Former Australian PM on why the gender pay gap is still a problem

Tariffs raise prices but aren’t technically inflationary

Tariffs raise prices but aren’t technically inflationary, says tax expert

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="461" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/108112693-1741359002550-gettyimages-2202592326-raa-cryptocr250303_npQOY-820x461.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-595769" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/108112693-1741359002550-gettyimages-2202592326-raa-cryptocr250303_npQOY-820x461.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/108112693-1741359002550-gettyimages-2202592326-raa-cryptocr250303_npQOY-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/108112693-1741359002550-gettyimages-2202592326-raa-cryptocr250303_npQOY-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/108112693-1741359002550-gettyimages-2202592326-raa-cryptocr250303_npQOY-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/108112693-1741359002550-gettyimages-2202592326-raa-cryptocr250303_npQOY-1536x864.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/108112693-1741359002550-gettyimages-2202592326-raa-cryptocr250303_npQOY.jpeg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Jonathan Raa | Nurphoto | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



Bitcoin fell on Monday as volatility in the price of the world’s largest cryptocurrency continues following an executive order signed by President Donald Trump to create a strategic bitcoin reserve for the United States.



Earlier Monday, bitcoin prices slipped up to 6.5% to trade around $80,650 before paring most losses. By 4:12 a.m., the coin was down 0.74% at $82,050, according to Coin Metrics.



The reserve will be funded by coins that have been seized in criminal and civil forfeiture cases and there are no plans for the U.S. government to buy more bitcoin. After the strategic reserve announcement last Thursday, crypto prices declined as investors were disappointed it wasn’t a more aggressive program.



Other cryptocurrency prices also proved volatile on Monday. Both ether and XRP were trading in the green by 4:12 a.m. after earlier falling around 7.5%.



Some investors, however, said the move to establish a reserve was bullish in the long-term.



“I absolutely think the market has this wrong,” Matt Hougan, chief investment officer at&nbsp;Bitwise Asset Management, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” on Monday. “The market is short-term disappointed” that the government didn’t say it was immediately going to start acquiring 100,000 or 200,000 bitcoin, he added.



Hougan pointed towards comments on X from White House Crypto and AI Czar David Sacks, who said the U.S. would look for “budget-neutral strategies for acquiring additional bitcoin, provided that those strategies have no incremental costs on American taxpayers.”



“I think the right question to ask is: did this executive order make it more likely that in the future, bitcoin will be a geopolitically important currency or asset? Will other governments look to follow the U.S.’s lead and build their own strategic reserve? And to me, the answer to that is emphatically yes,” Hougan said.



“The reason that questions matters is that’s the question that determines if bitcoin is $80,000 a coin or $1 million a coin.”



Hougan called the decline in crypto prices a “short-term setback.”



“I think the market will soon find its footing and realize that actually this is incredibly bullish long term for this asset and for crypto as a whole,” he said.



<a target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.blinkist.com/magazine/posts/andrew-ng-book-recommendations-onboarding/?utm_source=taboola&amp;utm_medium=paid&amp;utm_campaign=20240906_TB_PRO_AndrewNGTTS-OnboardingTest_DW_Universal_MaxConversion-OnboardingLength&amp;utm_term=cnbc&amp;utm_content=4031132309&amp;taboola_click_id=GiDj4YBFh-KY4ULxc1Tv38w6L4sAzStLAzm14ncTr9ZdryCtlkEosfHclcKfxLBgMMQE&amp;tblci=GiDj4YBFh-KY4ULxc1Tv38w6L4sAzStLAzm14ncTr9ZdryCtlkEosfHclcKfxLBgMMQE#tblciGiDj4YBFh-KY4ULxc1Tv38w6L4sAzStLAzm14ncTr9ZdryCtlkEosfHclcKfxLBgMMQE"></a>

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Bitcoin falls as much as 6.5% as volatility continues after Trump’s bitcoin reserve plan

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="720" height="469" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/I7JNEWQ4GVLM3NU76F6XVVSAV4.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-564821"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">People walk on the street around Kwame Nkrumah circle in Accra, Ghana, December 2, 2016. Picture taken December 2, 2016. REUTERS/Luc Gnago/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



ACCRA, March 10 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Ghana&#8217;s&nbsp;economic growth slowed in the fourth quarter of last year,&nbsp;dragged down by a weaker performance of the industry sector, the&nbsp;country&#8217;s statistics agency said on Monday.



