Black Business News International Fall 2012

Black Business News International Edition

Serving the Global African Economic Community

Fall 2012 USD$5.00

2012 USA-Cameroon Trade and Investment Forum and Expo, Chicago, Illinois

20 1 2 U S A - C a m e r o o n Tr a d e M i s s i o n New Leader for African Union page 6

Contents Cameroon Trade Mission Overview page 11 Sovereign Wealth Fund page 17 New Industry-New Opportunities page 27 Mobile Banking Growing Trend page 39-40 In The Spotlight 55 Trade Calendar 65 Trade Directory 74

Black Business News International Edition -2- Summer 2012

Black Business News International Edition • Fall 2012

Contents

www.signafrica.net 55 In The Spotlight 65 Trade Events 70 Books to Consider 74 Trade Advertisers

5 The Publisher Says...

6 First Female Leader for African Union 9 UN in Efforts to Resolve Mali Crisis 6 11 2012 USA-Cameroon Trade & Investment Forum and Expo 17 Sovereign Wealth Funds Planned for Tanzania 18 Alliance Works to Improve Food Security 21 AGOA Act Approval Achieved 22 Maridadi Fabrics, Kenya, Still Making Strides 24 2012 Olympics Review 27 New Industry - 3D Print Technology 30 Living Goods Developing Sales Teams in Africa 34 Social Entrepreneurs Growing the Economy in Egypt 37 Struggle for Women’s Rights in Southern Africa le 39 Ecobank Advancing Mobile Banking in Africa 40 Kenya Leads the World in Mobile Money Transactions 51 The Rise in ChinAfrica 54 China Pledges $20 Billion in Credit to Africa 11 60 Glitz Africa Fashion Week

Black Business News International Edition -3- Fall 2012

Black Business News International Edition PUBLISHER/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Earl “Skip” Cooper, II ASSOCIATE EDITOR Sarah Harris PRODUCTION MANAGER Narishima Osei CONTRIBUTING WRITERS LaSandra Stratton • Dean Jones • Steven Turner GRAPHIC DESIGN Sarah Harris • Phallu Morgan ENTREPRENEUR EDITOR Kim Anthony STORY EDITORS Wanda Flagg ▪ Jennifer Marie Hamilton PHOTOGRAPHY Ian Foxx ▪ Sabir • Narishima Osei

The Publisher Says...

Earl “Skip” Cooper, II

CONTENT ADMINISTRATOR LaSandra Stratton LAYOUT/TYPESETTING Lion Communications

Publisher/Editor-in-Chief Black Business News

Copyright © 2012 by Black Business News International. All Rights Reserved.

The posting of stories, commentaries, reports, documents and links (embedded or otherwise) on this site does not in any way, shape or form, implied or otherwise, necessarily express or suggest endorsement or support of any of such posted material or parts therein.  Black Business News •P.O. Box 43159, Los Angeles, CA 90043 USA 323-291-7819 • 323-298-5024 fax www.blackbusinessnews.net • infol@blackbusinessnews.net

About the Black Business News…

The mission of The Black Business News is to inspire and inform public and private sector industry representatives on the importance of smart small business growth. As a versatile source of socioeconomic development activity, the Black Business News imparts current local, national and international industry trends related to small businesses across the United States of America (USA), detailing greater access to financial capital, management efficiencies, business education, mentors and networks. The goals of the Black Business News include: •

increasing the use of business enterprises owned by USAbased blacks, by advocating for greater access to leading finance lenders and successful business managers.

• working to merge resources, values, profits, technology throughout the public and private sectors.

• balancing major public and private sector contracting methods with positive outcomes of blackion owned own and operated enterprises.

International Edit s w e Black Business N • providing an affirmative influence en for emerging entrepreneurs sharing innovative design and cresh Contents ative ati cultural content that exposes them to the history of black enterth prises and excite them to participr pate p in the USA’s future.

• advocating and promoting on behalf of black-owned businessb es e by promoting the need for expanding an economic foundation p that t supports an unfettered and self-sustained urban society with USA job creation and economic opportunity, where blacks work, live and operate viable business enterp enterprises.  Serving the Global

African Economic

Community

Fall 2008 USD$5.00

: EOY charitable Corporate Giving n, houshealth, educatio opportunities in ing, and more.

in Africa’s tour-

Tourism: Investment vital and is evident ism industry is active, nt. all across the contine

Feature Articles: Constructisve “Strategies For the Engagement with African Diaspora” ement: “Diaspora Engag Beyond” Remittances &

le: Moyo District InvestmentofProƤ Uganda of the Republic

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Professional Direct Charitable Invest

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twins recently orpaned III in Ghana with Rev. Leon R. Perry,see Corporate Giving page 21

W

hile a major change has recently taken place within the African Union (AU), the AU remains steadfast in its efforts to restore peace and structure to the Republic of Mali and to the northern region of West Africa.

This issue of the Black Business News International is a real mix to nation building topics - uprisings, refugee support, restoring food security, trade agreements, entreprenure empowerment, financial services, fashion and culture. By posting information on so many topics we hope to shed some light on while providing examples of the vast range of nation building concerns and interests of the African continent and her people.

This broad sweep of topics will keep us from being pigeonholed by anyone or any group into seeing Africa in the narrow view of what seems to be the topic of the day for the news media or the social service fund raisers. In Africa, as in everywhere else in the world, everything is important at the same time.

So, don’t shrug your shoulders and sigh at the vastness of the challenges or the complexity of the issues. Find the area of focus in which you believe your talents and/or finances will make a positive difference and plunge in right there.

Keep a watchful eye on all of the issues regarding the people and nations of the African Continent by reviewing past issues of the Black Business News International and all of the other sources of information available in print and electronically. The projects and programs near and dear to your heart will be better served when your understanding of the continental stream of events is well informed.

We will try to do our part. Please let us know how we might improve our service to you info@blackbusinessnews.net. 

Black Business News International Edition -5- Fall 2012

African Union Chooses its First Female Leader from African Leadership Magazine

A

South African politician has become the first female leader of the African Union (AU), ending months of bitter deadlock at the continental body.

Madam Nkosazana DlaminiZuma, South Africa’s Home Affairs Minister, was elected Chair of the African Union Commission on Sunday at a summit of heads of state and government in Addis

Madam Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma Ababa, Ethiopia.

Cheering broke out at the AU’s headquarters as supporters of Dlamini-Zuma, 63, celebrated her victory over the incumbent Dr. Jean Ping of Gabon.

“We made it!” a grinning Zimbabwean delegate shouted, reflecting the strong support Dlamini-Zuma’s candidacy received from fellow members of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

The South African president, Jacob Zuma, former husband of the winning candidate, emerged from the conference hall where the voting had taken place to announce that “Africa is happy!” Her victory

would empower women, he added.

Dlamini-Zuma is the first woman to lead the continent since the Organisation of African Unity, later the AU, was founded in 1963. She is also the first from southern Africa. She faces the challenge of revitalising a body often criticised for its slow and ineffective response to crises such as those in Ivory Coast and Libya last year.

Dlamini-Zuma’s victory was far from certain. She had stood against Ping in elections in January, which ended in a stalemate that extended Ping’s term in office by a further six months until a fresh ballot could be held.

In this first contest, neither candidate managed to secure the two-thirds majority needed for an outright win but Ping garnered slightly more support than his opponent.

Many observers felt it would be difficult for Dlamini-Zuma to overcome the widespread discontent with South Africa for breaking the unwritten convention that the five largest contributors to the AU budget – Nigeria, Egypt, Libya, Algeria and South Africa – should not contest the commission’s highest office.

Both Nigeria and Egypt, whose

strategic interests would not have been served by a South African victory, were strongly in the Ping camp. There are concerns that South Africa, the continent’s biggest economy, will use its position as AU chair to further its efforts to secure a permanent African seat on an expanded UN security council.

But hard lobbying from the South African government and its regional partners turned the tide for DlaminiZuma.

As in January, the election went the distance. In the first round, DlaminiZuma had a narrow advantage, beating Ping by 27 votes to 24. In the second she extended her lead, gaining two more votes. By the third she was just one vote short of the 34 needed to secure a two-thirds majority. She contested the fourth and final round alone and managed to succeed where Ping had failed, winning support from 37 out of the 51 eligible member states.

Yoweri Museveni, president of Uganda, welcomed the result, believing Dlamini-Zuma will be a strong advocate for the continent.

“We are used to diplomats and

Black Business News International Edition -6- Fall 2012

see New African Union Leader on page 7

New African Union Leader from page 6

bureaucrats,” he said.

“Her background as a freedom fighter,

commission, was re-elected to serve a second term. His support was almost unanimous, with 50 out of a possible 51 votes, and his victory breaks another unwritten convention that dictates that the chair and vice-chair are held by one

personality.

A doctor by training, she was Health Minister when Nelson Mandela became the country's first black leader.

She went on to be Foreign Minister for a decade, earning praise for her

(l-r) Dr. Jean Ping, former head of the African Union Commission, walks behind Dr. Nkozasana Clarice Dlamini-Zuma after being elected head of the African Union Commission in July 2012. Photo by AFP

this is value addition.”

Zuma concurred. “I think the AU has done the right thing,” he said. “Southern Africa is happy but the whole of Africa is happy.” The appointment of Zuma’s ex-wife removes her as a potential focal point for opposition to his candidacy before elections in South Africa in 2014.

Erastus Mwencha, a Kenyan, the vice-chairman of the AU

francophone and one anglophone country. At a press conference before the election, Dlamini-Zuma said that if appointed chair she would assess “what is not working well and what can be strengthened”.

Profile An experienced diplomat, Dlamini-Zuma (63) is known for her competent management and stern

shuttle diplomacy to end the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

But her critics found fault with her "quiet diplomacy" towards neighbour Zimbabwe, during a crisis that saw President Robert Mugabe evict thousands of white farmers from their land in 2000.

Her former husband President Jacob Zuma named her Interior

Black Business News International Edition -7- Fall 2012

see New African Union Leader on page 8

New African Union Leader from page 7

Dlamini-Zuma's ministry when she was foreign minister. "She has the rare quality of putting up very good administrators," Mashele added.

'A little more affable' Minister. Although that was seen as a demotion, she won plaudits for turning around a ministry mired in gross mismanagement to achieve the first clean audit in 16 years.

'I'm a Zulu' In her campaign to win the panAfrican bloc's top job, she vowed to work at making it "a more efficient and effective organisation".

And while she may have defeated the incumbent, Frenchspeaker Jean Ping of Gabon, she has refused to be labelled as an English-speaking candidate. "I am not Anglophone, I'm Zulu," she said.

Once she got to work in the post, she added, she would be "implementing programmes... agreed upon by everybody" rather than "consulting the Anglophone and the Francophone".

"She takes her work very seriously," said Prince Mashele, an analyst at the Centre for Politics and Research, who worked with

But she has raised eyebrows with her unsmiling demeanour. "I thought she could do better if she was a little more affable," said Mashele.

Born January 27 1949, in the eastern province of KwaZulu-Natal, Dlamini-Zuma took up politics in high school.

In the 1970s she went into exile, and studied in Britain at the universities of Bristol and Liverpool, while helping organise the antiapartheid movement overseas.

She met Zuma while working as a paediatrician at a Swaziland hospital and became the polygamist president's third wife in 1982. They divorced in 1998.

When the ban on the ANC was lifted in 1990, she returned home.

Legislation After the first democratic elections she was tapped by Mandela to transform the country's segregated health system.

She is remembered for introducing

legislation that overhauled the highly unequal system and gave the poor access to free basic care.

But she was also criticised for championing a controversial HIV drug that was later proved to be ineffective.

When Zuma fell out with expresident Thabo Mbeki and moved to oust him as ANC leader in 2007, she stood as Mbeki's running mate for the ANC presidency.

But when Zuma won party polls and later become president, he kept his ex-wife in his Cabinet – a rare Mbeki ally to avoid the axe.

"She is an astute politician, a veteran, the experience she acquired as foreign minister puts her in good stead to take over this role" at the AU, said Keith Gottschalk of the University of the Western Cape. – AFP  mg.co.za/article/2012-07-16dlamini-zuma-iron-lady http://au.int/en/summit/sites/http:// africanleadershipmagazine.com/ african-leadership-magazine/ home-slide/AFRICAN-UNIONCHOOSES-ITS-FIRST-FEMALELEADER

African Union Commission Chairperson Working to Resolve Malian Situation

T

he African Union Commission Chairperson, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma is in Mali for a meeting aimed at resolving the Malian crisis.

The meeting will be held on the 19th of October in Bamako and will include the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the United Nations and other stakeholders. It will discuss the current political challenges facing Mali including the roadmap for restoration of democracy and dealing with the threat posed by attempts aimed at secession.

Before leaving Addis Ababa, Dr Dlamini Zuma explained the need for the African Union to be involved in the meeting. “The Malian crisis is a crisis that goes beyond the region and it has a potential of spreading to the whole region if it is not managed; and even to the rest of the continent. So it’s a very important issue that we must get our teeth into... We had a discussion when I was in New York (in September) with the Malians, together with the AUC Commissioner for Peace and Security, and we agreed that the crisis is such that the African Union must play a more active role.”

The New York meeting, which was held on the margins of the 67th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, was hosted by the Secretary General of the UN Mr. Ban Ki Moon, who had invited all the interested parties.

ECOWAS, the regional body for West Africa has hitherto been the most engaged in efforts to resolve the Malian crisis.

Dr. Dlamini Zuma further added that the Malian situation is a complex matter because it has a number of elements to it; including the fact that there was a coup in the country. This means that efforts have to be deployed to return the country to democracy. There is also the issue of the territorial integrity of Mali

Malian refugee family

Malian refugees at water station which is under threat, and this needs to be discussed with a view to ensuring that the country’s integrity ceases to be under threat. In addition, some people have been taken as hostages; and there are reports of drug trafficking, the AUC Chairperson added.

Resolving the Malian crisis as well as other conflict situations in Africa is a top priority for the Commission Chairperson who mentioned in her installation speech on 15 October that: “We will

spare no efforts to try and resolve the conflict in Mali and the Sahel region.

This crisis has the potential to spread across the region and even the continent. We shall be working closely with the United Nations Security Council and of course with the regional organisation ECOWAS, who has been dealing with the matter up to now.” 

Black Business News International Edition -9- Fall 2012

http://allafrica.com/ stories/201210191210.html

Introducing the .....

Agriculture Education Energy Manufacturing

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Key Investment Sectors Mining Transport Health Tourism

Basic market research Partnering Identifying opportunities Information on economic performance Information on rules, regulations, licensing

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Information Communication Technology Construction, Real Estate

Industry specific support General information through Conference, lectures, events and seminars Trade missions Networking and Net-weaving Advocacy with local and state governments

CONTACT

CONTACT

Zambia USA Chamber of Commerce P.O. Box 13541 Torrance CA 90503

www.zambiausachamber.org info@zambiausachamber.org 424 777 6474

2012 U.S.A.-Cameroon Trade and Investment Forum & Expo

By Black Business News Staff

T

he Continental Africa Chamber of CommerceU.S.A. (CACC) welcomed the trade delegation lead by H.E. Ambassador Joseph Bienvenu Charles FOE-ATANGANA to the City of Chicago for the September 14th forum and expo. Chicago is a major U.S. hub of financial services, manufacturing industries, transportation, and tourism with a world-class international airport that serves as a gateway to the world.

CACC conducts these forums and expositions so that America-based businesses have the opportunity to meet African businesses with the capacity to do business with their counterparts. These events are part of an ongoing program to educate the American business community about the potentials in Africa, particularly in the non-oil sector. These business-focused events also pull back the curtain for African business owners on how the Western business culture operates.

Africa is the new face of emerging markets. Mr. G. Ademola Dada, president of the CACC says “Africa is still where investors can get mouth watering high returns on investments unlike in the West where almost every thing is flat.”

The continent of nations offers great potential for American businesses and investors. The 2012 Forum provided a dynamic platform that: • Presented to American corporate and public-policy makers the wide array of investment opportunities in Cameroon

• Discussed the ways in which these opportunities can be realized • Created networking opportunities and an avenue for the development of bilateral investment possibilities • Provided one-on-one negotiation opportunities • Encouraged American companies to exhibit their products and services; and • Invited African businesses to exhibit their products under AGOA.

such as every company in the West does. This will allow them to have access to low-cost capital from the West and be able to level the playing field in addition to integrating Cameroonian business to the western economies.”

Capsule Profile of Cameroon The Republic of Cameroon has been AGOA (www.agoa.gov) eligible since the enactment of the program. It also qualifies for textile and apparel benefits. It is a member of the Kimberly Process (www.kimberlyprocess.com), an initiative to stem the flow of conflict

Mr. Dada also offered advice for the participating Cameroon business owners, and African business owners in general, looking to invest in the Western business

world world. He says “It is advisable for many African companies to work to create International Company and Credit Profiles for their companies

diamonds.

The U.S. and Cameroon signed a Bilaterial Investment Treaty (BIT) in 1986.

A trade statistics profile shows that in 2011 two-way trade between the Ganiyu Dada, U.S. and President, Cameroon CACC was $550 million. $221 million of that amo amount was U.S. goods exported to Cameroon ($80 million for machinery, $18 million

Black Business News International Edition -11- Fall 2012

see Cameroon Forum & Expo on page 12

H.E. Ambassador Joseph Bienvenu Charles FOE-ATANGANA

Deputy Director, Ministry of Trade

Cameroon Forum & Expo from page 11

for aircraft, $16 million for vehicles, $15 million for plastic, $18 million for various donations). $330 million of that amount was U.S. goods imported from Cameroon ($212 million for mineral fuel and oil, $36 million for cocoa, $35 million for rubber, $28 millon for wood, $12 million for spices, coffee and tea).

H.E. Ambassador FOE-ATANGANA talks with members of the trade delegation.

Cameroon’s Bold Vision Cameroon’s bold vision for future development is spelled out in “Cameroon: Vision 2035” published by the Republic of Cameroon Ministry of Economy, Planning and Regional Development.

The vision is expressed using the theme Cameroon: An Emerging, Demoncratic and United Country in Diversity. The vision synchronizes the aspirations and hopes of the

nations as follows: • a united and indivisible nation enjoying peace and security; • a true, strong and fair democracy • a decentralized administration at the service of development; • a prosperous economy with good infrastructure; • an economy based on subregional, regional and global integration; • controlled population growth; • a nation that promotes gender

• • • • •

Black Business News International Edition -12- Fall 2012

parity in electoral processes, equality in elective positions and equality in professional settings; a socially and economically empowered women; a stable and harmonious family; access to basic and quality social services by all; independence and accessibility of the judiciary; minimal poverty, illiteracy and social exclusion rates; see Cameroon Forum & Expo on page 13

Cameroon Forum & Expo from page 12

• a fair distribution of resources between urban and rural areas, and between the various regions of the country.

The national task to achieve the Vision is addressed and organized as implementation strategies.

These strategies address six (6) key challenges: 1) national integration; 2) regional development, u r b a n i z a t i o n and sustainable development; 3) industrialization; 4) governance; 5) regional cooperation and insertion in the international sphere; 6) the economic role of the State and partnership.

