From ecosystems to species, biodiversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. For development to be sustainable, conserving and restoring biodiversity is not only essential but it’s also vital for the fabric of life.



However, Africa’s rich biodiversity is facing imminent risk. And climate change induced issues such as desertification, wildfires, severe storms and floods are exacerbating the continent’s exposure to biodiversity loss.



Take black rhinos. At one point, the population of black rhinos may have been as high as 850,000. But the numbers have dropped dramatically from an estimated 65,000 in 1970 to about 2,600 now, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-24/rhino-bond-is-sold-by-world-bank-in-first-issuance-of-its-kind">according to the World Bank</a>. This is partly due to habitat loss and excessive poaching.



Rhinos play a crucial role in <a href="https://www.thegef.org/newsroom/press-releases/wildlife-conservation-bond-boosts-south-africas-efforts-protect-black">shaping entire ecosystems</a> in which other species depend. But gaps in conservation financing has <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/infographic/2022/03/23/mobilizing-investors-to-protect-endangered-rhinos">limited the activities of programs</a> that aim to protect endangered rhinos and grow their populations.



Although there’s a growing awareness of the need to enhance biodiversity by protecting wildlife as the majority of investment in nature is derived from governments with little involvement from the private sector.



On average, biodiversity loss is costing the global economy <a href="https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/world-needs-usd-81-trillion-investment-nature-2050-tackle-triple">10 percent of its output</a> every year. But in order to tackle the world’s growing biodiversity crisis, there needs to be an increase in nature-based funding.



Last year, <a href="https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/world-needs-usd-81-trillion-investment-nature-2050-tackle-triple">UNEP released a report</a> on the state of finance for nature and found that the global annual spending to protect and restore nature needs to triple to roughly $350 billion by 2030. And by 2050, global yearly spending needs to <a href="https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/world-needs-usd-81-trillion-investment-nature-2050-tackle-triple">increase to $536 billion</a>.



To achieve these loft goals, a shift in mindset from governments and the private sector is needed in order to safeguard environmental systems.



Enter ‘rhino bonds’.



In recent times, new and innovative financing mechanisms designed to tackle the issue of biodiversity loss are emerging.



In March, the World Bank issued the world’s first <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2022/03/23/wildlife-conservation-bond-boosts-south-africa-s-efforts-to-protect-black-rhinos-and-support-local-communities">Wildlife Conservation Bond</a> raising $150 million to fund efforts to increase the black rhino population – an endangered species – in South Africa.



This innovative outcome-based financial mechanism differs from a conventional bond as it measures the increase in black rhino populations and will pay returns depending on the rate of growth in black rhino populations in two South African reserves.



The Rhino bond harnesses investment from capital markets to directly support endangered species and conservation efforts. Further, the bond is the first of its kind as it not only has financial outcomes but also conservation ones – in this case, the increase in black rhino populations.



While development finance continues to play a crucial role in tackling Africa’s growing biodiversity issues, there’s an increased need to tap into alternative modes of financing.



Capital markets offer a way to respond to Africa’s climate-induced biodiversity issues by linking capital markets to biodiversity conservation through climate financing mechanisms such as rhino bonds.



This is particularly important given Africa’s mounting climate-induced challenges.



From a climate perspective, rhino bonds could serve as a blueprint for other countries struggling with biodiversity loss to follow suit.

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How wildlife bonds can protect and boost biodiversity

As the South African economy is slowly and cautiously emerging from the devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic, organisations are starting to look to the future and what emerging trends hold for their business.



One such trend is the concept of the Metaverse which, in essence, represents the convergence of digital and physical world.&nbsp; It’s a 3D virtual space where users can gather as a group of avatars, interacting with one another in surroundings that replicate the physical world with select modifications.



It’s almost sounds like the real world and Sci-Fi is finally starting to cross paths, and ironically the idea is based on a Neal Stephenson’s book&nbsp;Snow Crash&nbsp;published 30 years ago.&nbsp;



The Metaverse concept opens a world of opportunities for users to try out various activities from travelling, shopping, trying on clothes and attending virtual concerts. And already major brands are entering the Metaverse, so to speak, eager to find a place in this immersive Internet experience.



Preparing for the Metaverse



The world is going through major digital and technological changes, which in turn means organisation must keep up with current customer demand while also remaining agile and ready for future economic environments.



And whilst the Metaverse is still a concept for now, given its immersive nature, it can present a myriad of opportunities for companies. Organisations must be ready to bring their digital presence to the next level once the Metaverse becomes a reality.



The opportunities are exiting, with the post-Covid hybrid or remote working environments, organisation should leverage these increasingly creative virtual business experiences to connect and collaborate with their own people, enhance their business process, and maintain a competitive edge.



Bringing the Metaverse Closer to the Edge



The Metaverse will undoubtedly be persistent and comprise of large amounts of information. Connecting to this digital reality will require fast and reliable online speed to manage the requisite bandwidth and interoperability demand.



However, latency can also become a major concern, and this is where edge computing bridges the gap. The Metaverse trend will further drive the adoption of edge computing as it is a key infrastructure that enables the Metaverse to reach full potential, enabling providers to scale their offerings sustainably.



A sustainable, virtual world



Unfortunately, with the increase in data volume, bandwidth, and continuous operations, comes higher energy usage and even more heat release from IT gear.



Leveraging existing infrastructure can help to reduce the formation of new and bigger data centres that could potentially negatively impact the environment. Already the pandemic resulted in an increase in data centre functionality, with the construction of hyperscale data centres spreading across the world due to the surge in cloud services that require large-scale servers and storage.



If the pandemic can bring about such a massive leap, the realisation of this virtual world integrating with our daily functions will require super computing power and sophisticated, edge computing-powered data centres.



It is therefore important that as companies move towards the Metaverse, and commission more data centres to support their individual offerings, they should work with experts to organise and prioritise data centre sustainability.



Organisations should review their current energy mix and consider clean technologies to address their carbon footprint and prepare for future expansion efforts like the Metaverse.

Why big business is pumping billions into the metaverse

Opinion piece: The post-pandemic era and the Metaverse – are we ready?

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="710" height="473" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Agriculture-image-FAO.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-416761" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Agriculture-image-FAO.jpg 710w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Agriculture-image-FAO-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Agriculture-image-FAO-135x90.jpg 135w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 710px) 100vw, 710px" /><figcaption>Photo: via FAO</figcaption></figure>



The <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/04/food-prices-fao-index-cereals-commodities-exports/">rising</a> global food prices, compounded by Russia’s debilitating invasion of Ukraine, are yet another catalyst to spur agricultural development in Africa.



Agricultural <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/agriculture">development</a> in Africa is critical to reach its current needs as well as the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 – particularly, ending hunger, creating jobs and growing economies; and thereby <a href="https://carnegieendowment.org/2021/04/30/economic-diversification-in-africa-how-and-why-it-matters-pub-84429">diversifying</a> Africa’s economies from extractive mineral resources.



The ramifications of the Russia-Ukraine War, coupled with <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/assessment-report/ar6/">climate change</a> and pandemic-related disruptions to agriculture in Africa, have led to the current threat to food <a href="https://news.trust.org/item/20220328114910-rn628/">security</a> in Africa. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations <a href="https://www.fao.org/worldfoodsituation/foodpricesindex/en/">revealed</a> that the food price index hit a historical high in March 2022.



Given the current context, a concerted <a href="https://news.trust.org/item/20220328114910-rn628/">effort</a> from governments and individuals is needed to boost agricultural productivity in Africa.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-from-the-cities-to-the-farms">From the Cities to the Farms</h2>



Seeing the potential in agriculture, many Africans from the cities are heading back to the farms. Teresa Ndanga, a successful journalist in Malawi decided to venture into large scale farming in 2018. She said: “I am currently doing maize, groundnuts and soy beans. I also want to get into irrigation for beans”.



Malawi, a peaceful country with the moniker “the warm heart of Africa”, has an <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/malawi/overview#1">economy</a> that is highly reliant on agriculture. The agriculture sector absorbs 80% of the country’s working population. In 2021, the Malawian economy grew to 2.4% from 0.8% in 2020. According to <a href="https://www.mwapata.mw/about">MwAPATA</a> Institute, an agriculture-focused think tank in Malawi, the Russia-Ukraine War is set to cause a <a href="https://www.mwapata.mw/_files/ugd/dd6c2f_a93e1dba50ef4e7280ee0998d77af9b0.pdf?index=true">shock</a> to the country’s agriculture sector due to high global fuel prices, an increase to fertilizer costs because Russia and Ukraine are major producers of chemical fertilizers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Dependency on Food Imports and Agricultural Inputs &nbsp;</h2>



As both individuals and countries brave the current situation and seek alternatives to Russia’s supply of fertilizer, Nigeria has come to the fore. Nigeria <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/04/12/1092251401/russia-ukraine-war-worsens-fertilizer-crunch-risking-food-supplies">opened</a> Africa’s largest fertilizer plant in <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2022/03/23/business/dangote-fertilizer-plant-food-crisis-lgs-intl/index.html#:~:text=The%20fertilizer%20factory%20sits%20on,fertilizer%20plant%20in%20Lagos%2C%20Nigeria.">March 2022</a>. The newly opened fertilizer factory has an important role to play in bridging and boosting access to fertilizers for farmers on the African continent, especially in Nigeria. And its launch comes at a pertinent time for the world and Africa, in particular.



Food insecurity on the continent is <a href="https://news.trust.org/item/20220328114910-rn628/">exacerbated</a> by the lingering Russia-Ukraine War. <a href="https://www.afdb.org/en/news-and-events/press-releases/africa-must-prepare-inevitability-global-food-crisis-says-african-development-bank-president-akinwumi-adesina-51173">According</a> to the African Development Bank (AfDB), “90% of Russia’s $4 billion exports to Africa in 2020 was made up of wheat; and 48% of Ukraine’s near $3 billion exports to the continent was made of wheat and 31% of maize.” &nbsp;



Nigeria <a href="https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/nigeria-agriculture-sector">imports</a> US$10 billion worth of agricultural produce to make up for its food deficit. A Nigerian farmer – who in 2017 moved from the USA to Nigeria – recently made the following remarks: “I saw an opportunity in a very undeveloped sector. Agricultural products are always in demand and food based industrial products are rarely produced in Nigeria. The ability to make a significant return on investment while also making a significant contribution to society are major reasons why I am back in Nigeria”.



