Connecting Africa’s Skilled Professionals
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An independent project funded by Comic Relief and Unbound Philanthropy, the RSA is seeking to identify and bring together the UK’s most promising individuals of African origin with a desire to support African communities. The project, called Diaspora ChangeMakers, will encompass a number of activities, among them leadership development courses to build the capacity of participants for making change, and the creation of a new Diaspora ChangeMakers Network to help them share ideas and work together on new projects. The programme will run until early 2015. The organisers are looking for people who are passionate about improving the lives of communities in Africa or in the diaspora, and feel they would benefit from the networking and leadership development activities on offer in the project. Even for those who aren’t in the core group of 100 Diaspora ChangeMakers undergoing the leadership development training, there are still other ways to get involved, including joining the ChangeMakers network to share ideas, contacts and to collaborate on new projects with other ChangeMakers at all levels of development or serving as a mentor or ambassador and supporting less experienced ChangeMakers. Anyone who wishes to take part, or who wants to nominate someone else, may do so by visiting the Diaspora ChangeMakers webpage here. The deadline for the first wave of applications is September 15th.For further information: changemakers@rsa.org.uk
Fund101 targets UK-based entrepreneurs looking to turn an idea into a new business and existing small companies wishing to purchase equipment to help take their enterprise to the next level. Administered by Enterprise Nation, the programme is designed to assist those who are looking for relatively small amounts of capital support. The initial funding pool is £50,000 and this will be topped up each month with an additional £5,000. Individual grants ranging from £50 to £500 can be requested. Fund101 winners will also receive up to $500 of Elance credit to spend on outsourced work. The grants can be used to fund miscellaneous capital costs associated with starting up a new venture and for existing small businesses to purchase equipment, promotional flyers, hardware etc, in order to boost their operations. UK-based start-ups looking to commence trading and those who are already in business and need funding to further their enterprise may be eligible for assistance through Fund101. Click here for more details.
Canada has announced that it will establish new mandatory reporting standards for Canadian extractive companies. Canada’s announcement that it will now establish new mandatory reporting standards brings the country in-line with the direction taken by the US and the EU. Canada, which is home to some of the world’s largest mining companies, has long been seen as reluctant to embrace the trend to improve transparency in extractive industries. A plenary vote in the European Parliament has also approved EU Transparency and Accounting Directives. The vote in the European Parliament creates a binding legal requirement for EU-listed and large privately owned oil, gas, mining and logging companies to publish all payments over €100,000 to governments in every country where they operate. This brings the EU in line with similar extractive industry transparency rules in the United States, under the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, that will take effect this year.
Ernst & Young has announced the launch of a National Equality Standard (NES) to tackle inequality and promote inclusion, receiving backing from top UK businesses.
The NES has been supported by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), and early members of the NES board include Nestle, Vodafone, Pearson, Sainsbury’s, RBS and Microsoft UK. To be awarded the NES, companies will undertake an assessment against a set of seven criteria, which will be reviewed by trained NES assessors. Harry Gaskell, Managing Partner of Ernst & Young’s UK & Ireland Advisory practice and Head of Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) says: “D&I is probably the biggest strategic challenge for business in the next 10 years. As global business challenges become more complex, solving them requires calling on the widest spectrum of views and opinion to offer diversity of thought and perspective.The NES will help businesses face up to that challenge. It is a robust diversity standard that provides businesses with a range of indicators to help them drive sustainable change and demonstrate exceptional practice.”
A financial background is the best preparation for leading a FTSE 100 company according to new research. The survey from recruitment specialists Robert Half UK found that over half of current CEOs (52%) have previously worked in financial management or accountancy roles. A fifth (21%) had backgrounds in engineering or natural resource industries, 9% had experience in retail and hospitality, 8% worked in marketing and advertising, 4% had come from technology roles and 6% had been in other industries. Phil Sheridan, UK Managing Director of Robert Half said: “The risk and regulation agenda is driving demand for those with finance skills who can oversee all operational reporting groups within a business. “We anticipate that this demand will carry on for the foreseeable future, which means that finance continues to be a great career path for those looking to climb to the very top of the career ladder.” However the research also showed that the drive to put more women on boards could be stagnating as it fell 0.1% from last year to 17.3%. Sheridan added: “The diversity mix in the FTSE’s top boardrooms is beginning to change but perhaps not quickly enough. Great talent can be found and nurtured across the gender, background and age spectrum and companies should review their succession planning and recruitment strategies to ensure they can leverage the range of talent available.”
