LONDON (Reuters) &#8211; Achieving net zero emissions by mid-century would cost an estimated $1 trillion-$2 trillion a year of additional investments, or 1-1.5% of global gross domestic product, a report by the Energy Transitions Commission (ETC) said on Wednesday.



To limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius this century, global greenhouse gas emissions will need to reach net zero.



When this is achieved, the reduction in 2050 living standards in developed and developing countries would amount to less than 0.5% of global GDP, the report said.



The ETC is a global coalition of 40 energy producers, industrial companies and financial institutions, including ArcelorMittal, HSBC, BP, Shell, Orsted and Bank of America, which are committed to achieving a carbon-free economy by 2050.



The report said dramatic improvements in energy efficiency will need to be made; annual global electricity supply will have to grow four to five times to reach 90,000-115,000 terawatt hours and the annual pace of wind and solar capacity will need to be five to six times the increase achieved in 2019.



In addition, buildings, transport and industry sectors need to be electrified and hydrogen should be used in cases where that is not possible. Any remaining energy use should be decarbonised using carbon capture and storage and sustainable bioenergy.



“There is no doubt that it is technically and economically possible to reach the zero-carbon economy which we need by 2050; and zero must mean zero, not a plan which relies on the permanent and large-scale use of ‘offsets’ to balance continued emissions,” said co-chair of the ETC, Adair Turner.



“But action in the next decade is crucial – otherwise it will be too late,” he added.



China has the resources and technology to become a rich, developed carbon-free economy by 2050. All developing nations should be able to reach net-zero emissions by 2060 at the latest but will require development investment to attract private green investors, the ETC said.

SA’s auto industry ambitions threatened by COVID-19

Global net zero emissions goal would require $1-2 trillion a year investment – study

NEW YORK (Reuters) &#8211; As the ruins of New York’s World Trade Center smoldered following the September 11 attacks of 2001, skeptics doubted it could ever rise again.



Now, as the 19th anniversary of 9/11 approaches, the grand vision set forth after its destruction has largely been realized. But the rebuilt World Trade Center complex is under threat anew &#8211; this time, from a microscopic virus.



“People are much more worried about someone coughing on them than someone blowing up a building,” said Vishal Garg, chief executive of mortgage refinance startup Better.com, headquartered at 7 World Trade Center adjacent to the site known as Ground Zero.



After the Twin Towers and surrounding buildings were destroyed by al Qaeda hijackers, killing 2,753 of the nearly 3,000 people who died that day, the economy of lower Manhattan was devastated.



But a plan was born, and a lengthy metamorphosis turned the disaster zone into a giant pit, then a walled-off construction site, and finally, some $25 billion later, a tourist attraction and business center with three skyscrapers, a transportation hub, a museum and a memorial.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/071-576x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-380961" width="627" height="1115" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/071-576x1024.jpg 576w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/071-169x300.jpg 169w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/071-450x800.jpg 450w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/071-768x1365.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/071-864x1536.jpg 864w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/071-scaled.jpg 1152w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/071-696x1237.jpg 696w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/071-1068x1899.jpg 1068w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/071-1920x3413.jpg 1920w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/071-600x1067.jpg 600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 627px) 100vw, 627px" /></figure>



The coronavirus pandemic has stalled its completion, with a performing arts center under construction and a fourth and final skyscraper planned. Six months after New York City began shutting down due to COVID-19, the World Trade Center and the once-bustling Financial District are now eerily devoid of crowds.



“It’s pretty melancholy. A bit gloomy,” said James Busse, a retail stock broker taking a cigarette break nearby.



Ground Zero became both a solemn memorial and a leisure destination. Choked-up visitors to the 9/11 museum or memorial could step onto an esplanade of children eating ice cream or out-of-town visitors admiring the glass-sheathed towers.



One World Trade Center, America’s tallest building at 1,776 feet (541 meters), was built with a bomb-resistant base, as the old World Trade Center had been attacked in a truck bombing in 1993.



The vision laid out in Daniel Libeskind’s 2003 master plan drove a renaissance that has diversified the local economy, previously reliant on finance.



The public and private sectors have invested some $25 billion in reconstruction, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the land.



“Everybody coming to New York wants to come to Ground Zero,” Libeskind said in an interview. “It is the center of New York. It is the great public space.”



At its heart are two reflecting pools designed by Michael Arad, marking the footprints of where the Twin Towers once stood, with a pair of four-sided waterfalls draining into an abyss. The names of the victims are etched into its bronze borders.



Pre-pandemic, hundreds of visitors would gather there. But on a recent afternoon a family from Wichita, Kansas, were the only people at the south tower pool.



(Graphic: Lower Manhattan employment &#8211;&nbsp;<a href="https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-SEPT11/SCENE/jznpnxqrypl/employment.jpg">here</a>)



<figure class="wp-block-image"><a href="https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-SEPT11/SCENE/jznpnxqrypl/employment.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img decoding="async" src="https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-SEPT11/SCENE/jznpnxqrypl/employment.jpg" alt="Reuters Graphic"/></a></figure>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">TWIN TOWER NOSTALGIA</h3>



Nostalgia over the Twin Towers grew after they were destroyed along with so many innocent lives, but they were unloved in their time.



Completed in the 1970s, the World Trade Center replaced a neighborhood known as Radio Row with an oversized block containing the Twin Towers and little else. The site was frequently called a “windswept plaza.”



“The problem with the World Trade Center is that it never really was that good,” said Carl Weisbrod, a former city planning official who worked on the redevelopment of the new site. “What’s emerged is a central business district that is now a model for the 21st Century as opposed to a sort of a historical artifact of the 20th Century.”



Planning the new site stirred public emotions associated with the attack on the United States, the loss of life and fears of working in tall buildings again.



Critics say the end result still lacks affordable housing and lament the absence of a direct rail link to major regional airports. Architectural critics have called One World Trade Center lackluster.







But there is agreement that, considering all the interests and complexities, it works.



“They did a really wonderful job of knitting it back in the city, but still honoring that sacred site,” said Leslie Koch, president of the complex’s Performing Arts Center.



(Graphic: Lower Manhattan hotel development &#8211;&nbsp;<a href="https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-SEPT11/SCENE/nmovaqbggva/hotel.jpg">here</a>)



<figure class="wp-block-image"><a href="https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-SEPT11/SCENE/nmovaqbggva/hotel.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img decoding="async" src="https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-SEPT11/SCENE/nmovaqbggva/hotel.jpg" alt="Reuters Graphic"/></a></figure>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">THE MOVERS ARE HERE</h3>



In New York’s vertigo-inducing real estate market, prices rarely drop except after events like 9/11 or a recession, and prices are falling again now.



Downtown Manhattan rents are down 1.4% through July, the largest annualized fall since 2010, said Nancy Wu, an economist with the real estate database StreetEasy.



As of 2019, the neighborhood’s rental market was the city’s fastest-growing. But the inventory of available apartments rose 80 percent this July from a year earlier, Wu said.



Guy Khan,  director of banking at a financial services company, said the downturn was apparent around his home near City Hall, with chain stores and mom-and-pops closing and neighbors fleeing for the suburbs.