To achieve the expected results, emphasis will be placed on the setting of milestones for strong growth thanks to increased investments in infrastructure

• an attractive Cameroonian culture united in diversity, and assertive at the international level;

Registration

improvements in the employment rate. Government will work to to maintain economic growth at high levels, to achieve Millenium Development Goals, and to ensure that the population is entirely mobilized in the fight against climate change effects.

The movement of Cameroon toward emerging country status will be underpinned by an ambitious industrialization strategy, a strategy of national integration and the advancement of demoncracy, a private-sector promotion strategy, a good governance and management strategy with a blueprint for a resource allocation strategy, a strategy for sub-regional, regional and international integration, a strategy for partnership and development assistance, and a development funding strategy.

Achievement of these ambitions and objectives requires mastery of many institutional, political, sociological and international factors that constitute threats, risks and obstacles to the Vision. The

Sponsors/Partners

• low unemployment and underemployment rates; • well-trained youth exalting merit and country’s expertise;

and rapid modernization of production. These will go along with improvements in the business climate and governance along with

high aspirations of the Cameroonian people fuel the trek toward 2035.

Black Business News International Edition -13- Fall 2012

see Cameroon Forum & Expo on page 14

Cameroon Forum & Expo from page 13

Forum Sponsors, and Exhibitors

Partners

The forum and expo was achieved with the support of several sponsrs and partners including: • U.S. Department of Commerce • Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, Office of Trade and Investment • Illinois Black Chamber of

Ms. Chantal Lewat, Mr. David Olupitan, CACC Co-Founder/Vice Chairman

Ms. Donna Sims Wilson, Executive Vice President, Castle Oak Securities

Mr. Eric Tande, President, Makuna International

Commerce • Coalition of Investment and Partnership with Africa (CIPA) • Kofa International Co. • Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce

Director General, Tourism Development Agency

Ms. Julie Carducci, Director, U.S. Department of Commerce

• Naperville Chamber of Commerce • International Trade Association • DSC Dredge • Iris Phone/VCENTERPRISES • Cold Fire/Fire Freeze • Chicago Minority Supplier see Cameroon Forum & Expo on page 15

2012 Cameroon Trade and Investment Forum and Expo Delegation

Cameroon Forum & Expo from page 14

Development Council (MSDC)

Forum Participants Some of the Cameroon agencies, organizations and companies participating in the forum and expo were: • Urban Community of Yaounde, Construction • The Local Material Promotion

• Cameroon Real Estate Corporation, Construction • Douala Port Authority (PAD), Services and Construction • National Shipper’s Council of Cameroon (CNCC), Services, Construction Special Council Support Fund For Mutual Assistance (FEICOM), Construction • National Assembly, Construction • ADC Group Cameroon, Housing and Services • Ets PAT & BROS, Building and General Trade

Food Processing • National Board of Cocoa and Coffee, Agriculture Industry • Chamber of Agriculture, Fisheries, Livestock and Forests of Cameroon (CAPEF), Agriculture, Services • Promo PME, Trade and Craft Industry • GIC JACAM, Services, Culture, Craft Industry • GIC PROVAN, Services, Culture, Craft Industry • Hermann Group, Tourism, Services

(l-r) Ms. Mirelle Backo, Douala Ports Authority, Tanzania Government, Representative, H.E. Ambassador Foe

• • • • • • • •

Authority (MIPROMALO), Construction Urban Community of Limbe, Construction ONZFI, Industry, Services, Construction Mantoum Group, Services and Construction SITRAC, Services, Construction ADS, Services, Construction CAMWATER, Water and Construction Cameroon Alert System, Services and Construction NOUBRU Group, Construction, Services, Food Processing

• Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC), Food Processing • GIC SCOLA JUICE, Food Processing • TSUNGI Group, Food Processing • African Group for Chicken Promotion, Food Processing • Production and Marketing of Honey Organization, Food Processing • Les Mielleries, Food Processing (Honey) • PROMACOM, Food Processing • SOMAFILS, Food Processing and Services • GIC PTACAM, Agriculture, and

• Hotel Complex “ L’Amitie”, Tourism, Services • SODINAF, Tourism, Services • RANCH GESTION (Ranch Management), Tourism, Services • AES-SONEL, Energy • Energy Saving and Reduction Consumption, Energy • CAM-IRON Company, Industry, Mines and Services • BULA ASSOCIATES, Mine • ENTREBATT, Civil Engineering, Transportation • BELTRANS - SYNAUTRATRA, Services, Transportation

Black Business News International Edition -15- Fall 2012

see Cameroon Forum & Expo on page 16

Cameroon Forum & Expo from page 15

• SYNAUTRTRA, Services and Transportation • FAFINSA, Services and Textile Industry • Standards and Quality Agency (ANOR), Services • API, Services • International Consulting Inc., Services • GMS, Services • Elite Electronics and Household Appliances SARL, Services • Home Design International, Industry and Services • HAMAYA Group • Green Cleaner, Services • Metropol Services LTD, Services • Ets CAPSEC, Services • SPHIT, Services • SADEG Consulting Engineers, Services • ARCHI’DIA Sarl, Services • Ets ADAMA & FILS, Services • Cameroon Franchise Association, Services • Golden International Trading Sarl, Services

• HPS, Services Contact the CACC by phone at 1-312-987-1892 or by e-mail at info@continentalacc.org to follow up on any of these firms and investment opportunities. Information is also

available through the Embassy of the Republic of Cameroon in Washington, DC (http://ambacamusa.org) or the Ministry of Trade.  www.continentalacc.org

UNITING AFRICA AND THE WORLD IN COMMERCE Trade Missions  Trade Fairs  Trade Seminars 28 E. Jackson Boulevard, Suite 600, Chicago, IL 60604 USA For information contact us: Telephone: 312-987-1892 or E-mail:info@continentalacc.org

www.continentalacc.org Black Business News International Edition -16- Fall 2012

Tanzania Plans Sovereign Wealth Fund for Gas Finds A Tanzanian engineer walks at the Songas gas processing plant in Songo Songo Island, 225 km south of the Tanzanian capital Dar es Salaam and 25 km off the coast of Tanzania. REUTERS/Emmanuel Kwitema

T

he United Republic of Tanzania is to set up a sovereign wealth fund to ring fence future earnings from its major gas discoveries in the southern parts of the country along the Indian Ocean coastline, its president said.

The east African nation of 42 million people tripled its estimated gas reserves in June after offshore finds by Norway's Statoil, U.S. group ExxonMobil and Britain's BG Group and its partner Ophir Energy.

President Jakaya Kikwete told the nation that his government was studying various models for managing revenues from gas production, adding they were focusing on those that have sovereign wealth funds.

"We want to learn from them by setting up our own fund to ensure we similarly benefit," he said in a televised address.

When the country eventually sets

up the fund it will join other African countries like Nigeria and Ghana, who are also moving towards the establishment of state-owned investment funds for revenues generated from the energy sector.

Kikwete said the government's intention was to ensure natural gas revenues were used to speed up development.

"Since 1954 some 61 wells have been drilled. Out of those, natural gas was found in 22 wells ... We haven't been lucky yet to find oil but we have discovered gas in both onshore and offshore areas," he said.

Tanzania's recoverable gas reserves stood at 28.9 trillion cubic feet, Kikwete added.

"Offshore oil and gas exploration started in 2004 with just one company but we now have 18 companies.

Gas exploration has escalated since the first gas discovery in 2010 ... I believe that

By Fumbuka Ng’wanakilala, Reuters

a lot more gas will be discovered," he said.

Tanzania, which is east Africa's second-biggest economy could see an increase in revenue of up to $3 billion a year from gas exports, according to the World Bank.

Kikwete said cheap access to gas would encourage construction of fertiliser plants and boost power generation.

"Some 350 megawatts of electricity in the national power grid currently comes from natural gas and our target of generating 3,500MW by 2015 largely depends on natural gas," he said.

Kikwete said the government was working on a new national gas policy, gas utilisation master plan and legislation to regulate the fastgrowing industry. ď‚ł http://news.yahoo.com/tanzaniaplans-sovereign-wealth-fund-gasfinds-064653408--sector.html

Black Business News International Edition -17- Fall 2012

New Farmer Alliance to Improve Incomes and Food Security in Africa

By Suzanne Poland/USAID

R

ecently, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Vodafone, and TechnoServe launched a new partnership to increase the productivity, incomes and resilience of smallholder farmers in Kenya, Mozambique, and Tanzania. The Connected Farmer Alliance will leverage mobile phone-enabled solutions to improve supply chain efficiency and increase farmers’ ability to access secure, timely payments and other financial services.

The partnership will reach more than 500,000 smallholder farmers by expanding the use of mobile financial services pioneered

by Vodafone’s existing mobile money platform, M-Pesa—a highly successful SMS-based money transfer service already at scale in Kenya where 15 million people exchange $850 million via the system every month. Kenya, Mozambique, and Tanzania are priorities of Feed the Future, the U.S. Government’s global hunger and food security initiative (www.

usaid.gov/what-we-do/agriculture-andfood-security/increasing-food-securitythrough-feed-future), and home

to Vodafone affiliate companies.

Vodafone and TechnoServe will work with farming communities and supply chains in these countries to develop and scale mobile applications that enable rural households to transfer and receive payments securely, access other

financial services, and facilitate linkages to local and multinational agribusinesses, especially those looking to serve smallholder farmers working in Feed the Future priority value chains.

“Smallholder farmers across the developing world face obstacles that prevent them from increasing their incomes and strengthening food security (www.usaid.gov/whatwe-do/agriculture-and-food-security), including limited access to the credit, new technologies, local markets and the latest agricultural information,” said Rajiv Shah, Administrator of USAID. “This partnership represents one step in reducing these barriers and is part of USAID’s deep commitment to delivering meaningful results that address the root causes of poverty and hunger.”

Vodafone’s Group External Affairs Director Matthew Kirk said, “Smallscale farmers in emerging markets are both vulnerable and vital: without a steep increase in their productivity, it is hard to see how future generations will avoid global food shortages. Mobile is already transforming hundreds of millions of people’s lives in ways unimaginable only a decade ago. Working with partners from other sectors allows us to take that transformation to some of the toughest challenges facing international development.”

“It’s critical that smallholder farmers have access to services that allow them to manage transactions,

receive payments, access credit and increase their savings,” said Bruce McNamer, President and CEO of TechnoServe. “Mobile technology offers a rapidly growing platform to give farmers access to these services. At the same time, mobile money can make it easier for other players in agricultural value chains to connect to farmers more efficiently. The Connected Farmer Alliance will help unleash the potential of mobile solutions to transform agricultural markets and create new opportunities for smallholder farmers.”

Vodafone is also a key partner in the recently announced G8 New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition, a commitment by G8 nations, African countries and private sector partners to lift 50 million people out of poverty over the next 10 years through inclusive and sustained growth in the agricultural sector. 

Black Business News International Edition -18- Fall 2012

www.usaid.gov www.vodafone.com www.technoserve.org

Mozambique and USAID Work Together to Improve Food Security

By Suzanne Poland/USAID

Sustainable fishing practices improve food security

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griculture continues to be the mainstay of Mozambique’s economy, contributing more than a quarter of its GDP and employing 80% of its labor force. The overwhelming majority of producers are subsistence farmers. Chronic food insecurity in Mozambique is exacerbated by climate change and natural disasters such as floods, droughts and cyclones.

Mozambique has vast potential to eventually become a major food producer in Southern Africa.

Only 16% of land suitable for farming is currently cultivated, and its geographic location between landlocked countries to ocean ports raises Mozambique’s potential to play a role in regional food

thousands of vulnerable households improve their food security by adopting more productive agriculture technologies, improving nutrition and health, and connecting farmers to markets.

USAID is also developing and strengthening farmer associations and agribusinesses to improve business practices and increase sales.

To achieve the most impact, Feed the Future in Mozambique focuses agriculture and nutrition efforts in Zambezia and Nampula provinces based on need, potential for impact, and opportunities to leverage other public and private investments.

These provinces also contain or are adjacent to the country’s three main trade corridors. Together, the provinces are home to 44%of the country’s poor, 43% of stunted children under 5 years of age, and 51% of underweight children under 5 years of age (370,000).

Investments will focus on oilseed, cashew and fruit value chains, due to the income and nutritional benefits they offer.

In 2010, USAID worked closely with the Government of Mozambique to finalize a 10year strategic development plan (www.feedthefuture. gov/sites/default/files/ country/strategies/ files/Mozambique%20 FTF%20MultiYe a r % 2 0 S t r a t e g y _ Public_FINAL.pdf)

security and international markets.

Improving agricultural productivity and ensuring access to food are now top priorities for Mozambique’s leaders.

Through Feed the Future (www.feedthefuture.gov/country/ mozambique), USAID is helping

for the agriculture sector. USAID also reached over 20,000 small-scale farmers through a seed and fertilizer “smart subsidy” program, resulting in greater yields for rice and maize.

USAID investments in research and technology have also resulted in several improved seed varieties for maize, sweet potatoes and soybeans. 

Black Business News International Edition -19- Fall 2012

AGOA Action Coalition and the Whitaker Group Applaud AGOA Third Country Fabric Renewal

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he AGOA Action Coalition and the Whitaker Group (thewhitakergroup.us) applaud the United States Congress on the August 2, 2012 renewal of the Third Country Fabric provision of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). We are truly grateful for the efforts of our friends and allies, both on and off Capitol Hill, who have worked together over the past year in a spirit of bipartisanship and cooperation to make this a reality.

It is difficult to overstate the importance of this provision for the future of the US-Africa partnership. Over the

course of many years and previous renewals, the Third Country Fabric provision has singlehandedly supported hundreds of thousands of jobs across Sub-Saharan Africa, and in the process created a burgeoning apparel industry in the continent. The sheer scale of the development dividends on the ground from this provision has been impressive. Moreover, the measure has provided a clear win-win for US and African firms, as greater economic interdependence with Africa is now leading to increased US exports to the region.

The renewal of the Third Country Fabric has come not a moment too soon, as we had already begun to witness a decline in apparel orders due to the uncertainty of this provision’s renewal. We are now confident that the industry can begin to rebuild and consolidate over the next six months, and continue to grow over the coming

President Ob ama has sign ed into law legislation (H R 5986) that renews the African Grow th and Oppo rtunity Act third-country fabric provisio n until Septemb 2015 and cha er nges rules of origin for text and apparel u iles nder the US-C entral America free trade agre ement (WTD, 8/8/12).

The measure will bolster do mestic manufacturin g and strength en economic with subSaha ties ran Africa and Central Ameri the White Ho ca, use said. The third-country fabric provisio n allows least developed AGOA benefi ciaries to use outside fabric their duty-free in textile and ap parel exports.

“AGOA contin ues to be criti cal to expand and diversifyin ing g our trade an d investment relationship w ith Africa,” the White House said.

The bill also re news US proh ibitions on imports from Burma for an additional thre years. e

years.

We applaud the many champions in the US Congress whose commitment and compassion for the people of Africa have been instrumental in moving this measure – including Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), Sen. Johnny Isakson (RGA), Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI), Rep. Charlie Rangel el (D-NY), Rep. Sander Levin (D-MI), Rep. Jim R Ji McDermott (D-WA), Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA), Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), Rep. Bobby Rush

(D-IL) and all additional cosponsors of HR5986 and S.3326 and their staff.

We also applaud key members of the Obama Administration, without whose efforts this effort could not have succeeded – US Trade Representative Ron Kirk, Deputy USTR Demetrios Marantis, Assistant USTR for Africa Florie Liser, Assistant USTR for Textiles Gail

Strickler, Assistant USTR for Congressional Affairs Mac Campbell, and Deputy National Security Advisor for Economic Affairs Mike Froman, among many others. We especially applaud Secretary of State Hilary Clinton for her personal dedication to Africa and

AGOA and her important and timely visit to the region. Finally, we will always remember and deeply appreciate the leadership of the late Rep. Donald Payne (D-NJ), one of the most significant champions for Africa in the history of the US Congress.

We also applaud the many partners who have helped to move this legislation, including the Africa Society of the National Summit on Africa, the ONE Campaign, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Corporate Council on Africa, the African Coalition for Trade, the National Council of Textile Organizations, the American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition, the Constituency for Africa, the American Apparel and Footwear Association, the US Association of Importers of Textiles and Apparel, Schneidman & Associates, Manchester Trade, and so many other industry groups, private companies and individuals who have devoted their time, energy and passion to advocating for Africa’s continued growth and development.

We look forward to working with our friends and colleagues over the next several years to enhance and extend AGOA beyond 2015 and deepening the US-Africa partnership over the next decade. 

Black Business News International Edition -21- Fall 2012

MARIDADI FABRICS - Production and People in Nairobi, Kenya

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From producing basketfuls of tablemats which helpful volunteers, mainly expatriate wives, took home to Nairobi’s leafy suburbs and sold to their friends, Maridadi has become a business with an output of handprinted cloth worth 500,000 a year. Maridadi is a Swahili word meaning ‘pretty’ or ‘gay’, and the company’s distinctive African textile designs have earned them customers in North America, Britain, West Germany, Holland, Sweden and Denmark, as well as among Nairobi’s lucrative tourist trade.

Maridadi is however very far from being just another entrepreneurial venture promoted by aspiring Kenyan businessmen.

It was originally conScarves designed at Maridadi Fabrics ceived by an imaginative social worker from St. John’s Community Centre in silkscreen printing press the size of one of Nairobi’s more depressed areas, a small tabletop, no-one could have as a way to help needy women. The pictured how it would grow. slums of East Africa’s fastest growing ‘I had very great hopes, and I was city are the depository for a good deal imagining and wishing that it would of human misery, much of it endured be a big thing’, says Martha Gikonyo, by women who have been dumped, Manager of Maridadi, who has been deserted, widowed or otherwise cast with the project almost since the begin- out by their original families away in the ning, ‘but I never thought it could be as rural areas. It goes without saying that big as this.’ Mrs. Gikonyo’s first-floor of- they are almost invariably unskilled and fice window looks out over the factory uneducated, and so are forced to earn floor, where groups of women workers a living in the least savoury professions are slapping the wooden-framed silk that man has invented. It is from this screens onto pinned-out cotton fabric unpromising workforce that Maridadi and pushing the dye through onto the draws its labour, as a fundamental princloth with rubber-edged spatulas. ‘All ciple of the factory’s existence. the people were eager to work and I No-one among the non-professional kept telling them that one day we would staff at Maridadi obtains a job withmove to a big factory of our own. So out the recommendation of St. John’s when we moved here I was very happy, Community Centre. These women because everything 1 had been telling work in the groups which go up and them had become true.’

aridadi Fabrics’ spanking new factory stands on the outskirts of Nairobi’s growing industrial quarter. Twelve years ago, when this embryonic textile business consisted of five employees in a dilapidated primary school classroom operating one

How it all began St. John’s Community Centre was started in 1956 by the Church Missionary Society to respond to socioeconomic problems of the earliest African settlements in the capital city of Kenya, Nairobi.

Pumwani slums are part of the oldest residential areas of Africans who came from the rural areas as Immigrants, displaced during colonization and civic unrest of preindependence period or were brought to Nairobi and released from employment ort other related engagements.

