Africa Business Confidence Index lower, but still continues to show growth
 The Africa Business Confidence Index (ABCI) for September shows growth in both the index for manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors in Africa. The difference compared to August in the manufacturing and non-manufacturing indices is a decrease of 1.1 and 2.0 percentage points respectively. The index measures business confidence in the manufacturing and non-manufacturing privatesector throughout Africa. Results are published on a monthly basis.
The September ABCI results indicate confidence and growth with an index of 51.3 and 53.3 for the manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors respectively. A level of 50 and above indicates expansion. Business professionals from almost 30 countries in Africa participated in the survey making the results a reliable gauge and early indicator of the underlying economic activity on the African continent.
The ABCI follows a similar methodology and logic as the PMI indices which set the global standard.
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Nedbank gets $2bn Ghana Cocoa deal
Nedbank Capital is part of a winning consortium that has been awarded the mandate to arrange, underwrite and syndicate a $1,75bn pre-export receivables-backed facility to the Ghana Cocoa Board (GCB).
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Nigeria's Dangote to build cement plant in Ethiopia
Nigeria's Dangote Group, which has seen a rapid expansion on the continent, has signed an agreement to set up a $400 million cement plant in Ethiopia, state media said on Thursday.
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CBN in fresh probe of seven banks
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has started the second round of investigation into the foreign exchange deals of seven commercial banks. The apex bank, as exclusively reported by The Nation a month ago, named the first batch banks to be probed to include Stanbic IBTCBank, Standard Chartered Bank, Guaranty Bank, Zenith Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA), Citibank and Access Bank.
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Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) opening Africa up more seriously to ICT
 This week Africa Business Communities meet with Dr Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, Chief Executive of the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO). He talks about CTO's involvement in the Telecommunications development and business in Africa.
He is a former Minister of Communication of the Republic of Ghana and one-time Ambassador of Ghana to the United States and Mexico. He also served as MinisterOfEducation, Minister responsible for Mines and Energy and as a member of UNESCO’s Executive Board in Paris. Before at the CTO, he was Chief Executive of his own business consulting firm, Spio-Garbrah & Associates, based in Ghana.
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Umuntu Media receives additional 1 million dollar funding from eVA Fund
‘Think Local, captivate the reader and build world class platforms for Africa from within Africa’ is the success formula for Umuntu Media CEO Johan Nel: Umuntu Media raised $1 million series A funding from Netherlands based eVentures Africa Fund (eVA Fund) as a first step to take the successful local information portals www.iNamibia.co.na and www.iZambia.co.zm to ultimatelly an additional nine African countries.
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Vodacom celebrates western region winners of the 2011 Vodacom Journalist of the Year Awards
This morning the winners of the western region for the 2011 Vodacom Journalist of the Year Awards were presented with their prizes, and commended by the judges at a champagne breakfast event at the Protea's 15 on OrangeHotel in Cape Town.
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Youth, Technology and the Changing Face of Power in 21st Century Africa
 By Erika Amoako-Agyei. I once read that “the battle for control or leadership of the world has always been waged most effectively at the idea level. An idea, whether right or wrong, that captures the minds of a nation’s youth will soon work its way into every area of our lives, especially in our age of multi media.” Given this, it is safe to say that a compelling idea that speaks to a nation’s youth is a powerful determinant of future consequences.
It is no surprise that young people are often drawn to new ideas that challenge the status quo or question older forms of authority. This is evident today across the Arab World, where powerful, long-standing regimes with histories of autocratic rule are being toppled or challenged by youth-led rebellions.
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HP enters Ghana to transform IT infrastructure
Hewlett Packard (HP), one of the world largest IT companies, has established its presence in Ghana with the opening an office and signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the University of Ghana to help local students to become globally competitive.
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Bytes partners with Realtime for Zimbabwe data centre
The partnership will allow Realtime Africa to deliver virtualised dynamic data centres to its regional customers. The first phase will target the Zimbabwean market, to be followed by Zambia as a second phase.
