Making ‘Africa Rising’ a Reality in Nigeria – Africa Business Roundup

Until a few years ago, Africa Rising was a dominant theme in conversations about the global economy. That enthusiasm has since cooled, so that in newsrooms and think tanks and conference panels, “Africa Rising!” has given way to a more questioning “Africa Rising?” Read more from Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari.

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Weak economy takes gloss off ‘Africa rising’ optimism

African private equity deals fell to $2.5 billion last year, compared with $8.1 billion in 2014, and fundraising is expected to drop this year, the African Private Equity and Venture Capital Association said.

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Ghana on course to be Africa’s number four oil producer by 2020

Ghana could become the fourth biggest oil producer in sub-Saharan Africa by 2020 once two new offshore fields come on stream, to push total output above 240,000 barrels per day (bpd), pan-African bank Ecobank said on Wednesday.

The West African country produces around 103,000 bpd ranking it ninth, far behind leaders Nigeria and Angola, which produce an average of 1.867 million bpd and 1.754 million bpd respectively, said the Ecobank research report.

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Uganda to spend $2 bln on power connections, grid: Umeme executive

Uganda plans to spend at least $2 billion in the next five years to connect more people to its electricity grid and raise connection rates, a senior executive at sole power distributor Umeme Ltd said on Thursday.

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Obama: Africa Wants Trade, Not Aid

While there may be conflicts, poverty and disease in Africa, President Barack Obama says the broader trajectory of the continent is unmistakable: “Africa is on the move.”

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Why Africa’s festival business is booming

Festivals mean big business for locals. David Scowsill, President and CEO, World Travel and Tourism Council says large events like music festivals are an important income stream for local communities and the host countries.

“Events bring people together, get infrastructure built, create jobs and help galvanize communities into action around a common purpose, and if executed rightly, local businesses are at the center of the creation of these types of events.”

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#MindYourOwnBusiness

I shook Paul Kagame’s hand yesterday. A colleague and I were discussing the difference between historical and anthropological approaches to politics, there was a bit of hush, and there he was – a person of world historical importance, hand outstretched.

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