Business24 Newspaper 15th January, 2021 by Business24 Online

FRIDAY JANUARY 15, 2021

THEBUSINESS24ONLINE.NET

FRIDAY JANUARY 15, 2021

NO. B24 / 146 | NEWS FOR BUSINESS LEADERS

Analyst: excess liquidity could push inflation higher

FDA vows to enforce ban on unregistered imports By Eugene Davis ugendavis@gmail.com

he Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) will strictly enforce the prohibition of importation of unregistered products beginning next month, the Deputy CEO responsible for its Food Division, Roderick Daddey-Adjei, has said. Cont’d on page 3

Transit-in-AfCFTA: ‘Review port charges to entice Sahelian partners’ By Patrick Paintsil p_paintsil@hotmail.com

By Joshua Worlasi Amlanu macjosh1922@gmail.com

urrent levels of excess liquidity could push inflation further above the medium-term target of 8±2 percent in early 2021, Courage Kingsley Martey, senior

economist at Databank, has said. The latest data from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) revealed that consumer inflation returned to double digits at the end of 2020, closing the year at 10.4 percent, from 9.8 percent in

ECONOMIC INDICATORS EXCHANGE RATE (INT. RATE)

November. This was largely driven by food inflation, which increased from 11.7 percent in November to 14.1 percent in December, contributing 59.1 percent to the total inflation. Cont’d on page 2 INTERNATIONAL MARKET

USD$1 =GHC 5.7027

BRENT CRUDE $/BARREL

POLICY RATE

14.5%

NATURAL GAS $/MILLION BTUS

GHANA REFERENCE RATE

15.12%

GOLD $/TROY OUNCE

OVERALL FISCAL DEFICIT

11.4% OF GDP

PROJECTED GDP GROWTH RATE AVERAGE PETROL & DIESEL PRICE:

0.9% GHC 5.13

hana’s strong value proposal as the gateway to the Sahel region must be complemented with a review of its port fees and charges and the elimination of nontariff barriers to trade to woo more transit trade through the

CORN $/BUSHEL COCOA $/METRIC TON COFFEE $/POUND:

Cont’d on page 3 Follow us online:

$41.26 2.622 1,922.57 329.50 $2,339.27 $109.65

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Editorial / News

FRIDAY JANUARY 15, 2021

Editorial

Let’s be strategic with transit trade

rading under the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) started January 1, 2021 with many African countries looking to take advantage of the benefits inherent within this landmark trade bloc. Ghana’s geographic position allows it to play a role of an entry port for a number of landlocked countries up north. Over the years, Ghana’s ports have served the needs of these Sahelian countries and with the implementation of the AfCFTA, there is the need for the country to explore how it can continue to maintain that relevance. According to Ziad Hamoui, National President of Borderless Alliance, the country’s strong value proposition as the

gateway to the Sahel region must be complemented with a review of its port fees and charges and the elimination of non-tariff barriers to trade to woo more transit trade through the country’s ports. The President of the Borderless Alliance stated that the challenges with the many checkpoints along the country’s main road corridor must be tackled if the country wants to be seen as a strategic corridor that is ready to serve the interest of its landlocked neighbours. He added: “Ghana has the potential, the will and the ability to play a much larger role, as an economic leader in the sub-region and it was not a coincidence that it is hosting

the AfCFTA Secretariat, but now, all hands must be on deck, to help turn Ghana into the preferred transit corridor for the sub-region.” Just like Mr. Hamoui, this paper shares the view that Ghana remains a solid economic partner and can become a true economic gateway for trade across West Africa sub-region and AfCFTA can accelerate this development trend, to the benefit of Ghana and all its partners. Given the numerous benefits that could be accrued from a rethink of the transit trade strategy, all hands must be on deck to help turn Ghana into the preferred transit corridor for the sub-region.