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How to validate Social Media news
 By Yinka Olaito in Nigeria. For those who monitor online and regular media news in our environment, they would have heard the rumour of the acclaimed video of a female student that was sexually molested by some of her school’s mates. As we know this platform is not known for gossip.
It is meant to educate, inform as well as share lessons brand custodians can learn from any information. This accounts for while we are examining this issue. The changes we are going through in communications platforms require that we are adequately informed and prepared for tomorrow.
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Botswana and De Beers sign 10-year Sales Agreement
Botswana, the world’s leading producer of diamonds, is set to also become the largest seller of rough diamonds after a new 10- year agreement with De Beers that was announced on Friday.
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AfDB approves USD 24 million Budget Support Loan for Zambia
The African Development Bank Board of Directors has approved a USD 24-million loan to finance Zambia’s fourth poverty reduction budget support program. The African Development Fund (ADF) loan is part of USD 159 million budget support operation financed by World Bank ($30 m loan), European Commission ($43.5 m grant), UK’s Department for International Development ($41.6 m grant), Germany ($13.6 m grant), and Finland ($6.8 grant).
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PPC acquires Quarries of Botswana for US$6.8 million
As part of its southern Africa expansion strategy, Pretoria Portland Cement (PPC) has acquired three aggregate quarries from Quarries of Botswana.
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Kenyan exports to Uganda rise as crisis hits EU
Kenyan exports to Uganda have grown, enhancing the latter’s pole position as a trading partner and providing a fallback market for investors whose traditional markets in Europe and America have been dampened by economic crisis.
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Sustained Renewable Energy for Africa
 By Isaac Twumasi-Quantus in Accra. I would like to say a few words on a matter of great importance for us in Africa. It is particularly appropriate that for some weeks now I have been talking about renewable energy resources in Africa.
It is common knowledge that Africa is very well endowed with a rich variety of energy resources, including oil, coal, and other fossil fuels, hydroelectricity, solar and other sources of renewable energy. Paradoxically, however, Africa has yet to fully exploit this massive energy potential to buttress and sustain its development.
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UBA GMD is Ai 40 CEO of the Year
In affirmation of his leadership, drive and the pursuit of excellence, the Group Managing Director /Chief Executive Officer, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Mr. Phillips Oduoza has emerged the African Investor Ai 40 CEO of the year.
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Bank of Africa set to launch in Ghana
The Bank of Africa (BOA) Group, an international financial company, renowned for its commitment to community banking across Africa, will open another African footprint in Ghana on Wednesday.
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Africa Re puts Nigeria in 40th position on global reinsurance business
Nigeria has emerged the only African country listed among the first 40 reinsurance companies in the world in terms of premium income for 2010, according to a report by Standard & Poor’s.
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Lagos PhotoFestival 2011 - Kick off Saturday 8th October
The African Artists’ Foundation (AAF) in collaboration with the European National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC) proudly present the 2nd edition of the Lagos PhotoFestival, opening on Saturday 8 October 2011 at the EkoHotel and Suites Convention center in Lagos.
This year’s theme: What’s Next Africa? -The Hidden Stories aims to use the power of photo-graphy to represent the hidden stories on the continent as opposed to the over represented, sensationalised, dramatic images on Africa popular across the globe
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African Development Bank Commits US$7.5 Million to Support IMF Capacity Building in Africa
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) today signed an agreement for a contribution of US$7.5 million by the AfDB to support IMF capacity building in Africa through the third phase of the Africa Regional Technical Assistance Centers (AFRITACs) Initiative.
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Ghana - ADB Adds Four More Branches to Its Network
The Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) has increased its branch network with the opening of four new branches at Bole and Tamale in the Northern Region, Tumu in the Sissala District of the Upper West Region and Asiakwa in the Eastern Region.