The African Development Bank (AfDB) is ramping up its efforts to improve food production in African countries through its African Food Crisis Response and Emergency <a href="https://www.afdb.org/en/news-and-events/press-releases/africa-must-prepare-inevitability-global-food-crisis-says-african-development-bank-president-akinwumi-adesina-51173">Facility</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Digitalization for Agriculture in Africa</h2>



In Nigeria, and Africa as a whole, technology is being used to support the agriculture sector. One of Africa’s major challenges in the agriculture space is capturing data. Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) have the propensity to curb data challenges and increase agricultural productivity across the continent. The Nigerian farmer explained: “For our company, we have used ICTs to capture data at scale to reduce risk of operating in our region &#8230; We monitor fuel usage of our equipment through apps such as Hello Tractor, which also allows us to earn additional income from idle assets. Drone scouting has allowed us to visibly see our farm and areas that are underperforming or have been attacked by pests.”



<a href="https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/12613">ICTs</a> represent an opportunity to make significant strides in agriculture for farmers, especially at this moment. Significant investment is required to support farmers, especially <a href="https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/why-smallholder-farmers-need-funding/">smallholder</a> farmers’ use of ICTs because despite the efficiency of <a href="https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/12613">ICTs</a> in agriculture; accessibility and affordability remain a challenge for many smallholder farmers who are not benefiting from the efficiency of ICTs.



<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X2100067X?via%3Dihub#!">Research</a> by the FAO shows that smallholder farmers around the world feed <a href="https://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/1395127/icode/">one-third</a> of the world. One of the strategies to ensure food security for Africa and the world, particularly at a time when food security hangs on the balance with soaring food prices, is sufficient investment and support with ICTs to farmers, and smallholder farmers in particular, to enable them to increase their crop yields. &nbsp;



Seeing the significant potential in digitalization for agriculture in Africa, the AfDB launched the Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) <a href="https://www.afdb.org/en/topics-and-sectors/initiatives-partnerships/technologies-african-agricultural-transformation-taat">programme</a> in 2018 as part of the AfDB’s “Feed Africa Strategy 2016 -2025” to increase agricultural output .



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">From the Farm to the Fork</h2>



Food production is but one step in the agricultural supply chain to get from farm to fork. What comes into play are sourcing requirements and the international or regional agricultural supply chains. This was demonstrated in January 2022 where despite <a href="https://cipotato.org/annualreport2019/stories/potatoes-for-prosperity/#:~:text=In%20Kenya%2C%20potato%20is%20now,to%20significantly%20boost%20farm%20incomes.">potatoes</a> being a key food crop in Kenya (grown by about 800,000 of small-holder farmers) KFC Kenya <a href="https://twitter.com/KFCinKenya/status/1477930454036594769?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1477930454036594769%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theafricareport.com%2F163972%2Fkenya-kfc-spud-shortage-sparks-hot-potato-over-sourcing%2F">announced</a> that it had a shortage of potato chips that are <a href="https://www.theafricareport.com/163972/kenya-kfc-spud-shortage-sparks-hot-potato-over-sourcing/">imported</a> from Egypt.



On the debate regarding the sourcing of potatoes by KFC in Kenya, Dennis Nangabo, a Kenyan farmer, said support to local potato farmers by international food companies, such as KFC Kenya, would be mutually beneficial to the companies themselves and the local farmers. The mutually beneficial relationship would inadvertently benefit the country’s economy.



Also weighing in on this was Elsayed Afify, an Egyptian farmer, who said: “I remember the supply chain disruption experienced by KFC as they import potatoes from Egypt. Although the industry of farming potatoes in Egypt is huge enough to export the crop to other countries, Kenya and other countries should be considered”.



<a href="https://howwemadeitinafrica.com/kenyas-kfc-potato-drama-farmers-can-only-meet-standards-if-there-are-some/">Quality standards</a> of the local potatoes is the reason the international fast food company in Kenya does not source locally. For inclusive food value chains, it is important for local farmers to be informed of the quality control requirements of major food companies so that local farmers also have an opportunity to meet the standards and thereby grow their businesses.



Afify and his family grow grapes on their farm in Egypt that is located in Al Noubaria and distributes the grapes locally to mediators. According to him: “&#8230; The mediators take care of distributing [the grapes] to the markets and sells them to food companies in Egypt”.



Food production in Africa has significant potential – the continent has <a href="https://www.devex.com/news/opinion-time-to-reset-agriculture-s-relationship-with-nature-in-africa-100183#:~:text=productivity%2C%20necessitating%20expansion.-,Africa%20is%20estimated%20to%20be%20home%20to%2060%25%20of%20the,many%20additional%20threats%20to%20nature.">approximately</a> 60% of the world’s arable land. Nangabo – who farms the following crops: coffee, sugarcane, maize and tomatoes – said: “I started farming [because] the availability of agricultural land made it easy to start small and grow the business”.



Increasing food production in Africa is vital and efforts by individuals in this regard is both necessary and commendable. These individual efforts require strategic support by African governments and development institutions such as the AfDB to make Africa’s potential in food production a reality.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Agricultural Development an African Imperative</h2>



A thriving agriculture sector in Africa is not only a developmental goal for the continent, it is also an imperative, chiefly at a time of skyrocketing global food prices. With Africa’s population <a href="https://www.economist.com/special-report/2020/03/26/africas-population-will-double-by-2050">expected</a> to double by 2050, demand for food will also <a href="https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/16624/769900WP0SDS0A00Box374393B00PUBLIC0.pdf?sequence=1&amp;isAllowed=y">double</a>. Agricultural development presents an opportunity to generate wealth for Africans and consequentially for African countries, but also to provide food security for the continent.

Agriculture-image-FAO

With Skyrocketing Global Food Prices Agricultural Development in Africa Is An Imperative

Earth Day poses important questions for the African continent as it seeks to balance the need for sustained economic growth to improve the quality of life of its people, on the one hand, while protecting the environment, on the other. This means balancing the important Ps, namely People, Profit and our Planet &#8211; Earth.



Africa is a continent of extraordinary potential, expected to enjoy the second-fastest economic growth in the world over the next ten years – faster than North America, Latin America, Europe and the global average. It also has the fastest-growing population, with Africa expected to account for 47% of the world’s population growth over the next 10 years, and 53% of the growth in the global working-age population.



When these demographic fundamentals are combined with the continent’s abundance of natural resources and improving governance, it is easy to see how Africa, under the right conditions, could match the economic transformation of China in the coming decades.



Yet Africa, while contributing the least to global greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, is also expected to be among the worst-affected regions.



According to projections from the Sixth Assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Africa faces an increase in life threatening temperatures above 40°C, from 10 to 140 days a year, depending on the scenario and region.



Conditions will be drier in most regions, and there will be more droughts, but also more flooding. A current 1-in-100-year flood event could become 1-in-10 or -20 years by 2050, and 1-in-5 years to annually by 2100, even under moderate warming.



Much of Africa is already water-stressed, at current temperature levels. To make matters worse, a recent report from the UN University noted that little of Africa&#8217;s wastewater is treated, and access to water for drinking and hand-washing is worsening for hundreds of millions of people.



It is clear that to both stimulate the economic growth required to offer dignity and prosperity for all its people, and to do so in a manner that is environmentally sustainable, Africa must find ways to decouple economic growth from over-exploitation of natural resources like water and reduce the use of fossil fuels.



These are complex and far-reaching challenges requiring a whole-of-society response that is not subject to fickle economic or political cycles. Fortunately, Africa has adopted, and is making steady if uneven progress towards implementation of, Agenda 2063, which includes Goal 7: Environmentally Sustainable, Climate Resilient Economies and Communities, as well as the UN Sustainable Development Goals, which are designed to be a blueprint to achieve a better and sustainable future for all.



While governments can contribute to creating an enabling environment, the private sector and communities themselves have a critical role to play.



This is among the reasons that Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA) has made sustainability integral to its business strategy – so much so that it has been incorporated into the short and long-term incentives of our leadership. We understand that our business can flourish only if our continent flourishes too.



The CCBA Group is committed to reducing carbon emissions in line with the 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement. We are also contributing to The Coca-Cola Company’s global ambition of reducing absolute carbon emissions and decoupling growth from increased greenhouse gas emissions.



This is an absolute target, meaning it will apply regardless of our volume growth, and reflects an ambitious decoupling of our greenhouse gas emissions from our sales growth.



The biggest contributions to our carbon footprint reduction will come from investing in renewable energy to improve energy efficiency in our plants, rethinking our packaging by making it more recyclable and increasing the use of recycled material, shifting to energy efficient cooler systems, rethinking how and where we source our ingredients, and also improved fuel efficiency in our fleet. Our efforts in waste management and water replenishment also contribute significantly to reducing our overall footprint across the value chain.



Water Stewardship is another integral focus area for us, and we are aligned to The Coca-Cola Company’s Water Strategy 2030. Broadly, the strategy ensures that we have regenerative operations, healthy watersheds and enhanced community resilience. In 2020, we achieved a replenishment rate of 76%, with the aim to get to 100% over the long term. In all our operations, we aim to improve water usage efficiency by at least 2 percent annually, treat our waste-water and, re-use or recycle treated waste water for other beneficial uses.



We are prioritising investment in water replenishment initiatives in our plants that are located in high water security risk regions, with clear plans to increase water use efficiency in all our plants.



Importantly in Africa, we also have a keen focus on water access, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) &nbsp;projects to give communities access to clean water.&nbsp;



The Coca-Cola Foundation’s Replenish Africa Initiative (RAIN) benefited 6 million people in Africa through various water access and sanitation projects, while delivering additional health, climate and empowerment benefits. Over 3 million of those who benefitted from RAIN are in countries where CCBA operates.



Through Coca-Cola’s global World Without Waste initiative, we have also committed to recover the equivalent of every can and every bottle that we sell for recycling and reuse by 2030.



The recyclability of our packaging is already at more than 95%, tracking ahead of The Coca-Cola Company’s global target of 100% by 2025.



We are improving the recyclability of our packs through a strong emphasis on shifting to homogeneous and clear bottles and have made significant progress on this already.



Over 20% of our revenues are already coming from returnable or refillable packs. We are strategically looking to increase the use of homogenous returnable packs in our portfolio – which has the added benefit of being more economical for our consumers to help drive affordability, and also more economical for ourselves.



We have already made significant progress towards our collection and recycling rate of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles. Our biggest challenge on recycling is accelerating the collection of plastic bottles to increase PET bottles feedstock for recycled PET supply to enable higher recycled content in our bottles.



