Here’s A List Of Five Africa Tech Unicorns

Brand Spur
-
0
Here’s A List Of Five Africa Tech Unicorns

Startups are companies in their early stages of operation. They are often tagged disruptors because they take an unconventional approach to address flaws in existing products and services or entirely develop new ones. Startups also have a high failure rate, with only a few succeeding in the end.

According to Disrupt Africa, Africa is home to at least 774 startups. In 2020, these startups attracted funding worth US$701,460,565, a 42.7 per cent increase from the US$491,623,400 raised in 2019. Five years ago, the narrative was different as African startups were able to raise just US$185,785,500 combined.

We cannot talk about startup growth on the continent without highlighting outstanding startups that received ground-breaking funding, allowing them to achieve unicorn status. Although the term is debatable, simply put, it is a term used to describe companies that reach a $1 billion valuation in less than ten years.

Collins Onuegbu, the founder of Signal Alliance, a Nigerian IT service provider, opposes the use of the term ‘unicorn’ for African startups. He argues that it should be replaced with a term more appropriate to our reality, such as the Gazelle, a sleek, stable creature adapted to the harsh terrain of Africa. He asserts our financial system is at its infancy in most parts of the continent, and it is different from that of a developed country like the US. Onuegbu asks if Africa should, like the rest of the world, be led by America in looking for our unicorns or define our Gazelles and look for them across Africa?

For the sake of this article, we will settle with the status quo and let the controversy about the American benchmark be a topic for another day. The African startups with the unicorn status on this list are predominantly in the fintech industry.

Jumia

Jumia, dubbed the “Amazon of Africa,” is an online marketplace for electronics and fashion items, among other things, that targets several African countries. It was founded in 2012 by Jeremy Hodara and Sacha Poignonnec. Jumia also operates Jumia Logistics, a logistics service that enables the shipment and delivery of packages from sellers to consumers, and Jumia Pay, a payment service that facilitates transactions among active participants in selected markets.

After the announcement of a $435 million Series C funding in 2016, the e-commerce giant became the first unicorn in the history of the African startup ecosystem. Also, in April 2019, the company became the first African unicorn to list on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

Here’s A List Of Five Africa Tech Unicorns

At the time, the company had a $3 billion valuation and was present in 14 African countries. Following allegations of fraud in 2019, the company experienced a downturn and began operating in 11 countries, with a valuation of $250 million. But according to TechCrunch, the company’s share price, which was trading between $2 and $4 in 2020, is now trading between $40 and $50. The company had 6.8 million active customers in the last quarter of 2020, up from the 6.1 million in the corresponding quarter of the previous year, and it has partnered with more than 110,000 active sellers.

Jumia, which started with an initial staff of 10 in Nigeria, presently has over 5000 employees on the continent. Some of its initial staff members have grown to hold top management positions in their respective fields or build their companies. Some of them are Tunde Kehinde and Ercin Eksin of Africa Courier Express (ACE) and Lidya, Onyeka Akumah of FarmCrowdy, Omobolanle Shodipo of the Africa Union, and music superstar Adekunle Gold.

Flutterwave

Flutterwave is a leading fintech company that provides a payment infrastructure for global merchants and payment service providers across the continent. Olugbenga Agboola and a team of African finance and technology veterans from Standard Bank, PayPal, and Google Wallet, among others, founded it in 2016 as a Nigerian and US-based payments company. Over time, it has evolved into one of the world’s fastest-growing payment platforms, as evidenced by its $1 billion valuation in March 2021.

The company raised $20 million in Series A funding in 2018 and $35 million in Series B funding in 2019. Its most recent funding, Series C, was closed at $170 million, bringing the company’s total funding to $225 million. As a result, it is one of the few African startups to have received more than $200 million in funding. At the time of its Series B funding, the company had processed 107 million transactions worth $5.4 billion. Right now, those numbers have risen to over 140 million transactions worth more than $9 billion.

More than 290,000 businesses use the Barter by Flutterwave platform, which accepts payments in 150 currencies and accepts multiple payment methods such as local and international cards, mobile wallets, and bank transfers. According to Olugbenga Agboola, the company operates in 20 African countries and has an infrastructure in over 33 African countries.