Male dominance in corporate culture is the biggest barrier to women reaching board level positions according to senior executives. Board network Inspire and executive search firm Harvey Nash survey of 600 directors, CEOs and executive found that a quarter of respondents (23%) thought it was the biggest female progression and over half (52%) thought current corporate cultures are dramatically reducing the length of time women are prepared to stay and develop their career with an employer. Alexa Bailey, co-founder of Inspire and consultant at Harvey Nash said: “The kind of activities that are seen to help an individual’s career, such as additional networking opportunities, social events, or staying longer in the office, are harder to participate in for anyone with responsibilities outside of work.“By letting too many women opt out of corporate life halfway up the career ladder, organisations risk disconnecting with their customers, weakening their competitive edge and missing out on further opportunities. This isn’t a talent issue, it’s simply a bottom line business issue.” The survey also found that a change in culture would increase the productivity of all employees with 60% saying it would improve if their work place played a more active role in helping balance their work and non-work lives. To tackle this counterproductive approach to the workplace, women respondents cited an improved culture (52%), flexible working (36%) and the removal of unconscious bias in the workplace (23%) as the most effective way to persuade them to stay longer. Men agreed with the top two, but cited better investment in technology, such as video conferencing or laptops for remote working, as their third choice (30%).
Nominations for the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service 2014 are now being accepted. The closing date is 30 September 2013. The prestigious Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service has been awarded to 117 voluntary groups from across the UK. The annual award recognises and rewards excellence in voluntary activities carried out by groups in the community. First announced in 2002 as part of the celebrations for The Queen's Golden Jubilee, the award is given for outstanding achievement by groups of volunteers who regularly devote their time to helping others in the community, improving the quality of life and opportunity for others and providing an outstanding service. This year’s recipients were selected from 270 groups that had been nominated by members of the public who have seen the difference the volunteers have made to the lives of others or witnessed the benefits of a group’s work in their community. Groups must be nominated, for example, by those who benefit from their work, members of the public, representatives of public bodies, or other voluntary groups. Nominations are assessed by a regional committee before being passed to a national committee for final selection and recommendation to The Queen. Any group of two or more people doing volunteering work can be nominated for the award. The majority of the group must be volunteers, and more than half the volunteers must have the right to live in the UK. For information on how to nominate a group, visit The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service website
Competition to attract and recruit key talent continues to intensify as labour turnover remains slow, according to the latest CIPD/Hays Resourcing and Talent Planning survey. The number of recruiters who said the ‘war for talent’ was an ongoing issue for them has more than tripled from 20 per cent in 2009 to 62 per cent in this year’s survey. Six out of 10 organisations said they had experienced difficulties filling vacancies in the past year, with more than half (52 per cent) reporting that managerial and professional posts were the hardest to fill. Technical specialists were the next most difficult to hire according to 46 per cent of employers. Perhaps worryingly, a higher proportion of employers in the manufacturing sector (57 per cent) reported problems finding people with technical expertise. Further survey results suggest that the steady decline in the employee turnover rate since 2008 is partly responsible for the lack of available talent. While a sixth of organisations agreed that an absence of applicants has contributed to recruitment difficulties. The most common ways for employers to plug their skills gap included developing existing employees, using a corporate website to attract talent and recruitment agencies. More employers are also using social media, particularly professional networks such as LinkedIn, to find candidates. Nearly a third (31 per cent) consider professional networks to be one of the most effective methods of attracting applications compared with 22 per cent in 2012. However, while more than half of organisations report that they make use of social media in resourcing, just two fifths have a dedicated strategy and only a similar proportion has someone on their team that has been trained to use social media effectively.
