What the DRC’s Election Means for its Economy
The prospective change of administration may spur optimism among mining investors including Glencore Plc and Barrick Gold Corp. that they can reverse elements of a fiercely disputed new industry code that raised royalties and added taxes. The African country is the world’s main supplier of battery ingredient cobalt and a key source of minerals from copper to tantalum. That means miners, analysts and users of the metals — which range from carmakers to mobile-phone companies.
SOURCES: Bloomberg
Waste Management is a Growing Problem across Africa
Experts argue that as Africa’s urban growth mushroomed by 3.55% per annum over the last two decades – a trend expected to continue well into the future – the problem of waste management has only become more acute and Africa’s waste generation is expected to reach 244m tonnes per year by 2025. Sub-Saharan Africa is forecast to become the largest area of total waste generation in the world on current trends.
SOURCES: African Business Magazine
How Africa Might be Hit by a Chinese Slowdown
With Chinese investment in some African nations worth more than some of those states’ own domestic spending, analysts fear the prospect of weaker investment in future and fading demand for commodity exports.
SOURCES: The Guardian
Growth of Satellite Towns Gives Young Professionals an Opportunity to Own an Affordable Home
The development of satellite towns has been unstoppable due to the rise in demand to settle close to urban areas by investors who would rather commute to their places of work from their own homes than rent in the CBDs for a long time. Nairobi, for example, is the 97th most expensive home-rental city in the world after renowned destinations like Bangkok and Cairo according to Bloomberg World Airbnb cost Index.
SOURCES: Africa.com
Crises Facing Libya’s Non-oil Industry
When Libya’s Trucks and Buses Company, the country’s sole automobile manufacturer, reopened in May 2017; many saw this as a sign of hope with the encouragement of the UN-backed government of national accord. But while it once turned out 5,000 vehicles a year, it now completes only 8 a month with demand mostly coming from Libyan state institutions.
SOURCES: Reuters
Getting around Africa’s Megacities
Could Dar es Salaam’s experiment with Africa’s first ‘gold standard’ bus rapid transit system offer an alternative to a future dependent on private cars? Unlike many cities on the continent, Dar es Salaam isn’t trying to build a metro. It has chosen a less sexy but cheaper and more achievable route: the bus.
SOURCES: The Guardian
Can a Crop Crisis be Averted in Zimbabwe?
Farmers are urging authorities to undertake cloud seeding to ease an early-season drought that’s hurting crops and destroying cattle pastures. For decades farmers have been using seeded clouds with silver iodide, which can thicken them to encourage rain by cooling water droplets and making them heavier, however, the science is disputed by some meteorologists.
SOURCES: Business Day Live
Understanding Nigeria’s New Minimum Wage
President Muhammadu Buhari said that the salaries of workers earning above the new minimum wage will be renegotiated. He said it was important to properly prepare the minds of those involved so that they will not be taken unawares when the time comes.
SOURCES: Vanguard
Ghana’s Contribution to Plastic Waste Can Be Reduced with the Right Investment
Nelson Boateng, Chief Executive Director of Nelplast Ghana limited, began moulding and creating pavement blocks from plastic in 2015. The company uses 70 percent sand and 30 percent plastic to manufacture the pavement blocks, but the ratio of the two materials changes depending on the kind of pavement project.
SOURCES: Africa.com
Cashing In on South African Men’s Grooming Habits
South Africa has been slow to catch the “metrosexual” wave, but a growing middle class and the spread of fashion trends on social media have seen global companies such as Unilever, Procter & Gamble, and L’Oreal target more products at African men. Salon chains are opening men-only parlors to sell these products and to meet the demand for everything from manicures to eyebrow threading. Sorbet Man has launched as a spinoff from a women’s salon brand three years ago and now has 20 franchise stores. It expects turnover to rise 50 percent this year.
SOURCES: CNBC Africa