Wave

Wave is an offshoot of Sendwave founded by Durbin Drew (CEO) and Lincoln Quirk. Sendwave was founded in 2014 by the duo to avoid the hassles of international money transfers and high transaction costs. Sendwave was officially acquired by World Remit this year, but the duo had already begun developing Wave in 2016. When Wave launched in Senegal, it served the under-banked African population and lowered the costs of mobile money transactions.

Wave is a peer-to-peer money transfer service that works with mobile money accounts instead of bank accounts. Customers can visit physical agent posts to make deposits and withdrawals without paying a fee or use a smartphone app with a flat one per cent cut of the money sent.

The company announced a $200 million Series A round of funding in September. This makes the company the first Francophone Africa startup to reach this milestone and the third to do so in 2021. The investment is the region’s largest-ever Series A round, and it elevates the company to the exclusive list of unicorns, with a $1.7 billion valuation.

Although Senegal is its biggest market, Wave also launched in Cote d’Ivoire in April and plans to expand into Uganda, Mali, and other African markets. Since its launch in Senegal in 2017, the fintech app has clocked five million downloads making it the leading mobile money player in Senegal.

Opay

Zhou Yahui founded Opay, a mobile-based payment platform, in 2018. It is associated with Opera, its parent company, which is well-known as an internet search engine and browser. Opay has dabbled in a few other businesses, including ORide, a now-defunct ride-hailing service, OBus, a bus-booking platform (also now defunct), OExpress, a logistics delivery service, OTrade, a B2B e-commerce platform, and OFood, a food delivery service, among others.

In August, the company crossed the $1 billion mark to become a unicorn startup. Earlier in 2019, the company announced two funding rounds – $50 million in June and a $120 million Series B in November. The latest $400 million funding round which accorded it a unicorn status, surpassed the company’s expected $1.5 billion valuation.

Opay boasts of over 300 million agents and more than five million users across Nigeria. According to the company, its monthly transaction volume now exceeds $3 billion. Last year, OPay expanded to Egypt, an entry point to the Middle East market.

Andela

Andela is a Nigerian startup that connects and assists businesses in building remote engineering teams by giving them access to the best software engineers in the world. Jeremy Johnson founded the company, which began operations in 2014. Following its latest $200 million Series E funding, the company is now worth $1.5 million. Andela has raised a total of $381 million since its inception in Lagos. Its most recent valuation of $700 million came when the company raised a $100 million Series D round in 2019.

With a successful placement rate of 96 per cent, Andela has grown from seven African countries and 37 at the beginning of the global expansion to having engineers in more than 80 countries and six continents. The firm has over 300 employees and most of Andela’s technology is from Africa. In 2019 the company’s annual revenue rate was $50 million, and it is believed to be way more presently.

Written by Adekunle Agbetiloye

Bank Customers, Pos Operators Groan As Telcos Block 47 LGAs

Brand Spur
-
0
Bank Customers, Pos Operators Groan As Telcos Block 47 LGAs

Telecommunication service subscribers in 47 local government areas in Zamfara, Katsina, Sokoto and Kaduna states have been affected by the ban on telecom services in the areas by the Federal Government, findings by our correspondent have revealed.

This is as bank customers and Point of Sale operators in the affected areas groan over lack of access to banking services as the ban continues in the four states.

The Federal Government had imposed a ban on telecom services in Zamfara and parts of Sokoto, Katsina and Kaduna states, following the spate of insecurity in the region.

In compliance with the directive of the Nigerian Communications Commission, GSM operators on September 3, 2021 shut down their 248 base stations in Zamfara State.

The ban was later extended to 13 LGAs in Katsina, 14 LGAs in Sokoto and about seven LGAs in Kaduna. Zamfara State which has 14 LGA had telecoms services restored in the Gusau capital recently, leaving the ban in 13 LGAs. This brings the total number of LGAs affected by the ban currently to 47.

The 13 LGAs affected in Katsina are: Sabuwa, Faskari, Dandume, Batsari, Danmusa, Kankara, Jibia, Safana, Dutsin-Ma,Kurfi, Funtua, Bakori and Malumfashi.

The 14 LGAs affected in Sokoto are: Gada, Goronyo, Gudu, Gwadabawa, Illela, Isa, Kebbe, Sabon Birni, Shagari, Rabah, Tambuwal, Tangaza, Tureta and Wurno.