Young people in the UK are more tech savvy than their global counterparts according to new research. The report by Telefónica surveyed more than 12,000 people in 27 countries and found that nearly half (49%) of 18 to 30 year olds in the UK believe they have excellent knowledge of technology compared to 30% worldwide. As the generation who grew up with the internet, millennials believe an education in technology is now critical to their future success(25%), more so than any other discipline, including economics (18%), science (18%) or languages (8%). And a significantly larger proportion of males (31%) compared to females (18%) identify technology as holding the key to future success. Young men (47%) were also twice as likely as young women (23%) to say that technology has been influential in shaping their outlook on life.
Nottingham based credit card company Capital One has been rated as the UK’s best large employer after winning first place in the prestigious Great Place to Work® ‘Best Workplaces’ Awards for 2013. It won the large category, open to all companies with over 500 employees, based criteria to identify the very best in leadership, people management and a positive workplace culture. Capital One was commended on its great facilities including a fully equipped music room to The Core, a free on site gym for employees. It also has a number of innovative work spaces including a snow room, complete with an igloo, a light house and beach huts. Employees of Capital One are actively encouraged to engage in charitable and community based initiatives. In 2012 Capital One made charitable donations of over £1 million, helping 25,872 people through 466 charities and community groups. Three quarters of employees participated in community activities giving up over 5,000 hours of their time in volunteering. Great Place to Work made its assessment based on a survey of over 650 Capital One employees as part of its Trust Index, which is an integral component of the awards process.
The Santander Foundation and Mayor’s Fund for London have launched Community Plus London, a new £100,000 scheme to provide grants of up to £5,000 to small registered charities across London. UK registered charities that are a local charity or a local project of a larger charity and have a project that benefits disadvantaged people in London may apply for funding. Grants will be awarded for local community projects, in any field, across a wide range of activities. Projects supporting health, skills and employment outcomes for young people in the capital are especially encouraged. Anyone can nominate a favourite local charity for a Community Plus London grant including charities themselves and members of the public. The application process has been designed to make getting a grant as simple as possible, specifically to help smaller charities access vital funding. Application forms are available in the more than 170 branches of Santander or can be accessed on the Mayor’s Fund for London website. The deadline for applications is 12 September 2013.
A third of unemployed young people in the UK think they will never get a job, according to a survey by the University and College Union (UCU). This is despite a strong desire among the vast majority of Neets (young people not in employment, education or training) to find and hold down a job or be offered the opportunity to train. The survey of more than 1,000 Neets found that nine in 10 aspire to be in work, education or training but a third feel they have 'no chance' of ever getting a job. Worryingly, more than a third of those surveyed said they ‘rarely leave the house’, two-fifths feel they are 'not part of society', and a third have suffered depression. Survey respondents said the main barriers to finding work or study were that they lacked experience (47 per cent); they lacked confidence (25 per cent); and 28 per cent highlighted the dearth of suitable well-paid jobs. However, 71 per cent of Neets said that with the right support they could contribute 'a lot to this country'. Almost half (46 per cent) said they needed help to boost their confidence and 36 per cent wanted a motivational boost. One in three said they wanted good quality advice about applying for jobs and nearly a quarter wanted clear information about opportunities.
The World Bank's Board of Executive Directors has approved a US$155 million IDA grant to support the Government of Ghana’s efforts to increase access to sanitation and water supply services and to improve the capacity of government agencies to plan and manage natural resources more sustainably. The funds will support two of the Government of Ghana’s priorities: manage natural resources in a sustainable manner and bring improved sanitation and water supply to over 3.6 million people living in and around the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA).The US$5 million IDA grant supports the Natural Resources and Environmental Governance project with Technical Assistance. The project is designed to provide technical assistance to help improve the capacity of government agencies to plan, manage and use natural resources in selected sectors more effectively and sustainably. The project will support the analytical work, policy dialogue, consultations and capacity building to address critical sector challenges identified in the first phase of the NREG Program (2008-2012). These funds will help the Government better manage its natural resources, particularly its forests, and bring more jobs and improved livelihood opportunities to people living in the country’s rural and forest areas.The second IDA grant of $US150 million will support the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA) Sanitation and Water Project, a five year program designed to bring sanitation facilities and water supply to residents in the GAMA with emphasis on low income communities and to strengthen management of environmental sanitation.