To date, in South Africa we are at 17% recycled PET content, and we have 15% recycled PET content in 2&nbsp;litre bottles in Namibia, Mozambique, Botswana and Zambia.



One example of how we are getting communities involved is in Kenya. Here we leveraged our partnerships to launch the Recycling PET Bottles initiative, getting 400 schools to participate in the collection of PET bottles. A total of over 90 000kg, or 4.5 million PET bottles, were collected and recycled as a result of this initiative.



We know we cannot change the world alone, and are therefore working in partnership with fellow producers, retailers, consumers and governments so that, together, we create an environment that ensures we can achieve more.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="779" height="800" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Tshidi-pic-2-779x800.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-415663" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Tshidi-pic-2-779x800.jpg 779w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Tshidi-pic-2-292x300.jpg 292w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Tshidi-pic-2-88x90.jpg 88w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Tshidi-pic-2-768x789.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Tshidi-pic-2-1496x1536.jpg 1496w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Tshidi-pic-2-scaled.jpg 1995w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 779px) 100vw, 779px" /><figcaption>Tshidi Ramogase is the CCBA Group Public Affairs, Communications and Sustainability Director</figcaption></figure>

Tshidi-pic-2

Earth Day is a reminder to Africa to grow in harmony with the environment  

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="800" height="800" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Priceless-Planet-Coalition-expands-forest-restoration-effort-800x800.png" alt="" class="wp-image-416616" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Priceless-Planet-Coalition-expands-forest-restoration-effort-800x800.png 800w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Priceless-Planet-Coalition-expands-forest-restoration-effort-300x300.png 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Priceless-Planet-Coalition-expands-forest-restoration-effort-90x90.png 90w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Priceless-Planet-Coalition-expands-forest-restoration-effort-768x768.png 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Priceless-Planet-Coalition-expands-forest-restoration-effort.png 1081w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></figure>



Africa, 20 April 2022: Mastercard is expanding the reforestation work of the Priceless Planet Coalition to include 15 new restoration projects – including three in Africa &#8211; for a total of 18 globally. These projects will help accelerate progress toward the Coalition’s goal of restoring 100 million trees. Consumer desire to support initiatives that drive positive change for the environment is growing around the world; according to the Mastercard Economics Institute*, consumer donations to environmentally focused charities grew 48.4% globally in 2022 when compared to pre-pandemic 2019 levels, overall outpacing donation growth to other organizations.



Reforestation is widely acknowledged as one of the most impactful and cost-effective ways to positively counteract climate change. The Priceless Planet Coalition project portfolio includes a diverse geographical representation with Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Madagascar and Malawi among the 15 new sites globally. The restoration in Madagascar will serve as a flagship project, with a target of 2 million trees. In Malawi, 1.25 million trees are planned, and in Democratic Republic of Congo 1 million.



In addition to these three new African sites, the project portfolio of the Priceless Planet Coalition also includes representation in the&nbsp;Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa&nbsp;region (Kenya, UAE),&nbsp;Asia Pacific&nbsp;(Australia, Cambodia, China, India, Philippines);&nbsp;Latin America&nbsp;(Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala);&nbsp;Europe&nbsp;(France, Portugal, Spain and Scotland); and&nbsp;North America&nbsp;(Mexico, United States). The expansion builds on the Coalition’s existing planting progress underway in Australia, the Amazon in Brazil, and restoration of a total of 890,400 trees is already underway in Kenya’s Makuli-Nzaui landscape of Makueni County, with community-led work supported by the Green Belt Movement, founded by Nobel Laureate Dr. Wangari Maathai.



The Priceless Planet Coalition is not only focused on planting trees, but on re-growing forests in places with the greatest need and the most potential to have positive impact on climate, community and biodiversity goals. Guided by its restoration partners, Conservation International and World Resources Institute, the Coalition employs science-based best practices to identify new project sites, select the appropriate tree species and ensure long-term forest health through ongoing monitoring, while also providing economic opportunities for local communities.&nbsp;



“The Priceless Planet Coalition is focused on addressing the urgent global climate crisis by restoring the right trees in the right places,” says&nbsp;Jorn Lambert, Chief Digital Officer, Mastercard.&nbsp;“By collaborating with our global network of Coalition partners, we are able to further scale our forest restoration work and create collective action for the planet.”



Uniting in climate action



The Priceless Planet Coalition unites companies, communities and consumers in climate action and now includes more than 100 partners globally, including sustainably minded merchants, fintechs and global banks. Each partner is helping to fund the forest restoration through consumer engagement and donation campaigns that encourage people to take climate-friendly actions or make direct contributions through a donation platform. Recent partners to join the Coalition in Sub-Saharan Africa include Premier Bank in Somalia, NMB Bank Plc in Tanzania, Faisal Islamic Bank in Sudan, and Salaam African Bank in Djibouti. Faja Lobi is the implementation partner in DRC, with Wells for Zoë in Malawi and Conservation International Madagascar in Madagascar.



“There’s growing acknowledgement that investing in the preservation and restoration of the natural world around us is critical also to tackling climate change,” says&nbsp;Bo Lidegaard, historian, diplomat, former climate change negotiator, and advisor to the Coalition. “The Priceless Planet Coalition is designed in a way to maximize impact for the planet, rooted firmly in the best science and quality planning and monitoring.”



Building a sustainable digital economy



Through innovation and trusted partnerships, Mastercard is committed to building a more inclusive and sustainable world with a digital economy that works for everyone, everywhere. The company accelerated its&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mastercard.com/news/press/2021/november/advancing-the-future-of-sustainable-commerce/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">net zero timeline</a>&nbsp;to 2040 and recently expanded its&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mastercard.com/news/perspectives/2022/esg-goals-and-employee-compensation/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">compensation model for all employees</a>, linking it to three priorities across Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG). Through its Global Sustainability Innovation Lab, Mastercard is also developing a range of products to enable more sustainable commerce, as well as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mastercard.com/news/press/2022/february/mastercard-expands-consulting-with-practices-dedicated-to-crypto-open-banking-and-esg/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">services</a>&nbsp;to help its customers bring more eco-conscious solutions to consumers around the world.



To learn more about the Priceless Planet Coalition, visit&nbsp;<a href="http://www.pricelessplanet.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">PricelessPlanet.org</a>.



*The Mastercard Economics Institute analysis looked at aggregated and anonymized transactions made to charities within the Mastercard network, focusing on markets with robust data quality accounting for history and volume of the market.



END

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Mastercard expands the Priceless Planet Coalition’s forest restoration effort

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="555" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/GettyImages-1194859854-820x555.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-413198" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/GettyImages-1194859854-820x555.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/GettyImages-1194859854-300x203.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/GettyImages-1194859854-133x90.jpg 133w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/GettyImages-1194859854-768x519.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/GettyImages-1194859854-1536x1039.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/GettyImages-1194859854-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>PARIS, FRANCE &#8211; DECEMBER 19: International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva is welcomed by General secretary of the presidency Alexis Kohler as she arrives at the Elysee Presidential Palace prior to a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron on December 19, 2019 in Paris, France. Kristalina Georgieva is the new Managing Director of the IMF, she took office on October 1, 2019. (Photo by Chesnot/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



Washington, DC:&nbsp;The Heads of the World Bank Group&nbsp;(WBG),&nbsp;International Monetary Fund (IMF), United Nations World Food Program (WFP), and World Trade Organization (WTO) today called for urgent action on food security. World Bank Group President David Malpass, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, WFP Executive Director David Beasley and WTO Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala issued the following joint statement ahead of the Spring Meetings of the IMF and World Bank Group next week:



“The world is shaken by compounding crises. The fallout of the war in Ukraine is adding to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that now enters its third year, while climate change and increased fragility and conflict pose persistent harm to people around the globe. Sharply higher prices for staples and supply shortages are increasing pressure on households worldwide and pushing millions more into poverty. The threat is highest for the poorest countries with a large share of consumption from food imports, but vulnerability is increasing rapidly in middle-income countries, which host the majority of the world’s poor. World Bank estimates warn that for each one percentage point increase in food prices, 10 million people are thrown into extreme poverty worldwide.”



“The rise in food prices is exacerbated by a dramatic increase in the cost of natural gas, a key ingredient of nitrogenous fertilizer. Surging fertilizer prices along with significant cuts in global supplies have important implications for food production in most countries, including major producers and exporters, who rely heavily on fertilizer imports. The increase in food prices and supply shocks can fuel social tensions in many of the affected countries, especially those that are already fragile or affected by conflict.”



“We call on the international community to urgently support vulnerable countries through coordinated actions ranging from provision of emergency food supplies, financial support, increased agricultural production, and open trade. We are committed to combining our expertise and financing to quickly step up our policy and financial support to help vulnerable countries and households as well as to increase domestic agricultural production in, and supply to, impacted countries. We can mitigate balance of payments pressures and work with all countries to keep trade flows open. In addition, we will further reinforce our monitoring of food vulnerabilities and are quickly expanding our multi-faceted policy advice to affected countries guided by the comparative advantages of our respective institutions.”



“We also urge the international community to help support urgent financing needs, including through grants. This should include financing of immediate food supplies, safety nets to address the needs of the poor, and for small farmers facing higher input prices. We also urge all countries to keep trade open and avoid restrictive measures such as export bans on food or fertilizer that further exacerbate the suffering of the most vulnerable people. It is especially important not to impose export restrictions on humanitarian food purchases by the UN’s World Food Program.”



“It is critical to quickly provide support for food insecure countries in a coordinated manner. We stand ready to work together with our multilateral and bilateral partners to help countries address this urgent crisis.”

French President Emmanuel Macron receives Kristalina Georgieva, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director

Joint Statement: The Heads of the World Bank Group, IMF, WFP and WTO Call for Urgent Coordinated Action on Food Security

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Visa-Innovation-SSA-1-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-416361" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Visa-Innovation-SSA-1-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Visa-Innovation-SSA-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Visa-Innovation-SSA-1-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Visa-Innovation-SSA-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Visa-Innovation-SSA-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Visa-Innovation-SSA-1-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>L-R &nbsp;Corine Mbiaketcha, Vice President and General Manager, East Africa; DR. Patrick Njoroge, Governor, Central Bank of Kenya; Andrew Torre, Regional President, CEMEA, Visa; Aida Diarra, Senior Vice President and Head of Sub-Saharan Africa, Visa and Otto Williams, Senior Vice President, Head of Digital Partnerships &amp; Solutions, CEMEA Visa, at the launch of Visa’s Innovation Studio for Sub-Saharan Africa in Nairobi on Wednesday.</figcaption></figure>



Over the last decade, Visa has had &nbsp;a strong focus in collaborating with key players across the payments landscape to enable access to digital payments. Visa has also continued to partner with leading players in Sub-Saharan Africa including fintechs, neo banks and wallets to enable new payment experiences across the region.