The seven LGAs reportedly affected in Kaduna are: Kajuru, Chikun, Igabi, Birnin Gwari, Giwa, Zaria and Zango-Kataf

Meanwhile, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, there are 2,177,431 voice subscribers and 1,592,746 Internet data subscribers in Zamfara State as of the first quarter of 2021.

In Katsina State, there were 5,096,874 active voice subscribers and 3,811,258 Internet data subscribers as of the first quarter of 2021, according to the NBS.

In Sokoto State, there were 3,215,534 voice subscribers and 2,329,133 Internet data subscribers as of the first quarter of 2021.

In Kaduna State, there were 8,608,198 active voice subscribers and 6,632,861 Internet data subscribers as of the first quarter of 2021.

The number of telecoms subscribers in the 13 LGAs in Katsina, 14 LGAs in Sokoto and seven LGAs in Kaduna affected by the ban could not be obtained from the NBS as there were no breakdowns of the figures on LGA basis.

A resident of Chikun, Kaduna, Mr Kenneth Okafor, told one of our correspondents on Thursday that he had to leave the comfort of his home at the Sabo Tasha area to Barnawa in the Kaduna South LGA to make and receive calls.

Google Cuts Subscription-Based Service Fees For Play Store Apps In Half

Brand Spur
-
0
Google Cuts Subscription-Based Service Fees For Play Store Apps In Half

Effective Jan. 1, Google is decreasing the service fee it collects from subscription-based apps in the Play Store from 30% to 15%, the company announced Thursday via its blog for Android developers.

The new rate will be effective for all apps on day one, the announcement reads — that’s a change from the current structure, which requires subscription-based apps to retain their customers for a year in order to enjoy a lower rate.

“Our current service fee drops from 30% to 15% after 12 months of a recurring subscription,” Google’s blog notes. “But we’ve heard that customer churn makes it challenging for subscription businesses to benefit from that reduced rate. So, we’re simplifying things to ensure they can.”

Google goes on to highlight key developers sharing support for the change, including Bumble founder and CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd and Duolingo co-founder and CEO Luis von Ahn.

“We’re excited to see Google continuing to collaborate with the ecosystem to find models that work for both the developer and platform,” von Ahn said.

The move comes amid mounting worldwide scrutiny of Google’s and Apple’s respective app store guidelines, as well as legal challenges like the ones launched against Apple and Google by Fortnite developer Epic Games. In September, a judge largely dismissed Epic’s claims against Apple, but the fight is ongoing, including a separate Epic lawsuit against Google that argues that the company engaged in anti-competitive practices related to app distribution and app-related payments. In August, a bipartisan group of Senators introduced a bill that would bar companies from imposing their payment systems on developers and ensure that developers could tell customers about lower pricing on other platforms.

In addition to scaling back its subscription-based service fees, Google also announced a reduction in service fees for e-books and music streaming services. Some developers will be eligible for rates of 10%, which is down from 15% and intended to, “recognize industry economics of media content verticals and make Google Play work better for developers and the communities of artists, musicians and authors they represent,” Google writes.

Google adds to expect additional updates on its efforts to work with developers at the Android Developer Summit on Oct. 27-28.

One Planet, Two Worlds, Three Stories

Brand Spur
-
0
One Planet, Two Worlds, Three Stories

A fraught recovery. Despite some encouraging signs, another difficult year

The world remains in the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic and a seemingly accelerating pace of climate change, both of which underscore the need for increased global cooperation and dialogue.

Solutions to these global problems must involve all countries and all regions, especially sub-Saharan Africa, with the world’s least vaccinated population, most promising renewable energy potential, and critical ecosystems. Sub-Saharan Africa’s economy is set to expand by 3.7 percent in 2021 and 3.8 percent in 2022. This follows the sharp contraction in 2020 and is much welcome, but still represents the slowest recovery relative to other regions.

In particular, the economic outlook points to divergences at three levels: between sub-Saharan Africa and other regions, within sub-Saharan Africa, and within countries. These divergences reflect the region’s slower vaccines rollout, more limited fiscal space, and regional disparities in resilience.  The outlook remains extremely uncertain, and risks are tilted to the downside. In particular, the recovery depends on the path of the global pandemic and the regional vaccination effort, food price inflation, and is also vulnerable to disruptions in global activity and financial markets.

 

Looking ahead, sub-Saharan Africa’s potential remains undiminished. The region is at a critical juncture to implement bold transformative reforms
to capitalize on this potential.