Analyst: excess liquidity could push inflation higher Continued from cover

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“There’s a potential upside risk to inflation for part of the first quarter of 2021 due to the liquidity overhang in the system amidst the Yuletide demand pressures,” Mr. Martey said in an interview with Business24. “As a response to the COVID shocks in 2020, the BOG implemented various monetary measures which resulted in strong growth in domestic money supply. And given the slowdown in real sector activity, we had the perception that there was an excess money supply in the system and if domestic production of goods or imports do not respond quickly to the potential demand-side pressures, it could pose an upside push to inflation,” he explained. In view of the latest increase in inflation and existing inflationary risk, some economists have projected that the monetary policy committee (MPC) of the Bank of Ghana will maintain the

policy rate at 14.5 percent during the January 2021 policy meeting. “For the 2021 outlook, we still expect headline inflation to return within the target band of 6 percent to 10 percent by FY-

2021,” Mr. Martey said. “The sharp increases in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) from April to July 2020 should provide a favourable base effect to bring down inflation during Q2-2021.”

FRIDAY JANUARY 15, 2021

FDA vows to enforce ban on unregistered imports Continued from cover Speaking at a stakeholders’ meeting with freight forwarders and importers of FDA-regulated products, Mr. Daddey-Adjei said: “With effect from 1st February, 2021, the FDA expects all imported regulated products to be registered prior to importation.” According to him, the authority has put in place measures to facilitate registration of regulated products, with registration fees reduced to about 10-20 percent of the previous fees. He also explained that a riskbased approach to expedited registration is being implemented for all regulated products. “It is important to note that testing takes time. Hence, the earlier the products are made available for testing, the better for importers of unregistered products,” he said. He added that products undergoing renewal of registration with no major variations could be detained at consignees’ warehouses, but

warned that the authority will not allow the importation and clearance of unregistered drugs, medical devices, and substances of abuse. Despite the requirement of registration prior to importation, over 20 percent of imports regulated by the FDA arrive at the port unregistered.

Traditionally, three main options are available to deal with such imports: re-exportation (if the product is banned or simply not wanted), seizure for destruction or safe disposal (if the product is deemed to pose a safety risk or health hazard), and detention to be brought into compliance (if the product is

registrable). Over the years, the third option has most often been applied to such imports. Ideally, unregistered imported products must be detained at the port and not allowed entry into the country until they have been duly registered. The authority said it will keep a database of all FDA-regulated personal effects that are brought into the country. This is to keep track of all such products and to facilitate traceability when the need arises. Importers will be required to submit to the authority a comprehensive list of the personal effects they bring along when travelling to Ghana, together with their batch codes and date marks. The authority said it will soon publish on its website a guideline for the importation and clearance of personal effects which will, among other things, set the criteria for determining what could be considered personal effects.

Transit-in-AfCFTA: ‘Review port charges to entice Sahelian partners’ Continued from cover country’s ports, Ziad Hamoui, National President of Borderless Alliance, has advised. “Landlocked countries will continue to rely on coastal countries for their economic activity to continue, even more important now as they expect more trade with their neighbours. Ghana is a solid economic partner and can become a true economic gateway for trade across West Africa and the continent, and Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) can accelerate this development trend, to the benefit of Ghana and all its partners,” he told Business24 in an exclusive interview. According to the trade expert, the country’s position as a strategic corridor for transit trade is largely hinged on its ability to ‘package’ that aspect of the shipping business to

attract more business through its ports. Specifically, Mr. Hamoui said that challenges with the many checkpoints along the country’s main road corridor

Ziad Hamoui

must be tackled if the country wants to be seen as a strategic corridor that is ready to serve the interest of its landlocked neighbours. He added: “Ghana has the

potential, the will and the ability to play a much larger role, as an economic leader in the sub-region and it was not a coincidence that it is hosting the AfCFTA Secretariat, but now, all hands must be on deck, to help turn Ghana into the preferred transit corridor for the subregion.” Mr. Hamoui indicated that government is currently developing the needed hard and soft infrastructure to help diversify its economy in line with its “Ghana Beyond Aid” agenda using value-addition and integration of regional value chains. But in this long-term vision, landlocked countries, he emphasised, could play an important role, both as partners and as consumers of these regional value chains. Trading under the AfCFTA took off effective January 1, 2021 and the preparedness of African countries for the

