Historically in traditional West African countries, sexual violence, especially rape, was considered abominable and was highly sanctioned. However, due to colonialism, increasing urbanisation, and people moving away from traditional homesteads, traditional customs have waned including those protecting women from sexual violence. Today, sexual violence against women is increasing at an alarming rate. A United Nations study shows that in Sub-Saharan Africa, one in every three women in marriages or other partnerships with men suffer abuse. The report estimates that an average of one in four women in the world aged 15 to 49 (27%) have experienced physical or sexual violence from “intimate partners”. In Sub-Saharan Africa the figure climbs up to 33%. 



Many countries in West Africa have laws criminalising sexual violence against women but implementing those laws have been a challenge, and this needs to change now. Effective legislation and protection for women requires an ecosystem approach where women’s groups work with traditional institutions, government institutions, healthcare, men’s groups, law enforcement and social services to enable both justice to be rendered in cases of sexual violence and services to be provided for survivors of sexual violence.



In recognition of the urgent action required to address sexual violence in West Africa, during the 16 Days of Activism global campaign this past November, the Ford Foundation’s West Africa office partnered with the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) to seed a nearly US$4 million new fund initiative known as Kasa! Over the next five years, under the management of the African Women’s Development Fund, Kasa! aims to support local organisations in Nigeria, Ghana and Senegal to address sexual violence. Meaning ‘speak out’ in the Ghanaian language Twi, the Kasa fund will strengthen and support women’s rights organisations to raise awareness of sexual violence as a violation of human rights and rally support to combat it through a three-pronged approach of prevention, accountability and support (including post-rape care and comprehensive sexual violence services).



To prevent and reduce sexual violence, concerted efforts are required. There is a lot of work to be done and I am delighted that the Ford Foundation and OSIWA have taken the first bold step to reducing sexual violence in the region, but it is not enough. We are, therefore, asking other development partners, local philanthropies, governments at various levels and communities to also commit to the cause. Kasa! aims to raise a total of $10 million within the next five years and we can’t do this without bold new partners to join us in this fight.



Violence is a human rights violation with far-reaching implications for the individuals and for society as a whole. Many women and girls have been at the forefront of action to highlight and address the issues, but for us it is a necessity that ALL women be equipped with the confidence and knowledge to not only stand up, but end sexual violence.



ChiChi Aniagolu-Okoye (PhD) is the regional director for the Office of West Africa at the Ford Foundation, a global philanthropy organization with a $16 billion endowment. She oversees the foundation&#8217;s grantmaking in the region to promote human rights, democracy and social inclusion in West Africa. Follow her on Twitter @chichiaokoye.

CatherineChinedum[73063]

THE TIME TO END SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN WEST AFRICA IS NOW!

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="545" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/5878839880_ed8cef1c71_o-820x545.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-413337" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/5878839880_ed8cef1c71_o-820x545.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/5878839880_ed8cef1c71_o-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/5878839880_ed8cef1c71_o-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/5878839880_ed8cef1c71_o-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/5878839880_ed8cef1c71_o.jpg 842w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Olusegun Obasanjo, Former Nigerian President and Board Member of Africa&#8217;s Progress Panel</figcaption></figure>



I am the son of a proud, hard-working smallholder farmer. Some of my fondest childhood memories involve following papa to the fields where we grew cassava, maize, plantain, oil palm and other crops and helping him out around the farm. My father was considered the most successful farmer in our Yoruba village near Abeokuta in southwest Nigeria.



Unfortunately, a combination of population growth, land scarcity, soil degradation and political turmoil put paid to his farming business. I have seen many other farmers whose livelihoods fell victim to these same forces.



Like many youths in Africa, I moved to the city for greener pastures. When I was elected Nigeria’s president, the plight &#8211; and the importance &#8211; of our smallholder farmers was always close to my heart. Now that I have returned to my agricultural roots, the need for a new approach to help them deal with increasingly complex challenges has become even more apparent to me.



Smallholder farmers’ ability to grow nutritious food is threatened by a host of factors that are not of their own making, from economic downturns to armed conflicts. They are also poorly equipped to confront the extreme weather patterns that are already hitting agriculture hard, even though they have contributed the least to the climate crisis. Small-scale farmers, their families and communities are being pushed deeper into poverty, hunger and malnutrition.



Make no mistake &#8211; their struggle is our struggle. These farmers, who work on land no larger than two hectares, play a crucial role in ensuring food and nutrition security. Most of the world’s smallholder farmers are in Africa and Asia and they&nbsp;<a href="https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Examining-the-Climate-Finance-Gap-in-Small-Scale-Agriculture.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">produce</a>&nbsp;up to 80 percent of the food that is consumed locally.



Any disruption in their ability to deliver on the goals of food and nutrition security will directly and increasingly affect us, whereas helping them to become more productive and resilient will help build equitable, sustainable and nutritious food systems, that provide for everyone in Africa and Asia, and the whole world.



Despite their key contribution, these farmers lack access to crucial tools that would support sustainable production. They are also often overlooked in global and national policy discussions, which tend to be dominated by the interests of industrialised farming systems.



Faced with poor public sector support or resources, smallholder farmers have been forced to encroach into reserved land to grow their crops and graze their animals, leading, in some cases, to deforestation and environmental degradation.



With nearly 430 million Africans living in extreme poverty, one in five having gone to bed&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fao.org/3/cb4831en/cb4831en.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">hungry</a>&nbsp;in 2020, it is time to build a new consensus with and for smallholder farmers to help them adapt to climate change and manage shocks like the COVID-19 pandemic. Let’s invest in their resilience and capacity, and support them to scale up sustainable agricultural practices and enhance their productivity and incomes by 2030 as set out in&nbsp;<a href="https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/metadata/?Text=&amp;Goal=2&amp;Target=2.3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sustainable Development Goal target 2.3</a>.



Here are my five suggestions to world leaders, but particularly those in Africa, on how we can achieve this.



First, we must invest in and develop policies that are favorable to smallholder farmers, build resilience, promote sustainable production, and uphold the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Commitments: allocating 10% of national budgets to agriculture, improving access to finance, markets, extension services and usable technologies, especially for women and youth, modernising land tenure systems, and supporting other policies that allow small- and medium-sized enterprises to grow and thrive.



We should engage all stakeholders, especially smallholder farmers, to develop a long-term vision for food systems aligned with National Development Plans (NDPs) and budgets.&nbsp;<a href="https://elibrary.acbfpact.org/acbf/collect/acbf/index/assoc/HASH0103/2087c3d6/1c9ab831/e05e.dir/DMS%20008.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Good leaders learn from their predecessors</a>, continue building on good policies and use lessons to improve national policies and programs.



We should coordinate public and private actors within and across sectors to better align interventions and resource allocation to reach smallholder farmers.



Fourth, we must implement stronger accountability mechanisms linked to national and sub-national data systems, to enhance the design, monitoring, tracking and progress reporting of public and private sector actions.



Lastly, we must pledge to&nbsp;‘leave no one behind’. Supporting marginalised and vulnerable groups will go a long way towards combating poverty, hunger and climate change. Women make up 45-60% of the agricultural labour force in parts of Africa and Asia. According to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/agriculture/brief/women-farmers-getting-to-equal" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">World Bank</a>, helping them access assets and inputs could increase yields on women-run farms by 20-30 percent. Youths under the age of 25 are nearly 40% of Africa’s working age population but more than 60% are&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nepad.org/news/strengthening-rural-decent-jobs-africa" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">unemployed</a>.&nbsp;<a href="https://elibrary.acbfpact.org/acbf/collect/acbf/index/assoc/HASH0103/2087c3d6/1c9ab831/e05e.dir/DMS%20008.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Agriculture is the economic</a>&nbsp;sector that can employ millions of young people and enhance food security. Indigenous peoples have a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-26540-0" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">long, rich history</a>&nbsp;of sustainable, resilient, productive, and nature-positive food and farming systems. We can and should learn from them and help them protect their practices from the impacts of climate change.



There is an urgent need to make sure that smallholder farmers have a voice in the policy choices that governments will be making in the coming weeks, months and years.



There is no better time to develop a new consensus with them, because our very existence in this world depends on their ability to withstand the multiple pressures and shocks they now face.



H.E. Chief Olusegun Obasanjo was President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007 and now the CEO and founder of Obasanjo Farms Nigeria Limited. He is the Chair of the Africa Food Prize among many global positions he is holding.

5878839880_ed8cef1c71_o

The future of Africa’s food security needs a new consensus with smallholders

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="461" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Tutorial-Website-Blog-Banner-820x461.png" alt="" class="wp-image-415119" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Tutorial-Website-Blog-Banner-820x461.png 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Tutorial-Website-Blog-Banner-300x169.png 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Tutorial-Website-Blog-Banner-160x90.png 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Tutorial-Website-Blog-Banner-768x432.png 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Tutorial-Website-Blog-Banner-1536x864.png 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Tutorial-Website-Blog-Banner.png 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /></figure>



Addis, 3rd February, 2022: Dashen Bank (<a href="http://www.dashenbanksc.com">www.dashenbanksc.com</a>) the largest private bank in one of the world’s fastest growing economies – Ethiopia &#8211; today announced it has extended its strategic partnership with CR2 (<a href="http://www.CR2.com">www.CR2.com</a>) as they accelerate their Branch Transformation programme, a key pillar of their overall digital transformation taking place at the bank.



This latest strategic initiative responds to the changing nature of the branch, migrating traditional teller services to digital points of access such as mobile, online and in-branch selfservice terminals including the ATM and kiosk. Transitioning to a digital branch enables tellers and relationship managers to assist customers digitally in-branch or remotely via the self-service channels and allows customers avail of the services unassisted from the digital points of access. Services include account opening, card applications, cheque deposits, inward and outward remittances and instant loans.



Branch Transformation marks the second major initiative that Dashen Bank has embarked upon with CR2. Following the rollout of CR2’s Digital Banking and Payments Platform; BankWorld, in 2018, the platform has provided an omnichannel banking experience for both Dashen digital banking customers and the 3.5 million of Ethiopians who use Dashen’s ‘Amole’ Digital Wallet on a daily basis that is unique in the Ethiopian market today.