African Development Bank Launches Consultations On New Strategy For Quality Health Infrastructure In Africa

Brand Spur
-
0
African Development Bank Launches Consultations On New Strategy For Quality Health Infrastructure In Africa

The African Development Bank has launched a consultation process with health ministers and other partners as it develops a strategy to drive enhanced access to health services across Africa through 2030.

Input from ministers in the Bank’s 54 regional member countries, development partners and civil society is expected to strengthen the Bank’s Strategy for Quality Health Infrastructure in Africa (2021-2030). A robust scoping study titled “Good Health and Well-being” underpins the strategy.

“These consultations are crucial to ensure the delivery of an efficient, impactful and sustainable strategy. The global Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on lives and livelihoods strongly justifies the Bank’s renewed investments in Africa’s health infrastructure and efforts to strengthen its health systems resilience,” said Dr. Beth Dunford, the Bank’s Vice President for Agriculture, Human and Social Development.

The Covid-19 pandemic exposed serious gaps in African national health systems and overwhelmed capacity to test for and treat the disease. Health infrastructure is unevenly distributed, and often of poor quality. Only half of the primary health care facilities in sub-Saharan Africa have access to clean water and adequate sanitation.

The Strategy focuses on areas that match the Bank’s comparative advantage, including health infrastructure and building in flexibility to respond to the needs of regional member countries. Particular focus areas are primary health care infrastructure for under-served populations, with supporting infrastructure investment to ensure that facilities are connected to water and sanitation, energy, transport and communications services; diagnostic infrastructure, utilizing a range of delivery models, including public-private collaborations; and connectivity for innovative health solutions, to expand information and communications technology links and facilitate innovations in health service delivery.

The Bank’s investments in health infrastructure will be packaged with knowledge work, policy dialogue and technical assistance, and in partnership with other health sector actors. This support will focus on effective health financing strategies, including the expansion of health insurance to ensure low-income household access and that investments are used effectively and sustainably.

“Poor health undermines Africa’s economic productivity. The continent’s health infrastructure needs are too big to be met by any one, single player. I welcome stakeholder inputs as the Bank formulates a pipeline of operations in support of building stronger African health systems,” said Dr. Martha Phiri, Director for Human Capital, Youth and Skills Development at the Bank.

The Strategy has been developed in alignment with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 3 and the African Union’s Agenda 2063.

Invited stakeholders will have until 5 November 2021 to take part in the Bank’s Quality Health Infrastructure in Africa strategy consultation process. Feedback on the strategy can be directed to Dr. Babatunde Omilola, the Bank’s Manager for Public Health, Nutrition and Social Protection, via email: b.omilola@afdb.org.

To review the Strategy document in English, ; click here  for the French version.

Local Bourse Closes the Week in Green, NGX ASI Up 14bps

Brand Spur
-
0
Local Bourse Closes the Week in Green, NGX ASI Up 14bps

Local Bourse Closes the Week in Green, NGX ASI Up 14bps

The Nigerian equities market closed positive at the end of today’s session as the benchmark index improved by 0.14% to close at 41,763.26 points.

This was mainly due to buy pressures in bellwether stocks such as UNILEVER (+9.85%LocalL) and TOTAL (+6.17%). Consequently, the YTD return improved to 3.71% as market capitalisation increased by ₦30.87 billion to close at  ₦21.79 trillion.

The sectoral performance significantly strengthened as four of the five indices under coverage improved while the Insurance index declined by 1.75% on NEM (-8.57%). The Oil & Gas index, the biggest gainer, increased by 2.48% on TOTAL (+6.17%). The Consumer Goods, Banking and Industrial indices followed suit, rising by 0.31%, 0.29% and 0.04% on UNILEVER (+9.85%), ZENITHBANK (+0.20%) and WAPCO (+0.40%) respectively.

Investor sentiment closed positive but lower than the previous trading session, as market breadth decreased to 1.21x from 1.28x. This was illustrated by the advance of 23 stocks, led by CUTIX (+10.00%) and UNILEVER (+9.85%) and the decline of 19 stocks, led by NEM (-8.57%) and IKEJAHOTEL (-7.83%). Activity level strengthened as total volume and value increased by 135.98% and 73.47% as investors exchanged about 510.19 million units of shares worth over N5.87 billion.