Ghana’s economic growth has been accompanied by rapid urbanization. But the provision of basic services has not kept up, and it is particularly affecting people living in low-income areas, said Ventura Bengoechea World Bank Task Team Leader for the project. I look forward to helping to effective implementation of this project and to bringing improved sanitation and water services benefiting many low-income GAMA residents.
New regulations will bring m-banking to Ethiopian consumers, but limits on the companies involved and how transactions must be managed could slow growth. In January 2013, the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) issued a directive that allows transaction-based mobile banking for the country's unbanked citizens. Four major players – Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, M-BIRR, BelCash and Zemen Bank's z-Birr – are expected to begin operations later this year, now making Zimbabwe the last African country to adopt this technology. The impact is dependent upon increased mobile penetration, as Ethiopia currently has 22 million subscribers, a figure that is expected to rise to 64 million by 2015. However, the regulatory framework could limit m-banking's progress as paper receipts will be required for every transaction, necessitating the use of a printer and a consistent electricity supply, both of which may not be easily available in remote rural areas. The transfer limit is 6,000 birr ($324) – other countries have a ceiling of $1,000. In addition, foreign-owned companies are disqualified from acting as agents.
Microsoft South Africa has set up a partnership with the South African government’s Jobs Fund that will train more than 3000 unemployed graduates to get permanent jobs in the technology sector in the next three years. According to Microsoft International, the initiative will dramatically expand Microsoft’s existing skills development programmes through funding from the Jobs Fund and the company’s own 4Afrika initiative. Patrick Dlamini, chief executive of the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), which administers the Jobs Fund, hailed the partnership with Microsoft as a major breakthrough in creating jobs in South Africa’s IT sector, saying that these types of partnerships between the private and public sector will be significant contributors to the more than 100 524 new permanent jobs which their current portfolio of approved projects aims to create by 2015. These projects will also place another 56 194 unemployed people in vacant positions, he said. The R9 billion Fund was announced by President Jacob Zuma in 2011 with the aim of finding innovative solutions to South Africa’s employment problem. To date, the Fund has approved grant funding of more than R3.4 billion, of which more than R1.2 billion has been allocated to private sector led initiatives. This R1.2 billion has been matched by a further R1.576 billion in funding raised by the private sector. While Microsoft’s Student2Business (S2B) initiative, in conjunction with government agencies, has already trained more than 6 500 unemployed graduates and placed more than 75% in permanent positions, efforts to empower the country’s youth needed to be accelerated dramatically. The new initiative will seek to triple the training outreach programmes undertaken by Microsoft in the past. The students set to sign 12-month internship contracts under the Jobs Fund banner, with a target of having a minimum of 75% of the students employed in full-time jobs by the end of their training. Training will focus on areas of need within the IT industry.
South African state company Transnet and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad) Business Foundation have launched the Africa Infrastructure Desk, a platform for linking the private and public sectors in getting infrastructure projects implemented across Africa. The “innovative research, linkage and relationship platform” will provide information on infrastructure developments, help develop investment opportunities for companies, and facilitate engagement between the public and private sector, said Transnet. The aim is to make a meaningful impact on spatial and industrial development, as well as regional integration, in the southern African region and sub-Saharan Africa’s north-south corridor. According to Nepad, infrastructure continues to be Africa’s “missing link” when it comes to developing integrated intra-Africa regional trade. While intra-African trade falls far below the continent’s potential, infrastructure projects suffer from “lack of information, inconsistent cross-border policy, and poor project bankabilit”. Through the Africa Infrastructure Desk, companies will access, collaborate and implement infrastructure project opportunities across Africa. Through Nepad, access to public and private sectors will be managed on the basis of political and regulatory certainty through strong alignment with Nepad’s Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa. Transnet CEO Brian Molefe said the partnership envisioned “an Africa without borders, an Africa that is seamlessly linked from Cape to Cairo by efficient infrastructure.