Asfaw Alemu, Chief Executive Officer of Dashen Bank commented:



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">Apart from creating better digital customer experiences, our partnership with CR2 will drive further growth of our overall market share, enabling us to reach new customers and reduce our cost to serve. We expect to see growth across all lines of business including retail, corporate and Islamic banking segments as well as increasing access to foreign currency through inward remittances and improving our overall cost to income ratio.</blockquote>



Chief Executive of CR2, Fintan Byrne added:



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">We are very pleased to further solidify our partnership with Dashen Bank. Branch Transformation is a critical strategic project for any bank to undertake, but it offers significant benefits when successfully executed. Digitising and streamlining processes that were traditionally served in-branch will greatly increase the Bank’s digital customer base and significantly improve overall cost efficiencies at the bank.</blockquote>

Tutorial-Website-Blog-Banner

Dashen Bank	Accelerates Digital Transformation

The word ‘technology’ is synonymous with growth, progress, development, and our future. Technology has been a critical enabler for innovation as well as our rapid intellectual growth. Today, the conversation about technology and its impact on our lives is more important than ever before as we recover from the severe disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. It has enhanced many aspects of our lives from health to remote working to engineering and empowering major industries across the globe. As we head into 2022, technology is set to shape our lives even further. Here are the tech trends to keep an eye on.



<ol class="wp-block-list" type="1"><li>EDGE COMPUTING – SPEED OF LIGHT</li></ol>



Simply put, Edge Computing refers to using enterprise applications near the source of data, and it is transforming businesses by reducing latency issues and driving exponential growth in areas such as IoT, AR/VR, robotics, machine learning and telco network functions. In the current age of digital disruption, businesses need to optimise digital platforms and Edge Computing gives them the ability to conduct operations at the speed of light, thus addressing hefty workloads requiring quick processing without any downtime.



<ol class="wp-block-list" start="2"><li>CYBER SECURITY – MAKE IT OR BREAK IT FACTOR</li></ol>



The pandemic revealed the significance of protecting our physical and mental health as well as our digital health. For businesses, it is more crucial than ever before to protect themselves against cyber-attacks. Protecting systems, networks, programs, dataflows, employee information without disrupting the business flow and continuity is one of the most significant needs for organisations worldwide. Even though this aspect of Cyber Security has always played a dominant role in securing companies&#8217; future, it is only now, in the post-pandemic world, that Cyber Security is getting the attention it deserves. Going ahead, Cyber Security will prove to be a &#8216;make it or break it&#8217; factor, thus escalating the need for companies to turn to managed security services by third party providers.



<ol class="wp-block-list" start="3"><li>MULTI-CLOUD STRATEGY – THE MORE THE MERRIER</li></ol>



A strategy where businesses or organisations implement multiple clouds for storing their data instead of relying on just one cloud vendor. A multi-cloud strategy is beneficial for enterprises with geographical presence in various locations across the globe and for those who wish to avoid issues such as vendor lock-in. It is simple: the more, the merrier as each provider delivers different cloud options, thus enabling firms to take advantage of competitive solutions. They can pick the best supplier to fit the solutions or services they need based on requirements. For example, businesses can easily choose who they partner with for solutions depending on preference.&nbsp;



<ol class="wp-block-list" start="4"><li>NETWORK AUTOMATION – AGE OF AI</li></ol>



The process of automating various tasks involved in configuring, managing, testing, deploying, and operating physical and virtual devices within a network absolutely cannot be underestimated, given its drastic impact on altering the landscape of how businesses manage everyday tasks and operations. Not only does the automation of these repeated tasks streamline and optimise operations, but it also cuts costs and empowers team members to enhance their efficiency and productivity by saving time.



<ol class="wp-block-list" start="5"><li>IoT – A CLOSER CONNECT&nbsp;</li></ol>



While IoT (Internet of Things) has played a significant role in data collection thus far, it is predicted that the application of IoT based devices will increase manifold in the coming year. IoT devices will be used in decision-making processes, enhance connectivity, and bring forward another level of personalised experiences. For example, with the help of AI and IoT, retailers will deliver hyper-personalised experiences to their consumers depending on their likes, dislikes, preferences, tracking records and more. According to the report entitled: <a href="https://iot-analytics.com/state-of-the-iot-2020-12-billion-iot-connections-surpassing-non-iot-for-the-first-time/">State of the IoT 2020: 12 billion IoT connections, surpassing non-IoT for the first time</a> – it is expected that there will be more than 30 billion IoT connections by 2025, almost four IoT devices per person on average.



<ol class="wp-block-list" start="6"><li>HUMAN ELEMENT – POWER TO THE PEOPLE</li></ol>



As we speak about technology and its ground-breaking impact on our lives, we must not forget the reason technology exists in the first place, to empower humans. The juxtaposition between technology and the human element remains key to ensuring we progress in the right direction. Companies need to leverage automation and other tools to enhance employee performance instead of making it obsolete. Take, for instance, the evolution in the role of HR in a post-pandemic corporate world, and we will be incorrect if we say that this crucial employee segment is now becoming archaic and redundant. Instead, technology reinvents the wheel for HR processes and their role in an organisational setup. HR managers are now tasked with leveraging technology to their best to adapt to the new normal of hybrid and work-from-home culture. Thus, balancing the two will be crucial for organisations to determine their performance and success overall.



<ol class="wp-block-list" start="7"><li>5G – FROM CONSUMER TO CORPORATE</li></ol>



Cast an eye around in the mobile technology space and 5G is arguably one of its most enticing commodities. It’s currently deployed mainly for individual consumers, but this looks like it’s set to change over the next year. Given the enhancement it can give to different aspects of businesses – improved network speed, better latency, strengthening key aspect of the IoT – this shouldn’t come as a shock. While 5G may take some time to implement, its benefits make a safe bet for the private sector to invest in.



<ol class="wp-block-list" start="8"><li>FINTECH &#8211; THE RACE TO ADAPT</li></ol>



Perhaps the technology sector that’ll see the most disruption in the coming year is Fintech. Not only are banks and Fintech entities in a race to meet the needs of customers &#8211; they’re having to both adapt to new technologies and opportunities, while shaping the future of the sector. The growth and technology of high-frequency trading have altered global financial markets and between Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence – which can process myriad data sets – and the emergence of trends such as Banking-As-A-Service and the rise of digital banks, Fintech is likely to be one of the most exciting sectors to watch in the coming year.



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/DeonGeyser-image.png" alt="" class="wp-image-414945" width="499" height="400" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/DeonGeyser-image.png 718w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/DeonGeyser-image-300x240.png 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/DeonGeyser-image-112x90.png 112w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 499px) 100vw, 499px" /><figcaption>DEON GEYSER, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER LIQUID INTELLIGENT TECHNOLOGIES SOUTH AFRICA</figcaption></figure></div>



Executive Profile



Deon Geyser was appointed the Chief Executive Officer of Liquid Intelligent Technologies South Africa and brings over 15 years&#8217; experience in the ICT and Telco space, having worked in different countries across the African continent. He is responsible for the leadership, strategy, and&nbsp;operations in the country.



Before joining Liquid South Africa, Geyser was the MD for Nokia Southern Africa (2015 – 2020); he was responsible for the complete P+L for Nokia in the 13 countries in his region of responsibility. During his tenure, he was involved in several 4G and 5G launches, Network Virtualisation and Software transformation programmes, Fibre to the Home deals, IP and Optical network deals, and large-scale Managed Services contracts.



Under his dynamic leadership, Nokia Southern Africa was recognised as one of the top-performing regions in the MEA market consecutively for six years. His guidance also ensured his team was afforded the CEO award for the Best Business Partner by the Vodacom CEO twice.



Over the years, he has helped organisations succeed by developing and executing targeted strategies that ensure improved stakeholder returns. His passion for building an organisation with a clear vision and goals is repeatedly showcased in the success of all organisations that he led, be it Nokia or Tigo Tanzania, between 2012 – 2014.



Geyser holds three degrees, a bachelor’s degree in Electronic Engineering, a bachelor&#8217;s degree in IT, and a master&#8217;s degree in Engineering Management from the University of Johannesburg. He was also a part-time lecturer on the subject &#8216;Information Systems&#8217; at the University of Johannesburg between 2001 – 2002.

DeonGeyser-image

TOP TECHNOLOGY TRENDS TO WATCH IN 2022

Robust and reliable vaccine capacity in Africa is a global public good, deserving of global support.



The start of a new year is often a time to reflect and reassess. As the pandemic stretches into its third year, apprehension over the health crisis and the associated economic uncertainties is proving hard to shake.



So, for anyone hoping to restore their sense of optimism, I have a simple recommendation:



Consider Africa



In early December, I travelled to the region—my first time since the COVID‑19 outbreak—and had the opportunity to visit Senegal and the Democratic Republic of Congo. I witnessed first-hand the creativity, energy, and entrepreneurial spirit that the region is bringing to bear in overcoming this crisis.



My visit to the Institut Pasteur in Dakar, in particular, was one of these inspirations. The Institut is already a world-class leader in the fight against infectious diseases, having attracted and trained international and regional specialists. Now, the staff there are leading the way to address Africa’s immediate COVID‑19 challenge. They are also building the region’s capacity to fight future pandemics and meet Africa’s more routine immunization needs.



It is critical the region has the tools and the necessary funds to build capacity to produce and manufacture vaccines. This need is especially acute given that the overall COVID vaccination rate on the continent is still below 10 percent. As Africa faces a fourth wave of infections, the emergence of the Omicron variant is yet another reminder that the region’s ability to equip itself to fight this pandemic and address future healthcare needs has global implications.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="800" height="800" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/FINAL-AFR-Vaccine-Production-Blog-Chart-1-800x800.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-414585" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/FINAL-AFR-Vaccine-Production-Blog-Chart-1-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/FINAL-AFR-Vaccine-Production-Blog-Chart-1-300x300.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/FINAL-AFR-Vaccine-Production-Blog-Chart-1-90x90.jpg 90w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/FINAL-AFR-Vaccine-Production-Blog-Chart-1-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/FINAL-AFR-Vaccine-Production-Blog-Chart-1-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/FINAL-AFR-Vaccine-Production-Blog-Chart-1.jpg 1638w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-meeting-today-s-needs">Meeting today’s needs</h2>



Notwithstanding the impressive efforts of the Institut Pasteur, for now, Africa remains reliant on COVID‑19 vaccine imports and donations. The most immediate priority must be to guarantee predictability in vaccine deliveries—including through COVAX and the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT). Funding will also be needed to ensure that Africa’s health systems can vaccinate the local population swiftly as new supplies arrive, including through outreach efforts to reiterate the importance of vaccines and reduce misinformation and vaccine hesitancy. Beyond vaccines, the region requires access to tests, treatments, and protective equipment.