Local Bourse Closes the Week in Green, NGX ASI Up 14bps
Local Bourse Closes the Week in Green, NGX ASI Up 14bps

We expect bullish momentum to persist in the next trading session as the equities market still presents decent opportunities for investors chasing positive real return on investments.

Fixed Income

There was quiet activity across the bond yield curve as 3 of the 4 bond yields under coverage closed flat while the yield on the FGN-JUL-2030 bond paper compressed by 2bps. The yields on the FGN-APR-2023, FGN-APR-2024 and FGN-JAN-2026 closed flat at 8.35%, 9.30% and 11.05% respectively.

Treasury bill yields for the 91 and 364-day papers closed flat at 3.76% and 6.87% respectively while the 182-day paper yield compressed by 76bps to close at 4.59%.

We expect a further decline in yields in the next trading session on the back of huge demand from investors and the deliberate efforts of the  DMO to reduce borrowing costs.

MARKET SNAPSHOT

  • Local Bourse Closes the Week in Green, NGX ASI Up 14bps
  • Quiet Activity across the Bond Yield Curve
  • Bullish Sentiment in Global Stocks
  • Positive Performance in the Commodities Market
  • Bullish Performance in African Stocks

Over 80 Million Reached As Africa Trailblazes Novel Polio Vaccine

Brand Spur
-
0
Over 80 Million Reached As Africa Trailblazes Novel Polio Vaccine

More than 80 million children have been vaccinated with the novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) in six countries in Africa, the world’s first region to rollout of the vaccine just months after the World Health Organization (WHO) gave it Emergency Use Listing status in November 2020.

Nigeria became the first country in the world to use nOPV2 to tackle an outbreak in March 2021, vaccinating 7 million children in six states. By September, Benin, Congo, Liberia, Niger and Sierra Leone had also rolled out the vaccine. Africa was certified free of wild polio in August 2020, but outbreaks of circulating vaccine-derived polio type 2 are still being reported.

“The nOPV2 brings significant advantages in tackling polio outbreaks and Nigeria has worked closely with the global polio partners to rollout the vaccine. With swift outbreak response and effective tools and measures, our path to ending all forms of polio once and for all is clearer,” said Dr Tunji Funsho, chair of Rotary’s National PolioPlus Committee, Nigeria.

The nOPV2 is a modified form of the monovalent oral polio vaccine designed to be more genetically stable and less likely to, in under-immunized populations, revert to a form that can cause permanent paralysis in children from vaccine-derived poliovirus. Given the urgent public health need to address vaccine-derived polio globally, nOPV2 became the first vaccine to receive authorization for use under Emergency Use Listing (EUL). WHO has urged countries to rapidly implement the process for national approval for importation and deployment of the vaccine once it was approved for use.

 

READ ALSO: Kano State Leaves No Stone Unturned, Strengthens Immunization In High Risk Communities

“Africa’s trailblazing rollout of the novel polio vaccine shows a true determination to ending polio for good. The progress made by the six countries and the upcoming rollout in five additional countries targeting 30 million children by the end of 2021 promise effective and lasting protection from the threat of lifelong paralysis,” said Dr Pascal Mkanda, Polio Eradication Programme Coordinator at WHO Regional Office for Africa.

Meeting pre-deployment requirements

Over the last three years the African region has seen a growing number of circulating vaccine-derived type 2 poliovirus outbreaks, from an initial three countries (Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Kenya) in 2019 to more than 20 in 2021. While there has been steady progress towards eradication of all forms of polio in the region, the growing number of outbreaks is concerning and requires a swift and robust immunization response. The nOPV2 plays an effective role in stopping these outbreaks.

To deploy nOPV2 under EUL, countries must meet a set of strict requirements. The WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts recommended that the vaccine be rolled out under an initial phase which ran from March to October 2021. Fourteen African countries fulfilled the rollout criteria which included obtaining regulatory approvals, surveillance enhancement activities, preparation of cold chain and logistics, targeted communication plans to address rumours and misinformation, and training of staff and frontline workers. On average it took about six to eight weeks for countries to fulfil these requirements, with Nigeria being the fastest to be fully verified for use in under four weeks.