“You see moving trucks every day,” he said.



Developer Larry Silverstein acquired a 99-year lease on the Twin Towers from the Port Authority for $3.2 billion just six weeks before 9/11. He has spent the past 19 years rebuilding.



In 2015, Silverstein forecast the entire site would be rebuilt by 2020, but that changed after the planned anchor tenant for 2 World Trade Center pulled out.







“Life is so unpredictable,” he said.



Silverstein and Libeskind, the master planner, see the pandemic as a temporary pause in downtown Manhattan’s ascendance, noting how predictions of decline after 9/11 proved wrong.



“People said New York will never come back. And it’s the same thing during the pandemic,” Libeskind said. “But I don’t believe it. New York is too resilient,” .

Rebuilt after 9/11, World Trade Center threatened anew by coronavirus

WASHINGTON (Reuters) &#8211; During a blue-sky moment in 2018 near the end of a decade-long economic expansion, it was the United States that helped pull the world along as the extra cash from tax cuts and government spending flowed through domestic and global markets.





But if it was U.S. policy that pushed the world higher then, it is U.S. policy that threatens to pull the world under now as the country’s troubled response to the coronavirus pandemic emerges as a chief risk to any sustained global recovery.



Officials from Mexico to Japan are already on edge. Exports have taken a hit in Germany, and Canada looks south warily knowing that any further hit to U.S. growth will undoubtedly spill over.



“Globally there will be difficult months and years ahead and it is of particular concern that the number of COVID-19 cases is still rising,” the International Monetary Fund said in a review of the U.S. economy that cited “social unrest” due to rising poverty as one of the risks to economic growth.



“The risk ahead is that a large share of the U.S. population will have to contend with an important deterioration of living standards and significant economic hardship for several years. This, in turn, can further weaken demand and exacerbate longer-term headwinds to growth.”



It was a clinical description of a grim set of facts: After the U.S. government committed roughly $3 trillion to support the economy through a round of restrictions on activity imposed to curb the virus in April and May, the disease is surging in the United States to record levels just as those support programs are due to expire. More than 3.6 million people have been infected and 140,000 killed. Daily growth in cases has tripled to more than 70,000 since mid-May, and the 7-day moving average of deaths, after falling steadily from April to July, has turned higher.



Meanwhile the country has fractured over issues like mask-wearing that in other parts of the world were adopted readily as a matter of common courtesy. With some key states like Texas and California now reimposing restrictions, analysts have already noted a possible plateau to the U.S. recovery with the country still 13.3 million jobs shy of the number in February.FILE PHOTO: A 3D-printed coronavirus model is seen in front of a U.S. flag on display in this illustration taken March 25, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">A GLOBAL DISAPPOINTMENT</h3>



For other major economic powers, that is a weight added to their own struggles with the virus and the economic fallout.



The U.S. economy accounts for about a quarter of world gross domestic product. Though much of that is service-related, and much of the direct impact of the virus is tied up in industries like restaurants with weak links to the global economy, the connections are still there. A lost job leads to lower consumer spending leads to fewer imports; weak business conditions lead to less investment in the equipment or supplies that are often produced elsewhere.



Year-to-date U.S. imports through May are down more than 13%, or roughly $176 billion.



In Germany, whose measures to contain the pandemic are considered to have been among the most effective, exports to the United States plunged 36% year-over-year in May. Analysts see little prospect for improvement, with year-to-date U.S. auto sales through June down nearly 24% from a year earlier.



“That is really a disappointment,” said Gabriel Felbermayr, president of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, in a recent interview with radio network Deutschlandfunk. The spike in U.S. infections, he said, could not have been expected.



In Japan, the speed of the recovery is seen tied directly to U.S. success in stemming the virus.



“Japan’s recovery will be really delayed if the spreading of the coronavirus in the United States isn’t stopped and U.S.-bound exports from various Asian countries don’t grow,” said Hideo Kumano, a former Bank of Japan official who is now chief economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">PESSIMISM AT BOTH BORDERS</h3>



The IMF projected U.S. GDP will shrink this year by 6.6%, in line with many analysts’ projections.



The Bank of Canada is more pessimistic, forecasting U.S. GDP to fall 8.1% on the year. That has already been lowered once as the health situation decayed.Slideshow&nbsp;(2 Images)



A further leg down would hit Canada directly, with perhaps three-fourths of the country’s exports headed over the U.S. border.



“We did take down our U.S. projection &#8230; I would underline that there’s a lot of uncertainty, and the principle source of the uncertainty is the evolution of the coronavirus itself,” said BOC governor Tiff Macklem.



At the southern border, Mexico is also posting record daily numbers of new cases, but President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has at times deflected criticism of his government’s efforts by pointing to the U.S. numbers.



Lopez Obrador undertook a risky visit with President Donald Trump earlier in July, couching his journey to Washington as a matter of economic necessity as Mexico attempts to revive an economy that could shrink by 10% or more this year, according to forecasts.



The Mexican president hopes the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) trade deal, which took effect on July 1, will spur business and investment, but pessimism about the outlook has been growing.



“To the point that people in the U.S. are losing jobs or incomes it is a downward weight &#8230; and it will have ramifications on the ability to consume globally,” said Elizabeth Crofoot, senior economist at the Conference Board, which documented a record drop in global consumer confidence in a recent survey.



“We take one step forward and two steps back.”

US COVID-19

When the U.S. sneezes, the world catches a cold. What happens when it has severe COVID-19?

By Dr Wanjiru Kamau-Rutenberg, Director, African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD).



The yawning global gender gap is at the heart of our inability to end hunger. Whether last in the family to eat, blocked from owning land, or entirely ignored by extension workers and policymakers, gender inequality &#8211; and specifically discrimination against women &#8211; is a key driver of global hunger.



The cost of
ending global hunger&nbsp;<a href="https://www.globalgiving.org/learn/how-much-would-it-cost-to-end-world-hunger/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">has been estimated</a>&nbsp;at anything from $7 billion to $265
billion per year, largely because experts cannot agree on the primary causes or
solutions.&nbsp;



As
academics, activists and policymakers continue to explore the role that climate
change, disease outbreaks, and unstable markets have in exacerbating global
hunger, still too few are connecting the dots between gender inequality and
hunger.



Hunger
itself knows no gender, affecting&nbsp;<a href="http://www.fao.org/state-of-food-security-nutrition/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">820
million men, women and children</a>&nbsp;alike worldwide. But circumstances
leading to hunger and malnutrition often arise because gender inequality tends
to disadvantage women as producers and carers and, importantly, as
professionals in fields such as science, technology and innovation.



We cannot
continue neglecting the vital contribution of women in agriculture if we are to
have any hope of improving global food security. This means addressing the
under-appreciated and vital role of women – not just in producing and preparing
food for their families, but also in conducting and leading scientific research
needed to enhance the production and equitable distribution of food to all.