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AITEC announces impressive speaker line-up for fourth annual Mozambique ICT Congress
AITEC Africa has assembled an impressive group of over 40 local and international speakers to make presentations at this year’s ICT Congress. With the theme this year of “Building on local skills and capacity to develop effective ICT solutions that address local needs”, the congress aims to showcase successful computing and communications projects and organizations in the country
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Winners of the African Bankers Awards announced for 2011
The African Banker Awards 2011, now in its fifth year , is one of the biggest African events during the World Bank meetings. Arunma Oteh, Director-General of Nigeria's Securities and Exchange Commission, Jean-Louis Ekra, President of Africa Export-Import Bank, and Arnold Ekpe, CEO of Ecobank were among the 300 distinguished guests. Dr James Mwangi was declared African Banker of the Year for the second year in a row .
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Tellumat brings ShoreTel solutions to SA
The division, which has connected over two million ports in two decades, has been a ShoreTel partner for two years. “We chose the critically-acclaimed ShoreTel range based on its ability to disrupt and lead the communications industry with new technology for a new era,” says Bennie Langenhoven, managing executive of Tellumat Communication Solutions.
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Credit Suisse positive on South African retailers
South African retailers could continue to grow on the back of volume growth and increased consumer spending capacity, Credit Suisse said and began coverage of Truworths, Woolworths and Steinhoff with an "outperform" rating.
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Cement: Dangote, Cameroon Kick-off $700m Deal
The Republic of Cameroon and Dangote Group Monday signed a $115 million Invest-ment Agreement for the construction of a composite cement production plant, which will result in the production of 1.5 million metric tonnes of cement in Douala, Cameroon annually.
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Manufacturing is an answer to poverty in Africa
"Africa now accounts for about 1 per cent of global manufacturing, and cannot realistically hope to reduce widespread poverty if its governments don’t take effective measures to expand this vital economic sector," says the report by the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
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Herakles Farms Develops Sustainable Palm Oil Plantations in Cameroon and Ghana
Herakles Farms, a New York-based agriculture company, is planning two commercial-scale sustainable palm oil plantations in Cameroon and Ghana, providing over 10,000 jobs to locaal people and introducing an important new growth potential to the Central and West African regions.
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New Companies Act eases audit burden for SMMEs
Companies that are owner-managed no longer need to be audited, says the co-author of a book on the new Companies Act.
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Rwanda: Cassava Farmers Acquire Modern Cultivation Skills
More than 2,000 cassava farmers drawn from 115 cooperatives in Rwamagana, Kayonza, Ngoma and Gatsibo districts have undergone training in modern farming methods.
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Africa Business Communities launches Mauritius Business Club
Recently we have launched the LinkedIn Group Mauritius Business Club. You are more than welcome to join!
Click here to join Mauritius Business Club
Africa Business Communities launches Business Club Conakry
Recently we have launched the LinkedIn Group Business Club Conakry. You are more than welcome to join!
Click here to join Business Club Conakry
Join the Africa Business Communities Group on LinkedIn!
 Last december we introduced the Africa Business Communities Group on LinkedIn. In eight months time this group has reached over 6100 members.
It is our ambition to grow this group into the Largest Network for African Business Professionals on LinkedIn.
Great if you would like to join this group! Click here to join
Showcase your company or business plan in Africa Business Communities News
By Bas Vlugt. In co-operation with VC4Africa we start an interviewseries with young African entrepreneurs who recently have start up business or want to do so soon.
These interviews we publish in Africa Business Communities News, our weekly Africa Business Newsletter with over 25,000 subscribers worldwide.
So would you like to showcase your comagnpany or business plan to a worldwide business audience interested in Africa, please send an e-mail to our business development manager Isaac Twumasi Quantus:
isaac@africabusinesscommunities.com
Send us your Africa Business News!
We like to receive your Africa Business News! Please sent your news, views and press releases to Linda Larbie - linda@africabusinesscommunities.com
Press releases in French to Madiou Diallo -
madiou@afriabusinesscommunities.com
www.africabusinesscommunities.com
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