will be determined by how we plan, strategise and manage data.



In other words, this potential, this dream &#8211; or nightmare, depending on your orientation &#8211; can only be possible if organisations are confident that the data being generated is available or if not, can be restored quickly. None of this is even possible if organisations do not invest in platforms that will grow and scale &#8211; most likely exponentially &#8211; with their metaverse ambitions. None of this will be possible if the data cannot be protected every step of the way.&nbsp;



However, as well as protecting the systems where data resides or runs across, businesses will need to protect data from their users’ standpoint too.



The first thing that springs to mind is: data privacy. Laws around data privacy are only going to become stricter. All services and products developed around, for, or in, the metaverse will need to be built around protecting the privacy of users.&nbsp;



If you consider that vendors would in theory be able to monitor our eyes, such as where we glance and how long we hold contact for, our brainwaves, our heart rate and blood pressure, just imagine the rich data sets that could be built around us to offer tailored experiences &#8211; including direct sales. While the concept of co-opetition is gaining popularity, where is the line drawn to demarcate anti-competitive behaviour?



Beyond privacy, cybersecurity will be magnified beyond current levels of understanding. Illusions, theft, deep fake impersonations, as well as traditional breaches and ransomware, could be catastrophic and near-impossible to identify.



Modern Data Protection, especially backup, recovery and security, has been crucial for many years. The rapid digitisation and uptake of hybrid cloud strategies have escalated the need for effective, interoperable data management. The metaverse will ramp things up several gears more. There will be no “before and after” metaverse. Platforms and applications will be developed and patched together and the metaverse will most likely be built organically and before we know it, we’ll all be in it. However, before we get carried away with high-res touch sensors and visions of how we’ll trade in virtual 3D stores, C-suites must start thinking about how they’ll manage the integrity, safety and availability of their customers’ data and the multifarious environments it’ll run over. Organisations must be thinking about ecosystems that can seamlessly scale with all this in mind. Modern Data Protection should be central to every digital strategy now and in the metaverse to come.&nbsp;



ENDS

Metaverse Vr Virtual Headset Man Reality

Welcome to the metaverse: is your data under control?

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/IMG_9393-2-820x543.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-416116" width="820" height="543" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/IMG_9393-2-820x543.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/IMG_9393-2-300x199.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/IMG_9393-2-136x90.jpg 136w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/IMG_9393-2-768x508.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/IMG_9393-2-1536x1017.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/IMG_9393-2-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Ernest Lai King, Consultant at Girard Hayward Inc and M.D of 1 Road Consulting</figcaption></figure>



The 2022 State of the Nation address (SONA) reminded South Africans of what awaits if the economy does not provide much-needed jobs, create wealth, and drive sustainable development. Another episode of destruction and violence like that witnessed in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng in July 2021 will be an inevitable consequence.



The SONA emphasised that a new consensus must be reached where the state creates an environment to allow the private sector to invest, unleashing the country’s dynamism and economic potential. It emphasised that government does not create jobs. Business creates jobs.



Our future hangs on a knife’s edge. Record unemployment, woeful economic growth, the probability of a sovereign debt crisis, and blockage after blockage chokes our economic advance and global competitiveness. But unblock these, and a massive pent-up flood of investment will flow. We are a resilient people.&nbsp; We have looked into the abyss many times, and every time we have stepped back. South Africa still stands – albeit unsteady on its feet.



We must unblock the blockages.



For example, South Africa sold goods amounting to R1.8 trillion last year, but the country could have exported many billions more were it not for constraints such as disintegrating railways, dysfunctional ports, collapsing roads, unreliable power, and obstructive laws and authorities.



Significantly, according to recent World Economic Forum statistics, the quality of our local port infrastructure is ranked at just 4.8 out of 7 points, lagging behind emerging market peers such as Chile at 4.9 and Namibia at 5.2. The quality of our railways is of even greater concern, ranked at just 3 out of 7 points – below Tanzania at 3.2, Botswana at 3.6, and Kenya at 4.



A further problematic blockage is restrictive legislation and administrative red-tape, which is not fit for purpose but can be overcome relatively quickly. &nbsp;Notably, our economic growth relies a great deal on the export sector. Many export companies are owned by foreign investors and are a valuable source of foreign currency and job creation. But this red-tape means that international businesses and investors are looking to other investment countries instead.



A serious concern for the export industry is the structure of the VAT Act and the Tax Administration Act, and more specifically the manner in which SARS conducts VAT audits and withholds VAT refunds due. This issue has been raised by the Tax Ombud before Parliament and discussed at the Nugent Commission.



SARS was also chastised in a recent High Court judgement, which held that it cannot conduct a VAT audit and withhold VAT refunds for an indefinite period, with no deadline, and no consideration of fairness and taxpayer rights – the audit must be completed within a reasonable time. The High Court further noted that SARS may not unlawfully withhold refunds for periods that are not yet under audit, and yet these problems persist.



Export businesses that operate on high volumes and low profit margins will inevitably have significant net VAT refund claims. To explain how the VAT system operates in relation to exports, the greater the volume of purchases from suppliers, the more input VAT that will be paid by exporters. In turn, the greater the exports made at a zero rate, the higher the net VAT refund will be to the exporter. But SARS appears to audit and withhold VAT refunds from exporters, on no other basis than the VAT refunds claimed are “too high”.



The concern that SARS acts as judge, juror and executioner has persisted for years. This concern does not centre around the right of SARS to conduct VAT audits, which is unarguable, but rather on the fact that taxpayers have absolutely no rights in the face of such audits – apart from seeking very expensive recourse in the courts. Statutory amendments are urgently required as part of the solution to South Africa unblocking the blockages and achieving a brighter economic future.

IMG_9393-2

Major blockages continue to stifle export industry

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="800" height="800" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/271600100_227444999559589_6631611609925370466_n-800x800.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-416054" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/271600100_227444999559589_6631611609925370466_n-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/271600100_227444999559589_6631611609925370466_n-300x300.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/271600100_227444999559589_6631611609925370466_n-90x90.jpg 90w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/271600100_227444999559589_6631611609925370466_n-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/271600100_227444999559589_6631611609925370466_n.jpg 806w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></figure>



‘Now isn’t the time for pessimism’



Despite the geo-political tension in Eastern Europe, the global economy appears to be on a firm path to recovery after a period of turmoil caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. While some of the hardest hit economies including ours remain vulnerable, emerging green shoots in our economy give us comfort to assert that the worst of the pandemic is certainly behind us.



As President Ramaphosa alluded to in his recent State of the Nation address, South Africa is alive with opportunities and it’s time for contrarians to embrace the opportunities coming our way. Post-Covid and as our industries are rebounding, we envisage a vastly transformed economic order in which sustainable and equitable economic growth will become a dominant theme.



Most encouraging is the gradual but steady realignment of supply chains across the globe which were disrupted at the height of the pandemic. This is cause for optimism. And make no mistake, our economy will re-discover its lustre. A unique but key character trait of our country and its people is our ability to persevere and rise above our challenges even in the face of adversity.



As<a> the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan </a>– government’s economic blueprint unveiled by President Cyril Ramaphosa in 2020 begins to take root, we are optimistic that the various infrastructure development projects such as construction of bulk water infrastructure, construction of new road networks, energy capacity expansion plans, improvement of our port infrastructure among others, present great opportunities for sustainable as well as inclusive growth.



This provides a great opportunity for our country to create a new crop of Black Industrialists, women including youth entrepreneurs who for long were consigned to the periphery of productive sectors of the economy. In addition, the planned auction of spectrum which is now closer to reality will usher in a new technology and competitive pricing regime in SA’s telecoms landscape.



Other than increased access to broadband we expect communication costs to come down enabling for a competitive positioning of our economy. Needless to remind, our country is endowed with abundant natural resources and renewable energy sources. This ably positions us to adapt to the green revolution.



In addition, our natural resources, solar, wind, biomass for power generation &#8211; skills and technological capacities put us in a prime position to take the lead in the hydrogen economy and the green hydrogen value chain for the benefit of our people. Our ultimate objective is to position our country as a leading supplier to the global green market.