Women
account for&nbsp;<a href="https://farmingfirst.org/women_infographic/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">more than 40 per cent</a>&nbsp;of the agricultural workforce in
developing countries, often working longer hours and taking on more
labour-intensive tasks, such as weeding and tending to livestock. For example,
weeding a&nbsp;<a href="https://croplife.org/news/an-end-to-weeding-by-hand/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">single hectare of sorghum</a>&nbsp;by hand can take around 324
hours of labour.



Yet while
women bear the burden of drudgery on farms, they do so without access to many
of the same resources as men, facing a yield gap of up to&nbsp;<a href="https://s3.amazonaws.com/one.org/pdfs/poverty_is_sexist_report.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">30 per cent</a>&nbsp;as a result.



By
providing women with the inputs and services that meet their needs, total
agricultural output in developing countries could rise by up to&nbsp;<a href="http://www.fao.org/3/i2050e/i2050e.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">four per cent</a>.



To
effectively tackle global hunger, all scientists must have the skills and
commitment to address the needs and priorities of women farmers across
agricultural value chains.



Named after
its inventor, Ethiopia’s&nbsp;<a href="https://ruforum.wordpress.com/2015/10/07/professor-fetien-abay-a-pioneering-plant-and-seed-scientist/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Fetina</a>&nbsp;variety of barley is an example of what happens
when scientists collaborate with, and respond to the needs of women farmers.



Developed
by Prof. Fetien Abera in consultation with farmers across the Ethiopian
highlands, Fetina barley is easier to de-husk which reduces demands on women’s
labour, allowing them to increase their output and freeing up their time and
energy.



Prof.
Abera’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgQRDlglfG0" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">own life story</a>&nbsp;is itself an example of why we must
also address the systemic and systematic inequalities that stop women in
agricultural research from bringing their best innovations to the fore. Since
becoming the first woman plant breeder and lecturer at Mekelle University, she
has overcome tremendous challenges in her rise to the rank of Deputy Vice
Chancellor.



Gender
biases in scientific research mean that not only are the needs of women
producers ignored, women scientists are&nbsp;<a href="https://awardfellowships.org/award-publications/a-decade-of-advancing-inclusive-agricultural-research-the-award-story/5c0a43297ad18doc509149097/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">less likely</a>&nbsp;than men to publish their work in
journals, and when they do publish papers, they are less likely to be the lead
investigator.



The result
is that women’s achievements in science, research and development often slip
through the equality gap. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
reports that only&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wipo.int/women-and-ip/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">30.5 per cent</a>&nbsp;of patent applications have one woman
inventor.



Across
sub-Saharan Africa, just&nbsp;<a href="https://ideas.repec.org/a/ags/afgend/262293.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">one in
four</a>&nbsp;agricultural researchers are women, meaning that women are
underrepresented in the leadership roles where priorities are set, decisions
made and resources allocated for research on the continent.



A recent
study found it may take up to&nbsp;<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-study-says-the-gender-gap-in-science-could-take-generations-to-fix-95150" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">320 years</a>&nbsp;before an equal number of men and women are
working in senior science roles worldwide. We cannot afford to wait this long.



Since 2008,
African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) has invested in
accelerating the careers of the continent’s female scientists such as Prof.
Abera.&nbsp;



In addition
to leadership training, we also unlock the wisdom of an older generation of
scientists through an intensive mentoring program, and support African women
scientists rise to the top of their scientific careers by helping them build
the skills needed to raise resources for their cutting edge research.



Our latest
work, the&nbsp;<a href="https://oneplanetfellowship.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">One
Planet Fellowship</a>,&nbsp;is an innovative
partnership between private philanthropy, the public and private sectors,
supporting the next generation of African and European scientists to embed
gender issues into their research on climate adaptation solutions for African
smallholder farmers.



The theme
of this year’s International Women’s Day is “Realising Women’s Rights”, but the
reality is that women’s rights are human rights.



We are
investing in building a more gender-responsive agricultural research system for
Africa because we cannot tackle hunger without first addressing gender
inequality.

gettyimages-130874533-170667a

Op-Ed: Ending global hunger requires tackling gender inequality

By <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/tom-popomaronis/">Tom Popomaronis</a>



From building PayPal and SpaceX to running one of the world’s most disruptive automobile companies, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/24/warren-buffett-and-bill-gates-agree-giving-up-this-one-thing-will-make-you-more-successful.html">Elon Musk</a> has a number of impressive accomplishments under his belt. And he’s only 48 years old.



In a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/elon_musk_the_mind_behind_tesla_spacex_solarcity" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">2013 TED talk</a>, the billionaire entrepreneur revealed his “secret sauce” to achieving extraordinary things: “First principles” thinking, a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/10/billionaire-warren-buffett-use-this-simple-test-when-making-tough-decisions.html">decision-making</a>&nbsp;strategy in which you “boil things down to their fundamental truths and reason up from there, as opposed to reasoning by analogy.”



Of course, Musk acknowledges that reasoning by analogy — or “copying what other people do with slight variations” — is something we haveto do throughout most of our lives. “Otherwise, mentally, you wouldn’t be able to get through the day,” he said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">A framework for deconstructing complex problems</h2>



The term “first principles” was coined more than&nbsp;<a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=8tYcp0vYd5EC&amp;amp;amp;printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&amp;amp;amp;q&amp;amp;amp;f=false" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">2,000 years ago by the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle</a>, who believed that the best way to understand a subject is to&nbsp;<a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=8tYcp0vYd5EC&amp;amp;amp;printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&amp;amp;amp;q&amp;amp;amp;f=false" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">break it down to its most fundamental principles</a>.



In a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-s_3b5fRd8" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">2012 interview with Digg founder Kevin Rose</a>, Musk explained how to apply the first principles method, using the cost of car batteries as an example:



Step 1: Identify the problem and its common assumptions.



“Somebody could say, ’Battery packs are really expensive, and that’s just the way they will always be. Historically, it has cost $600 per kilowatt hour,” Musk said, referencing the “common assumption” about car batteries.



Therefore, he continued, most people would just accept that “it’s not going to be much better than that in the future.”



Step 2. Break the problem down to its fundamental truths.



This is often the most difficult part, and the key is to ask the right questions — by challenging the common assumptions. Keep digging deeper and deeper until you are left with only the fundamental truths.



“With first principles, you say, ‘What are the material constituents of the batteries? What is the stock market value of the material constituents?’ It’s got cobalt, nickel, aluminum, carbon, some polymers for separation and a seal can,” explained Musk.



Then, he continued, “you’d break that down on a material basis and say, ‘If we bought that on the London Metal Exchange what would each of those things cost?’ It’s like $80 per kilowatt hour.”



Step 3. Use the fundamental truths to plot a new course.



Fundamental truths are like building blocks. Once you’ve gathered them, you can use them to create an entirely new and innovative solution.



With the batteries, “you just need to think of clever ways to take those materials and combine them into the shape of a battery cell,” Musk said. “Then you can have batteries that are much, much cheaper than anyone realizes.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">A ‘powerful, powerful way of thinking’</h2>



Musk has referenced the value of first principles thinking several times. “I think it’s important to view knowledge as sort of semantic tree,” he wrote in a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/2rgsan/i_am_elon_musk_ceocto_of_a_rocket_company_ama/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">2015 Reddit AMA</a>. “Make sure you understand the fundamental principles, i.e., the trunk and big branches, before you get into the leaves/details, or there is nothing for them to hang on to.”