Throughout the challenges of the last two years, the importance of the right innovations at the right time has never been clearer. Today’s opening of Visa’s Innovation Studio in Nairobi, Kenya, marks the continuation of Visa’s effort to empower fintechs, clients and partners develop the right innovations for them now and in the coming decades.



The Innovation Studio will &nbsp;also help Visa to accelerate the co-creation process and fast track the market readiness of innovation payment solutions.&nbsp; Businesses in Sub-Saharan Africa have been leading the way in introducing new methods of paying, and being paid, by harnessing innovative technologies. Ideas to expand the growth of popular functions such as Tap to Phone and Pay on Delivery will be explored at the Innovation Studio alongside the ongoing development of cutting-edge smarter payment solutions that leverage the blockchain, IoT, VR and biometrics.



Visa started with only a couple of innovation centres. One of the first was in San Francisco. Now, there are six innovation centres around the Visa network and it really shows the power of this model. Each centre has highly specialized teams of designers, developers, product managers and technical experts who are building the future of payments with our partners.



”Sub-Saharan Africa is home to a thriving community of start-ups, incubators and accelerators. The Innovation Studio in Nairobi is a realization of our vision to be an engine of commerce and to provide individuals, businesses and economies access to the financial services they need to thrive,” says Aida Diarra, Senior Vice President and Head of Sub-Saharan Africa at Visa.



The Centre opened its doors on the 6th of April 2022 and has already welcomed clients and partners with a unique human-centric design based around the principles of shared knowledge to help Visa’s network of businesses overcome some of the biggest challenges while uncovering new commercial avenues of opportunity.



To commemorate this historic millstone, Kenya’s Central Bank Governor attend the opening event and shared his excitement over the new SSA Innovation Studio. He spoke about his passion for innovation and the role of co-creation in developing solutions to suit the development of nations across Sub-Saharan Africa. The Governor also signed a plaque to commemorate the official opening of the innovation studio. For more information about SSA Innovation Studio, please connect with <a href="mailto:oetyang@visa.com">Olivia Etyang</a>, Head of Innovation Studio, SSA.

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Visa’s Innovation Studio in Nairobi set to Incubate the Next Generation of Commerce Experiences in Africa

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/26020842807_c49de5f57b_o-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-416351" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/26020842807_c49de5f57b_o-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/26020842807_c49de5f57b_o-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/26020842807_c49de5f57b_o-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/26020842807_c49de5f57b_o-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/26020842807_c49de5f57b_o-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/26020842807_c49de5f57b_o-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Photo: via IWMI/CGIAR on Flickr</figcaption></figure>



As Africa enters a critical decade, with the clock ticking on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals for 2030, the multiple threats to the continent’s food, land and water systems are undermining efforts to reduce hunger, malnutrition and poverty.



The challenges Africa faces are increasingly connected to the rest of the world. History tells us that increased food insecurity can start and prolong&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.org/article/hunger-and-war/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">wars</a>,&nbsp;spark&nbsp;<a href="https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199679362.001.0001/acprof-9780199679362-chapter-14" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">revolution</a>&nbsp;and reverse economic development, all of which is made more likely by the impact of the pandemic, climate change and civil strife. Africa urgently needs a path forward that meets major threats to food, land and water systems with commensurate science, technology and innovation.



In a mutually beneficial manner, Africa is as important to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cgiar.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CGIAR</a>,&nbsp;the world’s largest publicly funded agricultural research partnership,&nbsp;as CGIAR is to Africa. For more than five decades,&nbsp;CGIAR has made huge contributions to shaping the science behind Africa’s agricultural development. The institutional reforms and the strengthening of Africa’s research capacities over the same timeframe have been phenomenal.



While Africa may appear to be&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fao.org/publications/sofi/2021/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">losing ground</a>&nbsp;in meeting its targets for food and nutrition security, the current scenario would be far more desperate without the impact and influence of CGIAR. Breakthroughs in upstream science including genetics, agronomy and environmental and resource management are helping farming communities better cope with today’s extreme conditions and unpredictability.



To build on this life-saving legacy and stay relevant to an Africa facing new and ever more complex challenges, CGIAR must continue to evolve. The transition to One CGIAR is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform CGIAR so it can deliver the science and innovations needed to build a food-secure future in Africa and beyond. There is an absolute necessity to continuously counter known and unknown shocks to the agrifood system whenever they are encountered. Farmers and all stakeholders must remain equipped with appropriate technologies and policy instruments to meet these challenges head on. The One CGIAR transition offers such clear benefits in reducing biotic and abiotic stressors.



From an organizational change point of view, integrating CGIAR’s governance into a more unified system provides a single entry-point for engagement and clear mechanisms to respond to locally relevant opportunities, priorities and needs – something long demanded by funders and country partners alike. In this context, while research and innovation work is carried out, as before, in a decentralized way, administration and management become streamlined in a way that engenders efficiency of resource utilization. In addition, the One CGIAR transition also aims to double current funding, unlocking more investment for its work and partners in priority regions, half of which cover Africa. In 2021, close to USD$1 billion was pledged to CGIAR by funders, a major vote of confidence in the reform.



At the same time, the drivers of Africa’s food insecurity are multi-dimensional, which means that understanding the specificities of Africa is crucial for the successful implementation, application and unpacking of the One CGIAR reform in Africa. With&nbsp;around half of the countries in which CGIAR works in Africa and with four One CGIAR research centres headquartered on the continent,&nbsp;One CGIAR can only be a success if it is a success in and for Africa.



Transformational change on the scale needed can only be delivered in the context of transdisciplinary partnerships with national, regional research and donor partners. With this in mind,&nbsp;the African Development Bank (AfDB) and&nbsp;FARA recently brought together the African Union Commission, regional economic communities (RECs) and representatives of agricultural research for development institutes, with CGIAR, at a meeting in Abidjan to ensure that the necessary One CGIAR reforms reflect the needs of African farmers.



In the space between the Abidjan meeting and high-level consultations planned in Dakar in May, there is great hope for the elaboration of a consensus position on the direction for food science and innovation coordinated by the African Union Commission, AfDB and FARA as part of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cgiar.org/news-events/news/cgiar-to-launch-advisory-panel-and-consultations-to-boost-partner-engagement/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ongoing consultations</a>, CGIAR can move forward in its reforms with confidence.



Transforming Africa’s food systems can only be achieved as a joint effort. That is why&nbsp;CGIAR is embracing the opportunity and invitation to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cgiar.org/news-events/news/cgiar-to-launch-advisory-panel-and-consultations-to-boost-partner-engagement/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">boost its engagement</a>&nbsp;with its country and regional partners.&nbsp;Its&nbsp;<a href="https://storage.googleapis.com/cgiarorg/2022/04/CGIAR-System-Board-Communique-Retreat-26-27-March-202274.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">leadership is committed</a>&nbsp;to&nbsp;ensuring that the perspectives of all its partners are meaningfully reflected in the One CGIAR transition and future, leveraging shared history and relationships to respectfully build on the important legacy of the first fifty years.



Ultimately, people do not survive on MoUs or partner agreements, they survive on functioning food systems that provide safe, sustainable and equitable diets and livelihoods. As leading agricultural research organisations, whose success depends on country and regional partnerships, CGIAR and FARA are unwavering in their pursuit of a united and successful way forward for Africa.



Dr. Yemi Akinbamijo, Executive Director of the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) Dr. Claudia Sadoff,&nbsp;Managing Director, Research Delivery and Impact of the&nbsp;CGIAR&nbsp;System Organization (CGIAR)

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Transforming Africa’s food systems is a joint enterprise

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Fridah-Mogoi-a-Clinical-Officer-at-Amref-Kibera-Health-Centre-checks-Derrick-Amwai-9-months-while-his-mother-Scovia-Kayege-holds-him-42-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-416298" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Fridah-Mogoi-a-Clinical-Officer-at-Amref-Kibera-Health-Centre-checks-Derrick-Amwai-9-months-while-his-mother-Scovia-Kayege-holds-him-42-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Fridah-Mogoi-a-Clinical-Officer-at-Amref-Kibera-Health-Centre-checks-Derrick-Amwai-9-months-while-his-mother-Scovia-Kayege-holds-him-42-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Fridah-Mogoi-a-Clinical-Officer-at-Amref-Kibera-Health-Centre-checks-Derrick-Amwai-9-months-while-his-mother-Scovia-Kayege-holds-him-42-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Fridah-Mogoi-a-Clinical-Officer-at-Amref-Kibera-Health-Centre-checks-Derrick-Amwai-9-months-while-his-mother-Scovia-Kayege-holds-him-42-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Fridah-Mogoi-a-Clinical-Officer-at-Amref-Kibera-Health-Centre-checks-Derrick-Amwai-9-months-while-his-mother-Scovia-Kayege-holds-him-42-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Fridah-Mogoi-a-Clinical-Officer-at-Amref-Kibera-Health-Centre-checks-Derrick-Amwai-9-months-while-his-mother-Scovia-Kayege-holds-him-42-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Photo: via  Amref Health Africa</figcaption></figure>



Deliveries of COVID jabs to Africa have been ramped up in recent months, but the poor provision of health services in rural areas threatens to undermine vaccination efforts.



While we urge rich countries to quicken the pace of vaccine distribution to Africa – which remains unpredictable and erratic – there must be simultaneous efforts to ensure that hundreds of millions of Africans living in villages and other remote areas are not overlooked as rollouts gain momentum.



Failure to do so will continue to leave countries in the region vulnerable to the virus and new variants, even if donors substantially boost deliveries of jabs to the continent.&nbsp;



Already, there are alarming signs of vaccine distribution inequalities within countries. In Kenya for example, 40-50% of people in urban areas are vaccinated, compared to less than 10% in rural parts of the country, according to health ministry data.