Most important, the development of the hydrogen industry will be a key enabler in South Africa’s just transition to a decarbonised future. It’s been proven that Hydrogen has the potential to decarbonise various industrial sectors and we as government intend on getting involved in the development of those catalytic projects needed to develop this new industry.



In this regard, government has officially launched a road map to identify high-level outcomes for a South African hydrogen economy. The Hydrogen Society Roadmap will serve as a national coordinating framework to facilitate the integration of hydrogen related technologies in various sectors of the local economy thereby stimulating economic recovery in line with objectives of the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan.



There is scope in this strategy because in developed economies, hydrogen is already powering commercial buses. It is our hope that in the not-too-distant future, locally manufactured cars will be powered by green hydrogen. And the fact that it can be used in many commercial applications including welding metal to dying fabrics to making electronics, plastics, and fertilizers makes for a compelling case for early adoption.



That said, the pronouncement last month by the South African Reserve Bank at its monthly policy meeting to the effect that the local economy would register a 1.7% growth this year is cause for optimism. To achieve this growth, we are cognisant of the need to inject massive capital into the economy which effectively ties in with objectives of the South African Investment Conference (SAIC). In his foresight, President Ramaphosa in 2018 committed to raising over R1.2 trillion worth of investments over a five-year period.



Since its launch, SAIC has raised R774 billion in investment pledges to date. Off key significance, this annual gathering of business titans and government leaders has always served to provide a reality check as to whether the private and public sectors are living up to their commitments in helping the country address the triple challenges of unemployment, poverty, and inequality. We are therefore hopeful that the 4th edition of this event scheduled for the 23-24th March in Johannesburg will serve its purpose.



We are also hopeful that the conference will nudge us closer to achieving the investment target set by the presidency in 2018. As the President summed it up in his SONA address, Now isn’t the time for pessimism. it’s time for business especially the private sector to come to the party and show us what they are made off so together we can forge a sustained partnership and rebuild our economy.



*The author is a SAIC Presidential Envoy

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SA is on a cusp of an economic rebound

The world’s plastic packaging waste problem can be solved. That is the good news. This, however, will require multi-industry humility and collaboration and not competition, as well as intentional and resolute government intervention to level the playing field and create an enabling circular economy environment. There are many areas where it makes sense for industry to compete, but environmental protection and waste management in particular is not one of these areas.



In fact, around the globe, leading consumer goods companies, such as Coca-Cola, Nestle, Unilever, Pepsi, Adidas and H&amp;M, have set ambitious targets for recycling and the use of recycled content, while governments the world over are putting in place measures that ensure industry responds with the requisite sense of urgency. In the PET sector (polyethylene terephthalate), this has seen the demand for plastic bottle feedstock for recycling beginning to outstrip the supply.



Coca-Cola and its bottling partners have committed to a 100% recycling rate and 50% recycled content  by 2030, as part of their World Without Waste strategy, and the other companies listed here have similar ambitions.



A McKinsey report (How plastics waste recycling could transform the chemical industry, December 20181), estimates that given the targets that have been set by industry worldwide, almost 60% of global plastics production could be from recycling and re-use by 2050, while the use of virgin plastic would decline to 40% of total PET consumption. This is good news because it means reduced consumption of virgin material, therefore, reduced extraction and use of natural resources enabling a sustainable future.



Based on the estimated pre-Covid global PET consumption of 25 million tonnes, this would mean a need to develop and set up close to 11.8 million tonnes per annum of recycled PET globally, and the scale of the challenge, relative to the size of the market, is similar in Africa.



For example, based on the estimated pre-Covid PET consumption of 215&nbsp;000 tonnes, South Africa alone would need to recycle 82&nbsp;000 tonnes a year to meet the country’s demand for food-grade recycled PET at 50%, indicating an estimated shortfall of 50&nbsp;000 tonnes. Currently with an installed recycled PET capacity of 33 000 tonnes, SA recyclers only managed to supply around 18 000 tonnes of recycled PET, which falls short of the SA recycled PET demand. This shortage in recycled PET supply in 2021 was a result of the shortage in PET bottle feedstock.&nbsp;



Solving this supply and demand challenge requires greater levels of co-operation at all levels between governments, packaging producers, brand owners, retailers and consumers.



Globally, there has to be a single standard for food-grade recycled PET so that recyclers can invest efficiently in equipment and the development of new technology, rather than having to cater to different standards for different businesses and customers.



In Africa and other developing markets, there is an additional layer of complexity, in that the market for recycled plastic in many countries is too small to support investment in recycling plants, yet the rules governing the movement of plastic waste across borders inhibit the economies of scale needed to achieve optimal rates of recycling, limit waste going to landfill, and create employment in the circular economy.



At a minimum investment of about R250 million, a recycling plant needs to produce &nbsp;at least 12&nbsp;000 tonnes of recycled PET a year to be viable, and the global gold standard is up to 50&nbsp;000 tonnes. This requires access to at least 20&nbsp;000 tonnes of used beverage bottles a year, while in a country like Namibia for example, the total beverage PET market is only 5&nbsp;300 tonnes. With better regional co-operation, it would be possible to convert plastic bottles into washed flakes in Namibia, return it to South Africa for recycling into recycled PET, and supply both the local SA market and surrounding markets with recycled material. This means some cross border Extended Producer Responsibility may be required, as well as multi-government engagement and collaboration. This cross-border feedstock supply would also enable sustained operations of recycling plants and supply of recycled PET in South Africa.&nbsp;



The SADC region is working towards this goal, and the same model could be replicated in the rest of the continent, with mega regional recycling plants established in Kenya or Uganda for East Africa, and Ghana and Nigeria for West Africa as well as in Ethiopia. This would create the scale required to attract the investment we need in recycling capacity to meet our joint industry targets.



The model is based on the principle of Extended Producer Responsibility, in which producers declare the volumes of plastic placed in the market, and pay a commensurate fee to a Producer Responsibility Organisation (PRO), such as PETCO in South Africa. The PRO then funds the activities related to the recovery and recycling of the packaging substrate, making the used packaging material valuable enough to inspire collection and stimulating packaging circular end use demand to enhance packaging circularity<s>.</s>



The model has been so successful since PETCO was established in South Africa, growing from collection and recycling of 9&nbsp;000 tonnes of PET in 2005 to more than 82&nbsp;000 tonnes in 2020, that it is now being rolled out to three other markets in our territories.



The big remaining hurdle is to stimulate much higher rates of collection throughout the continent, and this is where more co-operation will make a decisive difference.



Today in South Africa, the challenge with local feedstock supply remains, leading to under-utilisation of existing recycling plant capacity and undersupply of recycled PET to meet the local demand. In an effort to unlock local PET bottle feedstock and recapacitate local waste pickers, Coca-Cola SA and Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA) funded collectors in South Africa with close to R9m last year in partnership with PETCO and ARO (Africa Recycling Organisation). The funds were used to subsidise collector transport costs, working capital and infrastructure. Knowing that many other similar organisations are also investing in similar initiatives, imagine how much further we could go as an industry if we were to co-ordinate our efforts in this space for enhanced circular economy and social impact.



Too few consumers are aware of the need to recycle or the benefits of doing so, and the infrastructure needed to facilitate higher rates of recycling is woefully inadequate.



The first part of this problem can be addressed through a mass awareness campaign, drawing in stakeholders across government and industry, to drive a culture change at a national and continental level. Such a campaign should transcend individual packaging waste streams, material promotion campaigns, or value chains, and focus on changing the mindset of consumers when it comes to waste of any kind and mobilising consumers to act. The example of the LoveLife HIV/Aids awareness campaign in South Africa comes to mind.&nbsp;



Consumers and their handling of packaging, post consumption is a critical missing link. After all, no packaging throws itself in the river or on the ground.&nbsp; Responsible handling of packaging post consumption is very much a consumer mindset problem, and this is a real problem that requires a deliberate, well-orchestrated, multi packaging substrate, multi stakeholder agenda. This includes using media assets such as national broadcasters, to send the message home and drive a massive consumer mindset change.&nbsp;



This would eliminate the current unnecessary duplication and confusion of messages on waste recycling and promote anti-litter culture while ensuring maximum impact.