The International Student Playscript Competition (ISPC) is a playwright contest open young people based anywhere in the world. The winner will receive constructive feedback from the team at NSDF, £500 prize money, and mentoring from an established playwright. The winning script will also be 'workshopped' by a professional director at the National Student Drama Festival 2014. Playwrights from across the world, who are IdeasTap Members and aged between 16 and 25, are now being invited to submit entries. The competition is free to enter and there are no restrictions on form, content, or length, except that it must be a new play, or adaptation, and it should be written in English. The deadline for applications is Friday 11 October 2013. Click here
Young South Africans are feeling more optimistic about their future. According to the latest Youth Hope Index, a survey conducted at regular intervals by consumer insights company Pondering Panda, 56% of young people feel that South Africa will be a better place for them to live in, 10 years from now. 56% of young people feel that South Africa will be a better place for them to live in, 10 years from now. This equals the highest figure recorded previously, which was in January this year. The latest survey polled 8349 respondents, the majority of whom were between the ages of 15 and 34. It found that optimism for South Africa’s future grew from 53% in March to 56% in June. Those who had a negative outlook fell by the same number, from 47% in March to 44% in June. According to the latest survey, younger respondents were more likely to be optimistic than older ones. 64% of 15 to 17 year olds felt South Africa would be a better place to live in 10 years from now, compared to 57% of 18 to 24 year olds, and 51% in the 25 to 34 age group. Men were more optimistic about South Africa’s future than women. 60% of male respondents felt positive about the country’s future, compared to 53% of women. Optimism also differed according to race – young black South Africans were most likely to be positive about their future, with 58% feeling the country would be a better place in 10 years. In contrast, less than half of respondents from all other race groups were positive about their future. Only 49% of whites, 48% of Coloureds, and 36% of Indians felt South Africa would be a better place in which to live a decade from now. The survey, which also asked young people what worried them most about South Africa’s future, found that unemployment remained their biggest concern. 23% of respondents said it worried them more than any other issue when it came to the next 10 years. Crime (20%) and politics (11%) ranked second and third, respectively. All interviews were carried out on cellphones between the 6th and 10th of June, and the 18th and 27th of March, across South Africa. Responses were weighted to be nationally representative in terms of age, gender and race.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) flows to African countries increased by 5 percent to US$50-billion in 2012 even as global FDI fell by 18 percent, according to the latest annual survey of investment trends by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad). Unctad’s World Investment Report 2013 found that, while investment in extractive industries remained the most important driver of FDI to Africa in 2012, there was increased investment in consumer-oriented manufacturing and services, reflecting the growing purchasing power of the continent’s emerging middle class. "Between 2008 and 2012, the share of consumer-related industries in the value of greenfield investment projects in Africa grew from 7 percent of the total to 23 percent," Unctad said in a statement. Greenfield investment is investment in businesses or economic sectors that are new to a recipient country. The report found that companies from emerging markets were increasingly active in Africa, with the biggest investors in 2012 being Malaysia, South Africa, China and India in that order. South African companies were active in acquiring operations in industries such as mining, wholesale and healthcare during 2012, pushing FDI outflows from South Africa up to $4.4-billion and elevating the country to the position of largest source country of FDI in Africa. By contrast, however, FDI inflows to South Africa dropped by 24 percent to $4.6-billion in 2012. This mirrored a sharp drop in investment in the southern African region, from $8.7-billion in 2011 to $5.4-billion in 2012 - even as some countries in the region saw substantial increases. Inflows to Mozambique, for example, doubled to $5.2-billion, attracted by the country’s huge offshore gas deposits. FDI flows to West Africa also declined, slipping by 5 percent to $16.8-billion, the report show. Of investment channelled to the two major oil-producing countries in the region, FDI to Ghana remained stable at $3.3-billion, but inflows to Nigeria declined by 21 percent to $7-billion, accounting for much of the diminished flows to the region. Energy resources such as recently discovered gas reserves in Tanzania and oil fields in Uganda saw FDI inflows to East Africa expand from $4.5-billion in 2011 to $6.3-billion in 2012. Central Africa, meanwhile, saw its inflows rise to $10-billion, a record high, maintaining a trend of increasing FDI since 2010. The region’s natural resources continued to attract investment from mining companies, with significant FDI. North Africa, the report found, was beginning to see a revival in cross-border investment following the political turmoil of 2011, with FDI flows increasing by 35 percent to $11.5-billion in 2012.
