Category: Business
Morocco, Tunisia Vie to Become the “New China in Africa”
For years, European companies, like others, have been steadily moving their production from China to lower-cost, less complicated manufacturing hubs in Southeast Asia and other parts of the world. The massive disruption to global supply chains brought about due to the COVID-19 outbreak has only accelerated that ...
Neither a Pandemic nor Economic Crisis Appears to be Slowing China’s Infrastructure Building Spree in Africa
Regular readers will have noticed the almost daily announcements of Chinese infrastructure projects across Africa. While quantifying all these new contracts is a challenge, it does appear that China's state-run construction companies' African operations have been quite resilient during the COVID-19 outbreak and the subsequent economic crisis. ...
“Blitzscaling” in African Markets: Opera’s Opay Optimizes Its Operations
Recently, OPay, the Chinese-backed super app operating in Nigeria made an announcement that garnered plenty of attention. Best known for its lime-green ‘Uber for motorcycle taxis’ service, the company, which is backed by Softbank and Meituan Dianping (China’s other super ...
New Documentary Makes the Case for Kenya’s Embattled Standard Gauge Railway Cargo Lines
Supporters of Kenya's ailing Standard Gauge Railway produced a 20 minute-documentary that was broadcast on national TV this week in an attempt to persuade an increasingly skeptical public of the SGR's merits. The program was produced by ChamsMedia, ...
With All Suspects Now in Custody, Zambian Authorities Begin Investigation Into Sunday’s Murder of Three Chinese Nationals
Zambian police on Wednesday arrested the third and final suspect accused of murdering three Chinese nationals last weekend at their clothing factory in the Makeni, a suburb of the capital Lusaka. Home Affairs Minister Stephen Kampyongo promised a full investigation into the attack.
In a Dramatic Move, Kenya’s Solicitor General Wants to Terminate the SGR’s Contract With Its Chinese Operator
Solicitor General Kennedy Ogeto is calling for the immediate termination of Kenya Railways's contract with the Chinese-owned Africa Star Railway Operation Company, two years ahead of the agreement's scheduled review date. Ogeto's move is apparently motivated by lower than expected revenue ...
Chinese-owned Farms Struggle to Help Improve Food Security in Zimbabwe
Strategic investments by the Chinese enterprises in Zimbabwe's agriculture sector face mounting challenges that are scuttling plans to assist the southern African country's erstwhile foothold as a net food producer. The Sino-Zim ventures were launched with the aim of assisting the southern African country's struggling food security ...
How China’s Technology Startups Are Scaling Across Africa
Computer Village in Lagos, Nigeria is a curious combination of old and new. Dirt roads are lined by hundreds of kiosks featuring the latest mobile phones and computers. Hawkers and criers call out deals at the entrance to both bric-a-brac sheet ...
Chinese Technology and Financing Gives a Boost to Malawi’s Small-Scale Cotton Farmers
John Chikwenga, 44, of Mululu village in Balaka district in eastern Malawi thought his eyes were deceiving him when he saw his prize: a brand new tractor. He had suffered years of backache and sore muscles from tilling his fields with a hoe. ...
What It Takes to Build a Successful Chinese Agricultural Partnership in Mozambique
One of the most prominent themes to emerge from all those Africa summits that take place around the world is the importance of replacing traditional aid programs with new private-sector-led trade and investment initiatives, specifically public-private partnerships (PPPs).
With No End in Sight, Livelihoods in Kenya Now at Risk Due to COVID-19 Trade Crisis
With China's factories and ports still struggling to get back up to speed, the massive disruptions to the global supply chain are being felt disproportionately among small-to-medium-sized enterprises in countries like Kenya. Inventories are running so low now in a rapidly ...
Price Gouging, Illegal Sales to China Make it Difficult for Africans to Protect Themselves Against Infection
Face masks, hand sanitizers and other protective gear against infection from the deadly COVID-19 are becoming harder to find in many African cities as speculators hoard supplies and sell them overseas. Meantime, when they are available, prices have reportedly surged so high in some pharmacies putting them ...