Kenya’s economy to expand by 5.8% in 2018- finance ministry

Businessam StaffFebruary 14, 2018

Kenya’s economy is likely to grow 5.8 percent this year, recovering from drought and political uncertainty that pushed growth down to an estimated 4.8 percent in 2017, the finance ministry said. Economic output in the East African nation, which relies on farming and tourism, grew 5.8 percent in 2016. The finance ministry said in its […]

South Africa’s unemployment drops to 26.7% in Q4 2017

Businessam StaffFebruary 13, 2018

Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) said on Tuesday, that the unemployment rate in the country fell to 26.7 percent of the labour force in the fourth quarter of last year from 27.7 percent in the third quarter. In its quarterly labour force survey, which polls households, Statistics South Africa said this amounted to 5.9 million […]

Namibia GDP growth seen accelerating to 2.2% this year- finance minister

Businessam StaffFebruary 9, 2018

Calle Schlettwein, Namibia’s finance minister said on Friday that the country’s economic growth is expected to accelerate to 2.2 percent this year from an estimated 1.6 percent growth in 2016, supported by higher commodity prices. “We expect improvement due to rising commodity prices although some of the revenue increases might be offset by an (unfavourable) exchange […]

Ghana’s mobile money transactions rise to $35bn in 2017

Businessam StaffFebruary 5, 2018

The value of deposits and withdrawals by Ghanaians using mobile phones for banking almost doubled in 2017, according to data published by the central bank. The value of mobile transactions rose to 155.8 billion cedis ($34.6 billion) last year from 78.5 billion cedis in 2016, Bank of Ghana said in a statement on its website […]

Elumelu urges global, multinational organisations to provide support for Africa

Businessam StaffJanuary 25, 2018

Tony Elumelu, the chairman, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, and founder, Tony Elumelu Foundation

Tony Elumelu, the chairman, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, and founder, Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), has called on international organizations to come together to provide support for the African continent. He made this call while delivering a speech at the 2018 Economic Forum currently going on at Davos, Switzerland. According to him, the continent […]

‘America first’ endangers U.S. influence in Africa, Bill Gates says

Businessam StaffJanuary 25, 2018

Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft Corp. and the second-richest person in the world, said there’s a danger that U.S. President Donald Trump’s “America First” approach could damage the U.S.’s influence in Africa in the long term. Other countries like China are continuing to push into the African continent, and the U.S. should not pull back, […]

Africa needs AfDB to mobilise resources, says Nigeria’s finance minister

Businessam StaffJanuary 18, 2018

Kemi Adeosun, Nigeria's finance minister

Kemi Adeosun, Nigeria’s minister of finance said on Wednesday that African Development Bank (AfDB) is strategic to African nations, particularly for the much-sought resource mobilisation. However, only a strong and well-capitalised AfDB is capable of fulfilling its commitments to member-countries and impact meaningfully in the development of the nations, the minister noted. Adeosun made the […]

East Africa remains fastest-growing region on the continent- UN

Businessam StaffJanuary 17, 2018

A new UN report reiterates that East Africa remains fastest-growing sub-region on the continent, as the organisation projects Africa’s aggregate growth and domestic product (GDP) to grow at 3.5 percent in 2018, and 3.7 percent in 2019. The World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) report launched on Tuesday at the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) […]

Uganda private-sector activity slows on uptick in input costs

Businessam StaffJanuary 8, 2018

Uganda’s private-sector economic growth decelerated in December from the previous month, hurt by a surge in company input costs, a survey showed on Thursday. The Markit Stanbic Bank Uganda Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) declined to 54.3 from 54.9 in November. A reading above 50 indicates expansion; anything below, a contraction. Markit said its data had […]