FRIDAY JANUARY 15, 2021

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News

FRIDAY JANUARY 15, 2021

Registrar-General urges clients to use banker’ s draft payment By Eugene Davis

he Registrar-General’s Department has directed persons wishing to transact business at its office beyond GH¢5,000 to pay via a banker’s draft rather than cash. The directive which takes effect from Monday, January 18, has been necessary as a result of increasing incidents of extortion involving transactions of higher amounts for services rendered by the department. A statement signed by the Registrar-General, Jemima Oware advised clients to make payments personally at the on-site Fidelity Bank and demand official receipts for every service. “All company owners are to ensure that the correct stamp duties are fully paid at the point of registration at all times,” the statement read. The Department, according to Ms. Oware, will conduct regular random audits on all payments to ensure that the right amount is duly paid to government. Any company found to have

Jemima Oware, Registrar-General

under paid the appropriate amount would be made to repay the full amount involved or face its business being stricken off the company register, the statement said. Any client who fails to make the

requisite payments via a banker’s draft does so at his/her own risk as the department will not be held liable for any cash payment made to any staff, individual or third party, the department warned. The statement further urged

businesses which have yet to update their records on the e-register database could have their names struck out for not conforming to the standards required under the new Companies Act.

IES leadership pays working visit to Business24

he leadership of energy policy think tank Institute of Energy Security (IES) earlier this week paid a working visit to the office of Business24 Limited at East Legon to familiarise themselves with the operations of the media organisation. The IES’ Executive Director, Paa Kwasi Anamua Sakyi, who led his team commended the Business24 for providing the energy industry with relevant business information that has helped shaped policies within the energy sector and the business community as a whole. He said the purpose of the visit was to discuss how the two organizations can collaborate on mutually beneficial projects for the good of the country’s energy sector. Edmond Kombat, Director of Research, Administration and Finance at the institute also praised the newspaper for its quality content and exceptional design layout reiterating that there are more avenues for the two organizations to work together. “Because we specialise in

research as well, we can partner with Business24; while we do the research, we will make them available so you can use your platform to communicate it to the public,” Mr. Kombat said. The Managing Editor of Business24, Richard Annerquaye Abbey, on his part assured the IES leadership of his outfit’s readiness to work with them to ensure that energy sector players are well-

informed with relevant business news. “As a business newspaper, our mandate is to give relevant information to the business community that will inform their investment decisions and in this regard, we look forward to working with organisations such as the IES as we keep the public informed on the all-important energy sector,” he said.

On her part, the Business Development Manager of Business24, Ruth Fosua Tetteh, said Buisness24 is well positioned to deliver good content to serve the business community, individuals and the government and that the company seeks to achieve this through its experienced business journalists who have been assigned to cover various sectors of the economy.

L-R Edmond Kombat, Director of Research, Admin and Finance, Paa Kwesi Anamuah Sakyi, Executive Director, all with IES, Richard Annerquaye Abbey, Managing Editor; Ruth Fosua Tetteh, Business Development Manager; Benson Afful, Energy Correspondent, all with Business24.

FRIDAY JANUARY 15, 2021

News

FRIDAY JANUARY 15, 2021

German economy shrank 5% in pandemic year 2020

he German economy, Europe’s largest, shrank by 5% in the pandemic year 2020, ending a decade of growth as lockdowns wiped out much business and consumer activity. As dreary as the numbers were, the drop was smaller than many had expected, and a high savings rate suggested consumers could be ready to unleash a strong economic recovery when the lid finally comes off. The state statistics office Destatis said Thursday that only the construction sector showed an upturn as industry and services saw deep declines. Agriculture, financial services, real estate and information and communication suffered smaller drops in output. Looking ahead, the stage could be set for a substantial economic rebound since consumers might be ready to spend once the pandemic recedes, having increased their saving rate to a record high of 16.3% during 2020. Albert Braakmann, head of the group for economic estimates and prices, said consumption

Angela Merkel

“could increase significantly.” Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said that once the pandemic was contained, growth would be “clear and noticeable” in 2021. The government’s estimate of 4.4% for 2021 growth is to be updated Jan. 27. Germany’s economy did better than several others in the 19-country eurozone as it was supported by manufacturing, which has taken less of a hit

than services. The downturn was smaller than in France, which according to European Commission estimates cited by Destatis, shrank 9.4%, Italy, which was down 9.9%, and touristdependent Spain, off 12.4%. Official figures for those countries are due in early February. The U.S. had a downturn of 4.6% while China’s economy grew 2.1%, according to the estimates used by Destatis.