Secondly, we need to make it far easier to recycle, both at home and in public places. Collection points should become part of the design process in the construction of new shopping centres and living space for example, and municipalities need to step up their support for recycling by providing recycling bins wherever they are needed and collecting recyclable materials more regularly and separated from other non-recyclable waste.



At the moment, none of this is happening at remotely the level required.



Finally, far more of our packaging needs to be recyclable and reusable. This ensures that we reduce consumption of natural resources by recycling what we extract and reusing the packaging we put out there more often.



At CCBA, over 20% of our revenues are already coming from returnable or refillable packs. We are strategically looking to increase the use of homogenous returnable packs. We have also already made over 95% of our packaging recyclable, and are tracking well with our efforts to meet the 100% recycling rate by, or before, 2030.



While most large producers have moved in this direction, retail chains – where consumers buy most of their packaged goods – have a critical gatekeeping role to encourage suppliers to do more. They have the power to make producers supply them with products packaged in predominantly recyclable and reusable packaging and make recycling both easier and more rewarding for consumers.



The opportunity in the circular economy is huge. It could help to solve Africa’s waste and unemployment challenges, stimulate entrepreneurship and innovation, and ensure a better future for all. There is a lot of work to be done, but a World Without Waste is within reach. We have to see beyond our own business, substrate and industry interest and put the environment first.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="546" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/WhatsApp-Image-2022-03-15-at-7.01.22-PM-820x546.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-415954" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/WhatsApp-Image-2022-03-15-at-7.01.22-PM-820x546.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/WhatsApp-Image-2022-03-15-at-7.01.22-PM-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/WhatsApp-Image-2022-03-15-at-7.01.22-PM-135x90.jpeg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/WhatsApp-Image-2022-03-15-at-7.01.22-PM-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/WhatsApp-Image-2022-03-15-at-7.01.22-PM.jpeg 1024w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Tshidi Ramogase is the CCBA Group Public Affairs, Communications and Sustainability Director and Chairperson of PETCO</figcaption></figure>



1. <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/chemicals/our-insights/how-plastics-waste-recycling-could-transform-the-chemical-industry">https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/chemicals/our-insights/how-plastics-waste-recycling-could-transform-the-chemical-industry</a>

WhatsApp-Image-2022-03-15-at-7.01.22-PM

Africa can conquer the waste problem with partnerships and co-operation

On a coastal stretch of land near Lagos, as far as the eye can see, a sprawling oil refinery is under construction. It belongs to Aliko Dangote – the wealthiest African in the world and a visionary entrepreneur who wants to transform Nigeria into an economic powerhouse. To realise that vision he has taken a bold gamble &#8211; one that could end his country’s dependence on fuel imports for good. The West African state sits on 37 billion barrels of crude oil<a href="#_ftn1" id="_ftnref1">[1]</a> but extracts barely 2 million barrels per day.&nbsp; Worse yet, it refines almost nothing. The four<a href="#_ftn2" id="_ftnref2">[2]</a> state-run refineries are in a sorry state, and it costs more to import petrol and diesel than the revenue it gets from crude oil exports. This is turning out to be unsustainable. Petroleum imports exceeded oil exports by US$43.56bn last year (2021).<a href="#_ftn3" id="_ftnref3">[3]</a> This has put pressure on the naira and pushed the state into a spiral of debt. To keep a lid on the problem the government caps the price on gasoline and pays importers the difference between the landing cost of oil and pump prices. Fuel subsidy costs 250bn naira<a href="#_ftn4" id="_ftnref4">[4]</a> (US$600m) a month. It is a burden the government has been trying get rid of for years but with little success. A cosy nexus of politicians, traders, union leaders, and petrol smugglers have benefitted enormously from this knotty problem, and they have tried to keep things the way they are. Fearing protests President Muhammadu Buhari decided to delay scrapping fuel subsidies in January.<a href="#_ftn5" id="_ftnref5">[5]</a> More recently, Abuja and Lagos plunged into chaos after reports of adulterated fuel sparked a scramble for petrol.



All this could become history once the US$19bn<a id="_ednref1" href="#_edn1">[i]</a> Dangote integrated oil refinery becomes operational. It is spans over 2300 football fields<a id="_ftnref6" href="#_ftn6">[6]</a> and will have the capacity to process 650,000 barrels of crude per day. It employs more than 40,000 people and is considered so vital that the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has decided to take a 20% stake in the project for US$2.7bn. The president of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwumi Adesina called it a ‘game-changer’. It is, without doubt, an impressive project – the likes of which Africa has not seen. But will it prove to be as transformative as its backers like to portray? Aliko Dangote appears to have styled himself on the Indian billionaire-industrialist Mukesh Ambani of Reliance. They certainly have a lot in common. Both men have made their fortunes in heavily regulated markets. Both have benefitted from protectionist industrial policies. They have been accused of political patronage and they both have a reputation of making bold investments. It is also a remarkable coincidence that they have both thrived in similar unequal societies. I suspect the Dangote oil refinery may even have been inspired by Ambani’s 3035-hectare petrochemical industrial complex in Jamnagar is the world’s largest refining hub.<a id="_ednref2" href="#_edn2">[ii]</a> It covers an area half the size of Manhattan and has the capacity of processing of 1.4 million barrels of crude oil a day. This facility has helped turn crude scarce India into one of the world’s largest exporters of refined fuel. Dangote



may be trying to replicate in Nigeria what Ambani has achieved in India. He has sent dozens of Nigerian engineers to India for training. He believes his refinery will not only end Nigeria’s dependence on foreign oil but make it an exporter of refined fuel. It may also have a knock-on effect on the rest of the economy. Agriculture contributes more than 24% to the national GDP.<a href="#_ftn1" id="_ftnref1">[1]</a> The massive fertiliser plant at the site is expected cut US$3bn worth of urea imports.<a href="#_ftn2" id="_ftnref2">[2]</a> The hard currency all of this will save could stabilise the Naira and help the Nigerian government balance its budget and unlock capital for social good.



Construction on the refinery project has been delayed due disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. It is expected to become operational next year (2023). But its opening will come at a time when the world is turning its back on oil-related business. Financial institutions are backing away from lending to energy intensive carbon emitting projects. Even Ambani has tried to divest part of his refining and chemical business (although his Jamnagar facility has ramped up crude processing following the recent surge in oil prices). He is building building factories that make more environmentally friendly products like solar panels and batteries. But Aliko Dangote shows no signs of following suit. Under a joint venture with Peugeot he has started to roll out gasoline-run cars from an assembly plant in the state of Kaduna. Dangote is betting on something that is going out of favour &#8211; an irony for a man who once avoided getting his hands dirty in oil. Africa is a young, growing and a hungry marketplace. He is betting that fossil fuel may yet have a long way to go here. He may be right. Oil has so far been mostly a wasted resource for Nigeria. It has promoted corruption and left a terrible legacy of loot, pilferage, conflict, and ecological disaster. Let us hope he can turn this curse into a blessing.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="674" height="800" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Amit-Jain-674x800.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-415864" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Amit-Jain-674x800.jpg 674w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Amit-Jain-253x300.jpg 253w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Amit-Jain-76x90.jpg 76w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Amit-Jain-768x912.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Amit-Jain.jpg 1031w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 674px) 100vw, 674px" /><figcaption>Amit Jain is the Director of NTU-SBF Centre for African Studies at the Nanyang Business School in Singapore</figcaption></figure>

Amit-Jain

Is Aliko Dangote emulating Ambani in trying to turn Nigeria’s oil curse into a blessing?

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/MicrosoftTeams-image-8-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-415808" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/MicrosoftTeams-image-8-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/MicrosoftTeams-image-8-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/MicrosoftTeams-image-8-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/MicrosoftTeams-image-8-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/MicrosoftTeams-image-8-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/MicrosoftTeams-image-8-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Black woman in an African market receiving payment via contactless transfer from a customer using their mobile phones. Photo: via Shutterstock</figcaption></figure>



An Africa-wide regulatory platform is needed to harness the continent&#8217;s potential for innovation in financial technology, according to members of the AFIS Advisory Board, a network of leading financial industry decision-makers in Africa.