1957:An industrial training centre was established. Today it is autonomous as Christian Industrial Training centre Early 60’s:Three institutions were already establishedFormal education through schools, Home economic and a Vocational Industrial centre. The later became autonomous (1979) as Maridadi Fabrics, while the school ( Dr. Aggrey primary school) was handed over to the Government after Kenya gained its independence.

see African Slave Trade on page 23 Black Business News International Edition -22- Fall 2012

Maridadi Fabrics from page 22

down the long 60 foot tables with the printing screens, or else they wash or dye the cloth, or help ‘fix’ the finished printed material in the huge oven in the centre of the factory floor. Currently

Kenyan Fashion Designer John Keveke started his career at Maridadi Fabrics

there are 95 employees, most of them women who have stayed in their jobs ever since they were taken on. ‘I have never seen a woman resigning; they have been with us throughout,’ says

Mrs. Gikonyo. ‘Those few who have retired still take tablemats and neckties home for sewing.’ The regular employees earn the Kenyan minimum urban wage, which is $50 a month.

Henry Kathi, the General Manager, who joined the factory just before it moved a year ago from its less salubrious premises, also believes that one of the project’s main achievements is

to give the employees a new sense of dignity. But Mr. Kathi, whose background is commercial, is very aware that there can be a conflict sometimes between providing for the needy and making the factory as commercially successful as possible.

The policy of Maridadi has always been to be as labour-intensive as possible and to overemploy deliberately.

They never sack people even when the balance sheet is causing anxiety.

‘I came here with the idea of maximising profits,’ he says, ‘but I have had to change my ideas. We dont talk here about labour efficiency.’

The factory’s major expansion took place in 1975-1976, on the wave of the economic boom Kenya then enjoyed thanks to high coffee prices. But Maridadi is no more impervious to economic fluctuations than any other

enterprise. The capacity in the new factory is double that in the old premises: 150,000 metres of printed material a year. So far they have only reached 100,000 metres. ‘The credit squeeze in Kenya means that not so many people are buying. The level of sales to tourists has dropped. Big orders are more difficult to come by.’ Most big orders come from sources like the new hotels, whose African atmosphere is often provided by Maridadi bedspreads, table linen, and curtains.

Mr. Kathi has no great confidence in opening up the local market significantly.

‘Much as we would like to take our goods to the common man, I think that it is only realistic to see our market as the middle class.’ Costs of manufacture are $2.50 a metre, whereas some manufacturers can sell at $2. ‘1 see the major expansion in the export market, particularly in Western Europe.’ Ethnic chic has apparently caught on better there than in North America, where people do not appreciate finding minor discrepancies from one bolt of handprinted cloth to another.

Whatever the difficulties, Mr. Kathi’s optimism in Maridadi’s commercial future is as reassuring as Mrs. Gikonyo’s concern for the twilight women of Nairobi’s darker corners. Somehow between them they manage a harmonious balance between the different aims that Maridadi stands for. Mrs. Gikonyo is looking forward to providing jobs for the first ten graduates of a new sewing school for impoverished women started by St. Johns, who she hopes will be eventually absorbed into the workforce of 17 seamstresses the factory employs. But any expansion must come ‘slowly by slowly’. ‘We are now in a period of consolidation,’ says Mr. Kathi. It is a tribute to the tremendous energy of Maridadi’s promoters that there is already, so much to consolidate.  www.newint.org/features/1979/10/01/ small-scale

Black Business News International Edition -23- Fall 2012

bronze in the men’s marathon.

Africa at the 2012 Olympics silver medal in the men’s GrecoRoman 84 kg Wrestling competition.

Alaaeldin Abouelkassem Egypt: men’s foil Alaaeldin Abouelkassem won silver in the men’s foil event. This was Africa’s very first fencing medal,

David Rudisha - Kenya: 800m runner David Rudisha won the 800m gold, and he did in world record breaking style. Rudisha is the first Maasai to win an Olympic medal, since his father Daniel won a silver in the 4x400m relay during the 1968 Olympics held in Mexico.

Ezikiel Kemboy/Kiprop Mutai - Kenya: David Rudisha

Tirunesh Dibaba/Mesret Defar - Ethiopia: 5,000m and 10,000m runner

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thletes from 53 African countries arrived in London for the 2012 Olympic Games.

10 African nations took home medals (two for the first time).

Taoufik Makhioufi - Algeria: 1,500m

Tirunesh Dibaba defended her 10,000m gold medal but only managed bronze in the 5,000m.

Meseret Defar who won gold

3000m runner Ezikiel Kemboy won gold (a repeat of his 2004 Olympics), and fellow team mate Kiprop Mutai took home bronze.

Sally Kipyego/Vivian Cheruiyot - Kenya: 10,000m runners Kenyan runner Sally Kipyego picked up silver and her team mate Vivian Cheruiyot won bronze in the

Algeria’s Taoufik Makhloufi won gold in the 1500m.

Abdalaati Iguider - Morocco: 1,500m Morocco won their only medal in the 1,500m, a bronze for Abdalaati

Nijel Amos - Botswana: 800m runner Young 18 year old 800m runner Nijel Amos to keep Botswana’s hopes alive and he delivered in style. Running a great race to come second to Rudisha’s brilliant world record breaking performance. A silver for Botswana, the country’s first medal.

Anthony Obame - Gabon: Taekwondo (+80kg division) Gabon got their first Olympic medal, Anthony Obame won the silver in Taekwondo (+80kg division).

Karam Mohamed Gaber Egypt: men’s Greco-Roman wrestling (+84kg division) Karam Mohamed Gaber won a

South African Cameron Van der Burgh Credit: Reuters/Michael Dalder

10,000m.

Iguider.

Wilson Kipsang Kiprotich/ Abel Kirui - Kenya: men’s marathon

Rowing Team - South Africa: men’s lightweight 4 rowing event

Kenyans Wilson Kipsang Kiprotich and Abel Kirui took silver and

South Africa won a third gold

Black Business News International Edition -24- Fall 2012

see 2012 Olympics on page 25

OLYMPIC HISTORY September 2,1972 Munich, Germany Uganda’s John Akii-Bua (December 3, 1949–June 20, 1997) kisses his gold medal out of sheer joy during the awards ceremony following his win in the 400-meter hurdles event.

Akii-Bua’s winning time of 47.82 seconds was a new world record for the event.

Akii-Bua was the first African to win gold in an event under 800 metres. He was also the first man to break the 48 seconds barrier in the 400 metre hurdles, an event so gruelling its nickname is ‘The Mankiller’. John Akii-Bua, is recognized as inventing the victory lap. After winning gold at the 1972 Olympics in the 400m hurdles he was so overwhelmed with joy that when a spectator handed him a Ugandan flag, he ran around the track waving the flag, the first ever victory lap - beginning the victor’s ‘lap of honour’ tradition.

2012 Olympics

Africa: 800m runner from page 24

medal in the men’s lightweight 4 rowing event.

Caster Semenya - South

South Africa’s Caster Semenya showed lots of class by finishing second and earning a deserved silver medal.

Chad Le Clos - South Africa: 200m/100m buttefly Chad Le Clos won gold in the 200m butterfly, and silver in the 100m butterfly

Cameron Van der Burgh - South Africa: 100m breaststroke

Africa) made the final in the 200m breaststroke, breaking the African record.

Oussama Mellouli - Tunisia: 1,500m freestyle/10k open swim Oussama Mellouli won bronze in the 1500m freestyle final. Oussama also went on to win a stunning gold medal in the 10k open swim.

Steven Kiprotich - Uganda: men’s marathon Steven Kiprotich surprised the world to win gold in the men’s marathon on the final day of the Olympics. The 23 year old Ugandan ran the race in 2 hrs, 8 mins and 1 second.

Basketball Angola’s women’s basketball team played in its first Olympic tournament. They lost to Turkey and the USA. The USA men’s basketball team competed and won against the Angolan, Tunisian and Nigerian teams and won.

Beach Volleyball The American men’s team of Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal bested the South African men’s team of Grant Goldschmidt and Freedom Chiya. Mauritius had a women’s team at the Olympics - Natacha Rigobert, 31, and Elodie Li Yuk Lo, 29. 

Cameron Van der Burgh win Olympic gold in the 100m breaststroke.

Bridgitte Hartley South Africa: kayak Bridgitte Hartley won bronze medal in the women’s kayak single K1 500m race. (l-r) USA’s Angel McCoughtry (8) shoots over Angola’s Sonia Guadalupe during a preliminary women’s basketball game at the 2012 Summer Olympics, July 30, 2012, in London. Eric Gay / AP Photo

Suzaan van Biljon South Africa: 200m breast-stroke Suzaan van Biljon (South

Black Business News International Edition -25- Fall 2012

http://goafrica.about.com/od/ africafestivalsandevents/a/Africa2012-London-Olympics.htm

3D Print Technology Advancing at a Rapid Pace

By Amy Kraft, SmartPlanet

Model of 3D building construction site

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here have been many amazing achievements in the field of 3D Printing recently.

But it’s only natural that scientists keep looking for even bigger things to print.

A professor from the University of Southern California has developed a system to print out entire houses with all the fixings including concrete foundation, plumbing and electrical wiring.

Engineering professor Behrokh Khoshnevis scaled up 3D printing so that it can be used to construct buildings by using a process called Contour Crafting, a layered fabrication technology that uses a moveable gantry taller than the house to be built. Walls are built up layer by layer using concrete with automatic reinforcement or plumbing added in the process.

Khoshnevis says current

construction methods are slow, labor intensive and costly. With Contour Crafting, houses could be built for a fraction of the cost and in less time. Khoshnevis says that a 2,500-square-foot house can be built in approximately 20 hours.

He says the method could be used to construct emergency or low-income housing. The process is being tested by NASA for construction of facilities on the Moon and Mars.

Contour Crafting Applications in Emergency Housing There are currently around 37 million uprooted people in the world, forced to flee from their homes and seek shelter elsewhere, usually because of war, economic or natural disaster. The sad reality is that it can take several months or years before disaster victims

are placed in permanent housing, many remain in primitive camps or even homeless indefinitely.

The extreme magnitude of the problem limits the effectiveness of the UN and other humanitarian agencies in providing victims with suitable quality of living. In addition, prefabricated houses are an expensive and inefficient solution.

A 50 to 60 square meter pre-fab home costs more than $3,000, are difficult and costly to transport, and are usually of poor construction quality, lacking the necessities of heating and plumbing.

Construction by Contour Crafting can build a 2,000 square foot house with all utilities for electrical and plumbing in less than 24 hours. The technology is adaptable and can use in situ construction material, thus eliminating the need to transport materials long distances, saving the time and costs associated with transportation. Contour Crafting is an automated process, so labor needs are highly minimized. Relief workers may use their time and effort to rebuild local infrastructure such as water sanitation and distribution systems, roads, electrical and communication systems as well as irrigations systems. In this way Contour Crafting has the potential of providing disaster survivors with more resources to rebuild their lives and their communities. ď ƒ www.contourcrafting.org www.smartPlanet.com

Black Business News International Edition -27- Fall 2012

Dutch Developer’s Proposals Could Extend Shorelines all over the World

Greenstar Convention Center and Hotel

By Rachel James, SmartPlanet

Ocean Flower Water H2Omes

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he idyllic set of islands of the Republic of Maldives currently sit only five feet above sea level. But Dutch Docklands, a developer from the Netherland’s in collaboration with the local government, is using the threat of climate change as an incentive, not something to sweep under the rug.

The proposal? - private floating islands and luxurious villas tailored to withstand climate change. The price? Upwards of $10 million.

Amenities include an 18-hole golf course, the “Greenstar” hotel and convention centre, and the “Ocean Flower“, 185 “Water H2Omes” built side by side in the shape of a typical Maldivian Flower.

“The price isn’t cheap,” writes Ben Schiller of Co.Exist. “The villas start at $1 million, and “palaces” on the golf course will cost more than $10 million.”

Ocean Flower Water H2Omes

Docklands’ CEO Paul van de Camp and his architect-partner Koen Olthuis have a vision that goes beyond the collective climateinduced anxieties of the rich.

“It’s not only for climate change. It’s good because [local residents] don’t have enough space,” Docklands’ CEO Paul van de Camp says.

“Building islands is a better option than reclaiming land, which would be a disaster for the coral reefs and the fish. The government wants to protect the marine environment.”

Koen Olthuis has identified 20 major urban low-income areas where he thinks a low-cost version of the technology could be applied, including places in Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and India.

The firm has already received dozens of inquires from cities hoping to extend their shoreline.  www.smartplanet.com/blog/ cities/will-this-dutch-developer-

Black Business News International Edition -28- Fall 2012

extend-shorelines-all-over-theworld/4886?tag=nl.e660

Next Billion Facilitating Worldwide Development Through Enterprise Why is This Web Site Called Next Billion?

We chose Next Billion for its dual meaning: on the one hand, the phrase represents the next billion people to rise into the middle class from the base of the economic pyramid (BoP); on the other, it indicates the next billion(s) in profits for businesses that fill market gaps by integrating the BoP into formal economies.

Our Mission NextBillion.net is a website and blog bringing together the community of business leaders, social entrepreneurs, NGOs, policy makers and academics who want to explore the connection between development and enterprise. It is

a discussion forum, networking space and knowledge base for individuals and organizations interested in the “next billion”. Our goal is to highlight the development and implementation of business strategies that open opportunities and improve the lives of the world’s approximately 4 billion low-income producers and consumers.

Our History NextBillion.net launched in May 2005 as an initiative of the World Resources Institute’s Markets and Enterprise Program (WRI).

The site has evolved to become a blog, newsroom, research tool and career center - all dedicated solely to exploring the “next billion” and the base of the pyramid ideas.

In April 2008, the World Resources Institute entered a partnership with Acumen Fund to co-own and comanage NextBillion.net. Acumen Fund is a non-profit global venture fund that uses entrepreneurial approaches to solve the problems of global poverty. In January 2010, two leading organizations in the base of the pyramid space joined NextBillion’s as partners and sponsors: the William Davidson Institute (WDI) at the University of Michigan as a Managing Partner, and Technoserve (see page xx) as an Associate Partner. Acumen Fund stepped down a few months later, but continues as an Associate Partner.

Under the terms of the partnership, each organization (WDI and WRI) supports NextBillion.net with staff time and shares the costs of developing, hosting and maintaining the site. At WRI, the staff of NextBillion.net are also part of the Institute’s New Ventures initiative.  www.nextbillion.net

www.usps.com/ship/express-mail.htm

Living Goods Hopes to Follow in the Footsteps of Amway, Avon, and Tupperware in Africa

By Josh Cleveland

trainings and spend the afternoon observing Community Health Promoters (CHPs) interacting with their clients. There, the organization demonstrated how a focus on energizing in-person training sessions, incentive programs, and constant iteration brings the platform to life. Their unwavering commitment to intuitive, simple processes provides solid evidence of why uptake continues to grow.

Training for success

A Community Health Promoter for Living Goods on a house visit in Kampala. (Image: Josh Cleveland)

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n a dark, poorly lit bar located off a nearly impassible rutted track of dirt rented out for this monthly occasion sits a group of impressively vibrant women.

Their bright white and blue aprons provided by Living Goods (http:// livinggoods.org) proclaim: “Better health. Better incomes. Better lives.”

It’s not the setting that comes to mind when you think of mobile innovation. But this is where Living Goods agents are being trained to use their mobile phone to drive the organization’s impact, sustainability, and scale.

As Armando Huerta, Living Goods’ East Africa Business Officer said to me, “Think of teaching

your grandmother to use our SMS program when she’d never sent a message before in her life. Then think of asking her to do that to record hundreds of interactions every month.” This is no small switch.

With a core business in health care sales, Living Goods is no stranger to behavior change.

Despite the challenges to rolling out a new mobile system to a sales force of 250 women, most over 40 years old, 60% of who had never used SMS before, the organization is seeing some early successes.

To see firsthand how the company was overcoming the above challenges, I left the Living Goods office to join in-person

Amway, Avon, and Tupperware teams are hosting nearly identical meetings with sales reps around the world. And they’re making a lot of money from the results. Living Goods wants nothing less than to follow in their footsteps with the added goal of improving the health, wealth, and productivity of their customers in the process. This does not feel like a charity: this is a business with a purpose.

Michael Rusoke, Living Goods’ Health training officer is an expert facilitator with experience in HIV/ AIDS education and three years working with Living Goods. He starts the meeting off on a high note. President Bill Clinton and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had visited Uganda earlier in the week. This visit was a point of pride for many Ugandans.

Rusoke reminds the attendees that while in Kampala, President Clinton asked Living Goods to join the Clinton Foundation’s fight to tackle child deaths from diarrhea – the training attendees are beaming.

Betty Kyazike, a top performer in the organization and leader of the Tula branch office, then launches into monthly targets and progress towards commitments and organizational goals (http://vimeo. com/25242619).

At the top of her list: progress on SMS reporting.

Black Business News International Edition -30- Fall 2012

see Living Goods on page 31

Living Goods from page 30

Attendees go through an exercise outlining difficulties with using the platform. Semakula, an older CHP in the audience sums up the sentiments of the group members who are performing below expectations with SMS reporting: “I just do not have confidence with the program,” she states.

Armando and the Living Goods team know that after launching a product or process an organization has a limited window to reach the tipping point in uptake. If the platform malfunctions, if CHPs don’t see the value of participation, it will fail. Building Semakula’s confidence can make or break the system.

A trainer/learner exercise then pairs those who are excelling with the new platform with the laggards for a series of practice cases and reporting exercises using real-world examples. After these exercises, all trainers report difficulties the “learners” experienced for a readout to be presented to Armando and the platform developer immediately after the meeting.

Semakula was paired with Faridha, who is proud to be among the more techsavvy CHPs. Before the exercise concludes, Semakula is standing in front of the audience demonstrating proper entry of pregnancy information for an expecting mother.

Incentives After a demonstration on sales techniques for a new line of solar products, the session comes to a close with an awards presentation for the CHPs with the highest SMS platform use over the past month in this locality. The top 15 performers receive cash prizes and energetic praise from their colleagues.

Gertrude, a CHP attendee,

recently won a raffle (entries were done through SMS reporting) that landed her with a brand new phone.

The other attendees know this and readily admit to being just a bit jealous.

Gertrude is one of the best sales agents in this district. Nowadays, she attributes some of her continued success with these clients to her improved ability to coordinate reminders using SMS. She logs all treatments and patient visits for new pregnancies or births, malaria, diarrhea, and pneumonia on the platform. For Gertrude, the ability to improve client satisfaction means a higher income and more lives saved. The day before, I watched Gertrude complete nearly one sale every 10 minutes – everything from fungicide to amoxicillin and malaria ACTs – going door-to-door in her neighborhood on the outskirts of town.

Constant iteration Back at the headquarters office, Armando Huerta, Living Goods’ East Africa business officer, pores over the feedback for each monthly training meeting. Some learnings will translate into next month’s training, others will be passed on to the platform developers. Huerta is quick to note that the platform is under constant iteration as he tells me, “we test, test, test, revamp, and then test some more.” ‘Do, learn, fix’ is Living Goods guiding philosophy.

Beyond the field work described above to increase CHP adoption, Armando’s team has worked patiently to negotiate discount

contracts with Uganda’s major mobile providers for the hundreds of thousands of SMS messages the organization sends each month.

Finding a developer who could build a simple but nimble platform at the right cost took time. Yet few processes in Eastern Africa are quick and easy.