46% of Kenyan doctors are located in or around Nairobi, home to less than a fifth of the national population.&nbsp; It’s the same <a href="https://www.unaids.org/sites/default/files/media_asset/African2mCHW_en.pdf">picture</a> in Angola and South Africa. &nbsp;The rural shortages are exacerbated by health worker migration. Doctors choose to practice in Europe, the US, Asia and the Middle East, where they are better paid: 63% of newly-trained doctors in Africa end up practicing abroad.&nbsp;



The root of the geographic inequalities is the chronic underfunding of Africa’s healthcare systems.&nbsp; While the US spends $10,000 per capita on health, the corresponding figure in Africa is just $70.



We have fewer healthcare workers per population than anywhere else in the world. There are, on average, three physicians per 10,000 population, compared to ten times that number in OECD countries.



Too often in rural areas women end up giving birth without skilled medical assistance while children with&nbsp;pneumonia or malaria struggle to get treatment because the nearest hospital is too far away.&nbsp;



Logistical difficulties are also limiting COVID vaccination rollouts. And the problem is compounded by donor deliveries of consignments of vaccines with short expiry dates. Overstretched urban healthcare workers struggle to use them in time, never mind their more remote counterparts.&nbsp;



Clearly, as a priority, Africa needs more vaccines and certainly ones with longer shelf lives. But no less important, a large increase in the number of healthcare workers, especially in rural areas, is needed. The COVID19 Africa Commission, chaired by President&nbsp;Ramaphosa, is creating an Africa Health Workforce Task Team to evaluate the health workforce needs of the continent and set targets on how to bolster their ranks.



It’s a commendable initiative. But we are running out of time. Right now, we need urgent interventions to ensure more equitable distribution of COVID jabs, or risk seeing all the good vaccination work in towns and cities unravel as they succumb to new outbreaks originating in largely unvaccinated rural areas.



Encouragingly, there have been some innovative solutions driven by governments and civil society organisations.



In the US and much of Europe, pharmacists did most of the heavy lifting in vaccinating the population. In many African countries, only doctors and nurses are legally permitted to administer jabs, but Zimbabwe trained pharmacists to offer vaccinations.



At the same time, Amref has flown&nbsp;thousands of vaccines out of Nairobi to remote and insecure parts of Kenya. We also run outreach at health facilities on weekends for the vast majority of people too busy making a living the rest of week when routine vaccinations, including COVID vaccination, are offered.&nbsp;



In one Saturday, outreach in Kibera, the informal settlement in Nairobi, our team jabbed 350 people in six hours at a health centre that vaccinates a handful of people on a weekday. Taking vaccines to the people while paying attention to their lives makes good sense. &nbsp;



Ultimately, Africa needs to spend much more per capita on healthcare to begin to really address the urban-rural medical provision divide. We hope the Africa Health Workforce Task Team will provide valuable data on continent-wide needs.



Countries can also fill the urban rural gap by employing community-based health officers who would complement &nbsp;essential appropriate primary care services at the village level.&nbsp; There should be an expansion of mobile phone–based “telemedicine” and diagnostics that connect health workforce and rural communities.



In Rwanda and Ethiopia, community health workers from villages were trained to give primary care and refer people to higher health facilitiesfor serious illness. (<a href="https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2016/09/15/an-african-trailblazer">source</a>). By 2016, there were 45,000 of these community health workers in Rwanda and 35,000 in Ethiopia.



At Amref, we have innovated mobile vans, which can be equipped with coolers to transport refrigerated vaccines, medicines and lab samples to and from faraway health clinics.



But, in the meantime, the international community must support and encourage local government and NGO initiatives to address current vaccine distribution inequalities. Individual interventions may be limited in scope but together they could significantly improve vaccination rates in rural areas.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Dr. Githinji Gitahi is Group CEO of Amref Health Africa. Charles Okeahalam is Chairman of Amref Health Africa&#8217;s international board of directors

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Rural health worker shortage threatens Africa’s COVID vaccine rollout

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Ramaphosa-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-416239" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Ramaphosa-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Ramaphosa-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Ramaphosa-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Ramaphosa-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Ramaphosa-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Ramaphosa-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>President Cyril Ramaphosa: Regulatory reforms are yielding positive results</figcaption></figure>



It was as much about the numbers as the mood. Investor confidence in SA inc as an attractive investment destination was on full display at the recent 4th SA Investment Conference (SAIC) hosted by President Cyril Ramaphosa.



New investments to the value of R332 billion pledged at the conference takes the President’s haul to R1.14-trillion since he announced an ambitious goal in 2018 to raise R1.2 trillion over five years. It’s almost certain that the President will achieve this target at next year’s investment conference.



Against the backdrop of a devastating Covid-19 pandemic, slow economic growth and an energy crisis exacerbated by Eskom’s incapacity to meet rising demand, Ramaphosa maintained an upbeat tone. “I am not here to pretend that these challenges are not real,” said the President. Ramaphosa was however quick to assure that government was doing its best to address the country’s challenges.



With this as a backdrop, the depth and quantum of these pledges &#8211; which if they materialise will flow into the most critical sectors of the economy and rejuvenate growth including in some of the most marginalised regions of the country, is encouraging to SA’s economic growth prospects.



Discovery Holdings CEO Adrian Gore &#8211; in sentiments he shared during a panel discussion with outgoing Anglo CEO Mark Cutifani and Naspers South Africa CEO Phuti Mahanyele-Dabengwa, echoed Ramaphosa’s optimism. Said Gore: “It is critical to shift the negative narrative that was pervasive in the country. This country is more resilient than people think, and our economy is even more resilient and bigger than people give it credit for,” remarked Gore.



And the number of regulatory reforms notably in the telecoms and energy sectors recently announced by government have added impetus to private sector led &#8211; investment. One of the single biggest investments announced came from the African Development Bank (ADB), whose president, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, noted that the ADB’s R42.5 billion pledge would primarily be allocated towards projects designed to support SA’s shift towards renewables. “South Africa has the potential to be a global energy transition leader and deliver social and employment benefits in the process” said Adesina.



Norwegian group, Scatec pledged to invest R16 billion in among others, a solar power plant based in the Northern Cape. Scatec will also channel part of its pledge in the production of biogas, photovoltaic generation capacity and lithium battery technology – technologies which are likely to dominate SA’s energy generation landscape as the country accelerates implementation of a Just Energy Transition. Local energy group, African Rainbow Energy pledged to invest R3 billion in renewable resources.



Nascent confidence in South Africa’s economic reconstruction and recovery is also reflected in the willingness of global leaders in their fields to commit investments in sectors with high potential for growth. From as far afield as Canada and China, Belgium and Turkey, and the Czech Republic there were commitments directed at infrastructure development, healthcare, property, logistics, agri-processing and the creative industries.



Major global vehicle manufacturers doubled down on their long-standing investments in the automotive sectors through the expansion of the facilities in the Eastern Cape and Gauteng. This is a catalyst for smaller industry players – predominantly black-owned – to announce ventures within the automotive supply chains, from tyres, to batteries, to components and assembly facilities.



Success breeds success, and the country’s initial achievements in the manufacturing of vaccines for Covid-19 attracted a host of new investments in the healthcare and pharmaceuticals sector which will greatly benefit the economies of KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape and the Western Cape.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-quotes-verbatim">Quotes verbatim</h2>



The Investment Conference is but one high-profile event in a process of confidence building that has gained traction. The key focus now will be to put the building blocks in place to ensure the sustainability of the commitments that were announced. Phumzile Langeni – one of President Ramaphosa’s investment envoys.



The energy transition could provide an economic stimulus that could yield new industrial opportunities and create a net 160 000 additional jobs. This includes jobs in communities currently linked to coal. Andre de Ruyter – Eskom CEO.



South Africa can be Africa’s innovation hub for health technology and the lynchpin for healthcare in general, communications, infrastructure, biomaterials and in addressing climate change. Dr Patrick Soon-Shiong – SA born entrepreneur based in the US.



Business should speak responsibly when it comes to public matters and support the government in its drive to grow the economy. We are all in this together. Mark Cutifani – outgoing CEO of mining giant Anglo



South Africa has the potential to be a global energy transition leader and deliver social and employment benefits in the process. Akinwumi Adesina – African Development Bank President.