In a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7Qh-vwpYH8" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">2014 commencement speech</a>&nbsp;at the University of Southern California, he offered a similar piece of advice: “Don’t just follow the trend. It’s good to think in terms of the physics approach — the first principles,” he said. “This is a good way to figure out if something really makes sense, or if it’s just what everybody else is doing.”



He added: “It’s very hard to do. You can’t think that way about everything. It takes a lot of effort, but if you’re trying to do something new, it’s the best way to think. It’s really a powerful, powerful way of thinking.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">First principles reasoning can make your life better</h2>



First principles thinking isn’t just for building rockets or electric vehicles. It can be used to fix problems in your daily life, whether it’s related to personal relationships, work, finances or anything else.



Too often, we make major life decisions based on outdated or false information. But in a rapidly changing world, historical truths and experience may not always work, which is why it’s sometimes necessary to take a step back and use the first principles approach to create a more customized and creative solution.



<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.linkedin.com_in_tpopomaronis_&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;d=DwMFaQ&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;c=LO_8KzsOlAGvgA6hdGI4v02U_XLiES0sR51Zca0yIy4&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;r=fnb6sKq7SKN8iiAQiVc8NQSbL93Ztb9TeGwNUoj2-0Y&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;m=P_Ys4FkTrXS6d3lDujeEcG0RASS_Te__ciXliHG8uo0&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;s=rHzz9dkDjfkID7To9v-Lu83SKuT7yQyc4bQT7r89G-o&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;e=" target="_blank">Tom Popomaronis</a> is a leadership researcher, commerce expert, cross-industry innovation leader and VP of Innovation at <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.massivealliance.com&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;d=DwMFaQ&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;c=LO_8KzsOlAGvgA6hdGI4v02U_XLiES0sR51Zca0yIy4&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;r=fnb6sKq7SKN8iiAQiVc8NQSbL93Ztb9TeGwNUoj2-0Y&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;m=P_Ys4FkTrXS6d3lDujeEcG0RASS_Te__ciXliHG8uo0&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;s=MAZG4XFe5vj2XGn8I5ATujLEG6mysjDhAM2R5QnyNpQ&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;e=" target="_blank">Massive Alliance</a>. His work has been featured in Forbes, Fast Company, Inc. and The Washington Post. In 2014, Tom was named one of the “40 Under 40” by the <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/" target="_blank">Baltimore Business Journal</a>. Follow him on <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/tpopomaronis/" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a> and <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://twitter.com/tpopomaronis" target="_blank">Twitter</a>.



This article was first published on CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/28/billionaire-elon-musk-this-is-a-powerful-way-of-thinking-but-hard-to-do-how-it-works.html?forYou=true">https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/28/billionaire-elon-musk-this-is-a-powerful-way-of-thinking-but-hard-to-do-how-it-works.html?forYou=true</a> and is republished with its permission.

Elon Musk At SpaceX Headquarters

Billionaire Elon Musk calls this a ‘powerful, powerful way of thinking’—but is ‘hard to do.’ Here’s how it works

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By <a href="https://theconversation.com/africa/team#ozayr-patel">Ozayr Patel</a>, <a href="http://www.theconversation.com/">The Conversation</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/africa/team#wale-fatade">Wale Fatade</a>, <a href="http://www.theconversation.com/">The Conversation</a>

Nigeria has confirmed its first case of the novel coronavirus disease after an Italian business traveller arrived in Lagos on the 27th of February. 

Doyin Odubanjo, executive secretary at The Nigerian Academy of Science and past chair, Association of Public Health Physicians of Nigeria, spoke to The Conversation Africa on tips for people to stay safe.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/132681/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important">

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<a href="https://theconversation.com/africa/team#ozayr-patel">Ozayr Patel</a>, Digital Editor, <a href="http://www.theconversation.com/">The Conversation</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/africa/team#wale-fatade">Wale Fatade</a>, Commissioning Editor: Nigeria, <a href="http://www.theconversation.com/">The Conversation</a>

This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/video-some-basic-tips-on-staying-safe-from-the-coronavirus-132681">original article</a>.

Clarification on COVID-19 “hotspots” as SA moves to level 3 lockdown

Here are some tips on staying safe from the #coronavirus

PRETORIA, March 3 (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa entered its second recession in two years in the final quarter of last year, as agriculture, transport and construction contracted, data showed on Tuesday.



Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) said the economy shrank 1.4% in the fourth quarter, following a revised 0.8% contraction in the third quarter.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="761" height="576" src="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/GDP.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-361745" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/GDP.jpg 761w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/GDP-300x227.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/GDP-80x60.jpg 80w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/GDP-696x527.jpg 696w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/GDP-555x420.jpg 555w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 761px) 100vw, 761px" /></figure>



Economists polled by Reuters had predicted a contraction of 0.1% in quarter-on-quarter and seasonally adjusted terms.





&#8220;The economy is in recession again. That is two consecutive quarters of contraction, after being in recession in the first two quarters of 2018,&#8221; Joe de Beer, Stats SA&#8217;s deputy director-general for economic statistics, told reporters.



On a quarter-on-quarter basis, agriculture declined 7.6%, transport 7.2%, construction 5.9%, electricity 4% and retail 3.8%, the data showed.



Gross domestic product overall shrank 0.5% year-on-year in the fourth quarter after expanding 0.1% the quarter before. The economy expanded 0.2% in the 2019 calendar year compared with 0.8% in 2018.



South Africa has struggled to emerge from an economic slump in the two years since Cyril Ramaphosa became president, promising sweeping reforms.



The Treasury has cut 2020 economic growth forecast to 0.9%. 



(Reporting by Mfuneko Toyana and Tumelo Modiba; writing by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo; editing by Larry King)

South African economy enters recession, what you need to know

Serena Williams became a professional tennis player at the age of 14, and for more than two decades she has consistently trained and followed a healthy diet to help her win 23 Grand Slam titles.



But besides her strenuous&nbsp;<a href="https://gc4women.org/2019/08/07/serena-williams-her-workout-and-diet-broken-down/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">workout routine</a>&nbsp;and vegan diet, Williams, 38, says she has two non-negotiable strategies — whether she’s training for a tennis match or not — to help her stay productive while also juggling motherhood and multiple business ventures.



“Something I do every day is [to] completely turn my brain off, which sounds weird but because I work so much between tennis and running my other properties—Serena Ventures and Serena Clothing. But it’s a lot so I just need to turn my brain off and not think about anything,” Williams tells&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/make-it/">CNBC Make It.</a>



Williams says she finds little ways zone out, no matter what’s on her schedule.



“Sometimes it’s mediation. Sometimes it’s watching a program [on TV] that has nothing to do with anything, like something that is silly or fun,” Williams says.



Williams says having her 2-year-old daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr., also helps when it comes to clearing her mind.