Financial innovation is an extraordinary growth engine for Africa. The continent&#8217;s fintechs raised approximately $1.3 billion in investment in 2021 alone with players like OPay and Interswitch in Nigeria and Wave in Senegal reaching unicorn status (valuations of over $1 billion). Their success is based on a promise that previously seemed out of reach: to give hundreds of millions of Africans access to financial services.



Yet the rapid growth of fintechs has also raised concerns among the public and regulators alike. In Kenya, <a>one in five borrowers </a><a href="#_msocom_1">[ON1]</a>&nbsp;using fintech platforms have difficulty repaying their loans, a rate twice as high as in the conventional banking sector. In Nigeria, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) is concerned about the protection of user data and the sometimes-questionable collection practices of fintechs.



Appropriate regulation providing checks and balances while supporting these new financial players to develop is thus of paramount importance to extend financial services to the 57% of unbanked Africans. Consumer protection will be essential both to create confidence among new users of financial services and to ensure a level playing field with traditional banking players.



This is why we are convinced that it is necessary to develop a pan-African regulatory platform to keep pace with rapid technological progress. This platform, which would bring together central banks, fintechs, traditional banks and insurers, would help harmonise licensing rules in Africa, develop financial inclusion and better protect consumers.



To achieve this, we have identified several levers to activate.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-pan-african-regulatory-platform">Pan-African regulatory platform</h2>



National central banks are the overseers of financial regulation but face ample challenges keeping pace with innovation. This is a bottleneck for fintechs, banks and insurers looking to expand financial inclusion across Africa through blockchain, P2P-lending or other emerging technologies.



The Central Bank of Morocco (Bank Al Maghrib) for instance introduced a regulatory framework for payment institutions in 2014 but has since acknowledged the rules had been unclear for fintechs hoping to break into the Moroccan market. The bank has now opened an innovation office to have an open dialogue with fintechs, helping it to explain and if needed adapt current regulation accordingly.



We see scope for a pan-African platform allowing regular discourse between financial innovators and central banks. A pan-African platform would allow central banks to abreast of financial innovation and help harmonise national regulatory frameworks. This could allow financial innovations to operate seamlessly in multiple African markets and more rapidly reach Africa’s underserved population.



Existing innovation hubs, incubators and fintech networks across the continent could be leveraged for input from startups, while associations such as the Association of African Central Banks (AACB) can help the regulators unite. The platform could also be a win for consumer protection by bringing novel technologies currently outside of central bank licensing regulations &#8211; such as mobile money lending – within its scope without harming innovation.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Converging sandbox regulatory frameworks</h2>



We also encourage regulatory sandboxes &#8211; permitting fintechs to test financial product innovations without regulatory constraints – to converge regionally.Regulatory sandboxes first emerged in the UK in 2015. The idea has since expanded globally and is gaining pace in Africa. Sierra Leone, Kenya, Rwanda and Mozambique were early African adopters, while Ghana this year launched a sandbox pilot and Nigeria introduced a regulatory framework. Sandboxes can be a vehicle to introduce and scale financial innovation, while offering SMEs working capital and creating an ecosystem for other players to innovate with similar products.



Yet the sandboxes emerging in a small handful of African countries have been at national level and have been slow and expensive to setup. Africa’s sandboxes also vary widely in eligibility criteria, length, and priority financial innovations. This can deter credible innovators from applying and creates a barrier for a tried and tested financial innovation coming out of a sandbox in one country to expand to another.



A regional or pan-African sandbox framework could open the possibility of cross border sandboxes arrangements, allowing an innovation to be trialled in multiple countries at once. Two years ago, the Central Bank of West African States launched a FinTech Task Force, which has among its objectives a West African sandbox spanning multiple countries. We encourage further arrangements across the continent.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Mobilising industry associations</h2>



The AFIS Board finally urges regulators to leverage international and pan-African industry associations to support Africa’s financial innovation infrastructure. Sandboxes, innovation hubs and incubators are cost and resource intensive for regulators and have taken significant time to roll-out in some African nations.



Cash-constrained regulatory authorities can do more to call upon African and international industry associations resources for capital and operational support. The&nbsp;Global Financial Innovation Network&nbsp;(GFIN), the Africa Fintech Network, the African Crowdfunding Association and West Africa Bankers Association are among the associations that could be mobilised.



We conclude that a pan-African regulatory platform and harmonised sandboxes, both reinforced by industry associations, will create a robust and dynamic regulatory infrastructure that can catalyse financial inclusion across the continent. Financial innovation cannot work in the long term without the confidence of both consumers and governments. The sustainable financial inclusion of hundreds of millions of Africans depends on it.



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<a id="_msocom_1"></a>

Black,Woman,In,An,African,Market,Receiving,Payment,Via,Contactless

Fintech: Pan-Africa regulatory platform needed to boost financial inclusion

On March 8th, the world is celebrating International Women&#8217;s Day. This year, the world focuses on the march to tear down gender bias.



However, as we enter this day, there are signs that celebrations should remain subdued because many women recently have faced traumatic shocks to their economic status, primarily due to COVID-19. Sadly, industries that saw the largest downturns also have higher female participation rates, meaning that COVID-19 has disproportionately affected women.



This means, over the past two years, women have not only had to deal with systemic biases but have also had to adapt to pandemic-related challenges. Unfortunately, for some women entrepreneurs, these obstacles were a breaking point.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-an-uphill-battle-for-women-in-africa">An uphill battle for women in Africa</h2>



Female entreprenures are not the minority, they <a href="https://ideas4development.org/en/ffemale-entrepreneurship-key-ingredient-africa-growth/">account for 58% of the continent&#8217;s self-employed population</a>. Yet, ingrained biases on their business skills, technical capabilieis and even leadership hold back business growth. We might think these biases don’t exist, but they do.



The World Bank estimates that that 70% of women-owned SMEs in developing countries are excluded from accessing funds from traditional financial institutions, which means that women-owned or led SMEs face a credit deficit of up to US$300 billion per year. Compounding this deficit is that women entrepreneurs in developing nations typically face a crisis of confidence, leadership deficiencies and a lack of technical knowledge.



We now have a better idea of what this costs, with the <a href="https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/31421">World Bank</a> suggesting that women-owned or led SMEs are a third less profitable than male-owned businesses in comparative sectors. Biases are a prohibiting growth and potential.



There is a need for a different approach to removing prejudices to drive sustainable benefits to women in a significant, measurable, and scalable way.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">A simple equation: consider women to break the bias</h2>



To advance gender equality and break biases, we need to tailor investments to account for women&#8217;s distinctive circumstances.



So what can investors do differently to break the bias? Here is a tried and tested five-point plan.



One, decrease investment sizes to accommodate the smaller-size of women-led businesses. Smaller ticket sizes have the dual benefit of lowering funds at risk for the investor while increasing accessibility for women entrepreneurs.



While lowering ticket sizes will improve accessibility, women still face confidence gaps when applying for financing. We have seen 80% of women entrepreneurs self-select out of funding primarily due to a crisis of confidence. Yet, applicants do not face the same confidence hurdles when the investment window is ring-fenced for women. This leads to our second recommendation: support more women-only funds, programmes or investment windows.



Three, there needs to be more investment into supporting women entreprenuers to build attractive business plans, robust financial models, and business leadership skills. Across Africa, there remains a capability gap in running businesses, typically driven by lower educational attainment levels and fewer business opportunities. African women have no deficit of good ideas; however, some cannot conceptualize these into robust and executable plans.



Only with the right direction can women entrepreneurs unlock their businesses&#8217; potential by investing in women&#8217;s core entrepreneurial capabilities and skills.



In fact, we have seen explosive growth in women-led businesses after they receive technical assistance. For example, Virginia Sibanda, the CEO of VIRL financial services, a micro financier based in Zimbabwe. She received tailored support from finance and leadership advisors. As a result, Virginia and VIRL better managed the business&#8217;s financial position. In addition, combining financial advice with leadership advice accelerated Virginia&#8217;s ability to engage potential investors from a place of confidence. Virginia continues to attest that &#8220;obtaining the right advice changed how I run my business, how I lead and has placed me on the path to success&#8221;.