Last year, IMF staff proposed a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/Staff-Discussion-Notes/Issues/2021/05/19/A-Proposal-to-End-the-COVID-19-Pandemic-460263">plan to end the pandemic</a>, by vaccinating 40 percent of the population of all countries by end-2021 and 70 percent** by mid-2022. Progress has been impressive, but the world must do better. The distribution of vaccines and other tools continues at two alarmingly different speeds. In Africa, for instance, only seven countries reached the 40 percent target in 2021 and, for many, the 70 percent target seems increasingly ambitious.



All of this will require further cooperation and support from the international community. Closing the $23 billion financing gap of the Access to COVID‑19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, for example, would be a welcome first step, as a sizable portion of this effort is directed toward Africa. And progress toward vaccine equity is not just a matter of addressing vaccine supply; countries also need more support to strengthen ‘last mile’ delivery.



To be clear, this international support is not charity. This is a global public good! As we all know by now, no one is safe until everyone is safe.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="800" height="800" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Vaccine-Production-Blog-Chart-2-800x800.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-414586" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Vaccine-Production-Blog-Chart-2-800x800.jpeg 800w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Vaccine-Production-Blog-Chart-2-300x300.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Vaccine-Production-Blog-Chart-2-90x90.jpeg 90w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Vaccine-Production-Blog-Chart-2-768x768.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Vaccine-Production-Blog-Chart-2-1536x1536.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Vaccine-Production-Blog-Chart-2.jpeg 1638w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Building resilience for the future</h2>



But we must not let efforts to meet urgent needs come at the expense of future needs. Boosting&nbsp;resilience&nbsp;for the future is also a priority—including the region’s capacity to provide for itself, against COVID‑19 or any other disease that may arise in the future. Without predictable and reliable vaccine supplies, for example, health authorities are often forced to react at short notice to accept doses, often with limited shelf lives, greatly complicating delivery logistics for already-stretched health systems. In short, true resilience in Africa cannot depend on the repeated generosity of the international community. It requires scaled-up&nbsp;local&nbsp;manufacturing capacity and strengthened regional supply chains.



Africa vaccinating Africa is necessary—and it is achievable.



Vaccine manufacturing is a sophisticated enterprise that requires specialized equipment, inputs, storage facilities, and skilled labor.&nbsp;But anyone who tells you that this cannot be done in Africa has not been paying attention.



The work of the Institut Pasteur in Dakar offers a glimpse of the region’s ambitions in the global effort against disease. With financial assistance from the United States, European Union, and international foundations—along with the savvy use of some of Senegal’s recent SDR allocation—construction of a new manufacturing facility is already underway. When complete, this will be one of the first start-to-finish factories on the continent, and a potentially critical component in Africa’s COVID‑19 and other vaccine supply.



And the Institut is far from the only center of excellence in the region—it is part of an impressive Africa-wide health and science community that is making an invaluable contribution to global health—including, most recently, discovering and sequencing the Omicron variant. Currently, there are 12 production facilities, either in operation or in the pipeline, across six African countries—Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Rwanda, Senegal, and South Africa—that are expected to produce a wide range of COVID‑19 vaccines.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Global public good</h2>



As we contemplate the new year, it is increasingly clear that a robust and reliable vaccine capacity in Africa is a global public good that deserves global support. For the current crisis or for future pandemics, we all have a stake in Africa’s success.



I have no doubt that Africa is up to the task. But the international community can—and must—help by stepping up cross-border collaboration in science; incentivizing technological transfers to better diversify the production of vaccines and other life-saving medical tools.



Louis Pasteur once said, “Science knows no country, because knowledge belongs to humanity, and is the torch which will illuminate the world.” The wisdom of Pasteur’s vision is more striking than ever. We must now all do our part to ensure that the fruits of our knowledge are shared swiftly and fairly, for the sake of all humanity.

IYRFFIUYYVJ5PJY7FOWT2TKKLQ

Support for Africa’s Vaccine Production is Good for the World

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="545" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/people-black-poverty-guinea-african-bissau-940174-pxhere.com_-820x545.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-414578" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/people-black-poverty-guinea-african-bissau-940174-pxhere.com_-820x545.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/people-black-poverty-guinea-african-bissau-940174-pxhere.com_-300x199.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/people-black-poverty-guinea-african-bissau-940174-pxhere.com_-136x90.jpg 136w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/people-black-poverty-guinea-african-bissau-940174-pxhere.com_-768x510.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/people-black-poverty-guinea-african-bissau-940174-pxhere.com_-1536x1020.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/people-black-poverty-guinea-african-bissau-940174-pxhere.com_-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Photo: via PxHere.com</figcaption></figure>



Africa is waging a very real “war on corruption” but now that foreign investment is needed more than ever before, our governments must do more to show the world this is not just a catchy soundbite, writes Edith Nakalema



The pandemic has made itself felt in Africa. A continent-wide dearth of vaccines forced economically damaging lockdowns on what are already some of the poorest countries in the world. Critical industrialization and wealth creation agendas have slowed or ground to a halt. Now, at last, economies are beginning to tentatively reopen, and governments are turning their attention to the question of economic recovery. But the new omicron variant is not the only threat casting a shadow over Africa’s prospects for rebuilding and regrowth.



Corruption, sadly, has long been a byword for doing business on the continent. All too often one hears tell of the <a href="https://disrupt-africa.com/2020/05/19/startups-must-apply-africa-discount-when-fundraising-helium-health/">“African Discount”</a> where fundraising startups and companies must lower their valuation for no other reason than being based in Africa. Foreign investment is now needed more than ever to drive ambitious economic recovery programmes, but the spectre of corruption turns otherwise interested investors away.



When you consider what Africa has to offer, this is a terrible waste. Our collective population is one of the world’s fastest-growing – projected to <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1224205/forecast-of-the-total-population-of-africa/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">double&nbsp;by&nbsp;2050</a> – and one of its youngest. The median age is <a href="https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/africa-population/">less than 20.</a> We are a continent of innovators and entrepreneurs – my home country of Uganda alone is the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-Pesa">birthplace of mobile money</a>, a leader in electric vehicles – including <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2016/02/15/africa/africa-solar-bus-kiira-uganda/index.html">Africa’s first solar-powered bus</a> – and our students are helping to drive <a href="https://innovateuganda.com/ugandan-developers-are-driving-africas-health-tech-revolution-during-the-pandemic/">the African HealthTech revolution</a> that has flourished during the pandemic.



Just as importantly as new innovations, investment is now needed to inject life back into our industrialisation agenda, slowed by the pandemic. Like many African countries, agriculture dominates our economy – some 60% of Ugandans are employed by the sector. Many of these are smallholder farmers who lack sufficient access to crucial services like finance and banking. Our industrialisation programme, which seeks to shift our economy towards agro-processing while the country rises up the manufacturing value chain is critical therefore to raising millions out of poverty. Without sufficient foreign investment, the progress we made before the pandemic will be lost.



And Progress has been made. Africa has been waging a very real “war on corruption” for decades, but now we must do more to show the world – not to mention our own citizens – this is more than just a catchy soundbite. In Uganda, we have taken pains to do so. First, through policy. In 2010, our Whistleblower’s Act received presidential assent, providing additional means, protections and encouragement for whistleblowers to come forward. According to its latest report, the Inspectorate of Government (IGG) – one of our key anti-corruption agencies – has some <a href="https://www.igg.go.ug/updates/news/president-yoweri-museveni-launches-lifestyle-audit-campaign/">5000 active cases</a> of corruption reported by whistleblowers valued at around UGX 500bn ($141 million).



Second, we must establish the right institutions. The IGG is just one of eight anti-corruption agencies in Uganda, principal among which are IGG and State House Anti-Corruption Unit (SH-ACU). Since its inception in December 2018, the SH-ACU has <a href="file:///\\Users\benedictlynn\Downloads\AntiCorruption%20Report%202021online.pdf">recovered more than UGX 30 billion</a> ($8.5million), as part of ongoing investigations into corruption in our government and private sector, which are valued at a total of UGX 250 billion ($70.5 million). These efforts – and those of the IGG – were made possible through close collaboration and cooperation between all eight agencies.



Finally, anti-corruption efforts must be shown to be tackling even the most wealthy and politically powerful offenders. With the onus on Uganda’s courts to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that money was obtained through corrupt means, the biggest fish in government were often able to slip away. But just last month the President launched the “Lifestyle Audit Campaign” – an IGG initiative which turns the tables on those the courts find most difficult to prosecute, by requiring suspects who are in public office to account for wealth accumulated which is not commensurate with their known income.



Uganda is not alone in these kinds of initiatives and institutions, which have been growing steadily across the continent. And as they chip away at corruption the world seems to be taking note. The Ugandan delegation to Dubai Expo in October was able to secure <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/business/economy/2021/10/05/uganda-signs-business-deals-worth-650m-at-expo-2020-dubai/">some $650 million in investments</a> across a range of sectors in just two weeks. But this accounts for a fraction of the $4 billion we are seeking for our post-covid economic recovery and to fast-track our industrialization agenda.



Throughout the pandemic, Uganda was one of those African countries that chose to err on the side of caution, instigating some of the strictest and longest running lockdowns in Africa. Ugandans are entering 2022 with a newly opened economy and a sense of hope we haven’t enjoyed in nearly two years. But, if we do not maintain the momentum we’ve built in fighting corruption, it risks being all for nothing. Our allies and friends on the continent should take note. It is our children, our innovators, our entrepreneurs, our future wealth creators who will ultimately pay the price. And what a terrible waste of opportunity and talent that would be.