Living Goods still faces challenges in the form of network outages, phone charging and power issues, and model-specific handset compatibility. In the coming months they will test new programs to discount solar powered chargers and phones for CHPs that may successfully address some of these issues.

The organization humbly recognizes that they haven’t figured out every kink just yet. But their results to date suggest that they’ll continue to overcome issues as they arise. And of course, we’ll look forward to providing you updates on their progress here on NextBillion

(www.nextbillion.net/blogpost. aspx?blogid=2930) (also see page 34).  www.nextbillion.net/blogpost. aspx?blogid=2930 Editor’s note: This is the second of two articles focused on Living Goods’ SMS program. Part one can be found at www.nextbillion. net/blogpost.aspx?blogid=2926.

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Black Business News International Edition -31- Fall 2012

Multi-Sector Trade Mission to South Africa and Zambia

Agriculture, Energy, Transportation, and Mining Technologies

November 26-30, 2012 The United States Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration, U.S. Commercial Service is organizing a Trade Mission to South Africa and Zambia. The purpose of this trade mission is to deepen trade ties with South Africa and to explore export opportunities to Zambia. The Commerce Department will help U.S. firms find customers and business partners in Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa, and Ndola, and Lusaka, Zambia.

Targeted sectors for the trade mission are: • Electric Power and Energy Efficiency Technologies, Equipment and Services • Productivity Enhancing Agricultural Technologies and Equipment • Transportation Equipment and Infrastructure • Mining Equipment and Technology Mission participants will benefit from one-on-one business appointments with pre-screened potential buyers, agents, distributors and joint venture partners; meetings with government officials; and high-level networking events.

Companies traveling outside of an official U.S. delegation may not be able to arrange for these specific business arrangements on their own.

South Africa

If you have any questions regarding the South Africa and Zambia trade mission, please contact Frank Spector at 202-482-2054 or Frank.Spector@trade.gov.

Zambia

To apply for this mission, please download and complete the mission application (http://export.gov/trademissions/ SouthAfricaZambia) and send via email to Frank.Spector@ trade.gov.

The application deadline is October 5, 2012.

Black Business News International Edition -33- Fall 2012

After the Revolution: Fostering Egypt’s Social Entrepreneurs, Generating an Inclusive Economy

By Luzette Jaimes

alls for change swept in by the Arab Spring neither happened overnight, nor did they take place in a vacuum. As well as political, triggers for change are also economic and social.

At Ashoka’s Arab World based

C

ka Innovation Network (AIN) Forum, convening over 70 participants including Egypt’s business entrepreneurs, corporate representatives interested in leveraging business’ role in social change, established and aspiring social entre-

This year’s Forum focused on “Corporate Engagement with Social Entrepreneurship,” the theme resulting from two major trends the revolutions in the region have spotlighted sharply: 1. A movement of a growing num-

in Egypt (including 64 Fellows in seven Middle-East and North African (MENA) countries with a combined population over seven million people) we’ve seen a 30% increase in the number of aspiring social innovators coming to us with new ideas for how to make positive and systemic social impact.

In late June 2012, Ashoka Arab World hosted its sixth annual Asho-

preneurs, young professionals from the business and civil sectors, community leaders and media. The excitement was evident as the forum filled with concerned stakeholders, and provided a safe space for these leaders from diverse sectors to air their challenges honestly, talk about their successes, and look for a shared path for collaboration and mutual support in the future.

ber of youth, women and social entrepreneurs looking for new, effective ways to make social chanÅge happen in light of the severe lack of opportunities (basic rights, education, income, infrastructure, employment) affecting the majority of Egyptians. see Egypt’s Social Entrepreneurs on page 35

Black Business News International Edition -34- Fall 2012

Egypt’s Social Entrepreneurs from page 34

2. An increasingly struggling business sector recovering from the economic recession, employee strikes and the effects of political instability in the country.

Business leaders have imprisoned due to their perceived cooperation with the last regime, and those who remain are urgently looking for better ways to expand their markets and new ways of doing business that both will be successful financial and address the social needs of Egyptian society.

While these specific challenges are seriously affecting the MENA region, they are part of a larger, global pattern of “business as usual” not succeeding.

At this critical transition period in Egypt and the MENA region, we believed the 2012 AIN Forum was strategically important to inspire and create momentum for new initiatives that offer socio-economic opportunities and financial benefits for all.

Manal Samra, Ashoka’s Egypt country representative, opened the Forum by highlighting Ashoka’s role in scaling up social entrepreneurship in the region. He forcefully stated that in order to effectively address the many social, environmental and economic challenges in Egypt today, it is crucial to build a thriving social business bridge where both social and business sectors recognize and contribute their expertise.

“Social entrepreneurship creates a platform for stakeholders from across the sectors to explore synergies and work together to achieve common objectives, and at Ashoka Arab World, we provide such a plat-

form to enable more innovations and collaboration between different sectors to bring about positive social change,” said Samra.

Ashoka Arab World’s Development Officer Ewelina Szopinska gave those participating practical information on pathways for engaging with Ashoka and social entrepreneurship for businesses and corporations. She gave examples of current partnerships focusing on Egypt and the MENA region, including the ones with Google, Danone, and Boehringer Ingelheim (BI).

Google is working together with Ashoka to advance access to “Information For All,” sponsoring Ashoka’s global innovation competitions on citizen media and accelerating how technology supports social entrepreneurship. Danone and Ashoka are building social-business ventures in several MENA countries. In Egypt, Danone employees work with social entrepreneurs for market expansion, creating new jobs and health programs in rural Egypt.

Boehringer Ingelheim is partnering with Ashoka on “Making More Health” across the globe by sourcing and growing leading social innovations in the health field.

Szopinska shared Ashoka’s recommendations from the process of building lasting, mutually beneficial collaborations between social entrepreneurs and business sector. She said: • It is critical to acknowledge different areas of expertise, accept differences and capitalize where alignment exists.

• Innovation can never be 100 percent planned.

Flexibility and willingness to change is important, especially as you move from the design to the implementation phase.

• Invest time to explore

background, position, strengths and limitations of the partnering organization and the sector it represents.

• Keep the right balance between leading and following.

• The social and business sectors often speak different languages although they use similar words.

Aligning on language requires time, active listening and attention.

The 2012 AIN Forum was a welcome step to coalesce leaders who want to make a difference in the region to meet, hear new ideas and build alliances across sectors.

Ashoka Arab World believes that with corporations and Fellows, local businesses and people willing to work hard to address social problems while making the region economically sound, we have the unique opportunity for businesses to engage with the citizen sector for mutual advantage. Our ability to harness the power of collaboration among sectors and to innovate new ways of doing inclusive businesses with triple bottom lines WILL be critical to support Egypt’s and the region’s path to a better future. 

Black Business News International Edition -35- Fall 2012

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Black Business News International Edition -36- Fall 2012

SALC Challenging on Behalf of Women’s Rights in Botswana and Lesotho BOTSWANA

T

he judge ruled that the law contravened the constitution, which guarantees equality for men and women.

Edith Mmusi and her sisters have fought a five-year legal battle after their nephew said he was the rightful owner of their house.

Correspondents say traditions which stop women from inheriting property exist in many African societies.

‘Respect Our Culture’ Judge Key Dingake said that in the name of fairness and equality women should have the right to inherit property.

“It seems to me that the time has now arisen for the justices of this court to assume the role of the judicial midwife and assist in the birth of a new world struggling to be born,” AFP news agency quotes him as saying.

This is a significant step forward

for women’s rights not only in Botswana but in the southern Africa region” The BBC’s Letloghile Lucas in

the capital, Gaborone, says Ms. Mmusi, the only one of the sisters at the High Court in Gaborone, was very excited by the ruling. “It’s a great day for us,” she said.

However, her nephew Molefi Ramantele said the court had undermined the country’s culture, reports the AFP news agency.

“This is a sad day for me... People should learn to respect our culture,” he said.

Our correspondent says they first contested their nephew’s claim in a customary court in 2007. They lost the case and a subsequent appeal before turning to the civil courts.

The Attorney General had reportedly agreed that the customary law was discriminatory but argued Botswana was not ready to change it.

“This is a significant step forward for women’s rights not only in Botswana but in the southern Africa region, where many countries are addressing s i m i l a r discriminatory laws,” Priti Patel, Deputy Director and HIV Programme M a n a g e r , Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC) said in a statement.

According to the legal rights group, the case challenged an Ngwaketse customary law rule that allows for the youngest-born son to inherit the family home.

Ms. Mmusi’s parents had four daughters and a son, who before he died agreed that his older halfbrother could inherit the family home in the Kanye area, about 85km (50 miles) south of Gaborone.

It is the son of the half-brother who brought the case seeking to evict the sisters living at the homestead, who are reportedly all over the age of 65.

Ms. Mmusi and her sisters argued that as it was their home - and they had been contributing to its upkeep and expansion - it was theirs to inherit, the SALC said.

LESOTHO

T

he Constitutional Court in Lesotho has reserved judgment in the case of a Mosotho woman, Senate Masupha, who is challenging succession to chieftainship under customary law.

Masupha’s petition says the Chieftainship Act that only provides for male succession to chieftainship, is discriminating her on the basis of her sex to succeed as chief of her village; yet the country’s Constitution provides for non-discrimination based on sex.

Masupha, a single woman in her 30s who currently lives in Rome, Italy, where she works for the Lesotho Embassy, is suing her halfbrother and her uncle among others for the right to succeed her father as chief of her village.

It is the first case of its kind in Lesotho. Masupha’s father married her mother - his first marriage - and bore a girl child, Senate. Masupha’s father subsequently entered into a relationship - whose nature is in dispute, with some parties arguing that it is a second customary law marriage and others claiming that it cannot be considered an actual marriage- and bore a son.

When her father died, Masupha’s mother took over as Chief as see Women’s Rights on page 38

Women’s Rights

the community. They have indicated that this conundrum from page 37 is not only resolvable but is already being addressed permitted under Lesotho’s within communities.

“Lesotho is not the only SADC Chieftainship Act that a wife can country with discriminatory laws succeed her husband and upon her in place. Despite most SADC death it reverts to the eldest son. countries having constitutions that enshrine nondiscrimination and non-discrimination based on sex, as well as provisions for equality before the law, a number of laws remain on the books which explicitly discriminate against women.

“But the unequal status of women in law throughout the United States Attorney General Eric Holder attends the region is not due High-level Lunch Event on Women’s Access to Justice, solely to entrenched co-hosted by Finland, South Africa and UN Women discrimination.

What is clear under the Indeed, in other sectors such as Chieftainship Act is that a daughter, HIV, great gains towards ending regardless of whether she is discrimination in law have been the eldest, cannot succeed to made. Why is that not the case with chieftainship. It is this blanket respect to women?

“Some of the explicitly ban that Masupha is challenging discriminatory law continues in part because she says it violates her because many SADC countries right to equality.

Priti Patel, said “This case cuts have claw back clauses in their to the heart of women’s rights constitutions. This means that and cultural equality in Lesotho. It though there is protection against also magnifies deeply embedded discrimination on the basis of sex notions of the role of women within or gender, this protection does society. During oral arguments in not extend to matters related to the matter, the bench as well as customary law. It also doesn’t counsel for the half-brother and extend to matters of personal uncle expressed their anxiety about law such as inheritance, divorce, this possible change. They raised adoption and burial. This makes it concern specifically that if the harder for successful challenges.

“Regardless of these legal hurdles, woman married and had children, which are arguably surmountable, who would succeed her.

“Yet outside the courtroom very few women have been willing numerous people indicated that to even bring such cases in courts. they knew of instances in Lesotho This is due in part to the fact that where women had succeeded few women who are affected are to chieftainship at the behest of aware of their rights, and even if

they are, few if any, have access to lawyers who can bring such cases on their behalf.

“At the just ended 67th UN General Assembly, the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon emphasized at a side event on Women’s Access to Justice the need to invest more to help women overcome their obstacles to justice; repeal laws that discriminate against women and girls; and to dedicate at least 15% of overall rule of law funding to breaking down the barriers to justice for women.

“This is where strong social movements of which we have seen in the region around HIV and previously in South Africa around women’s rights can step in. They can provide support to women who are willing to challenge these laws and construct a broader campaign to address the unequal laws through parliamentary structures. However, these movements remain largely absent in southern Africa.

“In Botswana, where the challenge to an unequal customary law rule is one of the first cases of its kind in the High Court, the notable absence of women’s rights organisations, or even women apart from those involved in the case, is of concern.

“If there is to be real change in the status of women in southern Africa, there will have to be serious investment both financial and human in building grassroots movements.

There is a need to identify those issues that affect women most and ensuring a women-led movement to push for changes.  www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa19924723#story_continues_1 http://southernafricalitigationcentre. org/news/item/SALC_in_the_News_ Mosotho_Woman_Fights_to_be_Chief

Mobile Banking Changing the World - Ecobank

By Gift Chanda, Post Zambia

E

COBANK sees mobile banking is a tool for boosting access levels to basic banking services in the country, a senior official said.

Lauzi Mwamba, Ecobank Zambia head of Mobile Banking, said the increased rate of mobile phone penetration together with the bank’s focus on mobile banking is expected to drive the growth in the country’s financial sector.

Zambia’s mobile user penetration has been on an increase with an estimated 8.2 million subscribers on the mobile phone grid.

Mwamba told delegates at the ongoing Celpay Zambia fourth annual conference in Lusaka of the importance of focusing on mobile banking to augment efforts aimed at getting more people to access financial services in the country.

She said because the use of mobile banking allows customers at the bottom end of the pyramid to have access to basic banking services through the mobile phone, more local people are expected to have access to basic financial services.

Mwamba observed that

mobile penetration has far exceeded banking penetration and therefore the introduction of mobile banking allows more people to have access to basic banking.

“The mobile revolution is here and is changing the world,” she said. “It is up to us to embrace it and explore its many offerings to create the growth we are all looking for.”

Mwamba said for Ecobank, mobile banking is clearly seen as the most efficient model for driving banking transactions and scaling them to millions of customers rapidly.

“The unbanked customers are seen as the key demand driver for Ecobank Mobile,” added Mwamba. “...because mobile banking is an affordable and reliable means of providing access to financial services to the unbanked in the urban as well as the rural areas of Zambia.”

Earlier, Celpay International Group Chief Executive Officer Lazarous Muchenje said mobile

banking has propelled significant changes in the financial sector globally.

He said at least 600 mobile payment platforms have sprawled over the last decade but only 10% of those have been successful, especially in developing countries.

Celpay, which had been operating locally as Celpay Zambia Limited for the past 10 years, had handled close to US$2 billion worth of transactions.

The firm with other operations in Zimbabwe, Uganda, the UK and the Democratic Republic of Congo plans to invest US$10 million over the next five years to expand its operations in southern Africa. 

Black Business News International Edition -39- Fall 2012

Kenya Becomes World Leader in Mobile Money from African Leadership Magazine

K

enya has become World Leader in Mobile money.

With phones, whether rich or poor, most people has access to financial services with the ability to save and send money safely, no matter where they are located. This is not science fiction; in fact it is already happening in Kenya, which has become the world’s market leader in mobile money.

Today, Kenya has more cellphone subscriptions than adult citizens and more than 80% of those with a cell phone also use “mobile money” (or “M-PESA” which is very different from “mobile banking” as Michael Joseph - the former Safaricom CEO and the man behind that revolution - can explain passionately!).

Internet access is also increasing

rapidly, even though many are complaining about poor service by some operators. Within the next two years, Kenya could become one of the most connected, and modern economies in the developing world, and a unique case among the world’s poorer countries, that have

an average annual income of below US$ 1,000 per capital.

While the telecom revolution is not unique to Kenya, mobile money is. There are approximately 60 million mobile money users in the world, which means that almost one in three is a Kenyan. Half of all mobile money transactions are taking place in Kenya where annual

Black Business News International Edition -40- Fall 2012

see Mobil Money Leader on page 41

Mobil Money Leader

Hillary Clinton wondered why this “brilliant innovation” is not from page 40 available in the USA. How come mobile money has not yet taken off in other countries, especially transfers are now around US$ 10 those where money transfers from billon. urban to rural areas are enormous The emerging social and economic even by Kenyan standards? If it is so beneficial to customers a n d operators, why have they not sought to replicate K e n y a ’ s success, given that replication is so much easier than innovation?

There are Deacons Kenya customers can now pay three main via M-PESA and earn 10% discount reasons why mobile money took off in Kenya, impact has been remarkable. while facing challenges in other Businesses can operate more countries (even though the India, effectively: shop-owners don’t need Philippines, Nigeria, Tanzania and to carry a lot of cash, or to stand in Uganda have started to catch up). long queues at Banks to transfer First, Kenya’s regulators money to suppliers. Urban dwellers enabled the mobile money takeno longer need to make overnight off. The Central Bank in particular trips to their rural homes to pay played a very progressive role their children’s school fees (or give and allowed “regulation to follow money to relatives). innovation”, while reassuring the Women have been empowered market of its oversight. The regulator because their husbands have a agreed that mobile money agents harder time taking their money needed only limited requirements away. Even macroeconomic policy to enter the business, as they were has become easier because the not providing banking services, Central Bank has a better handle on while the operator behaved as if the money in circulation, as mobile it was regulated and periodically money helped to move cash from reported financial and usage data the mattresses to the market. as Banks do.

The success of mobile money Second, the strategy of the in Kenya should be a source of omnipresent operator - Safaricom national pride: it gives the country - was also important. In 2007, the a global profile, which is only company already had more than matched by the successes of its 50 percent market share. Its strong long-distance runners. position and national presence But Kenya’s global leadership helped it to reach scale. in this area is also puzzling. Even But when replicating mobile

money in other countries, such dominance by a single operator is not a precondition for mobile money to take off: many alternative models can also lead to success such as “third-party platforms” into which operators connect to. Even more important was the company’s business philosophy to “build a brand rather than make quick return”.

Indeed, it took some three years until M-PESA generated a netprofit. However, it created indirect benefits from the beginning because in Kenya’s increasingly competitive market, mobile money boosted loyalty and attracted new customers to its core business of voice and SMS. Third, Safaricom’s management understood that the success of M-PESA was ultimately about people management, not technology. Many innovations fail because management focuses exclusively on designing and launching a product, and assume that technology will take care of itself afterwards. The opposite is true. You need people to run machines and the interactions you get after product launch can generate even better products. The true secret of M-PESA’s success is the management of the agent network, which grew from 300 initially to almost 30,000 today.

There is no doubt that mobile money will soon go global, especially if countries consider the lessons from Kenya. In the whole world, there are still more than two billion people who have cell-phones but no Bank account: for these, mobile money is an extremely attractive proposition. 

Black Business News International Edition -41- Fall 2012

Culled from CCA Newsletter. http://africanleadershipmagazine. com/african-leadership-magazine/ Headlines/Kenya-Becomes-WorldLeader-in-Mobile-Money.html

Africa’s Mobile Future African economies are growing at some of the fastest rates in the world.

Today, the continent is poised to transform the global economic landscape.

Bharti Airtel is delivering next-generation mobile phone service across 16 African countries, from Ghana to Tanzania—offering not just a voice and data network, but a world-class platform for digital services.

A smarter mobile infrastructure...