The ground-breaking changes to the regulatory environment currently in motion &#8211; including the unlocking of spectrum for mobile communications &#8211; will accelerate this momentum. Investments in this sector have been doubling year on year for the past five years. Samantha Pokroy &#8211; CEO of a private equity firm investing in new growth opportunities.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">SAIC 2022 in numbers</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-table aligncenter has-small-font-size"><table><tbody><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1</td><td>African Rainbow Energy</td><td>R3 billion</td><td>43</td><td>Videovision Entertainment </td><td>R7.5 billion</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>Bio2Watt</td><td>R463 million</td><td>44</td><td>PFN</td><td>R650 million</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>Seraphim</td><td>R437 million</td><td>45</td><td>DSV</td><td>R2.2 billion</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>Polarium</td><td>R30 million</td><td>46</td><td>Imperial </td><td>R2.1 billion</td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>Scatec</td><td>R16 billion</td><td>47</td><td>Collins Residential </td><td>R2 billion</td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>Compagnie Mauricienne de Textile Ltee</td><td>R390 million</td><td>48</td><td>Waterfall</td><td>R18 billion</td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>Norfund</td><td>R2.25 billion</td><td>49</td><td>Telkom</td><td>R7 billion</td></tr><tr><td>8</td><td>Meridiam</td><td>R3.3. billion</td><td>50</td><td>RCL Foods</td><td>R400 million</td></tr><tr><td>9</td><td>African Development Bank </td><td>R42.5 billion</td><td>51</td><td>Synergy Blenders</td><td>R94 million</td></tr><tr><td>10</td><td>New Development Bank</td><td>R21.7 billion</td><td>52</td><td>ITAC</td><td>R427 million</td></tr><tr><td>11</td><td>SAB</td><td>R4.5 billion</td><td>53</td><td>VSA Group</td><td>R204 million</td></tr><tr><td>12</td><td>Equator Breweries</td><td>R2 billion</td><td>54</td><td>Government Incentives support programme</td><td>R6 billion</td></tr><tr><td>13</td><td>ECP Private Equity</td><td>R500 million</td><td>55</td><td>IDC support to companies, black industrialists and SMMEs</td><td>R20.1 billion</td></tr><tr><td>14</td><td>Lotus</td><td>R170 million</td><td>56</td><td>Swartland</td><td>R106 million</td></tr><tr><td>15</td><td>Afrigen Biologics &amp; Vaccines</td><td>R652 million</td><td>57</td><td>National Empowerment Fund </td><td>R2.5 billion</td></tr><tr><td>16</td><td>Cato Ridge Logistics Hub Consortium</td><td>R6.2 billion</td><td>58</td><td>SEFA loans to support SMMEs</td><td>R2.3 billion</td></tr><tr><td>17</td><td>Ford</td><td>R16.4 billion</td><td>59</td><td>Everflo</td><td>R65 million</td></tr><tr><td>18</td><td>Africa Auto Group</td><td>R550 million</td><td>60</td><td>Anchora Enterprises</td><td>R1.5 billion</td></tr><tr><td>19</td><td>BMW</td><td>R800 million</td><td>61</td><td>African Quartz</td><td>R139 million</td></tr><tr><td>20</td><td>Daimler trucks &amp; Buses Southern Africa</td><td>R190 million</td><td>62</td><td>Smartway SA</td><td>R75 million</td></tr><tr><td>21</td><td>Fromex Industries </td><td>R102 million</td><td>63</td><td>LM Diapers</td><td>R75 million</td></tr><tr><td>22</td><td>Wheel Assemblers</td><td>R180 million</td><td>64</td><td>African Rainbow Capital Tyme Bank</td><td>R1.1 billion</td></tr><tr><td>23</td><td>Volkswagen</td><td>R350 million</td><td>65</td><td>DiDi</td><td>R1.2 billion</td></tr><tr><td>24</td><td>African Rainbow Minerals</td><td>R11 billion</td><td>66</td><td>Airlift</td><td>R300 million</td></tr><tr><td>25</td><td>Anglo Amercian</td><td>R10 billion</td><td>67</td><td>Teraco Data Environments</td><td>R1.1 billion</td></tr><tr><td>26</td><td>Implats</td><td>R11.8 billion</td><td>68</td><td>Sigma Connected</td><td>R267 million</td></tr><tr><td>27</td><td>Isondo Precious Metals</td><td>R140 million</td><td>69</td><td>P&amp;G</td><td>R450 million</td></tr><tr><td>28</td><td>Ivanhoe Mines New Horizons</td><td>R2.8 billion</td><td>70</td><td>TetraPak</td><td>R500 million</td></tr><tr><td>29</td><td>Sedibelo Platinum Mines Kell Process</td><td>R9.4 billion</td><td>71</td><td>iSanti Glass</td><td>R496 million</td></tr><tr><td>30</td><td>Renergen</td><td>R14 billion</td><td>72</td><td>Huhtamaki</td><td>R150 million</td></tr><tr><td>31</td><td>African Rainbow Capital Kropz Elandsfontein</td><td>R497 million</td><td>73</td><td>Ardagh Group Consol</td><td>R1.5 billion</td></tr><tr><td>32</td><td>Tshwane Automotive SEZ</td><td>R1.8 billion</td><td>74</td><td>Defy</td><td>R317 million</td></tr><tr><td>33</td><td>Biovac</td><td>R2.5 billion</td><td>75</td><td>LVSA Group</td><td>R204 million</td></tr><tr><td>34</td><td>Aspen Pharmacare</td><td>R500 million</td><td>76</td><td>Cape Ocean Terminals</td><td>R2 billion</td></tr><tr><td>35</td><td>Cipla</td><td>R150 million</td><td>77</td><td>Rayal</td><td>R280 million</td></tr><tr><td>36</td><td>Pfizer</td><td>R255 million</td><td>78</td><td>Hangda</td><td>R300 million</td></tr><tr><td>37</td><td>BT Industrial Group</td><td>R226 million</td><td>79</td><td>Highveld Robusteel</td><td>R800 million</td></tr><tr><td>38</td><td>IMT</td><td>R20 million</td><td>80</td><td>Nyanza Light Metals</td><td>R5 billion</td></tr><tr><td>39</td><td>NantSA</td><td>R3 billion</td><td>81</td><td>SA Steel Mills</td><td>R300 million</td></tr><tr><td>40</td><td>Siemens</td><td>R484 million</td><td>82</td><td>Scaw Metals Group</td><td>R2 billion</td></tr><tr><td>41</td><td>Warner Media</td><td>R350 million</td><td>83</td><td>Alfeco Veer Aluminium Veer Steel Mills</td><td>R3.5 billion</td></tr><tr><td>42</td><td>Netflix</td><td>R929 billion</td><td>84</td><td>Velocity Ventures</td><td>R470 million</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>

Ramaphosa

Ramaphosa edges closer to his R1.2 trillion target

Russia’s war against Ukraine is ratcheting up global prices of food and fertilizer, and the stakes for Africa are high.&nbsp; Russia and Ukraine account for&nbsp;<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-russia-ukraine-conflict-could-influence-africas-food-supplies-177843" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">nearly 20 percent</a>&nbsp;of the continent’s&nbsp;<a href="http://www.growafrica.com/blogs/case-market-driven-food-systems" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&nbsp;$35 billion a year on food imports</a>, including large volumes of basics like wheat, maize and sunflower oil. The growing risks of food price inflation, food shortages, and civil unrest underscore Africa’s untenable dependence on food imports, and the limitations of its own food systems.&nbsp;



As a foreign war threatens the continent’s already tenuous food security, African governments must lead the transformation of inefficient food systems into systems that are resilient and productive, sustainable and just.&nbsp; Governments can catalyze change by providing the incentives and partnerships that will transform Africa from a net food importer to a net food exporter, and creating agricultural systems that are engines of sustainable economic development.



The need is clear. Even before this crisis, many African countries confronted rising hunger. Today more than&nbsp;<a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/world/sun-movement-statement-support-african-union-s-2022-year-nutrition-africa" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">30 percent</a>&nbsp;of children aged 0 to 5 years in Africa suffer from stunting—a sign of malnutrition.&nbsp; There is not enough good food for all. On the flip side, obesity and diet-related chronic diseases are rising—there is too much bad food on the market.&nbsp;Furthermore, the system does not deliver fair returns to smallholder farmers who account for 90 percent of food production, yet often just scrape by.



To rapidly transform African agricultural systems, the public and private sectors and philanthropy need to work together, with governments leading the way. Only governments can put in place policies and programs that incentivize profitable investments while also prioritizing healthy foods, job creation, and environmental protection.



It is true that many countries have very limited funds to significantly increase agricultural spending—especially as debt piles up in the wake of the COVID pandemic. But this makes collaboration all the more essential.&nbsp; It is not only a matter of how much is invested, but also of how it is invested.&nbsp; The most effective investments align private sector initiatives, philanthropic support, and government policies and programs to transform food systems.



Packaging opportunity



Governments can package opportunities that combine the expertise and capital investment of the private sector with needed public investments in transport, agricultural research, digital infrastructure, clean energy systems, and other essential elements of a fair and future-oriented food system.&nbsp;



Rather than continuing with the status quo – which is expected to see food imports increase to $110 billion a year by 2025 &#8212;&nbsp;Africa could meet all of its food needs&nbsp;with goods that are locally produced, processed and manufactured.&nbsp;&nbsp;



A number of countries, including Malawi and Rwanda, have initiated progress in this direction. For example, the government of Malawi is laying the groundwork for private-sector investments in agriculture by extending electricity to underserved rural regions. Currently, only 11-to-12% of the population has secure access to electricity, with remote agricultural areas the least covered.&nbsp;



Yet, robust agricultural systems able to produce, process and market a range of healthy foods need secure energy supplies—preferably from renewable energy sources. With electricity, farmers can irrigate their fields, and entrepreneurs can invest more confidently in everything from cold storage facilities to food processing plants.



Now, the government of Malawi is working with the Rockefeller Foundation and several private sector partners to design and locate solar-powered mini-grid systems in rural areas best positioned to benefit from them.&nbsp; They are considering factors such as soil quality, irrigation potential, and population density to ensure sound initial investments in energy will catalyze inclusive economic development across largely agricultural regions.



Public procurement policies offer governments another lever of change as they guide food systems transformation.&nbsp; Across Africa, governments purchase foods for schools, hospitals, prisons, and safety net programs that benefit 100 million people.&nbsp; Procurement policies could require a high proportion of sustainably grown fresh vegetables and fruits, and of eggs, milk, and meat to supply essential nutrients for hungry children and sick patients.&nbsp;



In Rwanda, the World Food Programme&nbsp;switched from purchasing refined maize flour to purchasing whole-grain fortified maize meal.&nbsp;The change was nearly budget neutral. The government is considering that approach for the national school feeding program. This would replace empty carbohydrates with protein and healthy nutrients in school lunches, helping to address the country’s serious problem of child malnutrition.



Food system transformation requires governments to abandon a narrow focus on maintaining the status quo, and instead drive change that capitalizes on philanthropic support and inspires private investments.&nbsp; Then African food security will no longer be held hostage by the exploits of foreign countries.



Africa will set its own table with its foods of choice.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="415" height="415" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/William-Asiko-The-Rockefeller-Foundation.png" alt="" class="wp-image-416230" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/William-Asiko-The-Rockefeller-Foundation.png 415w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/William-Asiko-The-Rockefeller-Foundation-300x300.png 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/William-Asiko-The-Rockefeller-Foundation-90x90.png 90w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 415px) 100vw, 415px" /><figcaption>William Asiko is the Managing Director for The Rockefeller Foundation’s Africa Regional Office.</figcaption></figure>

William-Asiko-The-Rockefeller-Foundation

African governments must lead food system transformation

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/MultiChoice-Accelerator-Image-002-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-416220" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/MultiChoice-Accelerator-Image-002-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/MultiChoice-Accelerator-Image-002-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/MultiChoice-Accelerator-Image-002-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/MultiChoice-Accelerator-Image-002-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/MultiChoice-Accelerator-Image-002.jpg 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /></figure>



<p id="h-29-march-2022-team-south-africa-celebrated-their-overall-success-by-hosting-the-last-national-day-at-the-world-expo-2020-dubai-the-south-africa-national-day-allowed-team-sa-a-final-opportunity-to-showcase-to-the-world-what-the-country-has-to-offer">29 March 2022: Team South Africa celebrated their overall success by hosting the last National Day at the World Expo 2020 Dubai. The South Africa National Day allowed Team SA a final opportunity to showcase to the world what the country has to offer.



<p id="h-29-march-2022-team-south-africa-celebrated-their-overall-success-by-hosting-the-last-national-day-at-the-world-expo-2020-dubai-the-south-africa-national-day-allowed-team-sa-a-final-opportunity-to-showcase-to-the-world-what-the-country-has-to-offer">Expo 2020, which started in October 2021, saw almost 200 countries come together to display their offerings, while scouting networking opportunities, drawing investments, and solidifying relationships and future partnerships. The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic), together with MultiChoice as the official broadcast partner, set out to introduce the diverse economic value that South Africa has to offer.