South African financial services group Old Mutual is expanding its African operations with the acquisition of a controlling stake in micro-finance company Faulu Kenya. The deal, which makes up a portion of the R5-billion the company has set aside for African growth, is expected to reach completion by the end of 2013, dependent on regulatory approvals and the finalisation of legal agreements. Old Mutual Kenya comprises part of the long-term savings and investment business of the Old Mutual Group, which is listed on the Johannesburg and London Stock Exchanges. It was selected after a two-year process that saw Faulu engage with over 20 potential financial partners and narrow it down to six local and international institutional investors. The exercise entailed a rigorous vetting process to pick the best suited partner in line with Faulu’s commitment to being a financial bridge to success for Kenyans, said Faulu managing director, John Mwara. Faulu was established as a loan scheme in Nairobi in 1991 and expanded into a micro-financing firm. It was the first micro-finance institution to be licensed to mobilise deposits from the public by the Central Bank of Kenya in 2009. It now has over 100 service outlets, including 31 banking branches in 44 of the 47 counties in Kenya with over 400 000 active customers.
TLG Capital has committed to an investment of $10 million into Zimbabwe-based financial services provider NMB Bank. TLG Capital joins Africinvest, FMO and Norfund, who invested in the bank in early 2013. African Century and Old Mutual have also previously invested in NMB Bank. The bank is currently 45% owned by investors, while the rest is held by NMB Holdings. TLG’s financing will bolster the bank’s infrastructure development plans. The investor will also provide technical assistance to the bank. TLG backed the company on the back of Zimbabwe’s recent political stabilisation and strong macro fundamentals, which it believes makes the country an attractive investment destination. With headquarters in Harare, NMB Bank provides retail and commercial bank services, primarily targeting corporate and high net-worth individuals. The bank offers a range of corporate finance & advisory banking services. NMB bank was established in October 1992 and currently has 10 branches across the country.
The Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) and Banque Ouest Africaine de Développement (BOAD) have formalised a strategic collaboration to promote infrastructure development across West Africa by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the BOAD headquarters in Lomé, Republic of Togo. The MoU is designed to provide a framework for co-operation and collaboration, and facilitate both direct investment and co-financing of infrastructure projects, further harmonising institutional efforts to promote trade finance, project finance and economic development across West Africa. Specifically, the parties will collaborate in the origination and co-financing of critical regional economic infrastructure transactions, leveraging mutual resources and capacity in the areas of project finance and structuring, trade finance, technical appraisal and due diligence. It is expected that this strategic collaboration will result in several co-investments by AFC and BOAD in French and Portuguese speaking West African States. AFC, a multilateral finance institution, was established in 2007 with an initial capital base of USD1.0 billion, to be a catalyst for private sector infrastructure investment across Africa. AFC was established to help fill a critical void in providing project structuring expertise and risk capital to address Africa’s infrastructure development needs, and is increasingly being seen as the benchmark institution for private sector-led investment in the core infrastructure sectors of power, natural resources, heavy industry, transport, and telecommunications. Banque Ouest Africaine de Développement (BOAD), also known as the West African Development Bank, is an international multilateral development bank established in 1973 to serve the nations of Francophone and Lusophone West Africa. BOAD is organised by the Central Bank of West African States and its eight member governments: Benin, Burkina-Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo. It aims to promote the balanced development of its member states and to achieve economic integration in West Africa. BOAD’s mandate is to provide financing for priority projects in rural development, the environment, infrastructure, telecommunications, energy, industry, transport, agribusiness, tourism and other services.
Cape Town has once again been crowned one of the top 10 cities in the world, coming fourth in Travel and Leisure magazine's annual "World's Best Awards" and claiming a spot in the magazine's hall of fame. It was also ranked the world's top city in the Africa and Middle East category. Travel and Leisure readers determined the best destinations, hotels, cruises and companies in the 18th annual poll designed by the magazine's editors. Five of the city's hotels also appeared on the list, with the Cape Grace claiming the highest spot in 26th position, up from 44 in the 2012 awards. This earned the hotel a spot in the hall of fame. The hotel also claimed pole position in the top city hotels in Africa and the Middle East category. The Mount Nelson was ranked sixth, the Twelve Apostles Hotel & Spa came in 10th, the One&Only Cape Town eleventh and theVictoria&Alfred Hotel was named thirteenth. Safari lodges around South Africa also claimed numerous spots on the list, with Singita Kruger National Park taking the top spot at third, up from seventh in 2012. Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve and Singita Sabi Sand, both at the Kruger National Park, took 10th and 11th position respectively.