In the fourth quarter, German growth “roughly stagnated,” said Michael Kuhn, head of the GDP and output calculation group at the agency. He said that since very little data was available for December, when the latest round of lockdowns hit, the agency was not making an official estimate. The fourth-quarter figure is to be announced on Jan. 29. The pandemic downturn, which followed 10 straight years of annual growth, was smaller than that experienced during 2009, when the economy shrank by 5.7% The 2020 figure compares to modest growth of 0.6% in 2019. In 2020, the economy seesawed between lockdowns and a robust upswing that still left growth below the previous year. The worst quarter, the second, saw a quarter-on-quarter plunge of 9.8% followed by a rebound of 8.2% in the third. Unemployment has been contained in Germany and many other European countries only by extensive state support such as paying the salaries of furloughed workers.

WhatsApp growth slumps as rivals Signal, Telegram rise

ncrypted messaging apps Signal and Telegram are seeing huge upticks in downloads from Apple and Google’s app stores. Facebookowned WhatsApp, by contrast, is seeing its growth decline following a fiasco that forced the company to clarify a privacy update it had sent to users. Mobile app analytics firm Sensor Tower said Wednesday that Signal saw 17.8 million app downloads on Apple and Google during the week of Jan. 5 to Jan. 12. That’s a 61-fold increase from just 285,000 the previous week. Telegram, an already-popular messaging app for people around the world, saw 15.7 million downloads in the Jan. 5 to Jan. 12 period, roughly twice the 7.6 million downloads it saw the previous week. WhatsApp, meanwhile, saw downloads shrink to 10.6 million, down from 12.7 million the week before. Experts believe the shift may reflect a rush of conservative social media users seeking alternatives to platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and the nowshuttered right-wing site Parler. The mainstream sites suspended President Donald Trump last week and have tightened enforcement on violent incitement and hate

speech. Parler, meanwhile, was unceremoniously booted from the internet after Apple and Google banned it from their app stores for failing to moderate incitement. Amazon then cut Parler off from its its cloud-hosting service. Experts worry that these moves could lead to more ideological splintering and further hide extremism in the dark corners of the internet, making it harder to track and counteract. WhatsApp didn’t do itself any favors when it recently told users that if they don’t accept a new

privacy policy by Feb. 8, they’ll be cut off. The notice referenced the data WhatsApp shares with Facebook, which while not entirely new, may have struck some users that way. Confusion about the notice, complicated by Facebook’s history of privacy mishaps, forced WhatsApp to clarify its update to users this week. The company said that its update “does not affect the privacy of your messages with friends or family in any way,” adding that the policy changes were necessary to allow users to message businesses on

WhatsApp. The notice “provides further transparency about how we collect and use data,” the company said. WhatsApp is still by far the most popular messaging app of the three, and so far there’s no evidence of a mass exodus. Sensor Tower estimates that Signal has been installed about 58.6 million times globally since 2014. In that same period Telegram has seen about 755.2 million installations and WhatsApp a whopping 5.6 billion — almost eight times as many as Telegram.