Gross domestic product grew by 3.6% year-on-year in the fourth quarter, the data showed, compared with a revised 7.5% in the third quarter.



Economic growth for the year 2024 was at 5.7%.



Growth in the&nbsp;fourth quarter&nbsp;was&nbsp;mostly&nbsp;driven by&nbsp;the services sector, which grew 6.3%,&nbsp;and&nbsp;agriculture,&nbsp;which rose 2.9%, government statistician Samuel Kobina Annim said,&nbsp;adding that the industry sector only&nbsp;expanded by 0.2%.



The West African country is emerging from its deepest economic crisis in a generation, with turmoil in the vital cocoa and gold industries.



Ghana&#8217;s consumer inflation rate slowed for the second month in a row in February, to 23.1% from 23.5% in January.



However, it remains well above Bank of Ghana&#8217;s 8% target with a margin of error of 2 percentage points either side.



President John Dramani Mahama, who returned to office in January, has promised to cut taxes and expenditure to attract investments and lift growth.



(Reporting by Christian Akorlie; Writing by Anait Miridzhanian; Editing by Bate Felix and Toby Chopra)

I7JNEWQ4GVLM3NU76F6XVVSAV4

Ghana’s growth slows in fourth quarter of 2024

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="3500" height="2224" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/7XTI2CWP3BLPFASXQO4LHAPT4I.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-595714"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A view of processing facilities at Tenke Fungurume, a copper and cobalt mine 110 km (68 miles) northwest of Lubumbashi in Congo&#8217;s copper-producing south. Picture taken January 29, 2013. REUTERS/Jonny Hogg/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



March 9 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The United States is open to exploring critical minerals partnerships with Congo, the State Department said in a statement to Reuters on Sunday, after a Congolese senator contacted U.S. officials to pitch a minerals-for-security deal.



Democratic Republic of Congo, which is rich in cobalt, lithium and uranium among other minerals, has been fighting Rwanda-backed M23 rebels who have seized swathes of its territory this year.



Talk of a deal with the U.S. &#8211; which is also in discussions with Ukraine over a minerals pact &#8211; has circulated in Kinshasa for weeks.



&#8220;The United States is open to discussing partnerships in this sector that are aligned with the Trump Administration&#8217;s America First Agenda,&#8221; a State Department spokesperson said, noting that Congo held &#8220;a significant share of the world&#8217;s critical minerals required for advanced technologies.&#8221;



The U.S. has worked &#8220;to boost U.S. private sector investment in the DRC to develop mining resources in a responsible and transparent manner,&#8221; the spokesperson said.



Kinshasa has not publicly detailed a proposal, instead saying it is seeking diversified partnerships.



&#8220;There is a desire for us to diversify our partners,&#8221; Congolese government spokesman Patrick Muyaya said last week, adding there were &#8220;daily exchanges&#8221; between Congo and the U.S.



&#8220;If today American investors are interested in coming to the DRC, obviously they will find space &#8230; DRC has reserves that are available and it would also be good if American capital could invest here,&#8221; he said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-regional-stability">REGIONAL STABILITY</h2>



Andre Wameso, deputy chief of staff to Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi, travelled to Washington earlier this month for talks on a partnership, two sources told Reuters.



On February 21, a lobbyist representing the Congolese Senator Pierre Kanda Kalambayi sent letters to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other American officials inviting U.S. investment in Congo&#8217;s vast mineral resources in exchange for helping to reinforce &#8220;regional stability&#8221;.