The six-month participation was closed out with a national ceremony hosted by the Honourable President Cyril Ramaphosa, followed by a high-level panel discussion on the successes of Team SA’s participation – most notably the MultiChoice Accelerator Programme.



In partnership with the dtic, social enterprise agency, C3 (Companies Creating Change), and financial advisory firm, Galelo Africa, the MultiChoice Accelerator Programme initially identified 20 promising South African start-ups for participation in a business incubator. Six finalist companies then had the opportunity to participate in an intense virtual bootcamp and pitch to venture capitalists in the UAE.



“Through Team SA’s participation at Expo 2020, we have built lasting relationships, partnerships and networks by taking South Africa to the world. The most tangible success can be seen through our Accelerator Programme where our finalists have gone on to secure more than USD10 million in investment from the UAE,” said Imtiaz Patel, MultiChoice Non-Executive Chairman.



Speaking at the Accelerator Programme Roundtable, President Cyril Ramaphosa, addressed the entrepreneurs saying: “You are truly trailblazers, and are flying our flag high here at Dubai Expo 2020. What is most energising about this programme is that you are showing the world that South Africa has a vibrant start-up culture, as well as advanced innovation ecosystems.



“Innovation in science and tech is key to our country’s industrialisation, especially in the post-COVID-19 recovery period,” the President added.



Team South Africa participated in the Expo under the theme Think South Africa, Think Opportunity.



SIDE BAR:



Africa’s no 1 video entertainment company MultiChoice, was the official broadcast partner of Team South Africa, at the Expo 2020, Dubai. Through the partnership, the company played its part in bringing the South African story of resilience and constant innovation, to the global audience at the Expo from October 2021, until the end of March 2022.



The World Expo 2020 is an excellent platform on which to showcase the country’s drive of being open for business and an investment destination of choice in various areas.  Anchored on the theme, Think South Africa, Think Opportunity, Team South Africa, led by the National Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic), accompanied by various government stakeholders, representatives of agro-processing, mining, manufacturing, finance, technology, business, arts and entertainment sectors, have over the past next six months, amongst other themes, highlighted its creative and cultural strengths and opportunities.

MultiChoice-Accelerator-Image-002

MultiChoice Accelerator Programme Celebrated at World Expo 2020, Dubai

Ukrainian service members are seen at a check point in Zhytomyr

The Russia-Ukraine war will hurt South Africa’s investment ambitions: lessons from nine wars

By September of 1969 when I was born, Makerere University in my home country of Uganda was the most prestigious African university any young person with the rare means to access an education could aspire to. But the college, then affiliated with University College London, had less than 3000 students. This was out of a population of 9 million, some 96 percent of whom were subsistence farmers – simply growing food for survival with nothing left to sell – a typical pre-industrial society.



Like many African nations, Uganda had gained its independence just a few years earlier. Across the continent then was an opportunity for us to grow our countries. However, those few who could access university went not with an aspiration to enter the hustle and grind of enterprise; rather, in the hope of filling the coveted positions left by departing colonial offers. Families sacrificed much and risked everything to keep their children in school. Even of those who enjoyed access to education, many struggled to pay the fees and students would often have to cover long distances on foot every day. A government job at the end of all this promised security and comfort. Our nascent enterprise and innovation sectors seemed to offer just risk and uncertainty in comparison.



As a result, enterprise and creativity weren’t well promoted at school and at family levels – a problem that persists to this day. Moreover, with graduates then few, the government sector could easily absorb them all. Milton Obote, then President of Uganda, sought to encourage more indigenous Ugandans into the economy and enterprise building, but those who could understand the management of a business were rushing into government instead. Manufacturing, critical innovation and trade craft were instead dominated by Uganda’s small Asian community that had been extracted from their homeland by the British to build the Uganda railway line a century earlier. The resulting success of Asians in the Ugandan economy coupled with their limited intermarriage with local Ugandan communities angered Obote’s successor, the dictator Idi Amin, who driving a wave of populist, anti-Asian sentiment oversaw a mass expulsion of some 50,000 members of Uganda’s Asian community in 1972.



50 years later and happily the Asian community has long since been welcomed back, and continue to play an important role in growing the Ugandan economy. Uganda now has a population of some 44 million and a USD 44 billion economy. There are now more than 50 universities and the old Makerere has well over 40,000 students 10 percent of which are postgraduates studying more than 139 post graduate courses. But it seems old habits die hard. The number of registered enterprises – about 600,000, are just twice that of all public servants combined. Enterprises are still few and so are the tax payers: some 1.8m in an adult population of more than 25 million.



Though the shift to enterprise is slowly gaining pace, a secure government job remains for many young Africans a more attractive prospect than fighting to create their own businesses and take risks – the very risks needed to innovate and set the stage for a new economy for their country. One exception is Hillary Nuwamanya, an orphan whose guardian pushed him into studying law. Hillary skipped classes to run his own fish and chips restaurant in the very downtown dormitory he was renting just below the university.&nbsp;“I knew that if I don’t innovate around food and food products with the student market around my residence, I would struggle to get a placement in government after my law degree”&nbsp;he told me yesterday at the Tomosi Foundation offices in Kampala. Tomosi foundation is our business charity arm that offers small seed capital to young innovators – one of the few emerging in this sector in Uganda.



Hillary’s small, rented one-room restaurant he calls&nbsp;‘The Tasty Dine’makes just over USD 50 a day which he uses to pay to study business instead of law. He doesn’t need a financial guardian anymore, but wants more financial management knowledge. He is seeking a USD 1500 capital injection to buy a new glass refrigerator so his customers can see his array of fresh juices, as well as a table and a used cooker to expand his operation. The foundation will support this growth by offering him the money at 5% interest for a year – the lowest rates on the market but still out of reach to hundreds of young people turning away from the traditional search for a presumed secure government job to start their own businesses and support their families in the current period of post- COVID lockdown economic recovery.



But what do young African entrepreneurs like Hillary need as critical support? First, technical knowledge to keep working and expand their businesses. Second, small seed capital at very low interest rates and finally – and more importantly – free patents on key soft and hard technologies from developed markets in food, pharmaceuticals, transport and energy so they can infuse their enterprises with new thinking and supply the expanding market on the continent.



If we do not do this, the benefits of creating a free continent-wide trade zone (AFCTA) will pass this generation of youth by as their markets remain flooded with cheap products that could be made here if it were not for patents locked onto them by developed economies. With more than 8000 products that can be traded between AFCTA member countries, our young economies are losing more than USD 5 billion in multiple African currency conversions alone with some large countries like the DRC importing more than 60 percent of all food that could be grown, packed and packaged locally by young people.  This could all be fixed at home.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/odrek-pic-1-820x547.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-416142" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/odrek-pic-1-820x547.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/odrek-pic-1-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/odrek-pic-1-135x90.jpeg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/odrek-pic-1-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/odrek-pic-1.jpeg 1024w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Odrek Rwabwogo is the senior advisor to the President of Uganda, an entrepreneur and the Director of Tomosi Group</figcaption></figure>



Our mandate is to drive the coordination of export systems for Uganda and help double revenues earned by the country by 2026. We also train and support young entrepreneurs to build their startups in order that they create own jobs along with the teaching of national collective values to them to shape a united and prosperous Uganda we need.

odrek-pic-1

Lack of patents and small cash investments for African youth undermines innovation

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/363560203-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-401468" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/363560203-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/363560203-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/363560203-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/363560203-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/363560203-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Shipping containers sit at the Kwai Tsing Container Terminal in Hong Kong, China, on Monday, July 27, 2020. Hong Kong&#8217;s economy may take longer than expected to recover due to the fluidity of the local virus situation and global economic uncertainties, Financial Secretary Paul Chan said. Photographer: Paul Yeung/Bloomberg</figcaption></figure>



The sea carries more than 80 percent of the world’s traded goods, most of which sail inside 40-foot-long steel containers stacked by the thousands atop some of the largest vessels ever built.



The shock of the pandemic underscored just how crucial the maritime container trade is to the global economy. From Shanghai to Rotterdam to Los Angeles, the coronavirus upended supply chains. Ports lacked workers who were home sick. Truck drivers and ship crews couldn’t cross borders because of public health restrictions. Pent-up demand from huge stimulus programs during extended lockdowns overwhelmed the capacity of supply chains. Besides causing delays in getting goods to customers, the cost of getting them there surged.



As the Chart of the Week shows, the result of those challenges was that the cost of shipping a container on the world’s transoceanic trade routes increased seven-fold in the 18 months following March 2020, while the cost of shipping bulk commodities spiked even more. Our new research shows that the inflationary impact of those higher costs is poised to keep building through the end of this year. Our analysis predates the war in Ukraine but isn’t isolated from it: the conflict will likely exacerbate global inflation.



Studying data from 143 countries over the past 30 years, we find that shipping costs are an important driver of inflation around the world: when freight rates double, inflation picks up by about 0.7 percentage point. Most importantly, the effects are quite persistent, peaking after a year and lasting up to 18 months. This implies that the increase in shipping costs observed in 2021 could increase inflation by about 1.5 percentage points in 2022.



While the pass-through to inflation is less than that associated with fuel or food prices—which account for a larger share of consumer purchases—shipping costs are much more volatile. As a result, the contribution in the variation of inflation due to global shipping price changes is quantitatively similar to the variation generated by shocks to global oil and food prices.



Our findings also reveal some of the mechanisms at work. We show that higher shipping costs hit prices of imported goods at the dock within two months, and quickly pass through to producer prices—many of whom rely on imported inputs to manufacture their goods.



But the impact on the prices consumers pay at the cash register builds up more gradually, hitting its peak after 12 months. This is a much slower process than what is seen after a rise in global oil prices, which drivers feel at the pump within a couple of months.



Rising shipping costs affect inflation in some countries more than others. First, our research shows that the structural characteristics of an economy matter. Countries that import more of what they consume see larger increases in inflation, as do those who are more integrated into global supply chains. Similarly, countries that typically pay higher freight costs—landlocked countries, low-income countries, and especially island states—see more inflation when these rise.



Second, a strong and credible monetary policy framework can play a role in mitigating the second-round effects from import prices and inflation. Our analysis shows that keeping inflation expectations well-anchored is key to containing the effect of soaring shipping costs on consumer prices, particularly core measures that exclude fuel and food.