FRIDAY JANUARY 15, 2021

Feature

FRIDAY JANUARY 15, 2021

Women take on automobile industry

s greener solutions become the future for the automobile industry, a local start-up in Ghana is providing the platform for female engineers in a sector dominated by men. The automobile manufacturing industry has for years been dominated by men. A team of young female engineers is poised to change the narrative. Solartaxi Ghana is a local startup helping women contribute to finding greener solutions. The start-up seeks to promote the use of electric vehicles across the country. And these women are at the forefront of driving that ambition. Catherine Ama Wilson and Belinda Akaba are taking Ghana’s automobile industry by storm. With nine others, they are finding greener solutions in a field traditionally dominated by men. Solartaxi Ghana builds solar and electric automobiles from scratch. ‘’I am the type of person who is always on the move to do something new. After hearing that we have a company making electric vehicles, I said, why not come here and try my talent to see whether I can build myself in other areas,” Mary Kudaya, a

mechanical engineer at Solartaxi Ghana told our Ghanaian correspondent, Peter Quao Adattor. For some of these workers, their motivation is to contibute to the Ghana’s automobile industry. For others, it’s reinforcing the old saying what ‘men can do, women can do better’, and they also hope to inspire other women to follow their dreams. That as Ghana’s government has signed protocols to improve gender equality. ‘’Moving forward, I also want to stand on my own, have my firm that I will employ a lot of ladies into the engineering field’’, Belinda Akaba, an electrical engineer said. George Appiah is Co-founder at Solartaxi Ghana. He tells our Ignatius Annor that: ‘’We have engaged with the consumer power unit of the electricity company of Ghana, on the possibility of charging all our units across the country. But we as a local assembling company that assembles these electric vehicles here, being the bikes, the tricycles, and also we are moving towards the cars, we don’t have that support yet. Our biggest challenge has to do with the taxes

that we pay. That is not something we are getting support for.’’ In Nigeria, rising cost of cement is affecting the construction industry. The price of a 50 kilogram bag of cement has nearly doubled in the last two months. Construction engineers have blamed the monopolization of the cement market for the hike in prices. Currently, there are two major cement producers in Africa’s most populous nation. Dangote cement and BUA group. Business Africa has learned that the market only met nearly half of the projected 60 million metric tons of cement in 2020. The prices of cement in Nigeria have nearly doubled in the last two months, going from $5 to $10 for the standard 50kg bag. ‘’The effects are quite complex in the sense that, it affects all aspects of the construction industry in the country. And there is this skyrocketing of pricing that is affecting all aspect of construction and it is very bad’’, Building Engineer, Donald Ebirim told our Nigerian correspondent, Michael Dibie. But, Business Analyst Abiodun Ihebuzor says it is not an issue of monopoly but market structure. ‘’It is not truly a monopolist

market but a monopolistic competition and it is ok looking at the capitalist system’’, Ihebuzor said. And, 47 African nations expected to witness rebound in economic activity in 2021. Kenya, Djibouti, Rwanda, Botswana and Tunisia are expected to lead economic growth in Africa this year. As per the projections in the January 2021 World Bank Global Economic Outlook report. Although growth projections are relatively moderate for Africa in 2021, a handful of countries are expected to record a sustained rebound in economic activity. According to the report, growth for Djibouti and Kenya will be at 7.1 percent and 6.9 percent respectively. Tunisia follows at 5.8 percent, Rwanda and Botswana are expected to grow at 5.7 percent this year. The latter saw their economies contracting in 2020 by -0.2 percent and -9.1 percent respectively. According to the Bretton Wood institution, three African nations; Congo, Equatorial Guinea and South Sudan should still be in recession. Africanews

FRIDAY JANUARY 15, 2021

Feature

FRIDAY JANUARY 15, 2021

Smart locks: Convenience comes with security doubts

or Candace Nelson, finding out about smart locks from a friend “really was a game changer”. People like her, who live with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), often feel a need to perform routines like washing their hands, counting things or checking a door is locked. “I have quite a few times nearly made it to work and couldn’t remember if I locked the door, so I’d turn around,” she says. On other occasions she has driven for an hour before turning back. “My brain will not stop until I know for sure,” explains Miss Nelson, who works for the Girl Scouts in Charleston, West Virginia. But in September she installed a door lock that she can monitor from her smartphone. “Being able to just look at my phone and feel that sense of comfort really helps put me at ease,” she says. Smart locks like Kwikset’s Kevo began to appear in 2013. Using a Kevo, your smartphone transmits the key by bluetooth from your pocket, then you touch the lock to open it. Bluetooth uses less energy than wi-fi, but offers fewer features. Raising the stakes, Yale’s August and Schlage’s Encode, launched in 2018 and 2019, have wi-fi as well. Wi-fi lets you monitor and control the lock when you’re away from home, and see the face of your Amazon delivery person who wants to get in. Connecting with wi-fi also allows your lock to talk to Alexa