Colonel Edith Nakalema is Head of Uganda’s State House Anti-Corruption Unit based in Kampala

people-black-poverty-guinea-african-bissau-940174-pxhere.com_

If Africa is to alleviate poverty, our governments must do more to tackle corruption

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="462" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/blog-neo-banks-1-820x462.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-414561" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/blog-neo-banks-1-820x462.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/blog-neo-banks-1-300x169.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/blog-neo-banks-1-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/blog-neo-banks-1-768x433.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/blog-neo-banks-1.jpg 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /></figure>



Challenger banks and neobanks are well positioned to meet the challenges and reap the benefits of the new digital economy. As market disruptors, they are shaking up traditional branch-based banking systems and forcing the industry to become more competitive and agile.&nbsp;



The resulting changes are a big win for consumers who need banking services and not just banks. In fact, the impact of this banking evolution has been compared to the digital disruption in other sectors like Uber and Lyft’s transformation of transportation where similarly, consumers emerge as the primary winners.&nbsp;



So, what is in store for the innovators of the industry in 2022? Here are the trends to watch:



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-five-trends-influencing-challenger-banks-and-neobanks-in-2022">Five trends influencing challenger banks and neobanks in 2022</h2>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">1. Rise of the banking super-apps</h2>



Looking at the takeaways from <a href="https://www.ey.com/en_nl/banking-capital-markets/how-can-banks-transform-for-a-new-generation-of-customers">EY’s consumer banking survey</a>, today’s consumers do not expect a single financial service provider to meet all their requirements. What they do expect is a highly integrated experience among several providers and even across sectors.&nbsp;



By taking on an aggregator role, neobanks will likely load core services onto the baseline integration, creating a super-app.&nbsp;



Super-apps collate various services, including, but not limited to banking, insurance, mobile payments, and real estate on one platform. The app models are designed to offer a variety of services in a single integrated platform focused on simplifying customers’ lives.&nbsp;



Compared to traditional banking systems, super-apps have a high degree of customer-centricity, great user-experience design and integration to meet consumer needs.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">2. Hyper-personalization and customer-centricity take center stage</h2>



Hyper-personalization has become a buzzword in the financial services industry. This entails using data analytics to deliver a service experience that is targeted to an audience of one &#8211; hyper-personalized &#8211; to deliver value to customers.



Challenger banks and neobanks can harness this through digital access and collaboration <a href="https://www.flybits.com/">within apps</a> and product offerings. By using AI and digital banking offers, they can cultivate the available data and utilize it to offer clients services unique to them.&nbsp;



This allows the neobanks and challenger banks to create product offerings and services that add value to their customers&#8217; everyday lives. .&nbsp;



An example of out-of-the-box banking is <a href="https://getmitto.com/en/co2/">Mitto</a>, which offers CO2 measuring services to track customers’ potential CO2 impact. Climate change is on everyone’s minds at the moment, and Mitto leans in on this to increase their relevance.&nbsp;



Although not something typically related to banking, this is an innovative way to incorporate social needs with financial services.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">3. Better customer journeys with data-driven predictive banking</h2>



With data at their fingertips, challenger banks and neobanks are perfectly positioned to add new age value to their customer base. Banking of the future requires these institutions to leave standardized customer journeys behind and instead turn to offer adaptive experiences.



A great customer experience is a journey and not a place. Forward-thinking banks should consider their data requirements for the future. They need to take steps now to secure this information with the idea of utilizing it to foster personalization tomorrow.



As more institutions tap into customer data platforms to garner practical insights around personalization, they will be able to create adaptive experiences to suit each customer’s needs. This will result in integrated services that appeal on an individual level, not just to a customer persona.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">4. Advanced analytics and AI deliver value to customers</h2>



<a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/industries/financial%20services/our%20insights/building%20the%20ai%20bank%20of%20the%20future/building-the-ai-bank-of-the-future.pdf">McKinsey research</a> estimates that advanced AI analytics has a potential annual incremental value for banks of $361.5 million. As a whole, combined traditional and advanced AI and analytics could be worth over $1 trillion annually. It comes as no surprise then that many realize the value in becoming AI-first. Analytics are set to be the backbone of customer experience.



Advanced analytics have provided customers with insightful data around their transactions, spending, and investments. Neobanks are packaging dashboard solutions with advanced interfaces and actionable insights into banking transactions on an individual basis.



Banks that are implementing the technology and tools can further enhance the customer experience by analyzing predictive reports. Analytics produce insights around customer behavior, purchasing preferences, transaction management, fraud detection, and more to ensure a personalized and secure customer experience.&nbsp;



<a href="https://www.flybits.com/">Flybits</a> is an example of an embedded service that unifies and contextualizes an app experience. Based on customer data, card spending, and partnership data, the AI-powered solution can provide tailored experiences to build customer awareness of benefits, services, and loyalty programs.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">5. Growing appeal to niche markets</h2>



Challenger banks will continue to find the most success in niche markets. This means that they are targeting specific client bases and addressing their banking needs. These niches can be based on almost anything, from generation to business type.&nbsp;



By catering to these specific client bases and offering unique services, challenger banks build market share rapidly. They fill the service gaps that traditional banks are not set up to deliver on.



A great example is SMEs in MEA. Research shows that <a href="https://www.mastercardservices.com/en/reports-insights/open-finance-framework-arab-region-more-question-scope">32% of SMEs in the region</a> cite credit-provisioning as a major constraint. As a result, banks here are focusing on this as an important use- case in their journey to open finance to increase accessibility to this market.&nbsp;



Neobanks also have a big influence in this space as they can offer digital solutions that enhance life for a specific customer segment.&nbsp;



A prominent trend here is neobanks driving a shift with regard to youth and banking. As the world’s youth population grows, the future of banking is with the younger generation, particularly in the emerging markets of MEA where youth make up the majority of the population.&nbsp;



One example to look at is Liv Bank, a neobank in the UAE with its <a href="https://uat2.liv.me/">Liv Young</a> offering that targets teens and their financial health. The main focus of Liv is financial education. The mobile app functions as a digital wallet and allows young people to track their spending and set savings goals. These features enable younger generations to develop a sound understanding of their finances and gain financial autonomy, setting them up for healthier financial lives as adults.



Financial well-being is pivotal to banks surviving shifting economic tides. As we see a shift towards healthier banking trends, we see these smaller and more agile types of banks gaining significant market share. All of this is attractive to today’s younger, digital-native generation



Final thoughts



In an ever-changing landscape, challenger banks and neobanks are thinking outside the box. Taking note of market trends and adapting business strategies is key to competition.



Through the adoption of AI and personalized banking, financial institutions can create services that are hard to compete with. This is the challenge and opportunity presented by challenger banks and neobanks in the coming year.

blog-neo-banks-1

Challenger banks and neobanks: 5 trends to watch in 2022

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/50782991392_ee9fffe279_o-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-413212" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/50782991392_ee9fffe279_o-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/50782991392_ee9fffe279_o-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/50782991392_ee9fffe279_o-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/50782991392_ee9fffe279_o-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/50782991392_ee9fffe279_o-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/50782991392_ee9fffe279_o-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>A heatlh worker preparing to extract a dose of vaccine from a vial.</figcaption></figure>



Today, fewer than one in every 10 adult people in Africa have been fully vaccinated, compared to the global average of nearly five in every 10 adults. We know that the stark differences in vaccine distribution between high-income and low- and middle-income countries are the main reasons for this. However, one of the most overlooked factors adding to the problem is the major inequities in vaccine distribution between and within African countries.



Comparing vaccination rates among African countries tells a surprising story. For example, Morocco and Tunisia, two of the most vaccinated countries on the continent, have fully vaccinated about half of their entire adult populations. In contrast, some of the least vaccinated countries like DRC, South Sudan and Chad have only fully vaccinated about one percent of their adult populations.



Currently, only five out of Africa’s 54 countries are on track to meet the target to vaccinate 40 percent of their populations by the end of 2021, according to the WHO. There are also major inequities in vaccination rates within specific countries. In Kenya, 25 percent of the capital Nairobi&#8217;s adult population is fully vaccinated, compared to less than two percent of adult people in the country’s least vaccinated regions. A third of Kenya’s 2.5 million fully vaccinated adults are also in the capital city.



Several factors are slowing down equitable vaccine distribution and uptake within Africa. First, the slow and unpredictable global supply has derailed well-laid out vaccination plans. National and facility level vaccine stock outs have affected rollout plans and uptake.



Second, most African countries are still working around the logistical barriers of distributing vaccines to remote areas, limiting their reach. Third, there is a shortage of syringes which are crucial to administering vaccines. UNICEF estimates the continent&#8217;s shortfall at 2.2 billion syringes. Lastly, vaccine hesitancy, which has intensified for COVID-19 vaccines, has rendered some countries less willing to get vaccinated than others.



The inequity in vaccine distribution among African countries, combined with the limited vaccine supply to the continent, means Africa is at risk of remaining behind in the global recovery. The situation is also undermining the global recovery. As most people on the continent remain unvaccinated, new coronavirus variants can easily emerge and trigger new waves globally. The emergence and spread of the Omicron variant is a case in point.



Africa must urgently work to break down barriers to vaccine inequity within its borders and vaccinate more people.



On the domestic front, African countries must address bottlenecks to vaccine distribution. This means working to strengthen their national COVID-19 rollout campaigns to address operational and logistical gaps and take deliberate steps to ensure that anyone who wants a vaccine can get it wherever and whenever they want it.



Africa must also double down on reducing the misinformation fuelling vaccine hesitancy. This means assessing where and why current campaigns have failed and emphasizing re-designing new strategies.



Lastly, Africa must develop the capability to manufacture its own vaccines. Scientists, healthcare workers, biotechnology companies, the private sector, investors and others must work under the guidance of the African Union’s Partnership for African Vaccine Manufacturing (PAVM) framework to manufacture 60 percent of all vaccines needed by 2040.



Only by getting vaccines to all that need them in Africa can the continent recover stronger.



Dr. Catherine Kyobutungi is an epidemiologist and the Executive Director of the African Population and Health Research Centre

General Photo: Vaccine

Vaccine Equity Within Africa Key for Continent’s Recovery

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="545" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/GettyImages-610580558-1-820x545.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-414436" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/GettyImages-610580558-1-820x545.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/GettyImages-610580558-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/GettyImages-610580558-1-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/GettyImages-610580558-1-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/GettyImages-610580558-1-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/GettyImages-610580558-1-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Young African woman collecting coffee berries from a coffee plant and carrying her little baby on back, Ethiopia, Africa. There are several species of Coffea &#8211; the coffee plant. The finest quality of Coffea being Arabica, which originated in the highlands of Ethiopia. Arabica represents almost 60% of the world’s coffee production..</figcaption></figure>



Urbanisation is a defining characteristic of the 21st century, particularly in Africa, which has the <a href="https://www.cfr.org/blog/africa-fastest-urbanizing-place-planet">fastest rate of urbanisation in the world</a>. Rapid development of cities across the continent is a major challenge for governments, demanding quick policy adaptation and infrastructure development. At its core, geospatial data represents a powerful a tool to support this transition.