Sub-Saharan Africa’s annual GDP growth averaged

1. Services Providing basic voice and data services, including voicemail and text messaging.

5.7%

2. Applications and Content Delivering sophisticated web-based services, from banking capabilities to video and news.

between 2000-2010.1

Annual growth is expected to average

Africa accounts for

7%

14%

average over the next 20 years.1

3. Network Management Applying advanced analytics to manage the flow of data and help prevent outages.

4. Customer Support Powering the management, measurement, monitoring and billing of all customer interactions.

of the world’s population.2

5. Authentication Verifying the identity of users and preventing subscriber fraud.

A new middle class is emerging in Africa, signaling new growth opportunities for several key industries. Primary among them is mobile communications—a necessity to Africa’s expanding economy, and an increasingly critical part of daily life.

...will support the growing needs of Africa’s “power users.”

By the end of 2012, there will be

735

Nearly

A typical mobile user with a feature phone averages:

A sophisticated mobile user with a smartphone averages:

- 120 voice minutes - 60 text messages - 10 MB of data - 0 transactions

- 2,000 voice minutes - 600 text messages - 1,500 MB of data - 100 transactions7

90%

million

of all phones in Africa are mobile phones.4

mobile subscribers in Africa.3

Across Africa, mobile technology is becoming a cornerstone for industries like healthcare and agriculture. For millions of people, it is making banking truly accessible for the first time.

By capitalizing on the latest communications technologies, methods and models, Bharti’s mobile network is helping to fuel the growth of an entire continent—equipping citizens with the tools they need to improve their lives and livelihoods in ways never before possible. Ř Providing improved communication

capabilities to people without computers or Internet access.

Ř Connecting people to health information,

products and services. Ř Helping authorities and citizens manage

Ř Empowering famers and business owners

Close to 18 million Kenyans use mobile phones as a bank account, depositing Total African mobile money transfers and transferring money are expected to exceed $200 billion remotely to avoid in 2015, accounting for approximately excessive travel and 18% of the continent’s GDP. wait times.5 6

and respond to natural disasters.

with real-time market information. Ř Creating new kinds of businesses, skills Ř Making banking services more accessible

and jobs.8

to more people. Ř Offering better access to consumer

goods, product information and pricing.

1

The Economist, 2011.

United States Agency for International Development.

GSMA, 2011.

4 Africa—Mobile Voice and Data Communications Statistics, 2011.

5 The Guardian, 2011.

6 Pyramid Research.

7 Analysys Mason, 2011.

8 Discovery Tech .

2

3

www.eweek.com/assets/Africa-Infographic_1.17.pdf Black Business News International Edition -42- Fall 2012

First Person:

What it’s Like to Start Your Own Startup Accelerator

by Kim Heras

tartup accelerators are popping up around the world at a rapid pace.

Jed Christansen’s Seed-DB site (www.seed-db.com/accelerators) links to over 120 but there are many more not listed there that service a wide range of geographies and industries.

S

failure.

I am the co-founder of Sydney, Australia-based PushStart (http:// pushstart.com.au), an accelerator that follows this model.

One of the most common questions I’m asked about PushStart is why I started the program. I realize that what many people mean when

While opinions vary as to whether or not there are too many, or too few (funny how nobody’s arguing there is just the right amount) little is spoken about the process behind the formation of the vast majority.

they ask this is why did I, and the many other accelerator program founders around the world, start our programs when there are so many others already out there?

I can’t speak for everyone, but I think you’ll find many accelerator founders share the same story – that story is also mine, so I’d like to pull back the curtain a little.

What is an accelerator?

At their heart, seed accelerators are defined length programs (usually 3 months) where early stage startups are provided seed capital, mentorship, co-working space (though not always) and other services in the hope of removing the barriers to startup success… or

My story I first started organizing startup community events in Sydney in the lull between the dot com and the web 2.0 booms. As a startup founder

myself, I desperately wanted to connect with other founders who were sharing the same experience and the only way to do this was by kicking off events by myself.

For those outside of the Bay Area, it may be hard to fathom an environment where the only other people you know working on startups you’ve met online, and are in another country, but that was very much the case for startup founders in many places around the world in 2005, and Sydney was no different.

My first step in organizing a community event was running a Sydney Open Coffee – that global tech startup meetup phenomenon kicked off by Saul Klein (https:// angel.co/cape), a well known

London-based VC. We rapidly built a group of likeminded founders that was growing in numbers every week. To get the word out about what they were all doing I started tech blogging, first through my own blog and then as the Australian editor of The Next Web (www.innovationamerica. us/index.php/innovation-daily/24273what-its-like-to-start-a-startupaccelerator?utm_source=innovationweekly&utm_medium=gazetty&utm_ campaign=09-23-2012).

As time passed, my own startup

Black Business News International Edition -43- Fall 2012

see Startup Accelerator on page 44

Startup Accelerator from page 43

was doing well and I had a great job at MyHeritage.com (www. myheritage.com), an amazing family history startup out of Israel, but I was getting so much pleasure out of seeing new founders come on to the scene, connect with more experienced people, then take those learnings and grow, that I decided that’s what I wanted to dedicate myself to.

At that time YC (http:// ycombinator.com) had been around for a couple of years, but it was the TechStars (www.techstars.com) model I thought would work best for Sydney.

In a nutshell – the mentor focused program they ran was a perfect fit as it would put structure (and a bit of capital) around what we were already doing.

Also, the fact it had come out of Colorado was proof that it could work outside of Silicon Valley.

Because not everyone can move to Silicon Valley – nor do they want to.

So while it’s a harder road, it’s not an impossible one. And there are many benefits to kicking off your startup outside of the valley including better/ easier access to talent, a dearth of funding opportunities that leads to more robust businesses being built and a more global focus.

So back to TechStars. After identifying their program as the best fit for Sydney we approached the TechStars teams in the hope of having a program set up locally.

That didn’t end up happening but the one take away from the process was an amazing meeting with Tom Keller, their Managing Director of International at the time. Tom said that even if we couldn’t work out an agreement he would support us in our efforts to run an independent program and to feel free to reach

out to him for help and connections.

It was at that stage that I realised there were many likeminded people around the world who shared my interest and passion for helping startups no matter where they were and they would help others with the same passion regardless of whether or not there was a direct benefit to them.

After that I was fortunate to meet many more like-minded people. I was introduced to John Stokes (of Real Ventures and Montreal Startup) and Jon Bradford (now at SpringBoard – the UK’s top accelerator).

Both were unbelievably supportive of what were trying to do, even though they’d see no real benefit in their home countries. I still keep in contact with Jon Bradford regularly and he has been an exceptional mentor to us as we’ve kicked off our program.

I also met Dave Tisch who was in the middle of preparations for demo day for the first Techstars NY program at the time. Not only did he give me his time, but also some great advice.

There were many more program managers around the world who helped us out, including the founder of StartMate, another program run out of Sydney.

That may come as a surprise to many people in Sydney as there’s a perception of competition. But the reality is we’re both working towards the same goal – the promotion of tech entrepreneurship as a valid career choice in Australia, as a way to improve our local economy and, most importantly, as a way to

improve the lives of people around the world.

So where are we now?

We’ve run our first accelerator (check out our teams on our Angel List page - https://angel.co/ pushstart).

Our teams are now in the US as part of a SF/NY US Pitch and

Demo Day tour (www.youtube. com/watch?v=2oMalpF9v1k).

We’re taking our learnings and iterating for our next classes and want to get even better at helping talented, passionate startup founders in Australia create globally significant businesses.

As an example of the closing of the loop, I’ve now shared my experiences with people looking to start other accelerators in Sydney, in other Australian cities and even in other countries around the world.

But won’t this just add to the flood of accelerators?

Yes it will. And that will hopefully lead to a flood of startups from all over the globe creating amazing products and services that make the world a better place.

Not such a bad thing, right? 

Black Business News International Edition -44- Fall 2012

www.innovationamerica.us/index. php/innovation-daily/24273what-its-like-to-start-a-startupaccelerator?utm_source=innovationweekly&utm_medium=gazetty&utm_ campaign=09-23-2012

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Commercial News USA reaches more than a quarter million buyers worldwide. Reserve your space in the next issue today. For information, call 1-800-581-8533, x 822, online to www.thinkglobal.us/499, or send e-mail to advertise@ thinkglobal.us.

Marketing: Promote Your Company on the New Commercial News USA Website The newly redesigned Commercial News USA website makes it easier for buyers around the world to find American companies with products and services ready for immediate export and for U.S. exporters connect with buyers worldwide.

Commercial News USA features hundreds of products and services from U.S. exporters. Participants in the current is-

sue of the magazine are featured in a rotating carousel at the top of the page. Now, international buyers can search the site by company name or industry category. There also is a search box at the top of the page that enables searching by keyword. The site currently attracts 23,000 international buyers per month. Advertisers in the print magazine are included for free on the website. For more information and/ or to review the current issue of the magazine, please visit www.thinkglobal.us.

AccessAmerica – Reach Chinese Investors and Clients “AccessAmerica” is our online Chinese-language directory of U.S. firms that provide customized services to C h i n e s e investors and firms that want to do business in the U.S. The “AccessAmerica” Service Provider directory gives U.S.-based companies and economic development agencies access and exposure to Chinese clients who seek U.S. expertise in global logistics, trade finance, HR, site selection, tax, insurance, legal and regulatory issues, marketing, and other support related to investing in the U.S. AccessAmerica is promoted extensively throughout China, featured on the U.S. Embassy Chinese webpage and featured at all Invest in America programs here and in China. Your listing will include company information, company logo, and contact details, all translated into Chinese, for a one-year subscription fee of $400. Learn more: http://www.buyusa.gov/china/en/access_america. html. For more information, please contact julie.carducci@ trade.gov. ᏊᏊᏊᏊᏊ The U.S. Commercial Service - Your Global Business Partner. With offices across the United States and in more than 75 countries, the U.S. Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration uses its global Network and international resources to connect U.S companies with international buyers worldwide.

If you have any questions about these initiatives, please contact your local U.S. Commercial Service trade specialist.

To find the trade specialist nearest you please visit www. buyusa.gov/home/us.html or contact Bobby Hines at bobby.hines@trade.gov. 

Black Business News International Edition -46- Fall 2012

SAVE THE DATE!!

3rd Annual Pan African Global Trade & Investment Conference (PAGTC) October 18 - 19, 2012 California State University Dominguez Hills

The Decade of the African Diaspora (January 1, 2010 - December 31, 2020)

The 2012 Annual Pan African Global Trade Conference in Los Angeles is being planned in association with the California African American Political & Economic Institute and the Los Angeles African Marketplace.

The conference is designed to provide opportunities to explore, develop and implement bilateral trade & investment, tourism, humanitarian assistance and cultural exchange strategies that connect the Western Region of the United States to the emerging economies of Africa and the African Diaspora.

For PAGTC 2012 Information Packet contact: Al Washington, Conference Organizer 626.321.7041 or alwash9727@aol.com www.panafricanglobaltradeconference.com

Black Business News International Edition -47- Fall 2012

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Bhutan Aims to be the First 100% Organic Nation

by Agence France-Presse

T

a local weed that is difficult to take out by hand -- a challenge compounded by a lack of farm labour.

Elsewhere, the fertiliser urea is sometimes added to soil, while a fungicide to control leaf rust on wheat is also available.

“We have developed a strategy that is step-by-step. We cannot go organic overnight,” Gyamtsho said, describing a policy and roadmap which were formally adopted by the government last year.

“We have identified crops for which we can go organic immediately and certain crops for which we will have to phase out the use of chemicals, for rice in certain valleys for example.”

Bhutan’s only competitor for the first “100% organic” title is the tiny self-governing island of Niue in the South Pacific, which has a popula-

he Himalayan Kingdom of so many chemicals, which is not Bhutan, famed for seeking in keeping with our belief in Bud“happiness” for its citizens, dhism, which calls for us to live in is aiming to become the first nation harmony with nature.” in the world to turn its home-grown Bhutan has a population of just food and farmers 100% organic. over 700,000, two-thirds of whom The tiny Buddhist-majority nation depend on farming in villages dotwedged between China and India ted around fertile southern plains has an unusual and some say envi- near India and the soaring Himalaable approach to economic devel- yan peaks and deep valleys to the opment, centred on protecting the north. Overwhelmingly forested, environment and focusing on men- no more than 3% of the country’s tal well-being. land area is used for growing crops, Its development model measur- says Gyamtsho, with the majority of ing “Gross National Happiness” farmers already organic and reliant instead of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has been discussed at the United Nations and has been publicly backed by leaders from Britain and France, among others.

It banned television until 1999, keeps out mass tourism to shield its culture from foreign influence, and most recently set up a weekly “pedestrians’ day” on Tuesdays that sees cars banned from town centres.

Its determination to chart a different path can be seen in its new policy to phase out ar-The daily early morning food market in the town of Paro in the Kingdom of tificial chemicals in farming inBhutan. (photo: unknown) the next 10 years, making its staple foods of wheat and potatoes, on rotting leaves or compost as a tion of only 1,300. It aims to reach its objective by 2015-2020. as well as its fruits, 100% organic. natural fertiliser.

Nadia Scialabba, a global spe“Bhutan has decided to go for a “Only farmers in areas that are cialist on organic farming at the green economy in light of the tre- accessible by roads or have easy UN’s Food and Agriculture Ormendous pressure we are exerting transport have access to chemion the planet,” Agriculture Minis- cals,” he explained, saying chemi- ganisation, says the organic food ter Pema Gyamtsho told AFP in cal use was already “very low” by market and its premium prices are attractive for small countries and an interview by telephone from the international standards. capital Thimphu.

In the large valleys, such as the territories. “This is happening in “If you go for very intensive ag- one cradling the sleepy capital riculture it would imply the use of Thimphu, chemicals are used to kill see Bhutan on page 50 Black Business News International Edition -49- Fall 2012

Bhutan from page 49

very small countries who are not competitive on quantity, but they would like to be competitive in quality,” she told AFP. The global organics market was estimated to be worth 44.5 billion

euros (57 billion dollars) in 2010, according to figures from the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture and the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements.

Bhutan sends rare mushrooms

to Japan, vegetables to upmarket hotels in Thailand, its highly-prized apples to India and elsewhere, as well as red rice to the United States.

By shunning fertilisers and other chemicals, the country also stands to gain by reducing its import bill -a particular concern for a country short on foreign currency.

Peter Melchett, policy director at

using large quantities of artificial chemicals, Melchett said. “It’s difficult for organic farmers in those circumstances to keep their crops and supply-chain free of contamination.”

Bhutan’s organic policy would “start to give the country a reputation of high quality organic food which in the long-run would give

Britain’s Organic Soil Association, says the main benefit of becoming 100% organic is an assurance of quality to consumers. “Because there won’t be pesticides or other chemicals on sale in the kingdom, they would be able to offer a high level of guarantees that products are organic,” Melchett explained.

In countries like Spain, for example, there is a problem of contamination when organic farms are next to highly industrialised producers

them a market advantage and the possibility of price premiums,” he added.

Jurmi Dorji, a member of the 103-strong Daga Shingdrey Pshogpa farmers’ association in southern Bhutan, says his fellow members are in favour of the policy.

“More than a decade ago, people realised that the chemicals were not good for farming,” he told AFP. “I cannot say everyone has stopped using chemicals but almost 90% have.” 

Black Business News International Edition -50- Fall 2012

http://readersupportednews.org/ news-section2/312-16/13789bhutan-aims-to-be-first-100organic-nation

The Rise of ChinAfrica

by PAULA AKUGIZIBWE Mail & Guardian Online Sino-African relations are unfolding against the backdrop of China’s increasing dominance in the global economy.

I

f Francis Dalton were alive today, he would be revelling in the I-told-you-so of the new millennium. Cousin and colleague of the better-known Charles Darwin, Dalton proposed in 1873 that Britain should proactively pursue a strategic geopolitical shift: “Africa for the Chinese”.

His idea was simple: Promote Chinese settlements in Africa so as to outbreed its indigenous inhabitants. In a few years, he suggested, the continent might “be tenanted by industrious, order-loving Chinese”, who possessed a “remarkable aptitude for a high material civilisation”, and a capacity to compete successfully with strangers in any environment.

Over a century later, the boom of China in Africa is proving to be one of the most striking developments of 21st century geopolitics. It is manifested not in the population demographics that Dalton originally envisioned, but in the macroeconomic spheres that shape global power dynamics today: Trade, aid and investment.

Exact figures on Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) are difficult to come by, but many estimates show that China’s FDI in Africa has increased at least 100-fold over the past decade.

During this time, according to leading credit rating agency Fitch Ratings, the Export-Import Bank of China surpassed the World Bank to become the largest provider of loans to sub-Saharan African countries. In 2009, China overtook the US as the continent’s largest trading partner.

Francis Chigunta, an economist at the University of Zambia and special assistant on political affairs for former President Rupiah Banda, believes that

“China is one of the major factors in the transformation of Africa’s economy from a slow-growth region to one of the fastest-growing regions in the world”.

Sino-African relations are unfolding against the backdrop of China’s increasing dominance in the global economy, whose traditional heavyweights – namely, the US and Europe – have been hit hard by financial crises. The South African Institute of International Affairs points out that while the expansion of China-Africa trade in recent years is striking, it merely mirrors the general growth trend in China’s foreign trade around the world.

‘New Colonialism’ But while China’s influence might be expanding rapidly across the board, its relations with Africa in particular have triggered contention on the global landscape. During a visit to Zambia in 2011, US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton made headlines when, shortly after urging closer scrutiny of Chinese investments in the region, she proceeded to warn African countries against what she termed a “new colonialism” characterised by reckless exploitation of Africa’s resources.

Ironically, it is precisely the shared experience of “old” colonialism that birthed the roots and guiding principles of Sino-African relations. Following a century of political instability that included subjugation to European powers, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) was established in 1949, at a time when many African countries were undergoing an intensified struggle for independence.

To this day, Sino-African rules of engagement are rooted in the spirit of that time, when self-determination was the prominent political aspiration of African and Asian countries. In the areas of trade and investment, this spirit is reflected in China’s strong emphasis on mutual benefit and respect, non-aggression and non-interference. Unlike Western countries, whose investments in African countries are saddled with

colonial baggage and often accompanied by political conditions, China maintains an explicit detachment from the internal affairs of other countries – focusing only on concrete financial opportunities.

Francisco Langa, head of Commercial Policy in Mozambique’s Ministry of Commerce, observes that unlike traditional donors. “China is only interested in economic relationships, not in playing or friendships”. While this approach can be culturally alienating, he sees it as positive for the country’s development and points to evidence of tangible benefit for Mozambique, mostly in the form of infrastructure.

China’s strictly-business approach to African countries has served it well. While maintaining its decadeslong closeness with the Khartoumbased Sudanese government, China was quick to forge strong diplomatic ties with Khartoum’s nemesis, oil-rich South Sudan, following its secession last year. In April 2012, China and South Sudan agreed on a $8-billion loan for development. If similar deals with other resource-rich countries are anything to go by – loans to Angola in exchange for oil; to Gabon in exchange for manganese exploration; or to DRC in exchange for cobalt – it is likely that China will benefit handsomely once South Sudan’s oil starts flowing again.