“It’s a lot easier now because I can just watch my baby,” Williams says. “It really helps me to focus on her and focus on the moment and not think about anything else. And I purposely do that with her because I know that I just need to shut off.”



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1110" height="740" src="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/GettyImages-1198965940-1110x740.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-361581" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/GettyImages-1198965940-1110x740.jpg 1110w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/GettyImages-1198965940-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/GettyImages-1198965940-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/GettyImages-1198965940-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/GettyImages-1198965940-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/GettyImages-1198965940-696x464.jpg 696w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/GettyImages-1198965940-1068x712.jpg 1068w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/GettyImages-1198965940-630x420.jpg 630w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/GettyImages-1198965940-1920x1280.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1110px) 100vw, 1110px" /><figcaption>AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND &#8211; JANUARY 12: Alexis Olympia, daughter of Serena Williams and husband Alexis Ohanian look on during final match between Serena Williams of USA and Jessica Pegula of USA at ASB Tennis Centre on January 12, 2020 in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



Giving her brain a rest allows Williams to “reset and get more energized to go train the next day or take more work calls,” she says.



In addition to clearing her mind, Williams also drinks at least a gallon of water a day, even outside of training. “That is one thing that I make sure that I always do,” Williams says. (<a href="https://www.webmd.com/women/features/10-energy-boosters#3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dehydration</a>&nbsp;can make you feel tired or sluggish. Water intake varies, especially for active people like Williams, but Harvard kidney specialist Dr. Julian Seifter recommends&nbsp;<a href="https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/how-much-water-should-you-drink" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">four-to-six cups</a>&nbsp;a day for most healthy individuals.)



Wiliams’ tennis star sister <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/21/venus-williams-daily-wellness-routine-for-peak-performance.html">Venus, 39, told CNBC Make It</a> in October that her go-to tricks for peak performance include getting eight hours of sleep and laying off junk food like her favorite pancakes and honey buns.



This article first appeared on CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/19/what-serena-williams-does-every-day-to-be-productive.html?&amp;qsearchterm=serena">https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/19/what-serena-williams-does-every-day-to-be-productive.html?&amp;qsearchterm=serena</a> and is republished with its permission.

2020 Fed Cup – Latvia v USA

2 things Serena Williams does every day to be productive

LUSAKA (Reuters) &#8211; Zambia’s African Green Resources (AGR) on Sunday launched an $81 million financing programme under which the company and its partners will provide farm supplies and technology to farmers in exchange for grain.



As part of broader plans by AGR to invest $150 million in Zambia for projects including a 50 megawatt solar farm and irrigation dam, AGR will target 120 commercial farmers and 250,000 small and middle farmers with the new programme to boost food security in Zambia and the surrounding region, chairman Zuneid Yousuf said in a statement.



It will cover 60,000 tonnes of fertiliser for wheat and soya farming &#8211; worth $55 million &#8211; and $26 million for projects such as the expansion of grain storage silos. It will be financed through regional and global banks, with the money repaid from the produce the programme yields.



“We expect to receive 44,000 tonnes of wheat per season,” Yousuf said, some of which will be processed before being sold on local and international markets.



“We will repay the loan from sales of wheat flour, soya processing plant products and silo revenue.”



Some of the money is also guaranteed by the African Development Bank, the African Union, Sace Italy and Agriculture Grain International.



The farmers, meanwhile, would benefit from the ability to grow their businesses with the help of access to markets and credit finance, Yousuf added.



World Food Programme (WFP) estimates indicate that a record 45 million people in 16 nations in southern Africa face growing hunger after repeated drought, low yields, widespread flooding and sluggish economic growth.



Reporting by Chis Mfula; Editing by Emma Rumney and David Goodman

What you need to know about this Zambian agriculture business launching an $81 million farmer financing scheme

By <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/chikwe-ihekweazu-188468">Chikwe Ihekweazu</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/ucl-1885">UCL</a>

The number of reported cases and deaths of coronavirus <a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-outbreak-whos-decision-to-not-declare-a-global-public-health-emergency-explained-130441">is doubling every couple of days</a>, and patients have now been reported from many Asian countries, as well as the Middle East, Europe, Australia and the US. The Conversation Africa asked Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu for a run down on what preparations have been put in place in Nigeria in the event of cases being detected in the country.

What measures need to be put in place to contain the virus?

The novel coronavirus is ‘new’ and we’re learning more about it nearly every day. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control has established a ‘coronavirus preparedness group’ that includes representatives from Port Health Services of the Federal Ministry of Health and other stakeholders. It meets daily to review the situation globally, assess the risk of spread and improve on Nigeria’s level of preparedness based on new findings and insights. 

<hr>

 
 
 Read more:
 <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-the-latest-coronavirus-tells-us-about-emerging-new-infections-130623">What the latest coronavirus tells us about emerging new infections</a>
 
 

<hr>


At the points of entry, screening has been heightened, particularly for passengers coming from China. This includes temperature checks, specific questions on known symptoms of the novel coronavirus and travel history. 

We have also provided a public health advisory to Nigerians on what to do if they suspect that there is a case of coronavirus as well as how to protect themselves.

Over the last three years, we have focused on strengthening our emergency coordination, surveillance, public health laboratory and risk communications capacities. We continue to build on this to ensure that we are better prepared in the event of an outbreak. 

What systems, already in place to deal with Ebola, will come in handy? What more needs to be done?

One of the key lessons from our response to the Ebola outbreak was the need to build systems in ‘peace time’ that can be used during outbreaks. Over the last three years, we have strengthened capacity at our National Reference Laboratory to provide molecular diagnosis for all epidemic prone diseases and highly infectious pathogens such as the Ebola virus. 

For coronavirus, the capacity to test depends on laboratory equipment, primers specific for pathogens and technical expertise. At the moment, we are receiving advice from the WHO on gaining access to the primers to be used for this ‘new’ virus. Our National Reference Laboratory is the system in place for diagnosis of pathogens such as the coronavirus. 

We have also supported 22 states to establish emergency operations centres. These serve as coordination platforms and are networked to our national incident coordination centre. Each state is better prepared to coordinate within and across their borders in the event of an outbreak. 

We also used lessons from the Ebola outbreak to strengthen our risk communications capacity. We recognise the critical importance of ensuring members of the public are equipped with the right information. In the last week, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control has issued a public health advisory to Nigerians informing them of our preparedness and how to stay protected from coronavirus. 

In December 2019, we completed the training of rapid response teams in all states in Nigeria. All 36 states have a team ready to be deployed in the event of an outbreak. 

Overall, we continue to build strong systems that will enable the prevention, early detection and prompt response to infectious disease outbreaks. 

The Ebola outbreak prompted the governments of many African countries to invest in the establishment of National Public Health Institutes. In these countries including Nigeria, the capacity for outbreak response is better streamlined with a clear coordination platform. 

Large scale outbreaks require a high level of technical expertise, financial resources and other systems to quickly control. These institutes ensure that countries do not have to wait till there is another Ebola outbreak, before identifying resources for response. 