With the global population expanding, and much of this growth <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/africa-in-focus/2020/07/16/figures-of-the-week-africas-urbanization-dynamics/">expected to occur</a> in African cities, nations will increasingly see emerging opportunities for economic development. Nevertheless, urbanisation also presents challenges as municipal governments pursue sustainable and equitable development, in line with the <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/">UN’s Sustainable Development Goals</a> (SDGs).



While Africa is one of the <a href="http://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/306721565242541252/pdf/Overview.pdf">least urbanised</a> continents in the world today, by 2050, its cities will be home to an additional <a href="https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/development/africa-s-urbanisation-dynamics-2020_b6bccb81-en;jsessionid=8wwe6pSh8y922oo7K4nBneQL.ip-10-240-5-190">950 million</a> people. Driven by rapid economic changes and the fastest population growth in the world, in some African cities the <a href="https://borgenproject.org/sub-saharan-african-slums/">majority</a> of residents live in informal settlements such as slums and shanty towns. These informal settlements are often characterised by a lack of basic services and substandard housing. They also often mean insecure land tenure for the millions of people that live in them. Indeed, according to the World Bank, only <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2017/03/24/why-secure-land-rights-matter">30 percent</a> of the world’s population has legally registered rights to their land and homes.



So how can countries develop in a way that meets the SDGs, see economic returns, and in turn provide security to its citizens?



Geospatial data is a critical enabler for nations seeking to grow their economies, drive sustainable development, and support evidence-based decision making and policy setting. It will enable new and innovative uses of government data to solve problems and provide new infrastructure. Ordnance Survey has been working with authorities in Africa on pioneering projects that utilise the wealth of information and guidance that can be obtained through effective mapping.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/thumbnail_Zambia-base-map-2-©Ordnance-Survey-820x416.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-414437" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/thumbnail_Zambia-base-map-2-©Ordnance-Survey-820x416.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/thumbnail_Zambia-base-map-2-©Ordnance-Survey-300x152.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/thumbnail_Zambia-base-map-2-©Ordnance-Survey-160x81.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/thumbnail_Zambia-base-map-2-©Ordnance-Survey-768x390.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/thumbnail_Zambia-base-map-2-©Ordnance-Survey.jpg 1280w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">More informed urban planning</h2>



Urbanisation without sufficient oversight can lead to unregulated expansion of informal settlements, urban sprawl and degradation in the quality of civic life. The key to urban infrastructure that works is effective planning. That means ensuring new infrastructure is built in the right place, to the right capacity, and works well with other systems around it. Up-to-date digital records regarding population density and land use can give urban administrators better insights into where residents are and what they might need.



Cross-sector planning and decision-making, informed by geospatial data and implemented by effective governance, are the most powerful tools available to help municipal governments make a success of their city. Using consistent geospatial frameworks enables the ability to make decisions based on similar criteria and with access to similar types of information, at both national and local government levels.



There are significant financial benefits to addressing the challenges of urbanisation before informal settlements become large and unmanageable, which is why cities are increasingly the focus of government policy. Retrofitting infrastructure after a settlement has emerged is up to <a href="https://www.theigc.org/reader/making-urban-land/land-policy-needed-coordinate-investment-settlement-private-sector-cannot-alone/">three times more expensive</a> than installation alongside housing construction.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Fighting urban poverty</h2>



Geospatial data is the way forward for city governments to fight against urban poverty. It can help transform informal settlements into economically active parts of the city. Geospatial information empowers evidence-based policy and practice which is also the best way to prevent parts of cities that are growing fast becoming permanent informal settlements.



Zambia has recently started to draft the government’s first National Urbanisation Plan with the support of UN Habitat and The International Growth Centre (IGC). The Ministry of Local Government wanted to promote prosperous, inclusive and resilient urban settlements, and ensure Zambia’s towns and cities become engines of national growth.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="453" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Lusaka-Zambia-video-still-3-820x453.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-414438" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Lusaka-Zambia-video-still-3-820x453.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Lusaka-Zambia-video-still-3-300x166.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Lusaka-Zambia-video-still-3-160x88.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Lusaka-Zambia-video-still-3-768x425.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Lusaka-Zambia-video-still-3-1536x849.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Lusaka-Zambia-video-still-3-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /></figure>



A collaboration between Ordnance Survey, the IGC and the Commonwealth Association of Architects (CAA) was established to respond to the issue of insufficient spatial data, by piloting the creation of an <a href="https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/business-government/international/urbanisation/download-case-study?utm_medium=sponsored&amp;utm_source=cnbc+africa&amp;utm_campaign=urbanisation_nov21">automated base map of Lusaka in Zambia</a>, focusing on the identification of informal settlements. Currently, the base mapping in Zambia is not sufficiently up to date to provide a meaningful spatial data infrastructure foundation.



Using aerial imagery of Lusaka, Ordnance Survey generated a new base map using its advanced automated process which is faster and more resource efficient than traditional methods. The base map will provide a robust foundation for the integration of future census data and for a range of other functions including land administration. Together, this will enable the Ministry of Lands and the Zambian Government to better target investment in critical infrastructure and social services, upgrading informal settlements in order to provide for the most vulnerable city residents. Understanding key urbanisation trends is crucial for <a href="https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/files/meetings/iaeg-sdgs-meeting-11/6b.%20WGGI%20SDGs%20Geospatial%20Roadmap%20Outline.pdf">implementing and monitoring progress</a> against the SDGs, including efforts to <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/publications/2018-revision-of-world-urbanization-prospects.html">forge a new framework</a> of urban development. Zambia has therefore taken a step forward in meeting these targets.



Using consistent geospatial frameworks in different cities, and in the rural areas between cities, allows the lessons learned locally to be applied in other areas and at a national level. Due to technological innovation, it is easier than ever before to maximise the value of location data and build a city’s geospatial capabilities. Geospatial innovation is accelerating at great speed, and it is now possible to build a digital base map in a fraction of the time and for a fraction of the cost of mapping efforts in the 20th century. Building location data capabilities can show how specific cities are used and how its citizens behave. Establishing a good baseline of geospatial maturity will help make informed policy decisions and help demonstrate the results of those decisions to citizens and investors.



Every country is at a different stage of their approach to managing geospatial information. ‘Geospatial maturity’ is a term used to describe the level of sophistication that a country has in its ability to collect, manage and exploit geospatial information for the benefit of the nation. Ordnance Survey offers free geospatial maturity assessments, which is a tool that can help governments objectively understand how mature their geospatial capabilities are.



It is now easier and quicker than ever to build a country’s geospatial data capabilities. Ordnance Survey has 200 years of expertise as Britain’s national mapping agency, which, when combined with the speed and usability of modern technological innovation, can deliver a solution that harnesses a city’s potential. Ordnance Survey’s centuries of practice in building base maps that underpin growth and empower communities can help countries establish their own data capabilities, giving governments the tools needed for sustainable development.



<a href="https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/business-government/international/urbanisation/download-report?utm_medium=sponsored&amp;utm_source=cnbc+africa&amp;utm_campaign=urbanisation_nov21">Read the report</a> on building prosperous, sustainable and fairer cities with geospatial data.

Young African woman collecting coffee cherries, East Africa

The data secret that empowers cities

The past two years have been anything but normal. The global COVID-19 pandemic has affected every aspect of our lives, derailed plans and set goals back. Nowhere has this been more apparent than on the African continent. However, as we approach the end of the second year of the pandemic, we have had time to regroup, adapt, learn and grow. I argue that recent struggles have put a spotlight on lessons learned over the past decade and lit the path towards achieving the 2030 Development Goals (SDGs).



Over the last decade, Africa has undoubtedly been on a journey of development and transformation. Many African countries have made significant progress towards the 2030 goals, in building strong economies, strengthening democratic institutions, improving agriculture and reducing poverty. These strengths do not come without weaknesses, and the continent continues to battle against challenges such as



malaria, vaccine inequality or inadequate sanitation. A child born in Africa today is still at risk of not receiving a full, high-quality education or decent health care – and all of these issues have been exacerbated by the pandemic. This must change.



There is no one-size-fits-all approach to sustainable development, which is why we must also tailor our solutions. Any methods required to achieve real change need to take into consideration the development stage, socio-political, cultural and physical context, unique needs, and existing governance structures of individual countries.&nbsp;That is why we must foster African research and development and advocate for our own continent’s development. Only then can we achieve a collective, coordinated and cooperative approach&nbsp;to addressing Africa’s challenges.



Over the past two years, disruptions caused by the pandemic have highlighted the need for country ownership and African solidarity so that we no longer rely so heavily on foreign aid and funding. This has been abundantly clear in two sectors that we work in: malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), which have both made a comeback across the continent due to disruptions, supply shortages and overburdened healthcare systems.



We also can’t discount the importance of female leadership and representation. To ensure that Africa progresses in its transformation journey, where human rights and gender equality are central, women must be empowered to take on decision-making and leadership positions at all levels. That is why earlier this year we launched the <a href="https://voixessentielles.org/en/">Voix EssentiELLES initiative</a>, working with community organisations in Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal. Being part of a women-led organization, I am passionate about engaging women in the decision-making process, to ensure that policies are developed to better serve them and their unique issues.



As COVID-19 continues to loom across Africa, we’re at an important juncture. At the start of the pandemic, SDG-related investments in Africa fell by 51%. Although no one could have anticipated the pandemic, now is not the time to stand still; instead, we must focus on building back, and continuing onwards in our development journey – and women must be at the heart of this journey. While sub-Saharan Africa is the only region where women make up the majority of those who are self-employed, women also face significant barriers to growth. There are significant imbalances between men and women in access to funding, training and skills development, accessing professional networks and overall participation in competitive environments.



This imbalance was apparent when we launched the <a href="https://africayounginnovatorsforhealth.org/">Africa Young Innovators for Health Award</a> with <a href="https://www.ifpma.org/">IFPMA</a>. The Award program attracted over 300 applications, yet only 21% were from women. That is why, on the sidelines of this week’s <a href="http://forumgalienafrique.com/en/home-2/">Forum Galien Africa</a>, we decided to take concrete action by launching the Women Innovators Incubator. This program aims to address gender equality in the health innovation landscape by leveling the playing field and giving extraordinary women a chance to bring their projects to fruition. Women who participate in the program will be one step closer to building a scalable and sustainable business that seeks to tackle some of Africa’s most pressing healthcare challenges.