‘Fair and Responsible’ An expedient evolution of allegiance was also observed in Libya, where China had an extensive presence in the country under Gaddafi’s rule, with projects valued at an estimated $18-billion.

Libyan crude accounted for only 3% of Chinese oil imports, but the three top state-owned oil companies from China had engineering projects under way that could have expanded this share.

As the Nato-backed conflict escalated, China lost significant economic ground in Libya. While Western oil firms were arriving in the country midrevolution to begin operations in collaboration with the rebels, more than 10 000 Chinese workers were fleeing.

But a few months later, China was engaged in discussions with the rebels; and in June 2012, new Libyan Foreign Minister Ben Khayil met with

Black Business News International Edition -51- Fall 2012

see ChinAfrica on page 52

ChinAfrica from page 51

Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping in Beijing, where they pledged to boost co-operation on Libya’s reconstruction – with Khayil praising China’s “fair and responsible stance” to date.

This praise is a far cry from what is often reported about China’s involvement in Africa. Many criticisms have been levelled regarding its lack of transparency in dealings with African countries, and labour rights violations. There is truth to this: details of China’s agreements with African countries are almost impossible to access, and incidents of mistreatment of workers by Chinese companies have been reported in several countries across the region, including Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

However, these challenges are neither new nor unique to China’s particular presence. Hejoo Kim, research analyst at Stellenbosch University’s Centre for Chinese Studies, emphasises that “the most important thing is the host countries’ willingness to protect its own labour force. Unfortunately, in many cases, African host governments lack the power or, at times, the will.”

It could be argued that many of the criticisms directed at China are in fact reflective of the deeper culture of exploitation of the continent’s resources by all major global economies. Kim points out that “very often China’s engagement is labelled negatively by media while they overlook other investors’ malpractices”. The vested interests of colonial powers, around which global economic structures have been built, are founded on exploitative dynamics that often pass for legitimate simply because they are more deeply rooted.

Health Concerns In a June 2011 interview with Rwandan newspaper the New Times, Chinese Ambassador Shu Zhan states that “there is some kind of double standards when it comes to issues of accepting technology … China produces very good traditional medicine to treat malaria. But the World Health Organisation (WHO) refuses to accept it”.

Because local health officials are accustomed to complying with the WHO’s approval system – which, he says, favours European countries – African countries’ access to Chinese expertise in the field of health is restrained. Chigunta explains that “the tendency is to govern Africa through partnerships, so states themselves do not have full control over their own programmes”. African governments are pulled between multiple vested interests not only from their own local elite, but also from external donors.

Deepening China-Africa relations have made this tug-of-war especially precarious, because the interests of China are fundamentally at odds with those of Western donors, whose hegemony is threatened by China’s expanding dominance – although they are also benefiting from its economic growth.

Africa is caught in the middle of this complex power struggle. “There is no difference between China and the West in terms of what motivates them to be involved in Africa – mineral resources and fuel,” says Chigunta. “China is simply doing it through financial and economic muscle. The West uses military muscle.”

The tension between these competing powers is escalating as, in an attempt to overcome their economic and energy crises, developed countries look more towards Africa’s unexplored mineral and energy resources. In addition to long-time energy giants such as Angola, Nigeria and Libya – all of which have close ties with China – recent colossal discoveries of oil and gas along the East African coast have upped the stakes in the renewed scramble for Africa.

In an April 2011 interview with Iranian news site Press TV, Paul Craig Roberts, a renowned American journalist and former assistant secretary of the US Treasury, asserted that NATO support for the Libyan rebellion had one main goal: “to eliminate China from the Mediterranean. They are looking to Africa as a future energy source. The US is countering this by organising the United States African Command [Africom], which Gaddafi refused to join.”

Scramble for Africa

ricom over the past year, especially in resource-rich countries in Central and Eastern Africa and the turbulent Sahara desert, appears to support this interpretation. Nick Turse, an American journalist and author who has been investigating Africom, writes on TomDispatch.com (www.tomdispatch.com/ post/175567) that “with the Obama administration clearly engaged in a twenty-first century scramble for Africa, the possibility of successive waves of overlapping blowback grows exponentially…keep your eye on Africa. The US military is going to make news there for years to come.”

It is possible that one of the most significant consequences of flourishing Sino-African relations might be to position the continent as the battleground for US-China oil wars. If so, the potential impact of the geopolitical shift resulting from China’s relations with African countries and the Brics bloc becomes much murkier. Intentions to establish a Brics bank or to unseat the dollar as global trade currency, both of which have been endorsed by South Africa, would certainly de-polarise the global macro-economic landscape. At the same time, they will intensify tensions between the West and China, thus increasing the likelihood of conflict.

Interestingly, it is the opposite scenario that appears to be generating unease among African politicians: the possibility that rather than fighting over Africa, the West and China could join hands to form an unshakeable hegemony. Already, whispers of potential cooperation exist. The Washington DCor based Centre for d Strategic and International d Studies issued a report in No-vember 2011 (http://csis.org/ publication/chinas-emergingglobal-healthand-foreignaid-engagement-africa) laying out the opportunities and challenges for possible China-US collabo-

The recent rapid expansion of Af-

Black Business News International Edition -52- Fall 2012

see ChinAfrica on page 53

ChinAfrica from page 52

ration on health in Africa.

David Shinn, professor of International Affairs at George Washington University and former US ambassador to Ethiopia and Burkina Faso, spoke in the report of the need to “minimise the concerns of some African leaders, who fear that the United States and China may try to gang up on them for their own purposes”.

He reiterated this sentiment in his testimony to the US Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs (http://allafrica.com/stories/201111021230.html), adding that

“there is a tendency in many African countries to want to play China off against the United States in order to obtain an advantage”.

It is this reactive approach to growth, without an emphasis on self-reliance, that ultimately lies at the heart of Africa’s problems.

Heart of the Problem China’s glitzy gift to the African Union, a $200-million building that was unveiled in January 2012, provoked unexpected criticism for being symptomatic of continued African dependence on external powers, despite the continent’s wealth of resources. Rwandan president Paul Kagame stressed that until African countries “strengthen ourselves so that we can deal with our

problems and speak with one voice in defence of our rights”, no foreign involvement in the continent – be it from the West or China – will lead to longterm benefit for Africans.

Chigunta concurs, stating that while the characterisation of Africa and China as partners may arguably have some truth if viewed in comparison to traditional donor dynamics, the partnership remains akin to that of a horse and a rider. “Africa has historically been the horse,” he says.

“The Western rider was very brutal, always beating the horse, whereas the Chinese rider is more subtle, is giving carrots, to get the horse to take him to where the resources are.”

Either way, at the end of the day, Africa gets a raw deal. 

PanAfrican Entrepreneurs Conference Announces November 2012 Launch “The Globalization of the Black Entrepreneur”

P

anAfrican Entrepreneurs Conference (PAEC) president, Kay DeBow, has announced the launch of a new nonprofit global business organization. The first conference convenes in Houston, Texas, during November 15-18, 2012.

PAEC’s mission is to create an arena for entrepreneurs and business people within the Black Diaspora to come meet and further business connections. Also, to suggest policy improvement and issue awareness that will benefit the status of black entrepreneurs internationally. This conference is for entrepreneurs who are doing business or who desire to do business globally.

DeBow, who has served as the Executive Vice President of the National Black Chamber

of Commerce (NBCC) since 1993 states, “This conference is the optimum time to make global connections. It is past time to think about doing business outside the United States. The Diaspora is exploding and we need to reconnect and participate now!”

“The participants of the conference will be listed by NAIC codes and marketed throughout the African Diaspora. Hopefully, it will increase their revenues and significantly grow their businesses”. The NBCC is supporting this historical event.

The conference agenda topics include: agribusiness, technology, infrastructure, energy, water sustainability, logistics, capital access, health care, and the glamour industries of entertainment, fashion and beauty. There will be ample time to network and conduct face-to-face meetings.

The speakers include corporations that are doing business globally.

Notably, Robert Agbede, chairman, president and CEO of Chester Engineers will present on doing business in Africa, Asia and the US. Additionally, we are honored that Prosper Adabla, president and CEO of New Capital Holdings, LTD has agreed to be a presenter.

He is an industrialist, a financial consultant and businessman.

He worked on Wall Street for 15 years and currently serves as Vice President for the Ghana Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Accra. Mr. Adabla will present on innovative financing in the global market.

This event is open to the public and Early Bird registration is available now at www.panafricanec.org.

The PAEC will be held at the luxurious Four Seasons Houston.

There are a limited number of rooms at $155 per night. Hotel reservations can be made at www.panafricanec. org or by calling 1-800-734-4114. 

Black Business News International Edition -53- Fall 2012

Checkbook Diplomacy?

China Pledges $20 Billion in Credit to Africa

C

hinese President Hu Jintao pledged African governments $20 billion in credit over the next three years and called for more China-Africa coordination international affairs to defend against the “bullying” of richer powers.

Hu made the lending pledge during the opening ceremony of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Beijing, July 2012. The credit line is double the amount offered in 2009 at the last forum held in Egypt.

Hu promised more Chinese help for African countries in building agricultural technology centers, training medical and other personnel, and digging wells to expand access to clean water. China will encourage investment and assistance in infrastructure that facilitates trade within Africa, he said.

China has emerged as Africa’s main trading partner and a major source of investment for infrastructure, pouring billions of dollars into roads and developing the energy sector across the continent.

But the loans could add to discomfort in the West, which criticizes China for overlooking human rights abuses in its business South African President Jacob Zuma dealings with Afwith Chinese President Hu Jintao. rica, especially in Beijing’s desire to feed its booming resource-hungry stand together with the African people, and will forever be a good friend, a economy.

Hu brushed off such concerns in his good partner and a good brother”, he speech at the Great Hall of the People, added at the summit held every three attended by leaders including South years since 2000.

Hu also pledged to “continue to exAfrican President Jacob Zuma and Equatorial Guinea’s President Te- pand aid to Africa, so that the benefits odoro Obiang Nguema, a man widely of development can be realized by the condemned by rights groups as one of African people.” He did not provide an amount. the world’s most corrupt leaders.

Hu said the new loans would support “China wholeheartedly and sincerely supports African countries to choose infrastructure, agriculture, manufacturtheir own development path, and will ing and development of small and mewholeheartedly and sincerely support dium-sized businesses in Africa. them to raise their development ability,” ‘Checkbook’ approach Hu said.

China will “continue to steadfastly see Checkbook Diplomacy on page 55

www.lensafrik.com Black Business News International Edition -54- Fall 2012

Checkbook Diplomacy from page 54

Critics say China supports African governments with dubious human rights records as a means to get access to resources.

The EU has rejected what they call China’s “checkbook” approach to doing business with Africa, saying it would continue to demand good governance and the transparent use of funds from its trading partners.

Such criticism draws rebukes from China that the West still views Africa as though it were a colony.

Many African countries say they appreciate China’s no-strings approach to aid.

“Africa’s past economic experience with Europe dictates a need to be cautious when entering into partnerships with other countries,” Zuma told the forum.

“We are particularly pleased that in our relationship with China we are equals and that agreements entered into are for mutual gain,” Zuma added.

“We certainly are convinced that China’s intention is different to that of Europe, which to date continues to intend to influence African countries for their sole benefit.”

China’s friendship with Africa dates back to the 1950s, when Beijing backed liberation movements in the continent

fighting to throw off Western colonial rule.

Growing trade links Chinese state-owned firms in Africa also face criticism for using imported labor to build government-financed projects like roads and hospitals, while pumping out raw resources and processing them in China, leaving little for local economies.

“Certainly quite a number of us are thinking we need to move into more value addition,” South African’s Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies told Reuters.

$166.3 billion in 2011, according to Chinese statistics. In the past decade, African exports to China rose to $93.2 billion from $5.6 billion.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China 601398.SS, for example, the world’s most valuable lender, has invested more than $7 billion in various projects across the continent. 

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report. . http://worldnews.msnbc.msn. com/_news/2012/07/19/12828957checkbook-diplomacy-china-pledges20-billion-in-credit-to-africa?lite

“We need to export mineral products in a more processed form ... We need to bite this bullet very seriously.”

Trade has jumped in the past decade, driven by Chinese hunger for resources to power its economic boom and African demand for cheap Chinese products.

China’s trade with Africa reached

Black Business News International Edition -55- Fall 2012

In the Spotlight

to support my roots in Africa,” he said.

Learn more at www.africa.skenergyshots.com or www. skenergyshots.com.  www.eurweb.com/2012/10/50-cent-seeking-africanentrepreneurs

Rev. Jesse Jackson meets with Gambian President Jammeh

T 50 Cent Seeking African Entrepreneurs

he Gambian President,Yahya Jammeh, has released two jailed US-Gambian citizens, Tamsir Jassey and Amadou Scatred Janneh, following the intervention of the visiting US Civil Rights leader, Reverend Jesse Jackson, local papers in Banjul, the Gambian capital, confirmed Tuesday. After his meeting w with President Jammeh, Rev. Jackson told reporters that he had had discussions with the Gambian leader and pleaded with him on a number of issues, including the release of the two Americans.

Jassey was former police chief in the Gambia who was jailed for 20 years, having been linked to a foiled coup

R

apper 50 Cent is recruiting young entrepreneurs in Africa to be a part of his “Street King” energy drink empire.

He’s searching for new distributors of his energy drink to strengthen his reach and to raise money for starving populations across the continent.

“Giving back to hungry children with every shot we sell is only part of the story. I’ve been fortunate enough to travel across Africa, and one thing I’ve learned is that it is filled with vibrant, young entrepreneurs who are eager to cultivate a sustainable business sector that will fuel growth for their future. That’s why I’m giving African entrepreneurs the chance to bring SK to their country,” 50 said in a statement.

He recently took a tour of Kenya, which was documented by film crews. Unashamed of his ancestral background, the rapper says he is about the growth of Africa and that’s why he’s invested in the continent rather than in Europe or South America.

Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, “Everyone thought that we would Sr., Rainbow/PUSH expand immediately to Europe or Coalition with H.E. Yayha South America. But if you know SK, Jammeh, President, The you know the vision has always been Gambia Black Business News International Edition -56- Fall 2012

see In The Spotlight on page 57

In The Spotlight

African Fashion and Culture Week from page 56

in March 2006. And Janneh was Gambia’s Information and Communication Minister who was later given ‘life imprisonment ‘ by Gambian court for treason.

Both men are American citizens and Jackson was said to have urged the Gambian leader to ‘let them go’.

“They will be leaving for America with us on the mercy of the president, he has allowed them to go,” Jackson was quoted as saying.

Another issue that reportedly came up during the meeting was that of the execution of the death row prisoners.

‘We appealed to the President to please extend the moratorium on the executions to spare their lives. We respect the sovereignty of The Gambia but such an act like continuing executions would be hurtful,’ Jackson said.

On the case of Gambia’s missing journalist, Chief Ebrima Manneh, Jackson said President Jammeh told him that the United Nations was free to investigate the matter if it so wished.  www.afriquejet.com/gambia-jesse-jackson-meetswith-gambian-president-jammeh-2012091945400.html

The mission of African Fashion and Cultural week is to promote Africa positively through Fashion, Entertainment, Tourism and Commerce, at the same time giving grants/aid to organizations which fight to eradicate poverty, HIV and AIDS by providing preventive educational programs to populations at risks of being infected, treatment and care services for those impacted by this devastating disease. Our grant also extends to young innovative entrepreneurs who need a platform to expand their market base and productivity.

The 2012 4-day event is bigger and better than past events as we have put together a solid package of events that will help boost the African tourism and business sector. Top African Fashion designers, poets, painters and music superstars will be participating.

Stakeholders in the entertainment industry and hospitality industry will all converge, share ideas and open windows of new investment opportunities that are abound all around Africa. Culture week includes runway shows, exhibitions and networking between proffesionals in the fashion, culture and business industries. Live performances from poets, musicians and comedians.

Showcasing true African Artwork business opportunities for lovers of Fashion.  www.facebook.com/ AfricanFashionAndCulturalWeekDallas2012

Returning to Africa?

African Repatriation is an invaluable online resource for any African national who is thinking about returning to Africa. Our industry articles and specialist editorials provide the latest sector information. Why not find out for yourself and become a part of our growing community today?

www.africanrepatriation.com

Career Opportunities in Africa Search and apply online for the latest vacancies in Africa with African Talent. We provide candidates and employers with the tools and resources needed in today’s competitive job market. For employers, we offer numerous options to feature your jobs in Africa and for candidates, reviewing the most recent job vacancies in Africa is a fast, easy process. Uploading your CV is simple and takes just a few moments.

www.africantalent.com

Houston to Lagos ď ‘ Lagos to Houston EVERYDAY

List Your Business or Project on Afribiz for FREE! Afribiz.info (www.afribiz.info) serves as the online portal for Afribiz which focuses on catalyzing and growing trade, information, business, technology and innovation, and capital flows between Africa and other global markets, both developed and emerging. Afribiz.info oers information, intelligence, research, media and broadcasting, services, and is the gateway to the Afribiz business ecosystem situated in Africa and around the globe.

Afribiz is opening its business and project directory to those who would like a place to share information on a business or project. Right now, you can list a business or project for free for 2 years. (There is normally a $100 fee).

Note: You must register on the Afribiz site, which is also free. Listing must include a website address for the specific business or project and a business email address not general email addresses like gmail.com or yahoo.com.

One Africa: Tell the US Government that North Africa is Africa Too!

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oin with and support the United Africa Organization’s campaign to petition the U.S. Department of State to include the whole African continent under its Bureau of African Affairs.

Why? The State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs, led by Assistant Secretary Johnnie Carson, currently excludes Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia and Western Sahara from its agenda.

Instead, the aforementioned countries are grouped with the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, together with Iran, Iraq, Israel and others.

This artificial distinction between North Africa and the rest of Africa

negatively impacts US foreign policy relations throughout the entire continent of Africa.

We unequivocally reject the argument that North African countries are outside the scope of African affairs.

North Africa is geographically and historically part of the African continent, and all fifty-three (53) independent African states, including North African countries, are represented in the African Union (AU).

It would be far more productive for the State Department to engage with the entire continent of Africa, including North Africa, under its Bureau of African Affairs.

We are one Africa, from the

Cape to Cairo, indivisible and bound together! Therefore, no square inch of African land should be excluded from African affairs.

Sign The Petition!!!

Go to www.change.org/petitions/ one-africa-tell-us-state-departmentthat-north-africa-is-part-of-africa and sign the online petition to support this important proposition. Next tell everyone you know to sign. 

Black Business News International Edition -59- Fall 2012

www.uniteafricans.org

Glitz Africa Fashion Week Rocks!

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ver 40 designers from across the world participated in the maiden edition of the Glitz Africa Fashion Week (GAFW).

Held in the Ghanaian Capital, Accra from August 17 to 19, the fashion week brought together, a central part of Africa’s best, and some unsigned, yet creative hands from Europe and the Americas.

Ten glittering fashion shows, makeup and celebrity parties, great music, and free seminars led by some of Africa’s high profile names in fashion and business, made up what was an excellent production.

The maiden edition was met with much pessimism but in the end, it proved a workable case study for subsequent editions. Simply put, the Glitz Africa Fashion Week ‘rocked’ beyond the expectation of most fashion enthusiasts.