or Siri, and turn on your lights and adjust the thermostat when you get home. The electronic equivalent of a dog fetching your slippers. Using a smartphone as a key has become especially popular for AirBnB hosts, and the rental platform has a partnership with Yale. Worldwide, the smart lock market is on track to reach $4.4bn (£3.2bn) in 2027, up tenfold from $420m in 2016, according to market research firm Statista. Smartphone keys are also gaining popularity in Asia. Taiwan-based Tracy Tsai, research firm Gartner’s vice president for connected homes, points out that people are already happy to use smartphones for shopping so using them as a key is a small step. But some analysts worry about the fast growth of the market and whether locks are secure enough. As principal security researcher at Tripwire, a risk management software firm, Craig Young has tested many smart locks. He says he would not be comfortable having a smart lock on his home. Mr Young thinks that some manufacturers do not invest enough in looking for flaws in their systems. “I think there’s a lot of times that organisations are trying to reinvent the wheel for some of the fundamental components... and they don’t have the necessary expertise to do that securely.” There is the risk that the lock could be opened by a hacker,

but Mr Young is also concerned about reliability. “Until I’ve seen better proven track records of reliability for the uptime of the services that are running the systems, as well as the individual components in these locks, I don’t think it’s a great idea to make your personal safety rely on these,” he says. Another challenge for manufacturers has been extending battery life, currently about six months for locks using wi-fi. “Wi-fi is very challenging. It’s kind of the holy grail of Internet of Things devices,” says Rob Martens, chief design officer at Allegion, which makes Schlage locks. “The biggest challenge is creating a product that doesn’t drain the battery,” agrees Jeff Pouliot from Minneapolis smart lock maker Lockly. One solution is to let locks conserve power in a standby mode, then check in every few seconds to see if they should stay connected to the wi-fi. The locks wake up quickly enough for the user not to notice any delay, but a lot of power is saved by the intermittent wi-fi connection. It can also be tricky to install smart locks. Yale Locks has a retrofit device that fits over an existing deadbolt with a few screws. Helpful if you’re in rented accommodation, although a problem is lock types. In Asia and the US, they’re pretty standard, but in the UK, houses can be very old and quirky. “I’m a bit of a door nerd now,”

confesses Kate Clark, Londonbased managing director for Stockholm’s ASSA ABLOY Group, which makes Yale Locks. For fast-growing parts of South East Asia, like Vietnam and Indonesia, holiday homes and smart locks are popular, but the internet connections may be ropy. One workaround is dispensing with internet connectivity altogether. A server can use an algorithm to give you a code a lock can recognise without being connected to the network, says Cherry Lim from Singaporebased Igloohome, which makes a device using this principle. “The lock knows this code works from 3:30 to 5:50,” she says. Lock makers now realise they need to design for two very different types of users, says Mr Martens. Some want an “active command and control experience” using Siri or Alexa. But others long for locks to “do autonomously what you want them to do and be forgotten into the background, so they add value by removing complexity in your life,” he says. If we used to think of locks as a way of keeping everyone out, wi-fi locks are instead becoming devices to lock the right people out while letting your cleaner, mum or delivery person in. They can have unexpected uses too, says Candace Nelson. A friend of hers broke up with her boyfriend, and instead of changing her locks, simply removed him from her authorised key users.