The Ebola outbreak taught us a lot of lessons, including the urgent need for overall health system strengthening. This has improved in many countries, but with a lot of room for improvement.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/130704/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important" />

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/chikwe-ihekweazu-188468">Chikwe Ihekweazu</a>, Senior Honorary Lecturer on Infectious Diseases, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/ucl-1885">UCL</a>

This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/steps-nigeria-is-taking-to-prepare-for-cases-of-coronavirus-130704">original article</a>.

Here are the steps Nigeria is taking to prepare for more cases of coronavirus

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa’s largest trade union federation COSATU said on Wednesday that it would not allow workers’ wages to be slashed, after Finance Minister Tito Mboweni used a budget speech to promise cuts to the public sector wage bill.



COSATU said in a statement that it was deeply angered by Mboweni’s budget, calling it “provocative” and “reckless”.



Reporting by Alexander Winning; Editing by Catherine Evans

Empty Wallet

SA trade union COSATU says it won’t allow workers’ wages to be slashed

By <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/vicky-mckeever/">Vicky McKeever </a>



As veganism grows in popularity around the world, there is increasing pressure for employers to catch up and make the workplace more inclusive. 



Measures proposed by the U.K. charity The Vegan Society include dedicated vegan shelves in office fridges, as well as color-coded equipment and separate food preparation areas.



The number of vegans in the U.K. alone quadrupled between 2014 and 2019, growing from 150,000 to 600,000 people, according to the charity. Meanwhile, global internet searches for “veganism” have more than doubled in the past five years, according to Google Trends data, and the term is now seeing around three times the interest of “vegetarianism.”



Vegans don’t consume animal products and the subsequent shift towards plant-based diets led The Vegan Society to last week publish tips for employers on how they can create a more inclusive work environment for vegan employees.



This was in light of recent changes to U.K. anti-discrimination law which now protects “ethical veganism” — people who not only follow a plant-based diet but also avoid any products using, or tested on, animals.



The charity said employers should consider the following:



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Sending out a dietary requirements sheet to staff for catered events.</li><li>Keeping kitchen utensils clean, providing color-coded equipment and separate food preparation areas.</li><li>Offering dedicated food storage areas for vegan, such as shelves in the fridge.</li><li>Ensuring access to vegan-friendly clothing, such as synthetic safety boots or a non-leather phone case.</li><li>Exempting vegans from attending corporate events such as horse racing, or others which revolve around animal products, such as a “hog roast” BBQ.</li><li>Considering exempting vegans from participating in the buying (or signing off on the purchase) of non-vegan products.</li><li>Supporting vegan employees to discuss their pension investment options with a relevant member of staff.</li><li>Creating a positive and respectful atmosphere towards vegan employees, for example by being mindful of “jokes” which could be deemed offensive.</li><li>Training staff on anti-discrimination law, highlighting to them that veganism is an example of a non-religious belief protected under this legislation.</li><li>Reassuring vegan employees that they should not feel anxious about raising complaints and that they will be taken seriously if they do so.</li><li>Taking prompt action on unfair treatment of, or complaints from, vegans.</li><li>Seeing how vegans can contribute to workplace policies and practices.</li></ul>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Equality law and veganism</h2>



In January, an employment tribunal in the U.K. confirmed that ethical veganism is a belief that is protected within the scope of the 2010 Equality Act.



This is the U.K. law which says it is illegal to discriminate against people on the basis of age, disability, gender and religion, among other protected characteristics.



The inclusion of ethical veganism within the remit of this law came after an employment tribunal ruled in favor of Jordi Casamitjana, who alleged he was fired from his job at the League Against Cruel Sports for his beliefs. Casamitjana claimed he was fired for telling colleagues that the League’s pension fund was invested in companies involved in animal testing.



Matt Turner, a spokesman for The Vegan Society, said the protections for ethical vegans in the U.K. are “long overdue.”



“As momentum in the U.K. continues to grow, it’s imperative that employers ensure that the ever-increasing number of ethical vegans are protected and catered for in the workplace,” he said.



Eric Brent, CEO of California-based online vegan and vegetarian restaurant&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/12/02/london-ranked-as-top-city-globally-for-vegan-friendly-restaurants.html">directory HappyCow</a>, said he believed the same legal protections should apply to vegans in the U.S.



He argued that vegans should be included on the list of people protected under Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) laws, which protect workers in the U.S. against workplace discrimination.



The EEOC, meanwhile, told CNBC via email that veganism could sometimes be considered a religious practice and be protected under its laws.



For example, in 2012, a federal district court ruled in favor of a woman who filed a lawsuit over her dismissal from a hospital. The woman refused to get a flu vaccination which she said went against her veganism and she used biblical extracts as the basis for arguing her beliefs.



<iframe loading="lazy" width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gj2RxzdFCYg" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>



This article was first published on CNBC  <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/25/vegan-friendly-offices-tips-on-how-to-make-workplaces-more-inclusive.html?forYou=true">https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/25/vegan-friendly-offices-tips-on-how-to-make-workplaces-more-inclusive.html?forYou=true</a> and is republished with its permission.

Young Asian blogger having vegetarian breakfast at work

Vegans want to change the workplace … and it all starts in the kitchen

By <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/muazu-ibrahim-966673">Muazu Ibrahim</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-for-development-studies-3706">University for Development Studies</a>

Economic growth is driven by a number of factors. These include foreign direct investment, national savings, household spending, fiscal and monetary policies. Since the late 1980s African governments have fully embraced foreign direct investment as a major driver of growth. 

One of the avenues through which countries have sought to attract more foreign direct investment has been investment summits. These are hosted jointly with developed countries. They include the <a href="https://www.odi.org/blogs/10674-focac-2018-what-expect-next-weeks-china-africa-summit">Africa-China Investment Summit</a>, <a href="https://www.un.org/africarenewal/news/first-uk-africa-investment-summit-signals-post-brexit-plans-continent">Africa-UK Investment Summit</a> and the <a href="https://www.businessghana.com/site/news/business/199915/2020-U-S-Africa-Business-Summit-to-be-Hosted-in-Morocco">Africa-US Investment Summit</a>.

Despite these efforts, <a href="https://unctad.org/en/PublicationsLibrary/wir2019_en.pdf">data</a> shows that Africa has not been a major <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/BX.KLT.DINV.WD.GD.ZS?locations=ZG">recipient</a> of these flows. In fact, it attracts a lot less than other developing countries. 

There’s a bigger problem too – the impact on economic growth of the foreign direct investment the continent attracts is lower than other comparable parts of the world. In <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/20430795.2019.1683504">our research</a> we set out to understand why. To do this, we looked at the financial services sector which is underdeveloped in most African countries.

<h2>The search</h2>

We examined <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/20430795.2019.1683504">data</a> from 45 countries between 1980 and 2016. The variables we looked at included economic growth, foreign direct investment, financial sector development, human capital, government expenditure and gross fixed capital formation. 

The countries were selected based on data availability. They comprised several countries from all the regional blocs, including six countries from Northern Africa.

Overall, the countinent’s financial sector is under-developed compared to other emerging economies, with the exception of South Africa which is relatively well-developed. The countries’ financial sectors are bank-based, thus providing limited space for the equity (capital) markets. 