Awards for Designer of the Year, Model of the Year (male and female), Emerging Designer of the Year, the Lifetime Achievement Award and Best Male Designer were presented to deserving winners.

Over the three-day period, the Accra International Conference Centre venue, beamed and glowed with breathtaking, thought-provoking and avant-garde works, as the participating designers made use of their talents to the admiration of patrons.

The designers including Mai Atafo (Nigeria) who won the overall Best Designer award, Christie Brown (Ghana), PISTIS (Ghana), Mina Evans (Ghana) Sangare Habbib (Cote D’Ivoire), Dake Abaya(US), Ali Adams (Ghana/South Africa) Aya Morrison (Ghana), Modela Couture (Nigeria) Ajepomaa Mensah (Ghana), Diva Delicious (Ghana), Msimps (Ghana), Sa4a (Ghana), Imane Ayissi (Paris) and Alima Bello (Ghana), virtually brought out their A-card.

Others including Alian Martial Tapolo (Paris) Gilles Roland Toure (Cote D’Ivoire), nineteen57 (Ghana), House Of Eccentric (Ghana), Black Pepper

by Thokozani Mbatha (South Africa), Ophelia Crossland Designs (Ghana), N’kya Designs (Ghana/U.K), House of Farrah (Nigeria), Castle Designs and Treasure Chest Jewelry by Dpipertwins (U.S), DEDO (Ghana), Dio Ali ( Cameroon), Ivana Elle Couture( Ghana), Félicien Castermann (Benin), B’XOTIC

Black Business News International Edition -60- Fall 2012

see Glitz Africa on page 61

Glitz Africa from page 60

(Ghana), Vonne Couture (Nigeria), Ani Siyah (Ghana), Peachy Purr (Ghana), Ohema Ohene (U.K ), Wana Sambo Clothing (Nigeria) and Vlisco (Ghana) also succeeded in getting the numbers to the venue.

In its first year, the Glitz Africa Fashion Week seeks to be the go-to destination for Africa’s fashion community.

The organizers say it will be an annual event.

Claudia Lumor, Publisher of Glitz Africa Magazine (http://glitzafrica.com), organizers of the GAFW believes: “One of the biggest and the fastest growing industries in the world is the fashion industry. This is because of the emergence of daring and dynamic young

talents who are not shy to push the boundaries of creativity in the industry.

“The Fashion Industry needs various platforms like fashion weeks to sustain its rate of growth and for various brands to leverage and draw synergy from the glitz and glamour to promote themselves”.

“It has been a thrilling experience of self-belief, planning and pushing boundaries to see this come true”.

There is no doubt the Glitz Africa Fashion Week passed its first test. The organizers can only pat themselves on the back for a good job done considering the fact that this was their first try.  http://african.howzit.msn.com/ glitz-africa-fashion-week-rocks

Black Business News International Edition -61- Fall 2012

The UN reports that at the Kobe refugee camp in Ethiopia, an average of 10 children under the age of five has died every day.

Twenty years ago, I witnessed firsthand the devastation of another famine in Somalia. Two decades later, International Medical Corps has built vast networks of staff and partners on the ground, who as you read this, are responding to this crisis. Our efforts are working – but so many more vulnerable people need to be reached.

With our partners, Wings of Help, Lufthansa, and International Relief Teams, we airlifted 90 tons of medicine, food, and humanitarian supplies to East Africa, where we are distributing them to the families and children who need it most. We’re in the camps, providing care and nutrition to refugees and we’re expanding our existing op-

SOMALIA CRISIS

erations outside of the camps to reach drought-affected communities.

We know we can count on your support because you’ve already shown how much you care – please, give today and help us relieve their suffering.

You can make a difference It’s time to act. Visit our website at http://internationalmedicalcorps. org. Your donation today can save lives and relieve their suffering.

community mobilization, nutrition screening, micronutrient supplementation, and vaccination and medical referrals •Delivered nutrition supplies, including ready-to-use foods and nutrition equipment such as height boards and weighing scales, to local health centers •Trained 20 community health workers, 12 community nutrition workers, and 12 health care providers

What We Are Doing

ETHIOPIA •Screened more than 5,000 children and mothers at the Kobe refugee camp.

•Constructed 136 latrines, with an additional 200 planned •Preparing feeding program for mothers and children between 6 months and 5 years-old in two additional camps

SOMALIA •Screened 5,761 children for malnutrition at International Medical Corpssupported sites •Trained Ministry of Health staff on

KENYA •Deepening current operations in Garissa, the Rift Valley, Isiolo, and Tana River – drought affected communities outside of the camps

Thank you, Stephen Tomlin, Vice President, Program Policy and Planning International Medical Corps

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) agency is seeking US$144,954,431 in funds for emergency relief in the host countries of Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya, which are themselves hard hit by the drought. Many refugees walk for weeks to reach aid in neighboring countries. Some do not survive the harsh journey; the weakest children die along the way as their mothers watch helplessly. Those refugees who make it to Kenya or Ethiopia’s camps arrive exhausted, dehydrated and severely malnourished. Child deaths are alarmingly high.

The refugees urgently need medical aid and high-protein, high-energy food. They also need clean water, shelter and basic services in the camps. Please visit www. unhcr.org. and donate today.

Black Business News International Edition -62- Fall 2012

gency phase behind us and turning completely towards sustainable human development while never, of course, overlooking those in urgent need of aid.

Maison Shalom is unique because of the holistic approach of all its activities.

It monitors the children it helps even after their reintegration into the community, to ensure that everything’s going well. Its activities include all areas of integrated and sustainable development : health, education, culture, justice and income-generation. The focus is on agricultural and pastoral activities, the livelihood of over 90% of the population.

Restoring Children’s Dignity Since its inception by Marguerite Barankitse in 1993, Maison Shalom (House of Peace) has done all in its power to restore dignity to war or AIDS orphans, street children, young children and babies in prison (infants with their mothers), and the children of poverty-stricken parents. Since first taking charge of 25 war orphans in 1993, Maison Shalom has come to the aid of more than 20,000 orphans and other needy children.

As peace returns to Burundi, Maison Shalom has gradually changed its ap-

Involving the Socioeconomic, Political and Religious Players proach. We no longer wait for children in need to come to us: we go to them.

A Community Approach Our almost 18 years of experience working with vulnerable children have taught us that the best way to help them efficiently and sustainably is to develop the community in which they live. In addition to children, other categories of people – mothers with nursing difficulties caused by malnutrition and poor sick people – turn to Maison Shalom for assistance.

The root of the problem is obviously the extreme poverty of the families. We have therefore adopted a community approach. We go to the families and help them develop to the point of selfsufficiency.

Towards Sustainable Human Development We have moved on, leaving the emer-

Maison Shalom works in all Burundi’s provinces and in its neighbouring countries (Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo). In addition to our day-to-day work, it is our duty to call on all those involved in socio-economic, political and religious life to make an effort to restore dignity to our brothers and sisters in Burundi and to put a smile back on their faces: we want to set a living example of integrated development.

We’re Convinced With our unshakeable belief in the success of our mission, our determination and the friendship of our partners and friends who hold us dear and support us, we are convinced that our dream to see every Burundian lead a decent life will come true.

Make A Donation www.maisonshalom.org/en/19/donation 

Black Business News International Edition -64- Fall 2012

International Trade Calendar South African International Trade Exhibition 15 Jul-17 Jul 2012 Gallagher Convention Centre Midrand, South Africa

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outhern African International Trade Exhibition (SAITEX ) 2012 is dedicated to import/ export and covers all the major sectors of trade in Africa. The event has been organized by Exhibition Management Services who are in charge of conducting this exhibition

take place at Gallagher Convention Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa. 

16th FOODAGRO Kenya International Trade Exhibition on Food, Hotel & Kitchen

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he 16th FOODAGRO Kenya International Trade Exhibition on Food, Hotel & Kitchen, concurrently held with Kenya Trade Exhibition (KITE).

The event is all set to present over 10,000 products, equipment and machinery from over 20 countries.

The number of exhibitors and visitors in 2012 is expected to rise by at least 20% since an aggressive campaign has been launched while celebrating the event’s 16th birthday. Trade visitors from all over East & Central African countries are being invited directly and in collaboration with several regional trade bodies in Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Uganda, Somalia, Mozambique & Congo.

Though Kenya by itself is one of the biggest markets in Africa, major emphasis is being laid upon attracting traders and importers from neighboring countries.

The experience and comments of exhibitors at previous events indicate substantial gains from unexpected foreign visitors and we strongly feel that a rise in such statistics would ensure business specially for the foreign participants who form almost 80 - 85% of the exhibition. 

KICC Nairobi, Kenya 06-08 October 2012 since its establishment in 1993. Due to the success of previous event which attracted over 600 exhibiting companies from 32 countries, this year’s exhibition is already creating a sense of anticipation amongst the major traders in the continent. The visitor count has been improving over the years at this trade fair and it is estimated that this year’s event will play host to over 12,000 visitors from 42 countries. At the event local & international manufacturers and exporters will get a chance to assemble under one roof which is bound to create tremendous trading opportunities. The event will Black Business News International Edition -65- Fall 2012

Africa Electricity Johannesburg, South Africa 23-25 October 2012

see Trade Calendar on page 66

International Trade Calendar and Energy and the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) In an increasingly digital age, exhibitions are the only medium where buyer, seller and product physically come together - a potent force for business. Africa Electricity will deliver a cost-effective sales and marketing platform and aims to deliver business contacts that create value for each and every customer. 

POWER-GEN Africa Johannesburg South Africa 6-8 November 2012

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A

frica Electricity is the meeting place for international suppliers of products and services that will help the South African region develop its utilities sector to facilitate and address the challenging issues of meeting demand, energy efficiency, distribution, transmission, generation, security of supply and cost efficiency.

With power generation capacity significantly below meeting consumer and industrial requirements there are clear challenges in relieving the pressure on the national grid. With rising costs of electricity, all consumers of energy across the board must seriously consider becoming more energy efficient in order to increase the reserve margin on the grid and make room for growth through expansion and new loads.

South Africa has numerous projects planned or underway to provide for the future growth in demand for power, including the mixed energy use options and demand reduction targets as set out by the Department of Minerals

he first annual POWER-GEN Africa conference and exhibition will take place in Johannesburg, Republic of South Africa, on 6-8 November 2012. This exciting inaugural event will host dignitaries from around the world who will share their expertise and experiences to help define the energy sector of the future.

POWER-GEN Africa is set to become the region’s premier conference programme dedicated to the power industry. It will also provide the perfect opportunity to mix with high flying

continues to experience rapid growth and development, driving the need for more widespread and reliable electricity. With POWER-GEN Africa’s conference and exhibition focusing on all aspects of the power industry and bringing together the world’s leading power equipment suppliers with those developing power infrastructure in this dynamic region of the world, this is one event you cannot afford to miss.

With reserve margins virtually nonexistent in the Sub-Saharan Africa region, leading to blackout and load shedding scenarios, the region faces the real prospect of inadequate energy infrastructure acting as a brake on current and future economic growth.

In tackling these problems, the region also faces a great shortage in the area of trained engineering professionals.

POWER-GEN Africa targets those who work in the utility and private power sectors, engineering and commercial personnel from the equipment manufacturing and consulting fields. POWER-GEN Africa addresses professionals from energy intensive industries with responsibility for ensuring power supply, and officials and ministers from the national and regional political spheres who are tasked with energy policy.

The three day event will feature a three-track conference and an exhibition with many of the leading suppliers from both the International and African power sectors demonstrating their latest technologies.

For information visit www.mbendi. com/pennwell/events/e8f6.htm. 

Africa Fairtrade Convention industry leaders and keep abreast of the latest developments in the SubSaharan region in the field of power and energy.

The inaugural POWER-GEN Africa will provide comprehensive coverage of the power needs, resources, and issues facing the electricity generation industries across Sub-Saharan Africa.

Global attention is being paid to Africa’s power requirements as the continent

Global Hotel Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 1-5 November 2012

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thiopia is host country of the third Africa Fairtrade Convention (AFC). Over 250 small-scale producers, workers, traders, NGOs and

Black Business News International Edition -66- Fall 2012

see Trade Calendar on page 67

World Africa

International Trade Calendar other stakeholders will gather in Addis Ababa at the beginning of November to learn, network and do business.

Focus this year will be on strengthening the position of the producers in the value chain. With the renewed attention to agriculture as a major driver of development, this is the right time for producer

organisations position themselves as key actors. By increasing their participation in the process, producers will be able to enhance their bargaining power – leading to an increase of salaries, a productivity boost, and an overall improvement of livelihoods. The Africa Fairtrade Convention

puts African small-scale farmers and workers at the centre of the empowerment debate.

After successful editions in Zimbabwe and Ghana, the AFC is becoming a firm fixture on the agricultural development agenda. The multi-day event provides a platform for relevant actors to discuss how better trade conditions can help improve the livelihoods of African farmers and workers. Apart from the Fairtrade Africa Forum, participants can also take part in workshops and field trips or attend the Fairtrade & Organic Expo.

The event is organised by Fairtrade Africa.

Fairtrade is an international movement that works to protect and support small-scale farmers and workers in the South. Today, Fairtrade Africa supports over 700,000 farmers and workers through 310 producer organisations in 29 countries across the continent. 

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enewable Energy World Africa will be launched alongside POWER-GEN Africa 2012 on 6 – 8 November 2012, at the Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg, South

Renewable Energy

International Edition

Black Business News

Sandton Convention Center Johannesburg South Africa 6-8 November 2012

International Edit

ion

Black Business News

Serving the Globa

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Fall 2008 USD$5.00

Contents Corporate Givin

g: EOY charita opportunities in health, education, ble ing, and more. housTourism:

Investment in Africa’ s tourism industry is active, all across the contin vital and is evident ent.

Feature Articles: “Strategies For Cons Engagement with tructisve the African Diaspora ” “Diaspora Enga gement: Remittances & Beyond”

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Africa, with a dedicated conference stream featuring three days of presentations and debate about the strategic challenges and technical solutions for expanding renewable energy power generation across sub-Saharan Africa.

Exhibitors will have a dedicated Renewable Energy World Africa pavilion on the show floor which will be a focus of expertise and global technological excellence in the green energy sector.

Countries in sub-Saharan Africa today face a collective power deficit with the prospect of fast growing future demand. Renewable power generation offers huge potential to help close this gap in a continent with abundant

Black Business News International Edition -67- Fall 2012

see Trade Calendar on page 68

International Trade Calendar renewable resources and space.

With technology advancing quickly and manufacturing costs lowering, renewable power generation will play a big role in a new energy infrastructure in Africa offering solutions in both rural distributed applications and large-scale projects such as hydropower, CSP, wind and biomass.

Africa is participating in the fast emerging renewable energy market, with investment in alternative energy source, growing from $750 million in 2004 to $3.6 billion in 2011. South Africa has recently announced its rules about renewable energy and plans to install 8400 MW of solar photovoltaic over the next 20 years, which together with another 1000 MW of concentrated solar power technology, theoretically will provide in excess of 60,000 jobs.

South Africa is holding five tenders to allocate 3725 MW valued around $12 billion over the next two years. By 2030, the country aims to lift renewable sources to 8% of the energy mix, up from less than 1% now. 

AfricaCom 2012 International Convention Center Cape Town, South Africa 13-15 November

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he digital ecosystem will take centre stage at AfricaCom 2012, at the Cape Town International Convention Centre,

November 13-15, 2012.

Network with over 7,000 industry executives at Africa’s largest event embracing all aspects of the continent’s converging telecoms, media and ICT sectors.

Incorporating 11 co-located events all pertinent to futureproofing your business in the digital era, including cloud computing, OTT, apps, broadband a n d multiplatform content, see and hear how Africa’s communications market is a hotbed for innovation and long term prosperity. www.comworldseries. com/africa 

BUILDEXPO WEST AFRICA 2012 Dakar International Fair Grounds, Senegal 29 Nov - 03 Dec

A

s a result of overwhelming exhibitor demand, South African based Exhibition Management Services (EMS) will

be launching the West African International Trade Exhibition for Retail Products (WAITEX) in the country’s capital, Lagos, from 8 to 10 May 2012.

The Event is all set to present over 10,000 products, equipment and machinery from over 18 countries.

The number of exhibitors and visitors in 2012 is expected to rise by at least 20% since an aggressive campaign has been launched. 

The West African International Trade Exhibition for Retail Products (WAITEX) Zinnia Hall, Eko Hotel and Suits Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria Dates TBD

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s a result of overwhelming exhibitor demand, South African based Exhibition Management Services (EMS) will be launching the West African International Trade Exhibition for Retail Products (WAITEX) in the country’s capital, Lagos, from 8 to 10 May 2012.

“This show will be modelled on our phenomenally successful Southern African International Trade Exhibition (SAITEX), held in Johannesburg annually for the last 18 years,” say EMS

Black Business News International Edition -68- Fall 2012

see Trade Calendar on page 69

International Trade Calendar Managing Director John Thomson. This year’s SAITEX show attracted almost 500 exhibitors, with 54 countries participating.

“SAITEX’s many international clients have requested a

spreading out into the continent,” says Bill Repard, interim committee member of the Australian African Mining Group.

Nigeria garners the greatest proportion of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Africa. FDI inflows have grown enormously over the last decade, from $1,14-billion in 2001 to $11-billion in 2009, according to United Nations Committee for Trade and Development.

This makes Nigeria the 19th biggest recipient of FDI in the world.

Growing International Trade with Economic Giants similar platform to access the booming West Africa market,” he continues.

Thomson is upbeat and excited about the opportunities that WAITEX offers and explains the rationale for hosting the event in Nigeria. “The facts all weigh in Nigeria’s favour,” he says. “Nigeria is Africa’s most populous nation and is the continent’s second-biggest economy; growing at an incredible 10% per year by the time WAITEX takes place in 2012.”

Nigeria has jumped three places in global GDP rankings, rising from 44th place in 2009 to 41st this year. “EMS is well-positioned to host the WAITEX; it’s one of the longest established event organisers in Southern Africa, and is the only exhibitions company on the continent with experience in delivering Pan African exhibition programmes,” adds Thomson.

Analysts predict that Nigeria will be the world’s fastest growing economy between now and 2050.

With its soaring consumer demand, a growing middle class, high net inflows of capital investment and strong growth in agriculture, distribution, telecommunications, manufacturing and the retail trade, it is no surprise that Nigeria was recently declared one of the top three investment destinations in Africa by the independent Africa Business Panel in The Netherlands.

“The investment tide is flowing into Africa, and a growing number of international companies have been

More countries are increasing their trade with Nigeria. Trade between Nigeria and China reached an all-time high this year of $7,76-billion, and Nigeria is China’s fourth largest trade partner and second largest export market in Africa.

Bi-lateral trade between Nigeria and India also hit record highs in 2011, reaching $14,6-billion by year end March 31, a massive rise of over 40% from $8,7-billion in fiscal 2010.

Nigeria’s GDP reached $377,9-billion according to 2010 estimates, placing it in 32nd spot in the world, compared to the 2009 estimate of $348,7-billion. 

Trade Mission to Egypt & Kuwait March 10-14, 2013

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he U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration, U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service is organizing a Trade Mission to

explore opportunities in the energy, renewable energy, infrastructure and safety and security technology sectors in Cairo, Egypt and Kuwait City, Kuwait.

