Lagos, Nigeria – APM Terminals and its consortium partners have announced plans to develop a new greenfield mega-port project and Free Trade Zone at Badagry in Nigeria’s Lagos State, 55 km (34 miles) west of Apapa and the Port of Lagos on the Benin-Lagos Expressway. At full build-out, the deep-water full-service port will be one of the largest in Africa with 7 km of quay and 1,000 hectares (2,470 acres) of dedicated yard, and will include state-of the art facilities for container, bulk, liquid bulk, Ro/Ro and general cargo as well as oil and gas operations support and a barge... Continue Reading
Mobile social network 2go is extending its successful feature phone app to smartphones, while growing its team of software developers and support staff. 2go currently has over 10 million active users who send more than 6 billion messages a month, mostly on lower-end feature phones in Nigeria and South Africa. “Feature phones have been an incredibly successful platform for us and will continue to be so for the next few years at least,” says Alan Wolff, who founded 2go with fellow student Ashley Peter while still at university. “Research firms such as Informa indicate that by 2015 there will still... Continue Reading
Efforts to broaden the black economic empowerment base could have a negative impact on small enterprises – including black-owned businesses – and limit opportunities for growth and jobs. Proposed changes to the broad-based black economic empowerment Codes of Good Practice introduce stringent targets for qualifying small enterprises. Small businesses could drop two places in their BEE ratings if they fail to meet minimum requirements. “This will restrict their opportunities to obtain contracts that could boost their businesses and help drive employment,” says Sandra Burmeister, CEO of the Landelahni Recruitment Group. In addition, under the new codes, 100% black-owned businesses are automatically granted level one... Continue Reading
By Nawa Mutumweno – Indian foreign direct investment (FDI) to Zambia has surpassed $3 billion covering various sectors of country’s growing economy. According to Justice minister Wynter Kabimba, Zambia’s exports to India has continued to grow in view of the country’s favourable economic climate. India’s investments in Zambia encompass mining, banking, agriculture, information technology and infrastructure, etc. Zambia’s exports to India increased from $51.4 million in 2009 to $102.67 million in 2010 while India’s exports to the southern African country stood at $131 million in 2009 compared to $88.34 in 2010. ‘’As Government, we take note of the contribution that... Continue Reading
By Nawa Mutumweno – The Engineering Institute of Zambia (EIZ) has launched an infrastructure report card (IRC) framework which seeks to assess and inform stakeholders on the general state of infrastructure in the country. This intervention is meant to reverse the declining investment trend in public infrastructure. It will provide an assessment of condition of primary asset categories of infrastructure – agriculture, roads and bridges, water, sanitation and solid waste, electricity and fuel infrastructure. Further it will assess the conditions of education and health infrastructure, information and communication technology, airports, railways and water transport. Speaking at the launch in Lusaka... Continue Reading