After all, who is better placed to solve African health problems than our own people? I believe that Africa must champion its own solutions and foster talents across the continent, as we move forward. Leading experts and civil society organizations are already playing a vital role in driving action and investment further, and we must continue to elevate their voices so that policymakers understand their concerns and proposed solutions.



Achieving the SDGs set by the world will indeed be a challenge for Africa, however I remain hopeful. With the world’s youngest population, we have the energy and the passion of youth on our side.



No longer can we do things the old way, it’s time instead we take an African approach to sustainable development. We already have so many talented people working hard to reshape Africa, and through continued investment and innovation, our dreams of achieving health and prosperity for all can become a reality. Although no one can predict what the next decade will hold, I know that through continued teamwork and partnership, and by utilizing the incredible talent that our continent has to offer, we will be able to end suffering for good and unlock a greater Africa for all.



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Yacine-Djibo_Speak-Up-Africa-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-414218" width="340" height="227" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Yacine-Djibo_Speak-Up-Africa-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Yacine-Djibo_Speak-Up-Africa-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Yacine-Djibo_Speak-Up-Africa-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Yacine-Djibo_Speak-Up-Africa-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Yacine-Djibo_Speak-Up-Africa-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Yacine-Djibo_Speak-Up-Africa.jpg 1643w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 340px) 100vw, 340px" /></figure></div>



Yacine Djibo, Founder and Executive Director of Speak Up Africa, a Senegal-based non-profit organization advocating for sustainable development in Africa.

Speak Up Africa Logo

Lessons from 2021: How we can accelerate sustainable development for Africa

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="629" height="298" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/image0011.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-414159" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/image0011.jpg 629w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/image0011-300x142.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/image0011-160x76.jpg 160w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 629px) 100vw, 629px" /></figure>



07 December 2021 Johannesburg – The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic may have created additional challenges for disadvantaged communities during 2021, but focused partnerships between Old Mutual, its partners and stakeholders has helped sustain and build communities in need. The third annualOld Mutual Partnership Awardsceremonywas held this week to honour and celebrate those partners who have risen to the occasion, bringing change and hope to many across Africa.



Tabby Tsengiwe, Old Mutual Limited GM Public Affairs &amp; Sustainability, said that this year’s awards strongly emphasised that where partnerships are solid, focused, and innovative, not even a pandemic can stop determined people and organisations from conquering complex social issues.



“Today, we are proud to honour all those who have worked with us to positively impact the lives of stakeholders, customers and various communities across the African continent. Our Partnership Awards offers us the opportunity to recognise those who have helped build positive futures, despite the complexities involved in working around restrictions and regulations imposed during the year.”



“Africa is a continent of promise. We have the economic and social foundations in place to reinforce our standing as a leading force in the family of nations. However, we also have to acknowledge that we have long-standing as well as new issues that have to be addressed before we can reach our full potential”.



Identifying and reacting to needs meant that partnerships, to be effective, had to be diverse and composed of dedicated team members working together to achieve a common objective. Old Mutual, as an institution that has been part of Africa for 176 years, recognises that although it can be a catalyst for change, its strength to effect change is tied to the partners with whom it works, Tsengiwe said.



This year, Old Mutual received more than 100 entry nominations from employees nominating the work done by this year’s finalists hailing from Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, South Sudan and Zimbabwe.



The ‘Top-Three’ winners s were selected from an initial list of 18 finalists in six partnership categories, namely:



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Small to medium-enterprise</li><li>Corporate social investment</li><li>The private sector</li><li>The public sector</li><li>Industry bodies, and;</li><li>Strategic initiatives</li></ul>



The three winners are:



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-overall-winner-and-old-mutual-limited-s-partner-of-the-year">Overall winner and Old Mutual Limited’s Partner of the Year:</h2>



Octogen, an Old Mutual Finance partner since 2009 which is now represented by Financial Wellbeing Officers in 39 of Old Mutual’s retail branches across South Africa. &nbsp;Since 2014 Octogen has assisted 179 010 customers referred to them for guidance on financial wellbeing.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">First runner-up</h2>



The National Education Collaboration Trust (NECT) who have partneredOld Mutual in two vital areas: the Old Mutual Education Flagship Project (OMEFP) and the Covid-19 Response Plan of the Department of Basic Education (DBE). The OMEFP supported several NECT programmes, including the School and District Improvement Programme and the National Reading Coalition.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Second runner-up</h2>



Old Mutual’s partnership with the African Leadership Institute (ALI) empowers school leadership with the skills and knowledge to develop human and social capital, increase productivity and improve the delivery of education. Since 2007, 411 leaders of 14 regions in Namibia completed the training to be transformational leaders within the Ministry of Basic Education, Arts, and Culture.



“As we celebrate these achievements, we must also acknowledge that making a sustainable difference depends on continued efforts being made to improve the circumstances facing challenged communities and individuals.”



“We need to enter 2022 realising that the Covid-19 pandemic could remain part of our lives for some time to come. Working around restrictions imposed by this reality will involve seeking out innovative ways of delivering solutions that can make a difference,” says Tsengiwe.



“As a financial services provider&nbsp; we are&nbsp; proud of the ongoing work we do to fulfil our purpose of championing mutually positive futures. By working together with our great partners across Africa, we are developing African solutions to African challenges and helping to build sustainable futures for the people of our continent,” says Tsengiwe.



To learn more about the Old Mutual partnership Awards link: <a href="https://www.oldmutual.co.za/partnership-awards/">https://www.oldmutual.co.za/partnership-awards/</a>, or to watch the award ceremony please <a href="https://bit.ly/2V3J9PN">click here</a>

image0011

Old Mutual celebrates partners keeping hope alive with 2021

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/IMG_1541-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-414253" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/IMG_1541-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/IMG_1541-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/IMG_1541-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/IMG_1541-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/IMG_1541-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/IMG_1541-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /></figure>



Africa has one of the world’s fastest-growing populations. Early 2021 the United Nations estimates that the continent has 1.38 billion inhabitants, which will grow to 2.5 billion by 2050. It’s also the world’s youngest continent, with almost 60% of the population under the age of 25.



More people are entering the labour force, which drives the growth of an emerging middle class. Young populations, together with rising incomes and increased purchasing power, provide huge opportunities for the continent’s auto industry. Consumers with more cash in their pockets will look for safe, convenient, reliable and environmentally friendly forms of transport, and will be more prepared to pay for after-purchase services.



In addition to the severe impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, economic growth across Africa has faced many challenges over the years, from lack of investment to insufficient manufacturing capabilities, skills shortages, infrastructure demands and unstable energy supply. The African Union noted that only 16% of goods manufactured in Africa are traded on the continent. With the introduction of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), the face of Africa is transforming, providing opportunities for free movement of goods and people. AfCFTA holds the capacity to reshape markets and economies and accelerate growth across more than 50 African countries. It can also play a major role in unlocking the continent’s automotive aftermarket potential.



The automotive aftermarket industry is the market for replacement motor vehicle parts, accessories, components and tools, after a vehicle has been sold to a consumer. It includes the repair services and maintenance that dealerships sell to consumers.



Today, there are approximately 60 million vehicles in operation on the continent, with an automotive aftermarket size estimated in excess of 30 billion Euro. Taking this into account, Africa has similar needs compared to matured markets like Europe. Such as:



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>affordable and reliable parts to support sustainable daily vehicle repairs and maintenance</li><li>technical competencies and professional skills to understand the increasing complexity in the vehicle architecture</li><li>certified maintenance workshops to service all makes and models of vehicles with minimum standards</li><li>accessible vehicle diagnostic tools to diagnose vehicle status, and recommended repair guidelines</li><li>well-developed distribution networks to ensure part availability, not only in urban areas</li><li>accurate vehicle data to help assess real demand and improve forecasting</li></ul>



All of these needs have to be supported by relevant in-country regulatory and policy frameworks, to foster and unleash the potential of the local automotive aftermarket.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Overcoming obstacles and challenges</h2>



The automotive aftermarket industry is an important contributor for countries in Africa, helping to build economies, to improve road safety and to enrich the quality of life for all Africans. While it is undergoing an essential transformation, this industry sector also faces many challenges. These include but are not limited to:



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>counterfeit or second-hand spare parts from scrap yards used as a cheaper alternative to buying genuine reliable parts</li><li>low offer of localised spare parts manufacturing</li><li>skill scarcity of mechanics, as well as mobility user awareness (e.g. total cost of ownership)</li><li>fragmented and undeveloped distribution network making affordable logistics challenging</li><li>lack of transparency in regard to imported used and new vehicles (e.g. origin data missing)</li><li>small volume of qualified repair or maintenance workshops</li><li>volatile trade barriers affecting imports</li></ul>



Despite all these challenges several opportunities exist, as the demand for quality, affordable automotive spare parts and maintenance services steadily increases through rapid urbanisation and the emerging middle class. This growing demand will in certain cases justify the need for the local manufacturing of vehicle components, in order to remain competitive. In addition, the ongoing mega trends, such as e-commerce, connectivity, electrification and digitalization, could become a game-changer for the development of the automotive aftermarket in Africa.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-leading-the-way-in-africa">Leading the way in Africa</h2>



Bosch was founded in Stuttgart in 1886 as a workshop for precision mechanics and electrical engineering, and it opened its first car service in Hamburg in 1921. In the past century, the Bosch Automotive Aftermarket organisation has established itself as the world’s largest brand-independent workshop network and has cemented its position as a reliable and innovative mobility partner.



The Bosch Automotive Aftermarket division has been present in Africa since 1951 and is today located in 6 countries, with local teams on the ground serving more than 40 African countries. The division’s business activities and solutions portfolio includes spare parts trading, maintenance workshop development, diagnostic support and technical training centre deployment.



As a key player in the automotive aftermarket sector, Bosch has done significant work in Africa in the past ten years to address the difficulties faced by the industry. While there are major challenges facing the automotive aftermarket, there is also considerable potential. By addressing the demands and obstacles of this industry, the automotive aftermarket can drive much-needed growth on the continent.



Watch our latest webinar: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1XI9Lo3C24&amp;t=111s" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Exploring the face of the Automotive Aftermarket in Africa &#8211; YouTube</a>.

IMG_1541

Unlocking Africa’s automotive aftermarket

Inflation is rising around the world. In sub-Saharan Africa, one item is driving the trend more than others: food prices. Food accounts for roughly 40 percent of the region’s consumption basket—a measure of goods and services used to measure consumer price index (CPI) inflation.