We sought to examine the relationship among three factors: foreign direct investment, economic growth, and financial sector development. Financial sector development measures a country’s financial institutions to make financial services available to citizens. It also includes the provision of finance to businesses.

There has been a lot of economic literature on the impact of foreign direct investment on economic growth. And there have been many <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266079304_FOREIGN_DIRECT_INVESTMENT_FINANCIAL_SECTOR_DEVELOPMENT_ECONOMIC_GROWTH_EMPIRICAL_EVIDENCE_ON_LINKS_FROM_GHANA_INTRODUCTION">studies</a> on the linkages between foreign direct investment, financial sectors and economic growth. But less has been done on the extent to which Africa’s financial sector is a conduit through which foreign direct investment drives economic growth.

<a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1911-8074/12/4/176/pdf">Research</a> findings on the impact of foreign direct investment on a country’s economic growth are mixed. This implies that the extent of the impact is determined by other <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/325657823_The_Impact_of_Foreign_Direct_Investment_on_Economic_Growth_a_Causal_Study_in_the_United_States">factors</a> and characteristics of a country’s economy. 

That’s why we chose to look at how the financial sector, in particular its stage of development, can moderate the impact of foreign direct investment on economic growth.

<h2>What attracts foreign direct investment</h2>

For the most part, foreign direct investment inflows to Africa have generally been attributed to five factors. These are regulations (ease of doing business), the general investment climate, broader economic reforms, information communication and technology development, and improvements in infrastructure.

Foreign direct investment plays an important role in economic development. It provides financial resources, technological spillovers and improvement in human capital. These are all critical factors that can spur Africa’s economic development by addressing infrastructural deficits and reducing unemployment. 

The effect of foreign direct investment on economic growth is well documented globally. Funds from foreign investors are channelled through a country’s financial system before being allocated to the targeted beneficiary of the investment. 

In Africa’s case we <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/20430795.2019.1683504">found</a> that the continent’s underdeveloped financial sector has dampened the impact of foreign direct investment on economic growth. 

To measure financial sector development we calculated credit provided by the financial sector to the private sector as a percentage of GDP. On this measure, Africa’s financial sector fails to allocate financial resources effectively and efficiently to the productive sectors of the economy. 

When the financial sector does allocate resources, it invests in risky projects. The net effect is that it hurts economic growth and therefore fails to support foreign direct investment.

<h2>What’s to be done</h2>

Foreign direct investment inflows to Africa are increasing, albeit marginally. What our study shows is that African governments need to spend more effort on maximising the impact of foreign direct investment on economic growth. This is over and above current efforts to gain a bigger share of global foreign direct investment flows. Failure to raise the impact of foreign direct investment on economic growth will mean that African countries will not fully benefit from higher inflows.

Improving the performance of the financial sector should be one of the major preoccupations of African policymakers. This should include regulators improving their supervisory roles. And they should strengthen the financial sector’s ability to allocate resources effectively to the productive sectors of the economy. Improvements in corporate governance and risk management strategies would also help.

This article was co-authored with Abraham Mensah Acquah. He holds BA (Integrated Business Studies) and a Master of Commerce degree in Banking and Finance from the School of Business and Law, University for Development Studies, Wa, Ghana.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/131856/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important" />

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/muazu-ibrahim-966673">Muazu Ibrahim</a>, Lecturer, Department of Banking and Finance, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-for-development-studies-3706">University for Development Studies</a>

This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/african-countries-arent-getting-as-much-as-they-should-from-foreign-direct-investment-131856">original article</a>.

Wikimedia Commons_Foreign Direct Investment

Why African countries aren’t getting as much as they should from foreign direct investment

JOHANNESBURG, Feb 24 (Reuters) &#8211; South African petrochemicals group Sasol reported on Monday a 74% drop in interim profit, weighed down by problems at its Lake Charles Chemicals project (LCCP) in the United States and softer chemical and Brent crude oil prices.



Difficulties at the Lake Charles project, which is costing billions of dollars more than initial estimates, have led to the resignation of the company&#8217;s joint chief executives late last year.



&#8220;The financial results were impacted mostly by a weak macroeconomic environment, which resulted in lower margins, and the LCCP being in a ramp-up phase,&#8221; Sasol said.



Headline earnings per share, the main profit measure, for the six months ended Dec. 31 fell to 5.94 rand ($0.40) from 23.25 rand a year earlier.



Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) fell 27% to 19.6 billion rand.



LCCP hurt EBITDA by 1.1 billion rand, and the plant resulted in 1.7 billion rand in depreciation charges.



Sasol said revenue from the Louisiana plant, which converts natural gas into plastics ingredient ethylene, did not yet match its project costs. However, the company expects the facility to generate positive EBITDA in the second half of the year.



The company said LCCP&#8217;s overall project completion was at 99% at the end of December. Investigations into a fire at one of the units at the LCCP plant in January revealed that a piping support structure within the emergency vent system failed during commissioning, causing a pipe to dislodge.



Sasol, the world&#8217;s top manufacturer of motor fuel from coal, said no major equipment was damaged, and the incident was isolated but beneficial operation of the unit would be delayed to the second half of 2020.



The overall cost estimate for LCCP is tracking $12.8 billion, within its previous guidance of $12.6 billion to $12.9 billion.



The LCCP was expected to cost $8.9 billion in a 2014 forecast. ($1 = 14.9945 rand) 



(Reporting by Tanisha Heiberg; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Maju Samuel)

GettyImages-71007872

South Africa’s Sasol half-year earnings fall 74%, here’s why

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1110" height="740" src="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Reem-Al-Hashimy-1110x740.jpg" alt="Reem Al Hashimy, the UAE’s Minister for International Cooperation and Director General, Expo 2020 Dubai Bureau" class="wp-image-360733" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Reem-Al-Hashimy-1110x740.jpg 1110w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Reem-Al-Hashimy-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Reem-Al-Hashimy-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Reem-Al-Hashimy-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Reem-Al-Hashimy-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Reem-Al-Hashimy-696x464.jpg 696w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Reem-Al-Hashimy-1068x712.jpg 1068w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Reem-Al-Hashimy-630x420.jpg 630w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Reem-Al-Hashimy-1920x1281.jpg 1920w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Reem-Al-Hashimy.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1110px) 100vw, 1110px" /><figcaption>Reem Al Hashimy, the UAE’s Minister for International Cooperation and Director General, Expo 2020 Dubai Bureau</figcaption></figure>



For the first time in the near 170-year history of World Expos, all countries in Africa will participate at Expo 202o Dubai, set to unfold as the planet’s biggest show, for six months from October 20 this year.





For the first time, the African Union (AU) will also host a pavilion at the expo, to increase the decibel on the continent’s policies for potential and progress to millions of visitors expected to descend from around the world to the glistening city of Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).&nbsp;&nbsp;



To strengthen the almost 50-year partnership with Africa, recently, a UAE Consortium for Africa was launched, with the UAE committing to invest $500 million– in a consolidation of government and private resources– into the continent. A primary focus of the consortium will be digitization and developing the youth on the continent.