Four, contractual terms should be flexible to the realities of women entrepreneurs and their lower propensity to raise matching funds or follow-on investment within stipulated timeframes.



Five, focusing investments on entrepreneurs and businesses that positively impact women&#8217;s economic empowerment can result in a multiplier effect on reducing female bias and increasing empowerment.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Investing in women is a slow road but pays dividends</h2>



We should not underestimate the energy needed to break these biases.



Over the last few years, there has been an increase in women-led funders and funds earmarked for women-led businesses. These are all designed to ensure that women-led SMEs can secure and utilize the available funding.



However, the amounts of allocated funds remain scarce. With women-owned or led businesses generally outperforming the market, this lack of funding will constrain Africa.



Only through the collective will of all stakeholders to break down biases, women entrepreneurs will finally be able to operate in a favourable business environment, access affordable funding, and have the right skills, information, and networks to ensure they take their rightful place in Africa&#8217;s economic development journey.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Victoria-Mugshot-080322-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-415761" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Victoria-Mugshot-080322-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Victoria-Mugshot-080322-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Victoria-Mugshot-080322-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Victoria-Mugshot-080322-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Victoria-Mugshot-080322-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Victoria-Mugshot-080322-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Victoria Sabula is the Chief Executive Officer, AECF.</figcaption></figure>

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Banking on Women’s Enterprises to Break the Gender Bias

If you hear the backstory of nearly every successful woman entrepreneur in Africa, you will be amazed by the kind of odds they had to overcome to get to where they are. Ibukunoluwa Abiodun Awosikam, the chair of Nigeria’s First Bank Limited, for example, started her Chair Centre Limited with almost no capital and zero experience, but through a strategic approach, discipline, and patience, has over 27 years grown it to generate annual revenues of over $12 million.



It is the same story for Julian Adyeri Omala, who built Uganda&#8217;s largest juice processing factory, Delight Ltd, which now has over five million customers. Others are Zimbabwe’s techpreneur Melissa Mwale, Kenya’s media magnate Gina Din-Kariuki, and Malian agricultural seeds producer Maimouna Coulibaly.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Yet these are not isolated stories; there are many others across Africa, where women have started and grown small businesses to build large enterprises that employ many Africans. This is in a continent where women make up 60 percent of the self-employed workforce.



And while one would think that women entrepreneurs, as the biggest job creators on the continent, would receive utmost support, it becomes worrisome to realize that they face the biggest hurdles in business growth, starting with limited financing options. Indeed, the African Development Bank notes that women entrepreneurs suffer an estimated $42 billion financing gap, partly brought about by the misconception that women are riskier clients, and a limited capacity by financial institutions to understand and respond appropriately to the needs of women entrepreneurs.



Equally, the policy and regulatory environment in the region fails to recognize that women require extra business support because they typically invest 90% of their income in the education, health, and nutrition of their family and community &#8211; compared to 40% for men.&nbsp; These skewed demands have been especially evident during the ongoing Covid pandemic, where women are suffering the greatest economic and social difficulties arising from increased caregiving, business loss, furloughs, and increased domestic abuse. Structural problems from the gendered expectations, explain why women have taken on more of the extra caregiving during this unprecedented period.



But we are now at a change-point, where we realize that, as a continent, the next step of our economic transformation requires the deliberate participation of women, particularly those in entrepreneurship. On this path, it is critical to develop financing mechanisms that help women-owned and women-led businesses fast track their growth in markets. This may include the relaxation of collateral requirements by banks to take into account the societal limitations that block women from accessing the often-requested land title deeds, car logbooks, and bank statements. Emerging technology can be used to circumvent such challenges, because, already, mobile money defines the everyday transactions of small women entrepreneurs and the data generated therefrom should suffice to inform the ability of loan repayment. I propose this as a strategy having already seen it work exceptionally at Payhippo, where we leverage data analysis to offer SME loans to women-owned businesses in Nigeria within 3-4 hours, with a repayment rate of 97 percent.&nbsp; We do this through KYC checks to verify the business&#8217;s cash flow data, business owner data, and industry data &#8211; all within a few minutes.&nbsp;



Meanwhile, it is also critical that women entrepreneurs are educated on the need to keep financial records, which they can now easily generate with popular mobile ledger applications, as well as through transactions on popular mobile wallets. Such training could be achieved as part of the programmatic activities by the numerous women-focused charitable organizations, and as part of companies’ corporate social responsibility activities. Even more, progress can be made by emphasizing financial literacy training to girls in school, an impressionable demographic that can grow to entirely transform their communities.



But perhaps the greatest impact would be achieved through policy interventions, where national regulatory and supervisory agencies directly support financial inclusion through a raft of measures aimed at strengthening the access to finance by women-SMEs. This, as proposed in the 2015 Addis Ababa Action Agenda, could include the use of development banks and innovative instruments that acknowledge the importance of a robust risk-based regulatory framework for all financial intermediations.



It is a tough journey to financial inclusion, but it is one that we must make because its outcomes will define our future.



-ENDS-



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="553" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Chioma-Ruky-Okotcha-2-820x553.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-415714" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Chioma-Ruky-Okotcha-2-820x553.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Chioma-Ruky-Okotcha-2-300x202.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Chioma-Ruky-Okotcha-2-133x90.jpg 133w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Chioma-Ruky-Okotcha-2-768x518.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Chioma-Ruky-Okotcha-2-1536x1036.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Chioma-Ruky-Okotcha-2.jpg 1628w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /></figure>



The writer is the Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer at Payhippo, an SME lending company based in Nigeria&nbsp;

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Africa’s next stage of growth will be achieved through women’s financial inclusion

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="504" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/ODS5-820x504.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-415701" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/ODS5-820x504.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/ODS5-300x184.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/ODS5-146x90.jpg 146w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/ODS5-768x472.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/ODS5.jpg 900w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Image provided by Mary-Jean Nleya</figcaption></figure>



International Women’s Day (IWD) is just around the corner, a day in which to pause and recognize the accomplishments of women all around the world and gain inspiration from such trailblazing women. IWD is of course not the only day, out of 365 days in a year, in which to celebrate women’s achievements – this should be done every day. IWD is, however, a symbolic day to draw attention to the importance of women’s rights and women’s empowerment as well as to observe all of women’s great feats throughout history.



IWD was <a href="https://www.internationalwomensday.com/Activity/15586/The-history-of-IWD">first</a> celebrated in 1911. And in 2022, over a century after its first celebration, there have been great strides made in the quest for gender equality, yet a lot still needs to be done.



According to a 2021 <a href="https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GGGR_2021.pdf">report</a>, it will take the world <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/01/wef-covid-worsened-the-gender-gap-it-will-take-135-years-to-close.html">135.6 years</a> to attain global gender equality in all spheres. Particularly at a time when progress towards gender equality was <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/07/gender-equality-women-employment-covid19/">regressed</a> by the pandemic.



Women’s representation and gender diversity in leadership positions in various sectors is one of the levers to drive gender equality. Yet women are significantly underrepresented in leadership positions in the political, social, corporate and academic spheres.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-women-s-underrepresentation-in-leadership">Women’s underrepresentation in leadership</h2>



Managerial and leadership positions continue to be male dominated with women holding approximately <a href="https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GGGR_2021.pdf">27%</a> of managerial roles. Oftentimes women speak of obstinate ‘glass ceilings’ that hinder women’s upward mobility to senior roles in the workplace. From politics to sports, media to leadership roles in business – one thing is clear women remain underrepresented.