FRIDAY JANUARY 15, 2021

News

FRIDAY JANUARY 15, 2021

New Google-IFC report estimates Africa’s Internet economy could be worth US$180 billion by 2025 e-Conomy Africa 2020, a new reportreleased today by Google and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), estimates that Africa’s Internet economy has the potential to reach 5.2% of the continent’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 2025, contributing nearly US$180 billion to its economy. The projected potential contribution could reach US$712 billion by 2050. Driving this growth is a combination of increased access to faster and better quality Internet connectivity, a rapidly expanding urban population, a growing tech talent pool, a vibrant startup ecosystem, and Africa’s commitment to creating the world’s largest single market under the African Continental Free Trade Area. Currently, Africa is home to 700,000 developers and venture capital funding for startups has increased year-on-year for the past five years, with a record US$2.02 billion in equity funding

raised in 2019, according to Partech Ventures Africa. “The digital economy can and should change the course of Africa’s history. This is an opportune moment to tap into the power of the continent’s tech startups for much-needed solutions to increase access to education, healthcare, and finance, and ensure a more resilient recovery, making Africa a world leader in digital innovation and beyond,” said Stephanie von Friedeburg, Interim Managing

Director, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of IFC. Digital startups in Africa are driving innovation in fastgrowing sectors, including fintech, healthtech, media and entertainment, e-commerce, e-mobility, and e-logistics, contributing to Africa’s growing Internet gross domestic product (iGDP) — defined as the Internet’s contribution to the GDP. “Google and IFC have created this report to highlight the role

the digital startup sector is playing and other factors driving the continent’s growth, in order to showcase and support the opportunities the continent presents,” said Google Africa director Nitin Gajria. An analysis within the report, conducted by Accenture, found that in 2020, the continent’s iGDP may contribute approximately US$115 billion to Africa’s US$2.554 trillion GDP (4.5% of total GDP). This is up from US$99.7 billion (3.9% of total GDP) in 2019, with the potential to grow as the continent’s economies develop. Investments in infrastructure, consumption of digital services, public and private investment, and new government policies and regulations will play an important role in supporting Africa’s digital growth. The report notes that investment in digital skills will also need to increase in order to help drive technology usage and continue to grow the continent’s talent pool.

Allianz begins eight-year worldwide Olympic & Paralympic partnership

llianz officially began its eight-year worldwide partnership with the Olympic & Paralympic Movements on Jan. 1, building on a collaboration with the Paralympic Movement since 2006. “Allianz is proud to be the „Worldwide Insurance Partner” of the Olympic & Paralympic Movements,” said Oliver Bäte, Chief Executive Officer of Allianz SE. “As a supporter of the sports ecosystem and through shared core values of excellence, friendship, inclusion and respect, Allianz and our 148,000 employees and 100,000 agents are excited to care and deliver for athletes, their families and their ambitions.” Since announcing the partnership in September 2018, the insurer has engaged fans, athletes, teams and employees through health across four pilot markets – Australia, China, France and Spain. Allianz presented the Australian Olympic Committee’s Wellbeing Week to showcase ways to improve mental health. Allianz also worked with the Organising Committee Olympic Games Paris 2024 to encourage people to walk and run for “Club Paris 2024”, an initiative to move and be part of the Games.

Allianz will expand local initiatives to connect with athletes and fans across the world. To name a few, the global insurer will offer consumers and employees the chance to take part in the Olympic Torch Relay at Beijing 2022 and will engage youth with the spirit & values of the Movements at its Allianz Sports Camps through trying sports, building friendships and learning from

athletes. Furthermore, it will support the Movements with tailored insurance solutions and services. “Having announced this new agreement in 2018, our teams have already been working together in key pilot markets to support athletes and the Olympic Movement,” said IOC President Thomas Bach. “As we start this new Olympic year, we are excited to begin in earnest

our global collaboration with Allianz.” “Allianz brings global visibility to the athletes and values of the Paralympic Movement and we look forward to our next phase working together,” added International Paralympic Commitee President (IPC), Andrew Parsons. The partnership runs from 2021-2028.