Vaccine rollout safety

WHO in Africa has worked with countries to improve vaccine safety monitoring systems. Countries eligible for outbreak response and needing support were prioritized, with the Rapid Response Team from the WHO Regional Office for Africa assisting. The team has provided guidelines and vaccine safety monitoring systems to Angola, Congo and Liberia. National Causality Assessment Committee for Adverse Events Following Immunization have also been re-established in countries not only for nOPV2 vaccine safety, but also for assessing COVID-19 vaccines related adverse events. Country safety teams and partner organizations have been instrumental in collection and review of safety data.

Based on an independent review of the preliminary safety and genetic stability data collected and analysed by African Member States, the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts in October 2021 recommended broader use of nOPV2. The move to the wider use phase will enable faster deployment of nOPV2 in the field.

The key changes during the transition to wider rollout include reducing the requirements and restrictions. For instance, in broader deployment the vaccine can be used in integrated campaigns, meaning it can be delivered with other vaccines or nonvaccine interventions such as vitamin A administration. The requirements countries need to meet to use the vaccine have now been reduced to 16 from 25. This is particularly important given that rapid outbreak response is crucial to successfully stopping the circulation of the virus.

During this wider-use phase, Ethiopia, Mauritania, Nigeria, The Gambia, Senegal and Uganda will roll out campaigns targeting a total of approximately 30 million children, increasing the number of African children with effective polio protection.

How To Avoid The Most Common Mistakes Homebuyers Make

Brand Spur
-
0
How To Avoid The Most Common Mistakes Homebuyers Make
  • Homebuyers have flooded the American housing market in droves over the past 18 months.
  • But brokers say inexperienced buyers often make mistakes when they invest in a home.
  • Agents broke down homebuyers’ biggest blunders and how to avoid them.
  • This article is part of “The Road to Home” series focused on helping first-time homebuyers navigate the daunting and exhilarating process of purchasing a home. 

Americans have scooped up homes in droves over the past 18 months.

So many, in fact, that one Zillow report estimated that some 36 million Americans traded homes in 2020 alone.

Embracing remote work and driven by the desire to be near family or enjoy a lower cost of living, homebuyers have been snapping up new residences, many fleeing to states like Texas and Florida, while others decamp to suburbs outside major metros and to smaller cities and vacation-home spots.

But while the housing market’s upheaval has stirred up bidding wars, competitive deals, and new highs for home prices, a market full of eager buyers means deals may happen quickly — but not always smoothly or in a buyer’s best interest.

With so many Americans embracing homeownership, real-estate agents are spotting buyers making big mistakes. They shared the most common ones — and how to avoid them — with Insider.

Underestimating renovation costs

“Underestimating renovation costs is a common mistake when buying a home,” the Warburg Realty agent Rebecca Blacker told Insider. “Renovation is always an estimate and can end up costing a homebuyer much more than they budgeted for.”

“It’s best to get multiple estimates from different contractors before buying the home to get a better understanding of what you are going to be spending,” she added. “Always budget for more money and more time so you are not utterly surprised down the road.”

Buyers don’t often bring the proper people to advise them on renovating an apartment in New York City, the Compass agent Julie Gans said. For example, contractors who have done specific work in Manhattan co-ops and have dealt with the Department of Buildings are helpful in determining what work a property needs.

“These are the experts that can outline how long projects usually take to get approvals and to complete,” she said. Not to mention they’re the right people to estimate costs.

How To Avoid The Most Common Mistakes Homebuyers Make

Working with the wrong people

Gans said she’d seen buyers make big mistakes because they worked with the wrong professionals. Someone like a real-estate attorney, for example, should be involved. But not enough buyers find the right pros.

“They want to save some money so they decide to use their cousin in Long Island that does not specialize in real estate,” she said. “The attorney doesn’t know how to properly conduct a real-estate transaction, read the minute details, and do due diligence, and in the end the only person that suffers is the buyer.”

After all, buyers are the ones who bear the repercussions for a poorly done deal when they aren’t properly protected in the transaction.

“Buyers too often are swayed by friends, family members, and attorneys chirping in their ear as if they are experts,” the agent Karen Kostiw said. “While these people are well-meaning, generally they are basing their opinions on old news or incorrect data, and they have their own biases that don’t necessarily align with the buyers’ needs and wants. Separating your personal relationships from your buying process can be key.”

Plus, everyone’s appetite for risk is different, Kostiw said. “It’s important for buyers to have their own trusted experts and advisers who understand the market inside and out.”