That initiative was not sanctioned by the broader Congolese government or presidency, according to two Congolese officials. There are, however, several initiatives underway, albeit in nascent stages, sources from Congo&#8217;s presidency, its ministry of mines, and from Washington told Reuters.



A Congolese delegation had been scheduled to meet with the House Foreign Affairs Committee on March 6, but cancelled the meeting at short notice, according to two sources.



&#8220;I think it&#8217;s certainly something that will pique people&#8217;s interest in Washington, and I think it has attracted interest,&#8221; said Jason Stearns, a Congo expert at Canada&#8217;s Simon Fraser University, noting that Congo&#8217;s mineral supply chains are currently dominated by China.



But, he said, the U.S. does not have state-owned companies like China does, and no private American mining companies currently operate in Congo.



&#8220;So if the Congolese want to make this work, it will probably not be by offering a U.S. company a mining concession. They&#8217;ll have to look at more complicated ways of engaging the U.S.&#8221;, he added.



(Reporting by Congo newsroom, Sonia Rolley and Portia Crowe; Editing by David Holmes)

7XTI2CWP3BLPFASXQO4LHAPT4I

US open to minerals partnerships with Democratic Republic of Congo

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="429" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Caryba-Hair-_-Agnes-Chimanzi-820x429.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-595640" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Caryba-Hair-_-Agnes-Chimanzi-820x429.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Caryba-Hair-_-Agnes-Chimanzi-300x157.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Caryba-Hair-_-Agnes-Chimanzi-160x84.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Caryba-Hair-_-Agnes-Chimanzi-768x402.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Caryba-Hair-_-Agnes-Chimanzi.jpg 1199w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Agnes Chimanzi, Founder &amp; CEO of Caryba Hair at the FORBES WOMAN AFRICA Leading Women Summit 2024 at the Emperors Palace Convention Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa.</figcaption></figure>



Agnes Chimanzi—the Zimbabwean born visionary, founder, and CEO of Caryba Hair—is revolutionizing the hair styling industry by empowering women to express their individuality through their hairstyles.



As a key player in the global wig and hair extensions market, Caryba Hair is not only committed to providing high quality luxury wigs and hair extensions, they are creating a space for women to embrace their hair choices, while also prioritizing their own hair and scalp health.



&#8220;Hair is a powerful tool for self-expression,&#8221; Chimanzi says. &#8220;Our hair choices reflect our personal stories and shape how we feel about ourselves and how we present ourselves to the world. Whether you wear hair extensions or your natural coils and curls, the versatility of hair lies in its endless styling options.&#8221;



She continues, &#8220;It&#8217;s not about policing which hairstyles are best for women, it&#8217;s about encouraging women to love and care for their hair.&#8221;



Chimanzi details how her transformative hair journey sparked the creation of Caryba Hair:&nbsp;



&nbsp;“My hair journey began with sitting between my mother’s legs as she threaded my hair with wool, to sitting in uncomfortable salon chairs for hours, trying to keep up with the latest hairstyles of the season. It was almost guaranteed that you’d leave that salon chair with a severe headache, scalp sores and a receding hairline.”



“I wanted to create a space that offers a holistic approach to hair care, providing women with expert guidance on wig styling, maintenance, and overall hair care tips. There&#8217;s a growing demand for personalized hairstyling services and hair educational services,” she says.



Currently available online, Caryba Hair is set to expand its services to cater to women&#8217;s hairstyling needs across Africa. In the near future, Chimanzi plans to open salons in Southern Africa, providing access to professional hairstyling services and expert advice. This move will not only provide essential hair care services, but it will also create employment opportunities and stimulate economic growth in the region.



“As a young entrepreneur and aspiring medical doctor, I encourage the African youth to dare to dream and explore entrepreneurship. There is enough room for innovative ideas that can drive Africa’s growth and development.”



In addition to its business endeavors, Caryba Hair is committed to female empowerment through partnerships with organizations like the Forbes Woman Africa Leading Women Summit 2024 and Miss Teen Universe South Africa.