South Africa’s Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka has been appointed the new head of UN Women, the United Nations body tasked with promoting women’s rights and their full participation in global affairs. Mlambo-Ngcuka replaces Michelle Bachelet, a former president of Chile, who served as the first executive director of UN Women, or the UN Entity for Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women. Announcing the appointment, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that Mlambo-Ngcuka brought to the position a wealth of experience in advocating for women’s issues, combined “with a combination of strategic leadership, consensus building and hands-on management experience". Mlambo-Ngcuka, 57, served as South Africa’s first woman deputy president from 2005 to 2008, having served as deputy trade and industry minister from 1996 to 1999 and minerals and energy minister from 1999 to 2005. She was elected to Parliament in South Africa’s first democratic elections in 1994. UN Women was established in July 2010 by a unanimous vote of the General Assembly to oversee all of the world body’s programmes aimed at promoting women’s rights. It is tasked with helping member states to implement standards, providing technical and financial support to countries which request it, and forging partnerships with civil society. Within the UN, it holds the world body accountable for its own commitments on gender equality.
Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan and President Xi Jinping of China have signed five agreements to boost financial, trade, economic, technical and cultural relations between Nigeria and China. The agreements which were signed in Beijing after bilateral talks between the two leaders and their delegations include the Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Financial Cooperation In Support of Nigeria’s Economic Development and a Preferential Buyer Credit Agreement for Nigeria’s Four Airports Expansion Project. Others were a new Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation between Nigeria and China, an Agreement on Mutual Visa Exemption for holders of diplomatic and official passports from both countries and an Agreement for the Prevention of the Theft, Illicit Import and Export of Cultural Property. The Nigerian President has assured President Jinping that the Federal Government is fully committed to sustaining and developing the strategic partnership between Nigeria and China for the mutual benefit of the two countries and their people. He said that in spite of the many positive developments in bilateral relations between the countries in recent years, there was still ample scope for increased trade and direct investment from China in Nigeria. President Jinping assured President Jonathan that China will continue to work with Nigeria in all possible areas in furtherance of the development agenda of both countries.
Standard Bank has been named Best Investment Bank in Africa, as well as the Best Bank in South Africa, by international finance magazine Euromoney. Standard Bank also received awards for Best Equity House and Best Risk Manager in Africa. The Euromoney Awards for Excellence are now in their 23rd year, attracting over 600 submissions from the world’s banks and brokerage houses, and submissions are rated on both quantitative and qualitative factors such as key performance indicators, financial ratios and innovation over the 12 month period, to decide the category award winners. According to the bank, its presence and experience across sub-Saharan Africa, its specialisation in natural resources and ability to connect African markets to each other and to China, Brazil, the Middle East and the developed world’s pools of capital, combined with a strong reputation and product expertise, afford Standard Bank a unique competitive position to build long-term and well co-ordinated client relationships. According to Euromoney, the bank has benefited from its expansion in Africa, pushing it ahead of the competition. It has a clear advantage in South Africa, where it is the biggest bank by assets. And it already transacts an extraordinary quantity and quality of deals further north too. In addition, Standard Bank remains perhaps the most prominent international book-runner on local-currency bonds across Africa. The bank has advised on two of the year’s most important M&A [merger and acquisition] deals in South Africa and, in Nigeria, Standard Bank advised on the $210 million investment in telecoms firm Starcomms by the Capcom consortium, and on the $190 million acquisition of Dangote Flour Mills by Johannesburg-listed consumer-goods firm Tiger Brands.