FRIDAY JANUARY 15, 2021

Feature

FRIDAY JANUARY 15, 2021

The danger of deplatforming Trump

By Raj Persaud

ocial-media platforms are finally turning on Donald Trump. Since the US president incited a violent attack on the Capitol on January 6 that left five people dead, platforms ranging from Twitter (long his preferred megaphone) to Shopify (on which he sold merchandise) have banned him. And Parler – the unmoderated platform that has become the new darling of the far right, and Trump’s likely refuge – has temporarily shut down after Amazon booted the site from its web-hosting services. Efforts to remove Trump’s digital platform have been widely praised as crucial to mitigating “the risk of further incitement of violence,” as Twitter’s statement put it. But will excluding Trump from social media really make America safer? Recent psychological research suggests that the answer is no. After all, narcissists do not respond well to social exclusion. To be sure, there is considerable debate over whether that label fits Trump. Section 7.3 of the American Psychiatric Association’s Principles of Medical Ethics – commonly known as the “Goldwater rule” – is clear: Clinicians should refrain from opining publicly on the mental health of public figures whom they have not personally examined. But many psychologists and psychiatrists have diagnosed Trump anyway, concluding that he is a textbook narcissist. In

2017, 27 psychiatrists and mentalhealth experts even published a book warning that Trump’s mental state – including his narcissism – presented a “clear and present danger” to the United States. It is not hard to see why. Narcissism involves unusually high needs for praise and admiration, combined with an inflated view of one’s own capabilities or “specialness.” It is the personality type least likely to accept defeat, such as in an election. A narcissist cannot admit they are less popular than someone else – such as, say, their predecessor – or that an adversary got the better of them. If forced to confront such uncomfortable realities, narcissists tend to feel threatened and lash out aggressively. Social exclusion would hurt anyone. But for a narcissist, it is unbearable – and likely to trigger a violent reaction. Moreover, the risk extends beyond Trump himself, because there is little doubt that many of his supporters exhibit narcissistic tendencies. Multiple studies have confirmed as much, including one published last October by Joshua Hart and Nathaniel Stekler of Union College. One reason why narcissists are more likely to support Trump, Hart and Stekler argue, is that he is “a quintessential narcissist,” and “people tend to gravitate toward others, including leaders, who are similar to themselves.” More broadly, narcissism reflects a “blend of insecurity and grandiosity” that

predisposes individuals to rightwing authoritarianism and social dominance – both of which, the authors argue, are “ideologically consonant with political conservatism and especially Trump’s specific version of it.” Other research has shown that, in recent decades, the prevalence of narcissistic personality traits has increased significantly throughout the US population. Some blame this trend on the rise of social media, although the evidence so far is inconclusive. In any case, it is clear that Trump has used social media to build up a personality cult with a disproportionately narcissistic following. But banning Trump from social media will not undo the damage. At best, the move amounts to closing the stable door after the horses have bolted. At worst, it will spur the horses to start kicking even harder. Researchers have linked narcissism to a number of anti-social behaviors, such as aggression, domestic violence, and sexual coercion. One recent study, by a team led by Victoria Blinkhorn of Liverpool John Moores University, showed that people scoring significantly higher for narcissism view violence more positively. Although men were more likely to score high, narcissistic women were as accepting of violence as their male counterparts were. So, the assault on the US Capitol may have been rooted at least as much in the psychology of narcissism as in politics. If so, socially ostracizing Trump and his supporters could

make matters much worse. In fact, another recent study coauthored by Blinkhorn found that narcissists may be more supportive of violence after facing social exclusion, especially if they receive “explicit cues of ostracism.” If shunning narcissists only channels their emotional pain into increased aggression toward others, it is vital to ensure that violence is not the only cathartic outlet available to them. Joining with like-minded people, whether at political rallies or in online communities, can help narcissists avoid confronting feelings of weakness or vulnerability. The danger, then, is that ignoring behavioral science and banishing Trump and many of his far-right supporters from social media might be riskier than allowing them to continue engaging in closely moderated discussions in which comments that incite violence are removed. The narcissist mindset implies a psychological defense strategy generating physical violence. So while those online discussions may be problematic, they could provide the digital equivalent of a pressure valve, allowing narcissists to let off steam – and thereby preventing a deadly explosion. About the author Raj Persaud is a London-based psychiatrist and the author of the forthcoming book The Mental Vaccine for COVID-19 – A Streetwise Person’s Guide (Edward Everett Root Publishers Co. Ltd.).

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