Food inflation increased throughout 2019, on average, across 25 countries in the region where monthly food price data are available. After remaining stable around 7–8 percent (year over year) since the beginning of the pandemic, food inflation started to rise again from April this year to some 10 percent in October. The chart below shows how food inflation is outpacing and contributing to the pick-up in overall consumer price inflation in sub-Saharan Africa, which rose to about 8 percent in October, up from around 5 percent in 2019.



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="539" height="539" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/a-rising-trend-cotw-ssa_crop.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-414001" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/a-rising-trend-cotw-ssa_crop.jpg 539w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/a-rising-trend-cotw-ssa_crop-300x300.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/a-rising-trend-cotw-ssa_crop-90x90.jpg 90w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 539px) 100vw, 539px" /></figure></div>



On a global scale, the recent increase in food inflation is attributed to rising oil prices (which raise fertilizer prices and transportation costs), droughts and export restrictions imposed by some major food exporters, and stockpiling in some countries. In addition, pandemic containment measures disrupted production and imports of seeds and fertilizers and caused labor shortages during planting seasons. Importantly, there is diversity across the region—food inflation in Chad is near zero but around 30 percent in Angola. This suggests that domestic factors such as weather and exchange rates are important contributors to food inflation in sub-Saharan African countries.



<a href="https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDUsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsImJ1bGxldGluX2lkIjoiMjAyMTEyMDYuNDk4NDMzMTEiLCJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczovL3d3dy5pbWYub3JnL2VuL1B1YmxpY2F0aW9ucy9SRU8vU1NBL0lzc3Vlcy8yMDIxLzEwLzIxL3JlZ2lvbmFsLWVjb25vbWljLW91dGxvb2stZm9yLXN1Yi1zYWhhcmFuLWFmcmljYS1vY3RvYmVyLTIwMjE_dXRtX21lZGl1bT1lbWFpbCZ1dG1fc291cmNlPWdvdmRlbGl2ZXJ5In0.7m0v2cKAHFLtxux1LH_GKJ76wjSjA3hvH5WjnGE2-0o/s/1121717145/br/122388243242-l" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The outlook</a>&nbsp;is highly uncertain. Food inflation and CPI inflation could moderate if commodity prices ease and pandemic-induced global supply chain disruptions resolve. However, high food inflation could persist if inflation expectations become de-anchored or supply chain disruptions continue. Regionwide, average inflation is expected to edge up in 2021 before easing next year depending on commodity prices and the resolution of supply-demand mismatches.



Higher food inflation would worsen the situation for the countries already facing food insecurity and shortages with a disproportional impact on poor households. The number of undernourished persons in the region is projected to have increased by 20 percent in 2020, encompassing 264 million people.



Fighting food insecurity through targeted social assistance and insurance can help populations cope. Avoiding trade barriers and improving access to finance, seed stocks, insecticide, fertilizer, anti-erosion measures, and irrigation are also important.

South Africa Food Mushrooms Market Vegetables

Food Inflation in Sub-Saharan 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/2021/12/Dr-Abdourahmane-Diallo-CEO-RBM-Partnership-to-End-Malaria-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-413976" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Dr-Abdourahmane-Diallo-CEO-RBM-Partnership-to-End-Malaria-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Dr-Abdourahmane-Diallo-CEO-RBM-Partnership-to-End-Malaria-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Dr-Abdourahmane-Diallo-CEO-RBM-Partnership-to-End-Malaria-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Dr-Abdourahmane-Diallo-CEO-RBM-Partnership-to-End-Malaria-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Dr-Abdourahmane-Diallo-CEO-RBM-Partnership-to-End-Malaria-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Dr-Abdourahmane-Diallo-CEO-RBM-Partnership-to-End-Malaria-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Dr Abdourahmane Diallo, CEO of the RBM Partnership to End Malaria</figcaption></figure>



While COVID-19 has rightly dominated headlines across the world over the past two years, another – much older and deadlier – disease arguably presents a more urgent challenge for Africa.



Today, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) annual World Malaria Report revealed the most accurate picture to date of the impact of malaria on the continent. Tragically, more people died of malaria in Africa in 2020 than from COVID-19.



Dating back millions of years, malaria remains the greatest and most persistent threat to public health across the continent, with Africa accounting for 96% of the 627,000 lives claimed by the disease globally in 2020. Disruptions to malaria programmes due to COVID-19 also caused two-thirds of additional malaria deaths, with a 12% overall increase in malaria deaths in 2020 compared to revised 2019 figures. Most malaria victims are children under the age of five.



However, the picture could have been much worse. Countries, partners and community health workers worked tirelessly to prevent the worst-case scenario – a potential doubling of malaria deaths that could have resulted from the pandemic disrupting life-saving malaria prevention and treatment programmes in sub-Saharan Africa last year alone. Long-term and new investments and close collaboration with countries and partners were critical to helping minimize COVID-19’s impact on malaria.



Today, nearly two years into the COVID-19 pandemic and after several years of sluggish progress, we are at a precarious junction. Now, more than ever, we must remain steadfast in our efforts to eradicate malaria, while at the same time helping countries build resilience to withstand future health emergencies.



Funding for global malaria control and elimination interventions fell drastically short of last year’s US$6.8 billion target, reaching only US$3.3 billion in 2020. This shortfall has resulted in thousands of lives lost to a preventable and treatable disease and means even greater investment is now needed if we are to achieve the 2030 targets for malaria.



But we should not be deterred, as our track record of past successes show that our strategy works. Since 2000, strong political commitment, an unprecedented injection of funding, and new and effective interventions have saved the lives of 10.6 million people and prevented 1.7 billion new malaria infections. In that time, 23 countries from every region worldwide achieved three consecutive years of zero malaria cases, with seven certified malaria-free by WHO in the last five years, despite the pandemic, proving that eradication is possible. More and more African countries are rolling out Zero Malaria Starts with Me campaigns and launching national End Malaria Councils and Funds to mobilize domestic resources in the fight against malaria.



We have a wide range of tools in our armoury that can be deployed to defeat malaria. WHO’s recent approval of the RTS,S vaccine for widespread use in children in high-burden settings, especially in Africa, will help save tens of thousands more children. The Gavi Board’s recent decision to fund malaria vaccine programmes will bring new vigour to the malaria fight. More and more high-burden countries are applying sub-national tailoring and using real-time data to ensure smarter and more effective surveillance that enables us to better target resources.



We have a robust pipeline of innovations &#8211; from next-generation nets to antimalarial medicines, to new malaria vaccines such as BioNTech’s mRNA vaccine &#8211; that, if accelerated, could deliver more effective and transformative tools within the decade. By maintaining these efforts, we can once again start to see a rapid decline in malaria deaths and infections while building resilience throughout local health systems.



These are just a few of the reasons why we must now see a significant increase in annual global malaria investments. We know that Africa shoulders the vast majority of the global burden, with some countries spending up to 40% of their health budgets on the fight against malaria. Eradicating malaria would free up resources and give them the capacity to deal with other existing and emerging diseases.



The return on this investment can be measured in economic terms too. A study by WHO showed that a country’s GDP could be boosted by 0.3% for every 10% reduction in malaria cases. This rises to an almost 2% increase in GDP for high-risk high-burden countries. The same study showed that malaria is responsible for an annual loss of US$12 billion dollars in productivity each year in Africa alone, drastically impeding the continent’s economic growth potential.



If we seize the opportunity and act with urgency, we can repeat and extend the success of malaria efforts in the early 21st century, saving millions of lives and driving economic recovery across the world’s most impoverished regions. The systems we put in place, the infrastructure we build and the innovations we develop and bring to scale will cement resilience against future disease outbreaks and pandemics. By doing so, we will usher in the end of malaria within a generation.

Dr-Abdourahmane-Diallo-CEO-RBM-Partnership-to-End-Malaria

Why the world must once again mobilize against malaria

<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-boosting-the-capital-base-of-regional-development-finance-institutions-to-build-back-better">Boosting the capital base of regional development finance institutions to build back better</h2>



Almost 18 months into the COVID-19 pandemic, the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) board approved the issuance of new special drawing rights (SDRs) on August 2, 2021. The IMF proceeded with the allocation of these SDRs a few weeks later on August 23, 2021. SDRs are a composite currency unit based on a basket of leading currencies (US dollar, euro, Japanese yen, UK pound and Chinese yuan), that can be converted by IMF member countries into freely usable currencies to finance imports.



To date, the US$650 billion SDR allocation is the most ambitious and consequential global response to the pandemic by the international community, both in size and scope. It has benefited all IMF member countries and is the largest issuance in the Fund’s history. It is more than double the cumulative amount of SDRs issued during the IMF’s first 75 years and triple the amount injected by the Fund into the global financial system to bolster the foreign exchange reserves of its member countries during the 2008-09 financial crisis.



The unconditional SDR allocation provides breathing space on the balance sheets of all IMF member countries, especially the most vulnerable low-income countries, in proportion to their existing quotas in the Fund. It will help confront the monetary and fiscal challenges of the economic crisis induced by the pandemic. The allocation will also act as a financial multiplier, increasing the fiscal space in the short term and fortifying prospects for financial soundness and global financial stability in the medium and long term.



Across Africa, the newly issued SDRs will reduce countries’ exposure to exchange rate volatility and liquidity constraints associated with balance of payment pressures. They will help replenish dwindling foreign exchange reserves, which decreased by 27% in 2020, and finance essential imports such as COVID-19 vaccines. In addition to preventing liquidity crises from morphing into solvency crises, the newly issued SDRs will sustain investors’ confidence and improve the prospects of a synchronised global recovery.



However, the quota-based SDR issuance has constrained Africa’s allocation to about US$33 billion, which represents about 5% of the overall allocation. And the allocation is heavily skewed towards the largest economies on the continent: Egypt, Nigeria, and South Africa. Together these three countries accounted for over 30% of the total allocation to the region, with South Africa receiving the largest amount of US$4.2 billion.



But across Africa the impact on foreign exchange reserves has been more significant, even though the allocation is markedly smaller than the amount received by other regions. For instance, the newly issued SDRs have more than doubled Zambia’s gross international reserves and raised Zimbabwe’s by more than sixfold. In contrast, it raised Egypt’s by just over 6%. In part this reflects the fact that the marginal allocation was always expected to be more impactful in low-income countries.