For example, in the business world, on <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/global/en/pages/about-deloitte/press-releases/women-in-the-boardroom-report.html">average</a>, women hold 19.7% of corporate board seats, of that number 6.7% chair the boards and 5% are CEOs.&nbsp;



Women in leadership positions open up more opportunities for other women. In a recently released research <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/global/en/pages/about-deloitte/press-releases/women-in-the-boardroom-report.html">study</a>, it found that there is a relationship between having a female CEO and the gender diversity of their boards.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Breaking the bias</h2>



In addition to working hard, talented women in the workplace also have to shake off <a href="https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_dialogue/---act_emp/documents/publication/wcms_601276.pdf">biases</a>. Some of the additional challenges women face in the workplace are not explicit discriminatory acts, but subtle <a href="https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_dialogue/---act_emp/documents/publication/wcms_601276.pdf">unconscious bias</a>.



As with the theme of the IWD campaign for 2022, #<a href="https://www.internationalwomensday.com/theme">BreakTheBias</a>, it is time to break the bias that hold adept women back from advancing in their careers – and doing away with biases for example that say “leadership” always has a <a href="https://www.aauw.org/resources/research/barrier-bias/">male</a> face. These kinds of stereotypes do not serve society. Leadership roles are supposed to represent the diversity of the humanity they are designed to serve. To succeed in breaking the bias requires a concerted effort from both women and men in the workplace – in recognizing the subtlety of unconscious bias and creating an enabling work environment for talented women to thrive in their careers.



It is important for ambitious, hardworking and well deserving women in the workplace to be rewarded for their efforts in equitable ways without biases hindering their career moves. The antidote to unconscious bias and stereotyping against women in the workplace is normalizing highly skilled women occupying leadership and decision-making positions simultaneously and equitably with their male counterparts.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Leading women</h2>



While women’s underrepresentation in leadership roles is a reality, there are trailblazing women climbing up the career ladder and, in the process, shattering glass ceilings and breaking the bias.



Women such as <a href="https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/dg_e/dg_e.htm">Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala</a>, the World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General, who became the first female and first African to serve in the top-most role of the WTO in March 2021.



Another leading woman is Deloitte Africa’s first female CEO, <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/za/en/profiles/rredfearn.html">Ruwayda Redfearn</a> – who will occupy the position of CEO effective 1 June 2022. In an interview with her on 25 February 2022, she <a href="https://www.theglobalcommunique.com/in-depth-conversations/">said</a>: “The business environment is still predominantly male … the more female leaders you have, gives us the opportunity to make those big shifts.”



In addition to Ruwayda Redfearn’s recent appointment, Deloitte East Africa also announced its first female CEO, <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/za/en/kenya/pages/about-deloitte/press-releases/deloitte-east-africa-appoints-ceo-elect-anne-muraya.html">Anne Muraya</a>, who will assume her position as CEO also effective on 1 June 2022.



In sports, Salima Mukansanga became the Africa Cup of Nations’ <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/no-dream-is-too-big-for-salima-mukansanga-afcons-first-woman-referee/a-60390019">first female officiating referee</a> in the group stages of the soccer competition in 2022.



In Egypt, <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220305-woman-sits-on-key-court-in-egypt-first">Radwa Helmi</a> on 5 March 2022 became the first woman judge to chair over a hearing in the country’s State Council.



Women all over the African continent, and beyond, are normalizing female leadership by advancing in their respective careers and in so doing paving the way for other women.



While women in recent times are making inspiring moves; <a href="https://www.history.com/news/african-female-warriors">history</a> also speaks to the notable feats of female warriors and leaders. One such example, of a leading woman from history, is <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-africa-44772345">Yaa Asantewaa</a> of the Ashanti Empire, which is today modern-day Ghana. She was a queen warrior who in 1886 led an army to protect her kingdom’s golden stool.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Gender-equal countries</h2>



There are countries that have made visible steps in support of women’s representation and leadership as part of their commitments towards gender equality.&nbsp;&nbsp;



According to the 2021 Global Gender Gap <a href="https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GGGR_2021.pdf">Index</a>, the country with the most gender parity is <a href="https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GGGR_2021.pdf">Iceland</a> with 89.2% of the gender divide closed. The <a href="https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GGGR_2021.pdf">two</a> African countries in the top 10 list of countries with the most gender gaps closed are: Namibia at 80.9% – ranking 6 – and just behind it, ranked at 7, is Rwanda sitting at 80.5% of the gender gap closed as of 2021.



<a href="https://rwanda.un.org/sites/default/files/2021-08/Gender%20Compliance%20Report_Final%20%28003%29.pdf">Rwanda</a> also has a female majority <a href="https://www.parliament.gov.rw/women-representation">parliament</a> at 61.3% – which bucks the global trend when it comes to gender diversity in parliament.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">International Women’s Day 2022</h2>



It is important to uplift the status of women’s leadership on the African continent and indeed globally. Hence the significance of days such as <a href="https://www.internationalwomensday.com/theme">IWD</a> that draws the world’s attention to the important topic, women’s empowerment.



Women’s empowerment is not only for the benefit of one gender over the other, it is about ultimately elevating society as a whole. It means making society make adequate and equal use of the skillset and expertise of a previously unrealized half of the population.



While this article focuses mainly on women’s empowerment from the angle of women’s career advancement and particularly women in leadership; however, one thing is sure, women’s empowerment is not only to celebrate or advocate for career women. Women’s empowerment celebrates the fullness of ‘womanity’. That is, the opportunity for a woman, no matter where she is in the world, to be at liberty to choose who she wants to be and thrive: as a homemaker, a career woman or both – free from bias and stereotypes.



Happy International Women’s Day. Celebrating the fullness of womanity every day. &nbsp;



*Mary-Jean Nleya is a writer for <a href="https://www.theglobalcommunique.com/">The Global Communiqué</a>. She is an Emerging Leader alumnus of the Policy Center for the New South and a One Young World ambassador. &nbsp;



&nbsp;

SDG-5

Celebrating Leading Women Who Break the Bias

African women have growing reason to be hopeful about their futures as we mark International Women’s Day. It is true there is still a very long way to go towards gender equality, but change is gathering momentum and the days when only lip service was paid to women’s rights are coming to an end.



For example, the World Bank reports that Africa has implemented the most reforms promoting gender equality of any region globally, with&nbsp;71 reforms in the last 10 years.&nbsp;



There is also a greater focus on going beyond the mere legal recognition of equality, and greater intent to promote real economic empowerment which will reduce women’s reliance on men and increase their ability to make choices for themselves.



This is critical because, without the means to provide for themselves, women are often unable to exercise the freedoms which are recognised in law.



According to a report by the Brookings Institution, 75 to 90 percent of non-agricultural employment in Africa is&nbsp;informal and low-paid&nbsp;work in which women are three times more likely to be employed as contributing family workers than their male counterparts. This means they are often unpaid and therefore vulnerable to exploitation.



Recognising that the economic empowerment of women will be central to the continent’s ability to achieve the sustainable development goals of Agenda 2063, the African Union has declared the period from 2020 to 2030 as the Decade on Financial and Economic Inclusion for African Women.



In line with this agenda, Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA) is taking a rigorous, research-based approach to ensure maximum impact of its own economic inclusion programmes for women.



The company commissioned research to assess the effectiveness of its existing initiatives so that it could take informed decisions on which to accelerate or scale up and replicate across the continent. The research, conducted by the consultancy SSK Investments, also looked at examples of successful women empowerment programmes outside the Coca-Cola system, as well as opportunities to partner with others for greater impact.



This follows the success of the Coca-Cola system’s 5by20 women empowerment initiative, which aimed to empower 5 million women globally by 2020.



Audited results of the programme showed that 2 million women in Africa have been equipped to succeed as entrepreneurs, while also helping to create sustainable communities.



CCBA has now adopted the three pillars of education, employability and entrepreneurship as a framework for its economic inclusion strategy.



We define economic inclusion as the opening of gainful economic opportunities by providing access to markets and other economic activities leveraging the business and the entire industry.



Our aim is to boost income, provide decent earning potential and improve skills and business knowledge for women, resulting in them accessing other opportunities.



For example, in Ethiopia CCBA partnered with the Jobs Creation Commission to build 150 retail kiosks for 600 women returning from Middle Eastern countries.



Along with the kiosks established in 11 cities across the country, the women were trained in customer service and financial management to develop their business skills and ensure their success as entrepreneurs.