&#8220;We&#8217;re proud to support organizations that share our values and mission,&#8221; Chimanzi says. &#8220;Last year at the Leading Women Summit, we were honored to celebrate International Women’s Day with inspiring women. By uniting as a continent, we can amplify women’s empowerment.”



Caryba Hair is also dedicated to sustainability, recognizing the need for eco-conscious practices in the hair extensions industry.



&nbsp;&#8220;The rapid growth of the wig and hair extensions industry has led to waste problems,&#8221; Chimanzi notes.&nbsp;



&#8220;With proper care and maintenance, our wigs can last over three years without showing significant wear and tear. Because our hair extensions are made from 100% virgin hair, they are biodegradable, making them a more sustainable choice. Unlike synthetic wigs made from plastic, our wigs can be recycled and disposed of properly.”



Chimanzi adds, &#8220;As a business owner, I&#8217;m committed to sustainable practices that prioritize the environment. We all have a role to play in reducing waste and promoting eco-friendly practices.&#8221;



With a focus on customer satisfaction, Caryba Hair offers luxury wigs in a variety of textures to meet the unique needs of each customer. From lace front wigs to glueless wig options, they have something for every woman.



“Caryba Hair was created for every woman to be part of a community that celebrates them. We’re excited to see the difference we’ll make in women’s lives and society at large.”



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="800" height="800" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Caryba-Hair-logo--800x800.png" alt="" class="wp-image-595641" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Caryba-Hair-logo--800x800.png 800w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Caryba-Hair-logo--300x300.png 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Caryba-Hair-logo--90x90.png 90w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Caryba-Hair-logo--768x768.png 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Caryba-Hair-logo-.png 1080w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></figure>



Discover more at www.carybahair.com

Caryba Hair _ Agnes Chimanzi

CELEBRATING SELF-EXPRESSION THROUGH HAIRSTYLES

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="459" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/4DD3KSJUWZJVRLWSLRI4HQBDVE-820x459.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-595637" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/4DD3KSJUWZJVRLWSLRI4HQBDVE-820x459.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/4DD3KSJUWZJVRLWSLRI4HQBDVE-300x168.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/4DD3KSJUWZJVRLWSLRI4HQBDVE-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/4DD3KSJUWZJVRLWSLRI4HQBDVE-768x430.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/4DD3KSJUWZJVRLWSLRI4HQBDVE-1536x859.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/4DD3KSJUWZJVRLWSLRI4HQBDVE-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: A logo of the World Food Program is seen at their headquarters after the WFP won the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize, in Rome, Italy October 9, 2020. REUTERS/Remo Casilli/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



DAKAR, March 7 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The United Nations World Food Programme said on Friday it would halt food and nutrition assistance to more than 2 million people in Nigeria and the Central Sahel region next month without urgent funding to bridge shortfalls.



The U.N. food agency (WFP) said in a statement it required $620 million to continue supporting refugees in Chad and Mali and food-insecure people in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Nigeria.



&#8220;The global shrinkage of foreign aid is posing a significant threat to our operations in Western Africa,&#8221; said WFP Regional Director Margot van der Velden.



The funding squeeze comes as the lean season &#8211; the period in between harvests when hunger peaks &#8211; is expected to hit earlier than usual across West Africa&#8217;s Sahel region south of the Sahara.



&#8220;With millions expected to face emergency levels of hunger at the peak of the lean season, the world must step up support to prevent this situation from getting out of control.&#8221;



Conflict, displacement, economic crises, and climate shocks such as devastating floods last year are driving a hunger crisis in West Africa.



An estimated 52.7 million women, men, and children are projected to experience acute hunger between June and August 2025, the WFP said. These include refugees in Chad, Mali, and Mauritania, of which around 700,000 are Sudanese refugees.



The proportion of the population facing extreme hunger in West and Central Africa is also projected to rise over 20% by June 2025.



The WFP receives half of its funding from the United States, which has been reviewing and cutting foreign aid programs.