Making financial mistakes

“Buyers who are not careful with their finances can err by taking on too much debt or by not budgeting accurately,” the broker Gerard Splendore told Insider.

“After closing on a property is not the time to realize that you are cash-strapped or inadequately funded,” he said. “Careful analysis with a financial advisor or accountant, utilizing spreadsheets and working carefully with a qualified mortgage broker will help to enter a transaction with full awareness.”

“Buyers begin their home search prior to understanding what they can afford,” Kostiw said, adding that it’s crucial for buyers to have a preapproval and know and understand their debt-to-income ratio and liquidity after closing (not including retirement funds) so they could prepare for home-improvement issues and life events like a sudden job loss or health issue.

World Energy Day 2021: Mauritius Aims To Decrease Greenhouse Gas Emissions By 40% By 2030

Brand Spur
-
0
World Energy Day 2021: Mauritius Aims To Decrease Greenhouse Gas Emissions By 40% By 2030

Government’s energy policy is to encourage the use of renewable and clean energy so as to reduce the country’s dependence on fossil fuels and decrease greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030, stated the Minister of Energy and Public Utilities, Mr Georges Pierre Lesjongard, today, at the launching of a workshop on the occasion of World Energy day 2021 held at Caudan Arts Centre, in Port-Louis.

On this occasion, two new schemes, namely the Central Electricity Board (CEB) Renewable Energy Scheme for Charging of Electric Vehicles, and the CEB Renewable Energy Scheme for Public Enterprises, were launched. An exhibition, depicting the evolution of energy in Mauritius, is also being held at the Caudan Arts Centre.

Minister Lesjongard recalled that budget 2021/2022 has also laid emphasis on the penetration of renewable energy adding that green energy would be a new pillar of the economy.  He pointed out that 60 % of our country’s energy needs will be produced from green sources by 2030 and that the use of coal will also be totally phased out by 2030.

Speaking about electricity access in Mauritius, he indicated that 99.6% of the population already has access to electricity and that the country is in the process of diversifying its sources of energy. In 2020, 76.1% of electricity was generated from non-renewable sources, while 23.9% was generated from renewable sources. It is foreseen that in the next 30 years, renewable power generation technologies will be capable to deliver reliable and affordable energy to meet the needs of users around the globe, he stated.

He underlined that several initiatives are being taken to bring about this transition to clean energy. Hence, the CEB had undertaken an exercise to gauge the market in terms of investment in renewable technologies. As regards private sector investment in the field of Renewable Energy, the CEB has launched two requests for proposal, namely for the setting up of a Wind Farm project of capacity 10 MW to 30 MW, and the setting up of three Solar Farms of 10 Mw each, he added.

Other projects which are being implemented for the generation of solar energy include a floating Photovoltaic (PV) at Tamarind Falls and an 8 MW Solar Farm at Henrietta. Furthermore, a dedicated Renewable Energy department has been created at the CEB and staffed with the relevant skills and competencies to allow for the achievement of the Renewable Energy objectives and targets.

CEB Renewable Schemes

As regards the CEB Renewable Scheme for charging of electric vehicles, Minister Lesjongard underlined that Government had approved the implementation of a 10-year Roadmap for the integration of electric vehicles in Mauritius.  He indicated that it is expected that the number of electric cars would shoot up to 8,400 by 2025 and 26,000 by 2030 on a medium growth scenario.

Lauding the benefits of electric vehicles, he recalled that Government has provided several incentives to promote the uptake of electric vehicles.  Besides existing tax relief, practically no customs duty, the Development Bank of Mauritius will provide a loan, up to an amount of Rs 100,000 at a low rate of 2% for solar kits for domestic purposes, he said.

He highlighted that the CEB has also worked out a tariff whereby the customer would benefit from charging his car at specific times of the day and night during off peak times. The time-of-use tariff will enable the individual to charge his electric car in the night at a rate which will be 60% lower than the peak (evening) rate and thus by charging his car between 21 hours and four hours, the consumer is charged only Rs 4.00 per KWh as opposed to Rs 10.00 if he charges the car between 18 hours and 21 hours, he observed.

The second scheme launched, namely the CEB Renewable Scheme for public enterprises, has been devised following the measure announced in the budget 2021/22 regarding greenfield projects from public sector entities. This Scheme will allow Government entities to install PV installations and sell the electricity produced hence enabling them to contribute to the Renewable Energy movement in Mauritius and to the target of 60% of clean energy by 2030, he said.