CCBA also helped 263 women who had earned a living by collecting firewood to create new sources of revenue after the opening of Entoto Park, where they could no longer earn their living from firewood.



The women now collect plastic for recycling instead and also sell refreshments, including Coca-Cola products, at five shops established in the park.



Meanwhile, CCBA in South Africa (CCBSA) has established a bursary fund at the University of Pretoria to support female students from previously disadvantaged backgrounds in their final year of engineering studies.



The students had their outstanding fees fully paid, which enabled them to graduate.



The beneficiaries were studying towards Electrical, Mechanical and Industrial Engineering degrees.



Last year, CCBSA Managing Director Velaphi Ratshefola was again the winner in the Top Gender Empowered: Male Driving Gender Empowerment category at the Standard Bank Top Women Awards.



These awards honour outstanding leadership, inspiration, vision, and innovation in organisations that play a role in ensuring that women are equal and active participants in building the economy.



In Ghana, CCBA subsidiary Voltic GH Limited joined the non-profit organisation Girls in Science and Technology (GIST) to launch the GIST- University of Mines and Technology, Tarkwa chapter.



The programme introduces GIST to woman students at the university and promotes their participation in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), while sparking their interest in the career opportunities available to them.



The programme also provides mentorship and guidance to girls from elementary school through to various universities. The managing director of Voltic GH Limited, Flora Jika, is the first female managing director at CCBA.



The benefits for Africa of promoting meaningful participation in the economy by women will be felt by all.



It is estimated that existing gender gaps cost the economy about 15% of GDP, whereas women’s economic empowerment boosts productivity, increases economic diversification and reduces income inequality, in addition to other positive development outcomes, according to UN Women.



Companies can also benefit from having more women in the leadership ranks, which has been shown to increase organisational effectiveness and growth. It is estimated that companies with three or more women in senior management functions score higher in all dimensions of organisational performance.



CCBA is reaping the benefits of growing the number of women leaders in the business, with women leadership now standing at 38%, which is an increase of 9 percentage points from the previous year.



It is clear that for Africa to realise its full potential, it must create opportunities for women to do so too.



This will require deliberate partnerships to ensure that woman entrepreneurs have access to capital. While there has been some improvement in this area, 84% of funding raised by startups in Africa last year went to male single founders or all-male founding teams.



Funding remains the biggest challenge and we need more partnerships with funders to unlock the full potential of African businesswomen.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="779" height="800" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Tshidi-pic-2-779x800.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-415663" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Tshidi-pic-2-779x800.jpg 779w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Tshidi-pic-2-292x300.jpg 292w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Tshidi-pic-2-88x90.jpg 88w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Tshidi-pic-2-768x789.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Tshidi-pic-2-1496x1536.jpg 1496w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Tshidi-pic-2-scaled.jpg 1995w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 779px) 100vw, 779px" /><figcaption>Tshidi Ramogase is the CCBA Group Public Affairs, Communications and Sustainability Director</figcaption></figure>

Tshidi-pic-2

Africa’s focus shifts from rights on paper to economic inclusion for women

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="513" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/image001-1-820x513.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-415602" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/image001-1-820x513.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/image001-1-300x188.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/image001-1-144x90.jpg 144w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/image001-1-768x480.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/image001-1.jpg 900w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /></figure>



Technology is changing money as we know it. Financial technology or fintech as a form of financial innovation has reshaped the financial services industry, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. More recently, the advent of central bank digital currencies (hereafter CBDC), presents a transformative opportunity for the global financial sector. New analysis shows over 90 percent of global economy exploring a CBDC. According to The Atlantic Council’s CBDC Tracker, nine countries&nbsp;have now fully launched a digital currency. Nigeria is the latest country to launch a CBDC, the e-Naira, the first outside the Caribbean. The e-Naira is expected to boost cross-border trade and financial inclusion, make transactions more efficient as well as improve monetary policy, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria.



So, what exactly is a CBDC? Simply put, a CBDC is the digital form of a country’s fiat currency that is also a claim on the central bank. Instead of printing money, the central bank issues electronic coins or accounts backed by the full faith and credit of the government.



The idea of digital money is not new, many of us use debit and credit cards or payment apps for transactions. Africa’s reputation for innovation as the global leader in mobile money is a key driver behind the continent’s burgeoning fintech investment scene. The continent is already the largest adopter of mobile money transfer systems, comprising nearly half of the globe’s registered mobile money customers, approximately 70 percent of global mobile money transactions, and two-thirds of the transaction volume by value.



But what would make a CBDC different? One of the big financial developments over the last few years has been the rise in popularity of cryptocurrencies – with one in particular, Bitcoin, standing out. Unlike traditional money, cryptocurrencies are not issued by a central bank, but rather via a decentralized network of computers, typically using blockchain technology. Even juggernauts like Facebook, now known as Meta, are trying to get in on the act with the 2019 announcement that it would develop its own digital currency, known at the time as Libra and now rebranded as Diem. Central banks are experimenting with their own form of digital currencies, to counter the tsunami of cryptocurrencies we are currently witnessing. As a general matter, central banks dislike private, decentralized money (like Bitcoin), since they cannot control the supply of it, and it also threatens the sovereignty of the national currency. Hence, numerous central banks around the world from China to Sweden to South Africa are working on their own state issued CBDC. According to the International Monetary Fund, some 100 countries are at varying stages of CBDC exploration.



While still in its infancy, there are compelling reasons for central banks to issue CBDC’s, including the need to support the digital economy and e-commerce which has been accelerated by the covid-19 pandemic. CBDC’s can also provide a solution to overcome the risks associated with unregulated payment solutions, which are exploding both on the African continent and globally. Unlike public blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum, where information recorded is available to all, CBDC’s are private or permission blockchains, accessed only by the central bank and the parties it chooses. There are two kinds of CBDC’s. Wholesale CBDC’s are used to facilitate payments between central banks and commercial banks or the entities that hold their accounts with central banks. The other one is retail CBDC’s which can be used by businesses and individuals. It’s like currency in your mobile wallet issued directly by a central bank. This could be a game changer and have huge implications around the word. Retail CBDC’s could make a strong case for financial inclusion because a central bank could directly transfer funds to the unbanked as long as they have a mobile phone. This is especially promising in Sub-Saharan Africa where the World Bank estimates that up to 65 percent of adults are unbanked. Imagine funds being transferred for covid-19 pandemic relief, assistance from natural disasters, etc. The central bank could also use CBDC’s as a tool to influence monetary policy and spur spending in order to kick-start the economy during recessionary periods. The opportunities are plenty, but there are risks involved as well.



If individuals could all hold their money at the central bank, why hold money at the local branch of a commercial bank? This could lead to a run on commercial banks and could have consequences for the entire banking industry. It’s highly unlikely that central banks want to risk that because a strong banking sector is crucial for the financial health of an economy and central banks just aren’t designed to deal with millions of retail customers. So, the approach by the central banks is most likely to be two-tiered. Issue the CBDC to the banks who then issue it to the retail customers. This would allow the authorities the room to experiment with this new financial tool without disrupting the entire banking model.



Furthermore, there are a number of legal and regulatory gaps towards CBDC implementation in Africa that must be considered. One major impediment is that identified accounts will likely need to be required in order to ensure Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) compliance. Currently, the World Bank estimates that an estimated 1 billion people around the world and 45 percent of women in low-income countries do not have an official ID. Regionally, Sub-Saharan Africa shows the largest coverage gap, where close to one in three people in surveyed countries lack a foundational ID. Additionally, data privacy and protection laws have the potential to impact the roll out of CBDC’s regionally. Over the last decade, African countries have steadily passed laws and adopted regulations on cybersecurity and data protection. To date, 33 countries have data protection laws and/or regulations. Combatting AML/CFT and ensuring data privacy and protection are not core to central bank objectives which is usually price and financial stability. Ultimately, central banks will need to strike a fine balance between public privacy and reducing illegal activity.