The statement did not specify whether the lack of funding was linked to the U.S. It said West and Central Africa remained &#8220;chronically underfunded&#8221;.



(Reporting by Ayen Deng Bior; Editing by Sofia Christensen)

FILE PHOTO: World Food Program wins the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize

WFP calls for urgent funding to prevent food aid halt in West, Central Africa

F1 star Lando Norris and McLaren chief Zak Brown reveal how they staged the ultimate comeback

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="564" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GettyImages-1241299894-820x564.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-595588" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GettyImages-1241299894-820x564.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GettyImages-1241299894-300x206.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GettyImages-1241299894-131x90.jpg 131w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GettyImages-1241299894-768x528.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GettyImages-1241299894-1536x1057.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GettyImages-1241299894-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Samaila Zubair, Chairman &amp; CEO of the Africa Finance Corporation, speaks during a session Climate change adaptation: Finding appealing business models at the CEO Forum in Abidjan, Ivory Coast on Monday, June 13, 2022.</figcaption></figure>



LONDON, March 10 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The African Finance Corporation said it is accelerating efforts to mobilise the continent&#8217;s own money for investments, and tapping investors in the Middle East and Asia, as developing nations grapple with seismic shifts in geopolitics and funding flows.



Samaila Zubairu, chief executive of the AFC &#8211; a development finance institution owned by Nigeria&#8217;s central bank and other African financial institutions &#8211; said in an interview the lender is ready to weather a world in which the United States and Europe cut financial aid and turn increasingly inward.



&#8220;The only thing we want &#8230; to change, is to get domestic capital more available for investment within the continent,&#8221; Zubairu said.



&#8220;We would accelerate our initiatives to mobilize domestic capital from African pension funds, African institutional investors, to invest domestically,&#8221; he said, adding that in the long term, some $15-$20 billion could come from domestic pension funds.



U.S. President Donald Trump&#8217;s America First agenda, and cuts in U.S. aid money, could drain billions from projects in Africa. European countries are also slashing aid funding, with Britain redirecting much of it to boost defence spending.



Africa&#8217;s low savings rates and shallow markets have stymied efforts to mobilise local pools of cash.



Zubairu said the AFC, which deploys $2.5-$3 billion each year, would scale up fund allocation &#8220;prudently&#8221; by choosing projects other backers could pile into.



It launched the pilot project InfraCredit to support pension fund investments in much-needed infrastructure projects, with



oil-rich Nigeria&#8217;s sovereign wealth fund providing guarantees on local currency debt.



The project has mobilised some 230 billion naira ($152 million), including investments from 21 pension funds, which previously invested almost exclusively in government debt.



Zubairu said he expects to launch similar programs as early as this year in Botswana, Angola and Kenya.



&#8220;This is kind of program that we think needs to be replicated at scale,&#8221; he said. &#8220;If we do programs like this, then you see a lot more billions available for investment.&#8221;



Pension funds had also placed money in the Infrastructure Climate Resilience Fund, boosting a $52 million commitment from the European Investment Bank, he said.



Investors from the Gulf and Europe are also looking to place money in other AFC projects, such as ARISE Integrated Industrial Platforms which designs and finances industrial projects.



Trump has yet to publicly signal his plans for U.S. investment in the Lobito Corridor &#8211; a railway project linking resource-rich Democratic Republic of Congo with Zambia and Angola&#8217;s Atlantic port of Lobito.



Former U.S. President Joe Biden&nbsp;visited the site&nbsp;during his inaugural &#8211; and only &#8211; trip to Africa.



Zubairu said he was confident Trump would see the value in backing the corridor, though it was a strong, bankable framework that would move forward regardless.