Our results suggest the inflationary impact of shipping costs will continue to build through the end of 2022. This will create complicated trade-offs for many central bankers facing increasing inflation and still ample slack in economic activity. Moreover, the war in Ukraine is likely to cause further disruptions to supply chains, which could keep global shipping costs—and their inflationary effects—higher for longer.

Cargo Ships and Container Terminal Operations as Hong Kong Recovery May Take Longer Than Expected

How Soaring Shipping Costs Raise Prices Around the World

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="462" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/MaxPixel.net-Metaverse-Vr-Virtual-Headset-Man-Reality-6882917-820x462.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-416120" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/MaxPixel.net-Metaverse-Vr-Virtual-Headset-Man-Reality-6882917-820x462.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/MaxPixel.net-Metaverse-Vr-Virtual-Headset-Man-Reality-6882917-300x169.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/MaxPixel.net-Metaverse-Vr-Virtual-Headset-Man-Reality-6882917-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/MaxPixel.net-Metaverse-Vr-Virtual-Headset-Man-Reality-6882917-768x433.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/MaxPixel.net-Metaverse-Vr-Virtual-Headset-Man-Reality-6882917-1536x866.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/MaxPixel.net-Metaverse-Vr-Virtual-Headset-Man-Reality-6882917.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Metaverse Vr Virtual Headset Man Reality Photo: via Max Pixel</figcaption></figure>



Welcome to the metaverse, the digital future we’ve been imagining for many years. A virtual world where we can meet, explore, shop, collaborate and create. Some fear this is the beginning of a dystopian future envisioned by the 1992 sci-fi novel Snow Crash, while many more see it as the next big evolution of the internet, opening a world of new opportunities.



The metaverse is all the rage in the world of IT and most certainly one of the latest buzzwords. While there has been hype around virtual reality before, with it not quite taking off as was expected, this time it looks different, as though the horse has bolted. To enable true interoperability and ensure a real-time experience, there will need to be lakes of data shared instantaneously across platforms and ecosystems. Legal and regulatory issues aside, businesses and vendors will need to be able to move huge workloads safely and on-demand, in real-time, every time, over and over again. A clear Modern Data Protection strategy and effective management is already crucial for any information-dependent operation. But in this world, it will become even more so.



C-suites need to start asking questions about how their organisations will exist in the era of the metaverse and how they intend to use it or build a strategy around it. Will it be for immersive workspaces, to interact with customers, to sell goods and services or to add value to or streamline their real-world operations? A good starting point would be to consider the data and then think about the infrastructure required to support it.



Facebook has changed its name to Meta, in a bet upon our future being built around the metaverse. Big tech is moving fast and investing huge amounts of resources into the concept.,&nbsp; Microsoft’s moves and investments hint at a whole new world of business applications to come for South African businesses (not just those in Silicon Valley).



Imagine something like the full Microsoft 365 experience being augmented with virtual reality. Imagine meeting co-workers and clients from around the world in a virtual boardroom with windows opening onto the shores of the Pacific Ocean without leaving your home office. Imagine being able to interact with this world the way you would in a physical space. Imagine your customers strolling through a virtual mall, touching, and interacting with your product before buying it. Imagine selling a product that’s used exclusively in the virtual world &#8211; perhaps a new work wardrobe for your avatar.&nbsp;



While AI and smart glasses are already in use to guide critical workers through complex operations such as assembling power plants or jet engines, imagine all your complex manufacturing happening in a virtual twin world. Exciting or terrifying? You decide, but the metaverse race is on.



Before the C-suite can start thinking ahead and building the metaverse into its long-term strategy horizon, it needs to comprehend exactly what we are talking about. The metaverse will exist despite place and time &#8211; one can see why it was the stuff of sci-fi in previous years. Those using the metaverse will be able to interact with each other in real-time, no matter where they are physically in the world. We’re not talking about a video call, such as those the pandemic has made people very familiar with. Rather, we are talking about interacting as if they were in the real world.&nbsp;



While those of us with children understand games such as Fortnite, the metaverse will take this up many notches. It will be interoperable &#8211; meaning that avatars or items built or purchased in one platform will be able to be used in another, and the physical devices that are used to enter the virtual world will be able to be used anywhere &#8211; the days of vendor-locked access will be long gone.&nbsp;



It will spur a whole new economy where people and businesses exchange goods and services. While this is not unusual in games such as Fortnite, the value being traded will be recognised by everyone and may well be cryptocurrency based on the blockchain or flat currency transferred digitally &#8211; we just don’t know yet.



But what does any of this mean? To be frank, it means nothing without data. This is not a rewrite of the laws of computing or a rethink of reality. It is an evolution of how we generate and manage data. Yesterday (and today) the focus was on big data, efficiency, business intelligence, user experience, unified communications, and much more. Our next quantum leap in commuting &#8211; into the metaverse &#8211; will be determined by how we plan, strategise and manage data.



In other words, this potential, this dream &#8211; or nightmare, depending on your orientation &#8211; can only be possible if organisations are confident that the data being generated is available or if not, can be restored quickly. None of this is even possible if organisations do not invest in platforms that will grow and scale &#8211; most likely exponentially &#8211; with their metaverse ambitions. None of this will be possible if the data cannot be protected every step of the way.&nbsp;



However, as well as protecting the systems where data resides or runs across, businesses will need to protect data from their users’ standpoint too.



The first thing that springs to mind is: data privacy. Laws around data privacy are only going to become stricter. All services and products developed around, for, or in, the metaverse will need to be built around protecting the privacy of users.&nbsp;



If you consider that vendors would in theory be able to monitor our eyes, such as where we glance and how long we hold contact for, our brainwaves, our heart rate and blood pressure, just imagine the rich data sets that could be built around us to offer tailored experiences &#8211; including direct sales. While the concept of co-opetition is gaining popularity, where is the line drawn to demarcate anti-competitive behaviour?



Beyond privacy, cybersecurity will be magnified beyond current levels of understanding. Illusions, theft, deep fake impersonations, as well as traditional breaches and ransomware, could be catastrophic and near-impossible to identify.



Modern Data Protection, especially backup, recovery and security, has been crucial for many years. The rapid digitisation and uptake of hybrid cloud strategies have escalated the need for effective, interoperable data management. The metaverse will ramp things up several gears more. There will be no “before and after” metaverse. Platforms and applications will be developed and patched together and the metaverse will most likely be built organically and before we know it, we’ll all be in it. However, before we get carried away with high-res touch sensors and visions of how we’ll trade in virtual 3D stores, C-suites must start thinking about how they’ll manage the integrity, safety and availability of their customers’ data and the multifarious environments it’ll run over. Organisations must be thinking about ecosystems that can seamlessly scale with all this in mind. Modern Data Protection should be central to every digital strategy now and in the metaverse to come.&nbsp;



ENDS

Metaverse Vr Virtual Headset Man Reality

Welcome to the metaverse: is your data under control?

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/IMG_9393-2-820x543.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-416116" width="820" height="543" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/IMG_9393-2-820x543.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/IMG_9393-2-300x199.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/IMG_9393-2-136x90.jpg 136w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/IMG_9393-2-768x508.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/IMG_9393-2-1536x1017.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/IMG_9393-2-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Ernest Lai King, Consultant at Girard Hayward Inc and M.D of 1 Road Consulting</figcaption></figure>



The 2022 State of the Nation address (SONA) reminded South Africans of what awaits if the economy does not provide much-needed jobs, create wealth, and drive sustainable development. Another episode of destruction and violence like that witnessed in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng in July 2021 will be an inevitable consequence.



The SONA emphasised that a new consensus must be reached where the state creates an environment to allow the private sector to invest, unleashing the country’s dynamism and economic potential. It emphasised that government does not create jobs. Business creates jobs.



Our future hangs on a knife’s edge. Record unemployment, woeful economic growth, the probability of a sovereign debt crisis, and blockage after blockage chokes our economic advance and global competitiveness. But unblock these, and a massive pent-up flood of investment will flow. We are a resilient people.&nbsp; We have looked into the abyss many times, and every time we have stepped back. South Africa still stands – albeit unsteady on its feet.



We must unblock the blockages.



For example, South Africa sold goods amounting to R1.8 trillion last year, but the country could have exported many billions more were it not for constraints such as disintegrating railways, dysfunctional ports, collapsing roads, unreliable power, and obstructive laws and authorities.



Significantly, according to recent World Economic Forum statistics, the quality of our local port infrastructure is ranked at just 4.8 out of 7 points, lagging behind emerging market peers such as Chile at 4.9 and Namibia at 5.2. The quality of our railways is of even greater concern, ranked at just 3 out of 7 points – below Tanzania at 3.2, Botswana at 3.6, and Kenya at 4.



A further problematic blockage is restrictive legislation and administrative red-tape, which is not fit for purpose but can be overcome relatively quickly. &nbsp;Notably, our economic growth relies a great deal on the export sector. Many export companies are owned by foreign investors and are a valuable source of foreign currency and job creation. But this red-tape means that international businesses and investors are looking to other investment countries instead.



A serious concern for the export industry is the structure of the VAT Act and the Tax Administration Act, and more specifically the manner in which SARS conducts VAT audits and withholds VAT refunds due. This issue has been raised by the Tax Ombud before Parliament and discussed at the Nugent Commission.



SARS was also chastised in a recent High Court judgement, which held that it cannot conduct a VAT audit and withhold VAT refunds for an indefinite period, with no deadline, and no consideration of fairness and taxpayer rights – the audit must be completed within a reasonable time. The High Court further noted that SARS may not unlawfully withhold refunds for periods that are not yet under audit, and yet these problems persist.



Export businesses that operate on high volumes and low profit margins will inevitably have significant net VAT refund claims. To explain how the VAT system operates in relation to exports, the greater the volume of purchases from suppliers, the more input VAT that will be paid by exporters. In turn, the greater the exports made at a zero rate, the higher the net VAT refund will be to the exporter. But SARS appears to audit and withhold VAT refunds from exporters, on no other basis than the VAT refunds claimed are “too high”.



The concern that SARS acts as judge, juror and executioner has persisted for years. This concern does not centre around the right of SARS to conduct VAT audits, which is unarguable, but rather on the fact that taxpayers have absolutely no rights in the face of such audits – apart from seeking very expensive recourse in the courts. Statutory amendments are urgently required as part of the solution to South Africa unblocking the blockages and achieving a brighter economic future.

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