As countries begin to experiment with CBDC’s, the design and implementation of these initiatives will likely vary all around the world, across both advanced and emerging markets. Kenya’s central bank has recently requested public feedback on the applicability of a potential digital Kenyan shilling, shortly after it emerged that Zambia is testing its viability too. With the launch of Nigeria’s e-Naira in October 2021 and the fact that Ghana is said to be at an advanced stage of launching its e-cedi, this can serve as a blueprint for central banks across Africa and globally preparing to launch their own CBDC &#8211; having a first mover advantage may not be a huge advantage in this instance.



The consideration of digital currencies by central banks has the potential to support financial inclusion and stability as well as to increase efficiency in operations and to secure financial integrity, particularly in cross-border payments. Several significant challenges and considerations, however, remain on the horizon. The growth in cryptocurrencies coupled with the covid-19 pandemic accelerated CBDC discussions globally with enormous upside potential for the financial sector, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. What comes next is hard to predict, but an awful lot will depend on how this is managed.



&#8212;



Iftin Fatah is a Director, Financial Institutions at the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation. The views expressed herein are her own.

image001-1

Are Central Bank Digital Currencies the Key to Unlocking Financial Inclusion in Africa?

Today, with global attention increasingly focused on political conflicts and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/03/business/economy/food-prices-inflation-world.html">rising food prices</a>, it can be challenging to equally focus on the <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/02/18/drought-africa-climate-humanitarian-crisis/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">hunger and humanitarian crisis</a> unfolding across East Africa. It involves a prolonged drought decimating crop and livestock production—Africa&#8217;s primary source of income.&nbsp;&nbsp;



I admit that a food crisis in the Horn of Africa may seem like a depressingly familiar situation. But if you talk to people on the ground, for them, the situation today feels very different. And they’re right: climate experts say you have to go <a href="https://www.rescue.org/press-release/continued-drought-will-cause-catastrophic-humanitarian-need-horn-africa-coming-months">back decades</a> to find anything comparable.



There is ample reason to fear that in the coming decades, climate impacts to agriculture will present an existential threat to hundreds of millions of people across large areas of Africa and Asia who depend on small-scale or “smallholder” farming and livestock keeping to support their families. These climate stresses also imperil the two billion people who depend on these smallholder farmers for food. &nbsp;



Thankfully, there is evidence that the world is stirring to action. Last November’s global climate summit, known as COP26, in Glasgow consolidated <a href="https://www.cgiar.org/news-events/news/cop26-climate-threats-to-smallholder-farmers-drive-new-investments-in-cgiar-research/">almost a billion dollars</a> in new support for developing climate-smart farming innovations through the CGIAR global agricultural research partnership.



Equally important, the summit featured the launch of a major new coalition called the <a href="https://aimforclimate.org/">Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate</a>, or AIM for Climate. It was started by the United States and the United Arab Emirates and now includes 40 government partners and 100 non-government partners. Together, they are marshalling billions of dollars in increased investment in climate-smart agriculture and food systems innovation to develop breakthrough tools and technologies targeting the needs of farmers, ranchers and producers globally, to include smallholders, and building momentum towards COP27 in Egypt. The good news is that we already know the kinds of innovations that can be instrumental in helping farmers adapt. They include:



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>A new generation of early warning systems that capitalize on advances in satellite imagery, climate modeling and data science to alert farmers about threats to their crops and help them avert disaster. For example, Ethiopia’s <a href="https://www.cimmyt.org/news/scientists-develop-an-early-warning-system-that-delivers-wheat-rust-predictions-directly-to-farmers-phones/">wheat rust early warning system</a> tracks climate conditions that can produce rapid outbreaks of this devastating crop disease. It delivers regular advisories to farmers via text message that have been instrumental in avoiding hundreds of millions of dollars in losses. &nbsp;</li><li>The CGIAR crop breeders already have developed new varieties of stress-tolerant <a href="https://www.irri.org/ar2018-director-generals-message">rice,</a> <a href="https://www.cimmyt.org/news/cimmyt-drought-tolerant-maize-a-key-innovation-for-millions-of-farmers-says-fao/">maize</a> and <a href="https://ciat.cgiar.org/magic-beans-beat-malawis-worst-drought-in-30-years/">beans</a> developed specifically for farmers in Africa and Asia. The challenge is to do the same for a wide range of other crops—and to adopt technologies that allow breeders to work at the rapid pace of climate change.</li><li>Innovations that support livestock health and sustainable productivity are also critical for agriculture adaptation in low-income countries. Many people in wealthy countries focus on livestock contributions to climate change, and they are real. But in sub-Saharan Africa, a region that <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EN.ATM.GHGT.KT.CE?end=2018&amp;locations=ZG-1W&amp;start=1970&amp;view=chart">accounts for only about four percent</a> of global carbon emissions, livestock are a family’s most valuable financial asset and livestock losses are among the worst outcomes of the current drought in East Africa. Today, there is promising work underway to develop <a href="https://livestocklab.ifas.ufl.edu/projects/feed-project/#d.en.535949">sustainable strategies</a> to provide farmers with climate-smart feeds and fodder. Also, in Kenya, the government is supporting an innovative effort to provide <a href="https://www.ilri.org/news/livestock-insurance-schemes-pastoralists-there-future-regional-approach-horn-africa">livestock insurance for pastoralist herders</a> that uses data from satellites and other sources to quickly issue payouts when grazing conditions deteriorate.</li></ul>



These are just a few of the many promising innovations that can be deployed to protect agriculture-dependent families in vulnerable regions. I remain hopeful that the world will ultimately mount a vigorous response, even if it can be difficult to summon hope at a time that seems to feature such a convergence of crises—from climate disasters to COVID-19 to conflict.



My faith in smallholder agriculture is rooted in my upbringing on a family farm in Zimbabwe. My parents experienced a lot of adversity, yet the income they earned supported me and my 10 brothers and sisters. Yes, African farmers today face a new set of challenges caused by climate change. But every day I learn about an exciting new tool or technology that could help them adapt. The key is to summon the investments and partnerships that will ensure farmers have the innovations they need to overcome a wide range of climate threats, so they can do for their children what my parents did for me and my siblings.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="618" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Enock-Chikava-Interim-Director-Agricultural-Development-Global-Growth-Opportunity-820x618.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-415597" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Enock-Chikava-Interim-Director-Agricultural-Development-Global-Growth-Opportunity-820x618.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Enock-Chikava-Interim-Director-Agricultural-Development-Global-Growth-Opportunity-300x226.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Enock-Chikava-Interim-Director-Agricultural-Development-Global-Growth-Opportunity-119x90.jpg 119w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Enock-Chikava-Interim-Director-Agricultural-Development-Global-Growth-Opportunity-768x579.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Enock-Chikava-Interim-Director-Agricultural-Development-Global-Growth-Opportunity-1536x1157.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Enock-Chikava-Interim-Director-Agricultural-Development-Global-Growth-Opportunity-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Enock Chikava is Interim Director, Agricultural Development, Global Growth &amp; Opportunity, at the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation.</figcaption></figure>

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Africa’s focus shifts from rights on paper to economic inclusion for women

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Opinion

Ramaphosa edges closer to his R1.2 trillion target

African governments must lead food system transformation

The Russia-Ukraine war will hurt South Africa’s investment ambitions: lessons from nine wars

Lack of patents and small cash investments for African youth undermines innovation

How Soaring Shipping Costs Raise Prices Around the World

Welcome to the metaverse: is your data under control?

Major blockages continue to stifle export industry

SA is on a cusp of an economic rebound

Africa can conquer the waste problem with partnerships and co-operation

Is Aliko Dangote emulating Ambani in trying to turn Nigeria’s oil curse into a blessing?

Fintech: Pan-Africa regulatory platform needed to boost financial inclusion

Banking on Women’s Enterprises to Break the Gender Bias

Africa’s next stage of growth will be achieved through women’s financial inclusion

Celebrating Leading Women Who Break the Bias

Africa’s focus shifts from rights on paper to economic inclusion for women

Are Central Bank Digital Currencies the Key to Unlocking Financial Inclusion in Africa?

Investing in Agriculture Innovation to Overcome Africa’s Climate Crisis

News Tips

Advertise With Us

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