($1 = 1,510.0000 naira)



(Reporting By Libby George and Karin Strohecker, editing by Clelia Oziel)

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<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="720" height="480" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/COY2BEOYYZNMNCJM4URY33M2AY.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-594609"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A logo of Alstom is seen at the Alstom&#8217;s plant in Semeac near Tarbes, France, February 15, 2019. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



RABAT, March 7 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;France will lend Morocco 781 million euros to finance the purchase of 18 high-speed trains made by Alstom&nbsp;ALSO.PA, the French embassy in Rabat said on Friday.



The trains are part of a plan to extend the high-speed rail network from Kenitra on the western coast to Marrakech before the 2030 World Cup that Morocco will co-host with Spain and Portugal.



Alstom will supply Moroccan state-owned rail operator ONCF, with Avelia Horizon double-decker trains that can carry 640 passengers with a speed of 320 km/h, the embassy said in a statement.



ONCF also aims to expand its network to double the number of cities it serves to 43, or 87% of the Moroccan population, by 2040.



In February, ONCF said it will also buy 150 trains under concessional loans from Spain and South Korea as it expands urban, intercity and high-speed rail networks.



South Korea&#8217;s Hyundai Rotem&nbsp;064350.KS&nbsp;will supply 110 urban trains worth $1.5 billion, while Spain&#8217;s CAF will build 40 intercity trains for $813 million.



The deals include investments in the country&#8217;s nascent rail industry, ONCF said last month.



(Reporting by Ahmed Eljechtimi; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

COY2BEOYYZNMNCJM4URY33M2AY

Marrakech Express upgrade – French loan to help Morocco buy 18 fast trains ahead of World Cup

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="720" height="433" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/V3GAS2DKHFO7PLO4JIKEEFCTKY-1.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-594606"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The retired coal-fired Komati Power Station, operated by Eskom, is seen near Komati village, in the Mpumalanga province in South Africa, May 9, 2024. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, March 7 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;South African power utility Eskom resumed scheduled power cuts on Friday and said they would last across the weekend, after outages at the country&#8217;s nuclear power station and one of its mammoth coal plants.



The loss of power from units at the Koeberg nuclear plant and Kusile coal station meant Eskom was 2,700 megawatts (MW) short of its generation capacity over the past 14 hours, the company said in a statement.



It will implement &#8220;Stage 3&#8221; outages, requiring up to 3,000 MW to be shed from the national grid, until Monday morning while it replenishes its emergency reserves.



&#8220;Eskom is focused on deploying extra engineering resources to expedite the repair of units currently offline,&#8221; it said in a statement, adding that it expected to return 6,200 MW of capacity to service by Monday evening&#8217;s peak in electricity demand.



Power cuts have been a regular feature of life in South Africa for more than a decade, with outages reaching record levels in 2023 when they occurred on more than 300 days in the year.



The power cuts stopped in March last year but have resumed intermittently since the end of January. Eskom said on Friday that the country was far from returning to the dark days of 2023.



&#8220;South Africa is in no way returning to the levels of loadshedding that we experienced in 2023,&#8221; said Bheki Nxumalo, Eskom&#8217;s group executive for generation, using a term for power outages.



The loadshedding stages Eskom implements are an incremental system where Stage 1 sees up to 1,000 MW of capacity cut from the grid and Stage 6 &#8211; with 6,000 MW cut &#8211; the highest level implemented to date.



South Africa&#8217;s electricity minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa will brief reporters on Saturday on Eskom&#8217;s performance.



(Reporting by Tannur Anders; Editing by Alexander Winning and Hugh Lawson)

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South African power cuts resume as key plants fail

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="720" height="486" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/NPXHFCMBVFI2FHKA2NZV6MMVN4.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-594603"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Bottles of Heineken beer are displayed in a cooler at a bar in Gurugram, India, November 26, 2024. REUTERS/Priyanshu Singh/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, March 7 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Soufflet Malt and Heineken&nbsp;HEIN.AS&nbsp;have entered into a commercial partnership in which the French grain group will invest 100 million euros ($108.51 million) to build a new malting factory in South Africa to supply malt to the Dutch brewer.