The mission will help participating firms gain market insights, make industry contacts, solidify business strategies, and advance specific projects, with the goal of increasing U.S. exports to Egypt and Kuwait.

The mission will include one-on-one business appointments with prescreened potential buyers, agents, distributors and joint venture partners; meeting with national and regional government officials; and networking events. Participating in an official U.S. industry delegation, rather than traveling to Egypt and Kuwait on their own, will enhance the companies’ ability to secure meetings in these countries.

Egypt is strategically located at the gateway of trade for Africa and the Middle East. It is a prime location for the transit of goods, as well as a key destination for American companies seeking to do business in the region. Kuwait is situated in the north western corner of the Arabian Peninsula, a strategic position in this vital region.

The economy is dominated by the oil industry and government sector, and the country has benefited from the sharp rise of oil prices in recent years.

If you have any questions regarding the Egypt and Kuwait trade mission, please contact Anne Novak at 202-482-8178 or Anne.

Novak@trade.gov or Salahuddin Tauhidi at 202-482-1322 or Salahuddin.Tauhidi@trade.gov.

To apply for this mission, please download and complete the mission application provided in this site and send via email to Anne.Novak@ trade.gov. The application deadline is December 14, 2012. 

Black Business News International Edition -69- Fall 2012

http://export.gov/trademissions/ egyptkuwait

Books to Consider...

The Cultural Unity of Black Africa

by Cheikh Anta Diop

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Black Africa: The Economic and Cultural Basis for a Federated State

Cheikh Anta Diop

by Cheikh Anta Diop

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his is the book that best expresses Diop’s political aims and objectives. In it he argues that only a united and federated African state will be able to overcome underdevelopment. This critical work constitutes a rational study of not only Africa’s cultural, historic and geographic Cheikh Anta Diop unity, but of Africa’s potenin his laboratory tial for energy development and industrialization. Diop argues for the need to build a capable continental army, able to de- on the formation of a federated and unifend the continent and its people and fied Africa, culturally and otherwise, are proposes a plan for the development of surmised to be the only way for Africa Africa’s raw materials and industrializa- to become the power in the world that tion. All these factors combined, based she should rightfully be. 

iop attempted to demonstrate that the African peoples shared certiain commonalities, including language roots and other cultural elements like regicide, circumcision, totems, etc. These he held, formed part of a tapestry that laid the basis for African cultural unity, that could assist in throwing off colonialism. Perhaps Diop’s greatest achievement is his insistence in placing Nile Valley peoples in their local and African context, drawing a picture of a stable, ancient population deriving much of its genetic inheritance from that context, as opposed to attempts to split, cluster, subdivide, define and regroup them into other contexts. Diop attempted to demonstrate that the African peoples shared certain commonalities, including language roots and other cultural elements like regicide, circumcision, totems, etc.

These he held, formed part of a tapestry that laid the basis for African cultural unity, that could assist in throwing off colonialism.  see Books to Consider on page 71

American Chambers of Commerce Abroad (AmChams)

www.uschamber.com/international Black Business News International Edition -70- Fall 2012

Books to Consider from page 70

Satisfying Zambian Hunger for Culture: Social Change in the Global World

by Mwizenge S. Tembo

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e Zambians (as well as those from other African nations) are experiencing tremendous social change, cultural tensions, and sometimes confusion during the years since our political independence. Many people migrated into the cities and professionals immigrated and scattered abroad in a growing Diaspora. Many non-Zambians have visited and have fallen in love with Zambia. Many Zambians have intermarried among the 72 tribes and have married partners from abroad from different races and ethnic groups. The diversity of the Zambian culture has created a cultural crisis, a void or vacuum, tension, ambivalence, and turmoil among most Zambians and especially their younger children.

The disorientation and cultural confusion that started during British colonialism in the late 1890s has been worsened due to the demands of globalization and rapid social change.

The chapters include how girls and women, boys and men were brought up in traditional Zambia and the influence of urbanization.

How Zambians identify themselves and naming customs, parenting, kinship, nshima and other traditional foods and meals including

various relishes, and eating customs. There are discussions of Zambian traditional dances, traditional medicine, causes of disease, illness and healing, the role of religion, Christianity, witchcraft and spirituality. How did multiparty democracy develop?

Some traditional philosophical ideas are discussed in relation to contemporary life.

All of these and other topics are explored with discussions on how Zambians can lead better lives

today using some of the traditional culture and technology and combining them with what is positive from modern influences. There are some very clear recommendations on how we can strengthen our lives today. These are the issues that

the author and the contributors hope Zambians and others will adopt in their lives.

The book: “Satisfying Zambian Hunger for Culture” is not intended to simply sit on the shelf after reading it but to be both educational and provide broad everyday guidelines to all readers in improving the lives of adults, children, and families of Zambians and all the people who have a deep interest in Zambian culture and life. The book is meant to encourage Zambians inside and outside the country to hold family and community contemplative conversations about Zambian culture and technology.

For example raising Zambians from girls to women might involve the ChiNamwali or Chisungu puberty rite of passage ceremony.

The raising of boys to men which might include the Zambian mukanda rite of passage ritual of puberty for boys in rural, urban areas in Zambia as well as among Zambian communities in the diaspora. Many older Zambian men might be asked to get involved and volunteer to be bashibukombe or mentors for boys in men’s groups all over Zambia and abroad. The book also encourages Zambians to get involved in traditional dances and to try eating some of the neglected but quiet delicious and nutritious traditional Zambian relishes with nshima. There are many other recommendations that will interest most Zambians and millions of other people that might have an interest in Zambian culture.

Along with Professor Mwizenge S. Tembo, 3 other writers contributored in the book: Ms. Ruth Mugala in Zambia, Ms. Claire Miti in the United Kingdom, and Mr. James Mwape in the United States.  www.amazon.com www.barnesandnoble.com

Books for Africa Donate a Desk to Students in Malawi

B

ooks For Africa (www.booksforafrica.org) has a simple mis-

sion. We collect, s o r t , s h i p , and distribute books to children in Africa. Our goal: to end the book famine in Africa.

Since 1988, BFA has shipped over 24 million high-quality text and library books to children and adults in 45 African countries. Millions more are needed.

It costs $9,800 to send a sea container to most major sea ports of books and computers to Africa. Your donation will enable Books For Africa to send even more books to children in Africa who are hungry to read, hungry to learn. 

E

very day, millions of children throughout Africa struggle to learn while sitting on the floor or on the ground outdoors. Giving them a desk, where they can write and concentrate, is a great step towards creating an educational system that attracts, and keeps, eager young students.

Support the U.S. Fund for UNICEF (www.unicefusa.org) and MSNBC’s “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell” in an ambitious campaign called K.I.N.D.: Kids in Need of Desks to provide 46,000 desks for 172 schools in UNICEF Malawi’s Schools for Africa network.

By making a tax-deductible dona-

tion to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, you can pick one or more students up off the ground and help pave their way to a better education and brighter future.

A gift of: • $24 can pick one student off the floor; • $48 will buy a desk and bench for two students; • $720 will furnish an entire class of 30.

The program is a component of the UNICEF Schools for Africa campaign which aims to accelerate access to quality basic education for children, with a special focus on girls, orphans and vulnerable children. 

ASSIST THE PEOPLE OF SOUTH SUDAN Sudan Sunrise Help Build Schools in the South Sundan www.sudansunrise.org

S

outh Sudan is the most underdeveloped region of the world today. 85% of the population in South Sudan is illiterate. Only about 7% of teachers in the south have any professional training, and it is not uncommon to visit a school where the teachers themselves have not been educated beyond fourth grade. Some 1.5 million children who should be in school are not, due to lack of schools. The majority of schools that do exist consist of a chalkboard under a tree. Read about the camapign and contribute to the program to build over 41 schools at www.sudansunrise.org.

Southern Sudan Literacy Project (SSLP) Build a Primary School • www.thehopealliance.org/?q=node/77

T

he Southern Sudan Literacy Project (SSLP) is designed to build a Primary school in Dongchak Payam, Duk County, Southern Sudan. Solomon Awan, who was one of the “Lost Boys from Sudan,” now lives in Salt Lake City, Utah.

He desires to help the village he is from, Duk Padiet. Villagers are just now returning after so many years of war and genocide. During the Spring of 2008, Solomon traveled back to his home village where he was reunited with his mother and sister. He met with the village community and agreed that the education of their children is the most critical need. We hope to finish building the school before the 2011 rainy season. To further this goal, SSLP has partnered with Hope Alliance, allowing our donors the benefit of a tax deduction. Please help SSLP accomplish this worthwhile project: send donations to The Hope Alliance (www.thehopealliance.org) For further information please contact: solomonawan@ yahoo.com.  Black Business News International Edition -72- Fall 2012

This is an official warning from the African Union, an intergovernmental and continental organization with its headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

I

t has come to our attention that an organization calling itself the AFRICAN UNION CHAMBER OF COMMERCE is using the name AFRICAN UNION (AU) AND THE AFRICAN UNION LOGO AND WEBSITE and claiming to be part of or an institution of the African Union. The said organization has been alleged to have solicited money from the wider public in order to render certain services or to provide access to identified goods or services.

We would like to warn people worldwide that the AFRICAN UNION has no connection whatsoever with the so called African Union Chamber of Commerce. The said organization is not part of or an institution of the African Union and is not recognized by the African Union. The use of the name, logo and website of the African Union by the said organization is not authorized by the African Union and is therefore illegal. The African Union disassociates itself from any misrepresentations, statements or communication in whatever form and manner made by this organization purporting to be an agent of or part of the African Union.

The African Union will not accept any liability in respect of any representation or misrepresentation, communication, transaction, losses or damages incurred by any member of the public arising from any act of commission or omission or utterance perpetrated by the so called African Union Chamber of Commerce.

The AU as the copyright holder will take appropriate action against the said organization. 

Strategic Objectives African Union Commission Strategic Plan 2009-2012 1. Reduce conflicts to achieve continental security and stability; 2. Achieve the necessary continental security and stability as a prerequisite for Africa’s development and integration; 3. Promote sustainable economic development; 4. Promote sustainable social and human development; 5. Formulate frameworks for developing and sharing Africa’s Statistics, and Research & Development capacities; 6. Enhance continental integration; 7. Build and foster continental and global cooperation; 8. Promote good governance, democracy and human rights; 9. Strengthen the Africa-wide humanitarian response and action; 10. Promote Inter-African solidarity; 11. Promote African Cultural Renaissance and the protection of Africa’s cultural heritage; 12. Promote the active participation and contribution of all segments of the African society in Africa’s development and integration; 13. Promote the ratification and entry into force of all outstanding legal instruments adopted by the Assembly of the Union; 14. Promote gender equality; 15. Strengthen the capacity and enhance the operational efficiency and effectiveness of the African Union Commission; 16. Promote synergies, linkages and good working relations with all Africa Union Organs; 17. Promote effective cooperation and collaboration with Member States and the Regional Economic Communities; 18. Promote strategic partnerships for leveraging sustainable sources of funding and comparative advantages.

www.african-union.org

Black Business News International Edition -73- Fall 2012

Trade Advertisers Wedgywall™ Modelar Panel and Exhibit System Rentals •Durable double-sided, seamless panels •Sets up in seconds •No visible hardware •Manufactured in the USA

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Kasamore International Calling Card Low Rates for International Calls & Domestic Calls No Contract • No Fees Quaranteed High Quality Sound

www.kasamore.com 1-866-507-7144 http://angola.org/newsletter/Imbondeiro.pdf Black Business News International Edition -74- Fall 2012

The

Congolese Community of Southern California

invites all of us to take part in the campaign to End the Violence, End the Genocide, End the Rape, End the Exploitation taking place in the Democratice Republic of the Congo Now!.

Watch the video record of the recent public protest held in Los Angeles, California. Then become a supportor and an activist for freedom - contact is

Watch & Support the Africa Channel!

Time Warner Don’t have the Africa Channel in your area? Call Time Warner at: 1-888-8922253 and ask that the Africa Channel be broadcast to your area.

For information on the Africa Channel visit www.theafricachannel.com or send an e-mail inquiry to info@theafricachannel.com.

congolesecommunity@ gmail.com www.cneworld.tv/live Black Business News International Edition -75- Fall 2012

Making it easy to Buy Black. Supporting Black job creation. Decreasing the wealth gap. Yeah, we do all that! www.ujamaadeals.com The Ujamaa Difference for Black-owned Businesses

Buy Black!

Daily discounts from Black-owned companies Support cooperative economics and job creation It’s simple. Black unemployment is at least 2x the national level (the official estimate is about 16.7%, but the real rate is closer to 30%). Black-owned businesses are 85% more likely to hire Black employees than non-Black-owned businesses.

So the most efficient use of our consumer dollars to increase Black employment and decrease the wealth gap is to support Black-owned businesses.

Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics): To build and maintain our own stores, shops and other businesses and to profit from them together.

Apply now to run a deal and have your business promoted

by Ujamaa Deals

To learn about daily deals

Ethiopian Airlines Now in the Star Alliance

www.ethiopianairlines.com

Black Business News International Edition -76- Fall 2012

Online Videos Offer Businesses the Basics of Exporting A new series of 12 online videos offer exporters another tool in learning about the technical aspects of exporting and dealing with the intricacies of trade rules and paperwork.

In these videos, viewers see Trade Information Center (TIC) trade specialists, explaining how to fill out a NAFTA Certificate of Origin. The presenters in the videos all do customer-facing work for their Department of Commerce agencies and, thus, are intimately familiar with the subject matter of each video.

The 12 export training videos are available on the Web at www.census.gov/foreign-trade/aes/ exporttraining/videos. Each video runs about three or four minutes and can be viewed online or downloaded for off-line viewing.

For additional sources of export counseling, contact the Trade Information Center at 1-800-USA-TRAD(E) (1-800-872-8723); www. export.gov.

T

he Africa F i l m

A c a d e m y in its quest to enhance c a p a c i t y in different aspects of film making and promote the growth of the motion picture industry is set to train over 1000 youths across Africa via Film-In-ABox, a practical, hands on training school established to equip aspiring and emerging film makers with requisite skills needed to succeed in the film industry.

The first in the series of Film-In-A-Box trainings scheduled across the continent was held on the 25th26th of February in Lagos, Nigeria.

The workshop with the theme SO YOU WANT TO ACT? ran master classes led by notable resource persons and industry leaders which included multiple award winners and two-time AMAA winners, Joke Silva and Kunle Afolayan. Other resource persons included Mildred Okwo, Sonny Mcdon among others.

The training modules covered Basic Legal Knowledge for Actors, Acting, Script Interpretation, Image Management, Make-Up among others. Debbin, a renowned industry photographer, coordinated a photo shoot for all participants.

The workshops according to Ms. Peace AnyiamOsigwe offer a basic foundational knowledge for any young man and woman interested in pursuing an educational or professional career in acting. For information on future workshops contact Tolani@ ama-awards.com, Ken@ama-awards.com or call 07092641859, 07092634884. 

Black Business News International Edition -77- Fall 2012

You can make deposits directly into your Imbongi Capital Account either via Electronic Funds Transfer or via a Cash Deposit into our third party payment processing account or at any vendor displaying the Imbongi Capital logo. Unfortunately no cheque deposits will be accepted.

Debit orders can be established against this account provided that the service provider who raises the Debit Order does so via Capital Computer Bureau (Pty) Ltd. Stop orders can be set-up and managed on this account using your mobile phone application.

Third party payments (including to other banks) can be made using Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) from your Mobile phone or the Internet bank facility provided by Imbongi Capital.

Your Salary may be deposited directly via EFT into your Imbongi Capital account.

World Trade Centre 1st Floor Office Suites Crystal Towers Rialto Road Century City 7441

Money can be withdrawn from ATM’s (using any bank’s ATM) with your Imbongi Capital card.

Debit Card purchases can be made at all vendors displaying the Maestro MasterCard Logo (these are in store purchases at POS (Point of Sales terminals).

Imbongi Capital reception: +27 21 551 7170 Imbongi Capital fax: 086 562 86 36

Pay any vendor that display the Imbongi Capital logo, using your mobile application.

A text chat facility, to communicate with friends, family and other users of Imbongi Capital.

The ability to purchase Airtime, Electricity and several other value add services directly from your Imbongi Capital accoun

www.imbongi.co.za Information about Imbongi Capital : info@imbongi.co.za

Black Business News International Edition -78- Fall 2012

African Stock Exchanges • Bolsa de Valores of Cape Verde - www.bvc.cv (in Portuguese) • Bond Exchange of South Africa - www.bondexchange. co.za • Botswana Stock Exchange www.bse.co.bw • Bourse Regionale des Valeurs Mobilieres - UEMOA (Abidjan, Ivory Coast) - www.brvm.org • Casablanca Stock Exchange (Morocco) - www.casablancabourse.com/bourseweb/index. aspx • Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (Tanzania) - www. dse.co.tz • Douala Stock Exchange (Cameroon) - www.douala-stock-

•

•

•

•

•

•

• Focused on ways the African Diaspora can participate and support the African Union’s Sixth Region initiative.

For participation information contact: David J. Saunders, Program Director 202-371-0588; or intern_cfa@yahoo.com

• •

exchange.com/ index_us.php The Egyptian Exchange www.egx.com. eg/English/ homepage.aspx Ethiopia Commodity Exchange - www. ecx.com.et Ghana Stock Exchange - www. gse.com.gh Johannesburg Stock Exchange (South Africa) www.jse.co.za/Home.aspx Khartoum Stock Exchange (Sudan, in Arabic) - www.kse. com.sd Libyan Stock Market - www. lsm.ly/_layouts/membership/ login.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fEnglis h%2fPages%2fdefault.aspx Lusaka Stock Exchange (Zambia) - www.luse.co.zm Nairobi Stock Exchange (Kenya) - www.luse.co.zm Malawi Stock Exchange - www. mse.co.mw

Pan-African CHILDREN’S FUND

people-to-people, church-to-church initiative to contribute to a better future for the children of Africa

UPS WorldShip™

Your Desktop Guide Through International Shipping Preparation Download Free Software www.ups.com

• Mozambique Stock Exchange (in Portuguese) - www. bolsadevalores.co.mz • Namibian Stock Exchange www.nsx.com.na • Nigerian Stock Exchange www.nse.com.ng/Pages/default. aspx • Stock Exchange of Mauritius www.stockexchangeofmauritius. com • Swaziland Stock Exchange www.ssx.org.sz • Tunisia Stock Exchange - www. bvmt.com.tn • Uganda Securities Exchange www.use.or.ug Read the last issue of The Exchange Magazine www.nse.co.ke/media-center/ecommunique/exchange-magazine/ category/50-free-version.html)

Please send your contribution to:

Pan-African Children’s Fund P.O. Box 8386 Los Angeles, CA 90008

323-733-1048 pacf@westa.org Black Business News International Edition -79- Fall 2012

Reach Thousands of Leaders in World Business and Government YOUR LINK TO THE GLOBAL AFRICAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY (GAEC)

Black Business News International Edition

The Black Business Association, SBA 2007 Journalist of the Year, is pleased to invite you to be an integral part of our publication. Black Business News - International. The BBN-I is the oƥcial voice of the BBA through which public and private entities advertise business and investment opportunities to gain access to a highly aƫuent target market via outreach and advertising opportunities.

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