Her Excellency Reem Al Hashimy, the&nbsp;UAE’s Minister for International Cooperation and Director General, Expo 2020 Dubai Bureau,&nbsp;elaborates on taking the Africa partnership to the next level.



&nbsp;“The expo will further catalyze the relationship with Africa developed over the last few decades. Last year, we had 24 heads of government from the African continent in the UAE. The continent sees us as a partner,” she says in an interview with FORBES AFRICA.



Minister Al Hashimy, who has also been a regular attendee at the AU summit in Ethiopia for several years now, says the UAE&nbsp;recognizes that the real value lies in the long-term building of human capital, which is&nbsp;plans to deepen trade ties with South Africa and the rest of the continent.



“Now – at the start of the third decade of the millennium – we need to step it up and help underpin Africa’s potential<a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/news/2020/02/16/powering-africas-bright-future-how-digitising-a-continents-youth-will-drive-global-progress/"> through its people</a>, because how Africa develops, how it ensures its stability, builds on its successes and overcomes its challenges, will have enormous implications, not just for the continent itself, but for every country on the planet.”



Expo 2020, themed ‘Connecting Minds, Creating The Future’, is expected to bring together 192 participating nations to Dubai.



The AU will&nbsp;focus its participation on the expo’s sub-theme, ‘Opportunity’, aiming&nbsp;to utilize the platform to tell the African story and position the continent for hosting a World Expo in the future.

Reem Al Hashimy, the UAE’s Minister for International Cooperation and Director General, Expo 2020 Dubai Bureau

Reem Al Hashimy

A $500 million consortium and global stage for Africa at Expo 2020 Dubai

Aliko-Dangote-1386×1536

The Forbes Billionaires List: Africa’s Billionaires 2020

By Dr Aradhana Ramnund-Mansingh, an academic at MANCOSA and former Human Resource Executive.



The Queen Bee Syndrome whereby women in power consciously impede the development of other women in the workplace, is slowly gaining ground in South Africa.



Queen Bees of the human kind are undoing the gains
of gender equality in the workplace.



The Queen Bee Syndrome is one in which a woman in a
position of authority views or treats subordinates more critically if they are
female, while favouring males when it comes to promotion.




In
nature the Queen Bee is the only queen in her colony; she is fed royal jelly
and is the largest bee in the colony with the most graceful body. Contrary to
nature, the human Queen Bee is anything but graceful &#8211; she is rude, arrogant
and patronising.



At a time when we should be seeing more women
enabling and empowering each other, there is a progressive rise in the number
of Queen Bees in many corporates. This is concomitant with more women assuming
executive positions than before. 



The
Queen Bee phenomenon has been documented by several studies. In one study,
scientists from the&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Toronto">University of Toronto</a>&nbsp;speculated that the Queen
Bee Syndrome may be the reason that women find it more stressful to work for
female managers; no difference was found in stress levels for male workers.




Amidst
challenges women face to enter the workplace; to overcome socially constructed
norms; and to gain parity at work, women continue to experience the lethal
sting of a Queen Bee who succeeded in her career, but refuses to help other
women do the same.



Throughout
centuries, women faced the constant subjugation by men in terms of policies,
procedures, laws, harassment, power struggles and gender stereotyping. The
boys’ networks control all the power mandates which prescribe practice and
behaviour. When women report injustices and policy contraventions, the decision-making
panels are often made of men who stand in solidarity to uphold decisions which
discredit the woman in question. 



The
only individuals who understand the innate struggle and challenges women face,
are women themselves. However, this narrative does not translate into the
positive, happy ending that it should. 



Within
the South African labour spaces, the dialogue of the Queen Bee has begun but
has not yet gained adequate momentum. Very limited academic research showcasing
South African examples are available. 



Although
mostly unfamiliar in a South African context, Queen Bee
was a term coined internationally in the 1970s. A Queen Bee may display some
positive feminine leadership values, but she consciously chooses to impede the
development of other women.



The Queen Bee recognizes her struggles
towards success as a lonely journey. The widespread belief is that women have
to emulate men in order to maintain success. Women have to portray male
characteristics and personify men by exhibiting brash, harsh and tough
behaviour, to gain some notion of respect from her male counterparts. 



Queen Bees gain support from the “male
tribe” of the organization if she is seen as part of their group. What female
leaders fail to take cognisance of is the fact that their male colleagues will “allow”
them to climb only up to a certain point and thus the glass ceiling continues
to prevail. 



When support, development, mentorship
or advice is sought, other women will be met by aggression and a clear
condescending tone of the power lines being drawn. 



It is important for women to know and
understand the different types of women who impede their advancement and
success, and act strategically with this knowledge in mind. 



There are different types of women who
will obstruct; those who will agree to be your mentor but exploit you; those
who show you kindness but stand firm with the boys’ network when decisions for
development are put to the fore. It is critical to discern the extent your
fellow sisters will pull you down. 



The Queen Bee will offer no support to
developing women. The Princess Bee will support other women as long as they do
not violate her territory. Hence, she will mentor others only as long as they
stay separate from her domain. The Phantom Bee will not facilitate finding
another woman for a job vacancy &#8211; men are then allocated the job and fewer
women are afforded access to new job. Then there is the Cinderella complex &#8211; the ugly
step-sisters work together to undermine the success of one sister



There is,
however, a spark of light within the darkness. The women who support, encourage
and mentor other women by far exceed the Queen Bees. These women need to
continue the stellar work that they do. 



When faced with the double-edged sword in positions of power, women need to be steadfast in their recognition of challenges that the sisterhood face and not surrender their soul to the boys’ network.



Do not be hypnotised by power and lose sight
of logic and sisterhood. Remember the journey; remember the struggle when more than
20 000 women, crying “we’ve had enough” marched to the Union Buildings on 9
August 1956 to protest against the apartheid pass laws, regarded one of the
largest demonstrations of the time. 



Together we can accomplish and overcome. Be a mentor and give courage and support to as many women as possible. If you encounter the Queen Bee and members of her royal court, make the choice not to be dampened by their crude and cold demeanour.

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Global net zero emissions goal would require $1-2 trillion a year investment – study

Rebuilt after 9/11, World Trade Center threatened anew by coronavirus

When the U.S. sneezes, the world catches a cold. What happens when it has severe COVID-19?

Op-Ed: Ending global hunger requires tackling gender inequality

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South African economy enters recession, what you need to know

2 things Serena Williams does every day to be productive

What you need to know about this Zambian agriculture business launching an $81 million farmer financing scheme

Here are the steps Nigeria is taking to prepare for more cases of coronavirus

SA trade union COSATU says it won’t allow workers’ wages to be slashed

Vegans want to change the workplace … and it all starts in the kitchen

Why African countries aren’t getting as much as they should from foreign direct investment

South Africa’s Sasol half-year earnings fall 74%, here’s why

A $500 million consortium and global stage for Africa at Expo 2020 Dubai

The Forbes Billionaires List: Africa’s Billionaires 2020

Op-Ed: Queen bees muscle out other women in the workplace

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