The malt factory, which is Souffle&#8217;s second in Africa, will be located next to Heineken&#8217;s Sedibeng Brewery near Johannesburg, and is set to be operational by mid-2027.



The partnership &#8220;means replacing 4,500 containers of barley coming from abroad for local barley from local shops, making sure that we got a shorter supply chain,&#8221; Heineken Managing Director Jordi Borrut said at the signing event.



Right now, Heineken imports all of its barley for its South African operations.



Soufflet Malt, one of the world&#8217;s largest malt makers, will source 100% of the barley locally from South African commercial and small scale farmers and will supply malt to Heineken&#8217;s operations in the country, Jeremy Antier the managing director of Soufflet South Africa said at the same event.



With a production capacity of nearly 100,000 tonnes, the facility will create 55 full-time jobs and support over 200 local South African barley growers, Jeremy said.



Jordi said the partnership also forms part of its merger commitments with wine and cider maker Distell to procure key inputs from local suppliers, producers and farmers.



($1 = 0.9216 euros)



(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)

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Soufflet Malt partners with Heineken on $108 million South African factory

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GettyImages-1499013244-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-594554" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GettyImages-1499013244-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GettyImages-1499013244-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GettyImages-1499013244-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GettyImages-1499013244-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GettyImages-1499013244-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GettyImages-1499013244-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">KYIV, UKRAINE &#8211; JUNE 16: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (L) and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa (R) attend a joint press conference on June 16, 2023 in Kyiv, Ukraine. The delegation of African leaders led by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Senegalese President Macky Sall arrived in Kyiv on a peace mission. (Photo by Yan Dobronosov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, March 7 (Reuters) &#8211; Ukraine&#8217;s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will hold talks in South Africa with President Cyril Ramaphosa on April 10, Ramaphosa&#8217;s spokesman said on Friday, as the Ukrainian leader tries to shore up international support after the U.S. halted all military aid.



South Africa seeks to project itself as non-aligned on the Ukraine war but has good relations with Russia, with both countries belonging to the BRICS group of emerging economies &#8211; which also includes China, India, Brazil and others &#8211; that is trying to challenge the Western-dominated economic order.



South Africa has refused to condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin&#8217;s decision to invade Ukraine three years ago and has abstained from voting on U.N. resolutions on the war.



&#8220;The visit is a continuation of ongoing engagements held by President Ramaphosa with President Putin and President Zelenskiy on an inclusive &#8230; process that will provide a path to peace between Russia and Ukraine,&#8221; spokesman Vincent Magwenya told Reuters.



The U.S. ambassador to South Africa in 2023 accused the country of shipping arms to Russia in breach of its professed neutrality. An inquiry found no evidence that a Russian ship had collected weapons from a naval base near Cape Town.



Zelenskiy&#8217;s planned visit to South Africa comes at a pivotal moment in the war, following his public feud with Donald Trump in the White House last Friday and the U.S. president&#8217;s decision to halt Washington&#8217;s military aid to Kyiv.



Trump has stepped up efforts to end the war and also to improve U.S. relations with Russia, prompting European leaders on Thursday to back plans to spend more on defence and reaffirm their determination to stand by Ukraine.



(Reporting by Nellie Peyton; Writing by Tannur Anders; Editing by Alexander Winning and Gareth Jones)

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Former Australian PM on why the gender pay gap is still a problem

Tariffs raise prices but aren’t technically inflationary, says tax expert

Bitcoin falls as much as 6.5% as volatility continues after Trump’s bitcoin reserve plan

Ghana’s growth slows in fourth quarter of 2024

US open to minerals partnerships with Democratic Republic of Congo

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Why Beyond Meat and the plant-based meat industry couldn’t live up to the hype

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Is this the solution to recycling our old clothes?

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Marrakech Express upgrade – French loan to help Morocco buy 18 fast trains ahead of World Cup

South African power cuts resume as key plants fail

Soufflet Malt partners with Heineken on $108 million South African factory

Ukraine’s Zelenskiy to visit South Africa for talks in April

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