Online retail is a long-standing area of interest for retailers/merchants. Having observed the phenomenon rise to prominence in countries like China and the USA, businesses all over the world are trying to varying degrees to embrace this method of transacting. Africa is no exception though we recently outlined the factors presently limiting e-commerce on the continent.  As a follow-up to that article, we thought it apt to take a closer look into one of the few retailers that has experienced well-detailed growth in online retailing within the African context – Woolworths SA. Split between ..read more

During the late 2000s the idea that telecoms services should be accessible to the widest number of people at affordable prices started to take root in Africa. The mechanism designed to ensure this goal would become a reality was the Universal Services Fund (USF). By 2013, Africa had over 20 USFs and most recent data indicates that of the 54 countries on the continent, 51 have either introduced or are in the process of introducing USF programs. Now that a decade of USF activity has passed – it’s fair to take stock and try to assess how impactful these programs have been and continue to be prese ..read more

The Transactions Cleared on an Immediate Basis (TCIB) is the Southern African Development Community’s (SADC) instant payments solution for the region and a first of its kind in the region.  It works on a real-time, interoperable, cross-border payments scheme that offers financial services (both banks and non-banks) corridors to expand the reach of convenient financial services. Timeline *BankservAfrica is an automated clearing house located in Johannesburg, South Africa, serving both national and pan-African transactions The roots of the TCIB Regional payment integration in SADC is hardl ..read more

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) unveiled the 2024 monetary policy statement – and as expected introduced a draft of new currency measures in an attempt to tame the country’s runaway inflation. The currency which will be called the ZiG (Zimbabwe Gold) will come into effect on the 8th of April. The Central Bank announced that current balances of ZWL will be converted into ZiG at an exchange rate of ZiG1:ZWL13.57, with Governor John Mushayavanhu noting that the value is derived from dividing ZWL rate with today’s gold price. Subsequently, the ZiG will start off at an exchange rate of 1:0.06 wi ..read more

The United States recently signed an MOU with the African Development Bank (AfDB) and Trafigura to build out the Lobito Railway Corridor – a US$2.3bn railway line that will span 2600 KM and connect 3 countries within the SADC region i.e Angola, DRC and Zambia. Construction on the railway line is expected to begin in 2026 following an ongoing feasibility study… The project has been noted in its significance as the USA has largely ignored partnering with African countries in infrastructure development deals. This stance has largely left African countries looking for financing to build out infras ..read more

In 2020, Startups in Africa’s energy sector managed to raise US$70,306,000 in funding and all startups on the continent managed to raise US$700 million in what was described at the time as a “record year” by Disrupt Africa. At the time everyone was well aware that there was still room for growth in funding for African startups but few examples illustrate that growth quite as well as what has since happened in the energy sector. In 2023, startups within this sector managed to raise an eye-watering US$656,863,000 in funding – quite close to what was raised by the entire startup industry just 4 y ..read more

According to a well-placed source, we have learned that BancABC has begun “retrenching” over 50% of its management staff. Saying these individuals were laid off is a little kind because there are, from the documents we gleaned, dismissals on grounds we can’t quite understand… The respondents received documents that revealed that they were going to be suspended without pay for alleged offences they committed that were bespoke to each one. This was also followed up by an immediate suspension without pay until hearings were conducted to process their exit from the company. The first Quarter of 20 ..read more

Back in 2013, McKinsey indicated that by 2025 Africa had the potential to make US$75bn in annual eCommerce sales. 11 years have passed and Statista noted that eCommerce was a US$28bn market in 2023 which begs the question – what’s going wrong? Why is the continent US$47bn dollars of the mark and why is eCommerce still largely an emerging industry in Africa? As is usually the case, we took a look at some stats to try and explain why it’s so difficult for eCommerce to make headway on the continent… “If 10 percent of retail spending in Africa’s largest economies were to move online, e-commerce a ..read more

Zimbabwe and its approach to the AfCFTA can be described, from the outside looking in, as, at best, tepid. Beyond the ratification of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area Agreement, there has been little movement inside Zimbabwe to seize whatever opportunities the AfCFTA has to offer. What can Zimbabwe offer right now and quickly? At the recently concluded conference hosted by the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) on the country’s AfCFTA participation, the following was revealed about what value proposition Zimbabwe could offer to the continental free trade area. In the presentation by the ..read more

From climate change mitigation strategies to personalised medicine needs, southern Africa faces complex challenges. The “developed” world has been using technology and high-performance computing (HPC) to solve such problems and thus the question arose – are HPCs being utilised in Africa and to what degree are we reaping the benefits of this technology? HPCs as a concept are still quite novel in Africa and so we will take a “first principles” approach and start by outlining the concept along with highlighting some of the breakthroughs achieved globally. This will illustrate the usefulness and p ..read more