Compared to other regions, the SDR allocation to Africa is dismally low, however. The region’s amount is lower than the allocations to both France and Italy, which together received US$33.8 billion, representing over 5.2% of the total allocation. Collectively the European Union received US$139 billion (over 21% of the total allocation) and Asia received US$94 billion (15%). High-income countries, most of which enjoy the exorbitant privilege of issuing reserve currencies and do not need SDRs as much as low-income countries, received nearly US$400 billion. This represents about 60% of the total allocation (65% including China).



The low allocation of SDRs to the region is commensurate with its share of global gross domestic product (GDP) which ultimately determines IMF quotas. Africa accounts for a paltry 3% of global GDP at current price. In part, this reflects invariance in the drivers of growth and trade in a region which remains heavily commodity dependent. The latest United Nations Conference on Trade and Development biennial “Commodities and Development Report 2021” classified 45 countries as such. This structure of production highly exposes African countries to global volatility and adverse commodity terms of trade shocks. It also undermines growth, especially in a world where trade has been largely dominated by manufactured goods with increasing technological content.



Raising Africa’s quotas at the IMF and its share of the SDR allocation hinges on significantly boosting investment in the structural transformation of African economies. This will accelerate the diversification of exports for a speedy income convergence – as Asia has successfully done over the last few decades.



But across the developing world most regional development finance institutions (DFIs), which have a development mandate and are best placed to support economic transformation through the provision of long-term financing, are often constrained by capital. This leads to the persistent, impossible trade-off between the pursuit of development objectives and the mitigation of pressure on their capital base. African DFIs are not exempt from these challenges, especially considering the scale of financing gaps in a region where the chronic deficit of infrastructure across all sectors has been a major constraint to productivity growth and structural transformation for decades.



But DFIs in emerging and developing market economies should not have to choose between financing development and preserving capital adequacy ratios. The new SDR allocation provides the opportunity to strengthen the financial firepower of these regional DFIs in the pursuit of their dual objectives. The reallocation of newly issued SDRs towards fresh equity will strengthen the capital base of these banks and enable them to better deliver on their development mandates. In essence, this enables them to build back better post-pandemic to set the region on an irreversible path of increased diversification of sources of growth and trade.



In this regard, the steps taken by African leaders to reallocate a portion of their SDRs towards increasing the capital of its regional DFIs, such as African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), is a very positive development. Afreximbank has disbursed over US$9 billion since the outbreak of the pandemic to help its member countries deal with the immediate fall-out from COVID-19. In March 2021, Afreximbank issued a guarantee in an amount of US$2 billion that enabled African states to procure 400 million doses of Johnson &amp; Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. At the same time, Afreximbank has invested in the expansion of manufacturing output in the pharmaceutical industry, ensuring the region builds back better post-pandemic.



But strengthening the financial wherewithal of these DFIs should not be exclusively the responsibility of African governments, which are their main shareholders. It should also be supported by the international community which has been championing the delivery of sustainable development goals. Luckily, boosting the capital of these banks has been on the global development agenda for some time. A decade ago, recapitalizing these banks emerged as one of the key objectives in the recommendations outlined by G20 leaders to maintain key investment in sustainable development and set the world on a strong and synchronized recovery from the 2008-2009 global financial crisis. Doing so now is perhaps even more urgent, considering the scale and magnitude of the COVID-19 crisis.



“The best way to predict the future is to create it,” Abraham Lincoln once said. Putting the newly issued SDRs to good use across Africa will create a more predictable future for the region, one that is even more resilient to global shocks and volatility. Boosting the capital of African DFIs and accelerating the transformation of African economies through trade will be an important step in the creation of that future.

Print

Putting SDRs to good use 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/2021/12/45958587865_00ce052358_o-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-413886" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/45958587865_00ce052358_o-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/45958587865_00ce052358_o-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/45958587865_00ce052358_o-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/45958587865_00ce052358_o-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/45958587865_00ce052358_o-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/45958587865_00ce052358_o-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Concept of healthy food- fresh vegetables</figcaption></figure>



Informal markets are one of the primary sources of food and nutrition for poor people throughout the developing world. Yet, for too long, these markets have been overlooked, underappreciated, and side-lined.&nbsp;



Lacking official support and resources and often wrongly perceived as unclean or unreliable, particularly by international observers, informal markets are instead being held back from fulfilling their high potential as a source of safe, affordable, and nutritious foods.



Ignoring the critical role informal markets can play, and indeed already are playing, could create an otherwise avoidable nutritional disaster for the hundreds of millions who rely on these markets in the global food system.&nbsp;



These informal markets, which range from street-side food vendors to small-scale retailers, offer a range of benefits to both buyers and sellers across the developing world in terms of health, nutrition, and livelihoods.&nbsp;



Yet major gaps in both recognition and investment mean governments are failing to capitalize upon these benefits, hurting those communities who rely upon informal markets in turn.&nbsp;



With more investment and research, informal markets can become a greater force for good for the most vulnerable in low- and middle-income countries and assume a more significant positive role in the food systems of the future.&nbsp;



In building these future food systems that are accessible and equitable for all, the critical role that informal markets can play cannot, and should not, be overlooked.&nbsp;



To begin with, governments should acknowledge the important role of informal markets and adopt a collaborative, less confrontational approach towards them. These informal markets play a key role in providing food security and jobs for the poor, yet governments often overlook these contributions.&nbsp;



For instance, some <a href="http://ebrary.ifpri.org/utils/getfile/collection/p15738coll2/id/131091/filename/131302.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">70 per cent</a> of urban households in low-income neighbourhoods of African cities regularly buy food from informal street vendors, with these vendors capable of providing more competitive prices than those of larger, chain retailers, which may often be out of reach for many.&nbsp;



Likewise, with the informal economy accounting for up to <a href="http://ebrary.ifpri.org/utils/getfile/collection/p15738coll2/id/131091/filename/131302.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">72 per cent</a> of non-agricultural employment in Africa and being a key employer of women in particular, governments have enormous opportunities to “formalize” the informal economy. This would then allow governments to collect tax that is currently slipping through the nets, removing the burden of bribes and the multiple, overlapping taxes that informal markets are often overly and wrongly burdened with.&nbsp;



Secondly, governments should aim to provide the technology and finance these markets need to become safer and more successful. Not all informal sellers sell unsafe food – and for those that might, this is more due to a lack of technological or financial capability, not a lack of care.&nbsp;



Informal food markets would not only benefit from access to more obvious technologies like clean water or refrigeration but also from digitalization.&nbsp;



For instance, <a href="https://www.solidaridadnetwork.org/news/farmer2market-puts-technology-in-hands-of-south-african-farmers/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Farmer2Market</a> and <a href="https://farmbizafrica.com/market/2850-mkulima-bora-app-connects-more-than-5-000-farmers-to-consumers-directly-eliminating-brokers" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mkulima Bora</a> are but two key examples of digital applications developed over the past few years that can be of service to informal markets, making food value chains more efficient, reducing food losses, and increasing revenues for farmers, distributors, and food businesses.&nbsp;



Finally, governments should also build the capacity of informal markets through engaging and sharing information. To maximize their potential benefits, governments need to work with informal sellers to ensure that they learn about, and adopt, the best hygiene practices and benefit from the business opportunities that selling safe and quality food brings.&nbsp;



For instance, after a short period of training informal dairy sellers in Nairobi, Kenya, on dairy business and milk safety as part of the “<a href="https://www.ilri.org/research/projects/moremilk-making-most-milk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MoreMilk</a>” project, small retailers in the city started using simple on-the-spot milk tests to check the quality of the milk their suppliers delivered to them.&nbsp;



These new methods forced suppliers to improve the quality of the milk they were supplying to sellers, ultimately empowering vendors to sell higher quality products to happier and more loyal customers.



With Africa’s population potentially <a href="https://www.economist.com/special-report/2020/03/26/africas-population-will-double-by-2050" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">doubling by 2050</a> and its urban population set to <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/01/the-children-s-continent/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">triple</a> in the same timeframe, the need to tackle the triple challenge of poor diets, ill health, and unemployment will be more pronounced than ever.



It’s crucial that governments help, not hurt, informal markets and also recognize their status as dynamic, efficient, and scalable solutions to these pressing challenges.



With the right set of policies, we can help these informal markets to achieve the best possible role in the world’s future food system.



Silvia Alonso, Senior Scientist Epidemiologist, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)

Contributor

THE TIME TO END SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN WEST AFRICA IS NOW!

The future of Africa’s food security needs a new consensus with smallholders

Dashen Bank Accelerates Digital Transformation

TOP TECHNOLOGY TRENDS TO WATCH IN 2022

Support for Africa’s Vaccine Production is Good for the World

If Africa is to alleviate poverty, our governments must do more to tackle corruption

Challenger banks and neobanks: 5 trends to watch in 2022

Vaccine Equity Within Africa Key for Continent’s Recovery

The data secret that empowers cities

Lessons from 2021: How we can accelerate sustainable development for Africa

Old Mutual celebrates partners keeping hope alive with 2021

Unlocking Africa’s automotive aftermarket

Food Inflation in Sub-Saharan Africa

Why the world must once again mobilize against malaria

Putting SDRs to good use in Africa

Why informal markets deserve more credit in a nutritious global food system

The EU-African SME Summit 2021 Sets the Framework for Collaboration between SMEs in Africa and Europe

News Tips

Advertise With Us

Contributor

THE TIME TO END SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN WEST AFRICA IS NOW!

The future of Africa’s food security needs a new consensus with smallholders

Dashen Bank Accelerates Digital Transformation

TOP TECHNOLOGY TRENDS TO WATCH IN 2022

Support for Africa’s Vaccine Production is Good for the World

If Africa is to alleviate poverty, our governments must do more to tackle corruption

Challenger banks and neobanks: 5 trends to watch in 2022

Vaccine Equity Within Africa Key for Continent’s Recovery

The data secret that empowers cities

Lessons from 2021: How we can accelerate sustainable development for Africa

Old Mutual celebrates partners keeping hope alive with 2021

Unlocking Africa’s automotive aftermarket

Food Inflation in Sub-Saharan Africa

Why the world must once again mobilize against malaria

Putting SDRs to good use in Africa

Why informal markets deserve more credit in a nutritious global food system

The EU-African SME Summit 2021 Sets the Framework for Collaboration between SMEs in Africa and Europe

News Tips

Advertise With Us

Newsletters