Minister Lesjongard rejoiced that the two schemes will contribute towards the country’s strategy to decarbonise its energy sector and build the new pole of green energy industry.

World Energy Day 2021

World Energy Day 2021, observed on 22 October, is celebrated for the first time in Mauritius. It is linked with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 7.

The objective of the Day is to ensure the affordability of a safe and sustainable energy for all by identifying the need for developing national policies to reflect on a shared energy perspective. The theme chosen this year is ‘Your efforts count. Act now’. The theme lays emphasis on the fact that energy users need to act responsibly and use energy judiciously and avoid any wastage.

The Africa Blockchain Center (The ABC) Raises A 7x Figure Seed Investment

Brand Spur
-
0
The Africa Blockchain Center (The ABC) Raises A 7x Figure Seed Investment

The Africa Blockchain Center  was recently launched under Adanian Labs to build blockchain potential across Africa; the undisclosed funding will support The ABC’s set up in 6 African countries.

The Africa Blockchain Center (The ABC), a Kenyan startup focused on building technology capacity and offering blockchain solutions to key sectors announced today that it has raised a $ 7x figure investment from Next Chymia Consulting HK Limited, an Asian based company that provides blockchain solutions, consultancy services and training to global entities.

Founded in September 2021, The Africa Blockchain Center’s mandate is to propel Africa into the adoption of 4IR (fourth industrial revolution) technologies by building capacity in blockchain programming and catalyzing industry readiness; offering solutions to enterprises seeking to explore the technology, and incubating blockchain startups.

This investment will help The ABC set up structures across 6 markets in Africa including Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Nigeria, Uganda and South Africa and build a community of blockchain stakeholders for knowledge sharing and best practice guidelines.

The Founder of The Africa Blockchain Center Irene Kiwia said “we understand the potential that blockchain has in solving some of the challenges that are facing Africa and we believe that we can use our disruptive nature as a continent to create value for ourselves through the adoption of the technology. However, there is a massive capacity gap that we must fill to accelerate this. We aim to train 10,000 blockchain programmers, 5000 business leaders and executives on blockchain readiness, incubate 50 blockchain startups and launch robust solutions for the market in the next 2 years.”

READ ALSO: Adanian Labs Partners With EMURGO Africa To Scale Blockchain Start-Ups

The ABC aims to demystify blockchain technology and create platforms where the industry can learn, run research programs (R&D), launch blockchain solutions and access blockchain as a service for various applications across industries and sectors.

“The African continent has a massive untapped appetite to understand, learn and experiment with decentralized technologies. This, coupled with the opportunities that the market presents in applying blockchain technology in key sectors like finance, agriculture, health and general governance makes the center a timely intervention.” Further stated Kiwia.

The ABC is an Adanian Labs startup, the Pan African smart technologies venture studio with a mission to build, nurture and scale 300 impact driven tech startups across Africa.

The CEO of Adanian Labs John Kamara said “We are extremely proud to see such progress with our startups. We pride ourselves in providing the right environment, tools and resources to support startups and help them build scalable solutions. The ABC is very timely as Africa is exploring the potential for smart technologies in support of its 4IR efforts. Adanian Labs will continue to work with the Africa Blockchain Center and support its roll out across the continent.”

The female economy is at the center of The ABC’s mission. The ABC will have a special gender lens to ensure that women are an integral part of this transformation.

The CEO of Next Chymia Consulting HK Limited Kenji Sasaki said “We are delighted to support and partner with The ABC, their model is groundbreaking on how they want to scale blockchain technology in Africa, and we have confidence in the team. We are aligned in vision as well as our commitment to building blockchain capacity and providing blockchain solutions to key industries. We want to champion good governance for blockchain and we see the appetite and gap in Africa where this cutting-edge technology can solve some of the inequality issues that will catapult the economic growth of the continent.”

Driven by the desire to train African Blockchain engineers to solve African problems, the center aspire to create a space for collaboration where multi-industry stakeholders from development partners, civil societies, entrepreneurs, academia, government, private sectors, and all industry sector players can harness the common good of decentralized technologies in enhancing health, agriculture, education, good governance, financial independence and general economic growth.

1...2,8492,8502,851...5,456Page 2,850 of 5,456