THE Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has said local banks should embrace mobile banking platforms to remain relevant as the public moves from conventional brick and mortar banking. The RBZ deputy governor Khupukile Mlambo said the apex bank had to date registered 18 financial institutions to adopt mobile financial services in a bid to promote financial inclusion. The central bank said mobile banking was emerging as the preferred platform for the thriving business sector. Mlambo said following the approval of the establishment of mobile banking services by three mobile network operators — Econet, Telecel and NetOne — in collaboration with local banks, mobile banking transactions increased to $381,61 million in 2012 from $7,87 million recorded in the previous year. According to a recent government survey, SMEs contribute between 60% and 70% of the gross domestic product. But the central bank is concerned that the take-up of official banking products by SMEs is low. Figures released by the central bank that only 18% of SMEs in Zimbabwe have access to financial services resulting in an estimated $2 billion circulating outside the formal banking channels. Meanwhile, the RBZ said E-money and electronic payments guidelines may be issued by end of September 2013. The central bank should also complete agency banking guidelines by December 31.
The Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) and the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to assist their common stakeholders to utilise Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) more effectively for development, by combining the strengths of the premier ICT organisations of the Commonwealth and the Caribbean. The CTO is the oldest and largest Commonwealth organisation in the field of ICTs, with a membership network spanning over 40 Commonwealth countries and more than 100 other stakeholders, including the private sector. Its main operational activities comprising of research, advisory services, capacity building and international conferences are geared to assist innovative use of ICTs. Importantly the CTO provides a platform that facilitates consultations and consensus building on ICT policy across the Commonwealth. As the regional leader in the development of harmonised ICT policies, the CTU aims to create an environment, in partnership with members, to optimise returns from ICT resources for the benefit of the Caribbean. The CTU also works in the areas of ICT capacity building; coordination of regional ICT projects; providing technical advice and representing the region at international for a. The CTO is planning to contribute towards many of the CTU’s activities, including the Caribbean Telecommunications/ICT Ministers Meeting due to be held in the fourth quarter of 2013 and the CTU’s 25th Anniversary Celebrations in April 2014. Moreover the CTO and CTU will consider joint capacity building programmes on a broad spectrum of ICTs.
President Jacob Zuma has announced the establishment of two new South African universities, one in the Northern Cape and one in Mpumalanga. This historic endeavour forms part of government’s ongoing effort to expand the higher education and training system. A number of significant milestones have been achieved, which make a modest start-up in 2014 possible, he said. To achieve this, local authorities have fast tracked planning applications and other universities have provided valuable academic resources for the planning and deliveryof the academic programmes. The development of our new universities is an integral part of the programme of Government’s aim to expand access to higher education. The National Development Plan envisages an increase in participation in higher education from 17.9% in 2012 to 25% by 2030. A key strategy to support the expansion of the system has been significant investments R6.8b invested since 2006 in university infrastructure development and a further commitment of R6 billion over the 2012 to 2014 MTEF. The establishment of the new universities is part of one of the Strategic Integrated Projects (SIP 14) aimed at expanding higher education and training infrastructure. Development of the new universities will contribute to job creation both directly and indirectly. The government’s target, he said, is to grow each university over a 10-year development period to accommodate 15000 full time equivalent students at the main campus in Nelspruit and 5000 at the main campus in Kimberley. This growth will enable each university to grow its institutional, academic and infrastructure capacity in a planned and incremental manner. The university in Mpumalanga will start its life as a multi-campus institution with two campuses, one in Nelspruit and one in Siyabuswa. The university in the Northern Cape will be established initially on the main campus, but it is envisaged that it may expand further, as a multi-campus university in the future. With these targets in mind, the planned start in 2014 will accommodate a modest initial intake of 150 students in the Northern Cape and 140 in Mpumalanga. Apart from the planned numbers, it is important also to emphasise that the new universities are expected to provide additional specialist capacity to our higher education system enabling the establishment of academic niche areas that do not exist elsewhere or are underrepresented in the country. In the Northern Cape, given the rich heritage of Kimberley and the province,it is envisaged that a niche specialisation will pivot around heritage studies, including interconnected academic fields such as museum management, archaeology, indigenous languages, and restoration architecture. In Mpumalanga, agriculture and biodiversity are expected to be important areas of specialisation linking into food security, natural resource management, nature conservation, plant and animal sciences, forestry and wood sciences and technology as well as wild life management.
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