The African Chamber of Commerce on the 24^th of May 2019 has celebrated the second edition of the Annual Gala Dinner for the Africa Day. This year our theme was “Empowering the Youths” and our goal was to bring honor and recognition to organizations, companies and individuals that left a social and environmental impact in Africa and that have contributed in the recent years to the development of African societies.

 In this edition of the Gala Dinner, AFCHAM provided space to African artists that had the chance to present their artwork and handcrafts through an authentic and aesthetic African Art Bazar.

The AFCHAM Gala Dinner was host in the prestigious Fairmont Peace Hotel and it has seen the participation of Government officials of The People’s Republic of China,
diplomats from embassies and consuls, distinguished personalities,
leaders and senior company executives,
fellow representatives from local and foreign Chambers of Commerce, valued AFCHAM members, partners and sponsors and media representatives.

The opening of the Gala Dinner started with the authentic African dance performance of the group Kubtana who brought their energetic vibes to the stage, dancing and chanting with their drums.

Afterwards our honorable Afcham Chairperson D. Nkwetato Tamonkia delivered an official opening speech welcoming our distinguished guests to the gala and reminding the importance of the celebration of the Africa Day with remarks from the history with the foundation of The Organization for African unity (OAU) on May 25^th 1963. In his opening speech, our chairperson has furtherly highlighted the growing friendship and collaboration between China and Africa in all sectors and the value of youth empowerment for the development of African societies. 

Gratitude and appreciations were addressed from the AFCHAM chairperson to all the honorable guests that joined the Gala Dinner with special thanks to African Parks, The Bendo Community, The Alibaba Group and Tecno for their tremendous support to AFCHAM and African communities. The opening speech ended with a symbolic toast by the chairperson wishing all the guests presents a happy evening and an exciting experience of Africa.

The opening speech of our chairperson, was followed by the outstanding presentation of African Parks delivered by Mrs. Vega Hall-Martin Embree highlighting their valuable work for the rehabilitation and long-term management of protected areas in Africa saving the wildlife and protecting natural parks.

During the Gastronomic Dinner that was served at 7,30 pm (UTC+08:00) with the aromatic and fruity South African wines the Villiera and the Creation, an Awards Recognition Ceremony took place. Afcham CSR manager Ms. Khaoula Houssini awarded African Park represented by Mrs. Vega Hall-Martin Embree with Winner of Wildlife Protection Award.

The Award for Special Individual was given by our Afcham Business Development Manager Mr. Sam Onanda to Ms. Huiling Zhao, a Chinese vlogger that promote the exchange between China and Africa through her vlogs, showcasing African people and nature.

Then Afcham Business Director Mr. Jilles Djon was called to the stage to award Mr. Higher Zhao, Global Vice President of Tecno as Winner of Social Development Award.

Last but not least, our chairperson D. Nkwetato Tamonkia awarded Alibaba Global Initiatives represented by the Vice President Mr. Brian Wong for the Youth Empowerment Award Winner.

The Awards Recognition Ceremony was followed by the vibrant dance performance of the group African Vibration that brought to the stage their local dances and chants entertaining the guests with their enthusiastic voices and beats.

During the rest of the Gastronomic Dinner and till the end of the Gala, Tarwa N’Ayur Afro with Sarah and Ismail performed on the stage bringing an enchanting Desert Fusion with an authentic touch of Morocco to the guests.

Last, this memorable Gala Dinner was concluded with greetings and a networking session between the guests.

One of Africa’s biggest non-profit entrepreneurship outfit, the Tony O. Elumelu Foundation, TEF, has released details for its annual summit slated for later this year.

TEF’s gathering which is in its fifth year is set to take place between 26 – 27 July in the federal capital Nigeria Abuja. The two-day event will take place at the iconic Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja.

Over 5,000 African entrepreneurs across different sectors will join the conference. The Forum is the culmination of the annual Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme, which this year mentored, trained and seeded over 3,000 young Africans, selected from over [216,000] applicants.

The event provides a unique opportunity for young women and men, from all 54 African countries, to meet, learn and network with the broader African and global entrepreneurship ecosystem.

“It is also a critical opportunity for political leaders and policy makers to meet, face to face, a new generation of African business leaders, who are transforming Africa’s economic trajectory,” the statement said.

Speakers at the forum

Keynote speakers at the highly anticipated Forum include His Excellency Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda, and His Excellency Macky Sall, President of Senegal, who will join Tony O. Elumelu, CON, TEF Founder and Chairman of Heirs Holdings and the United Bank for Africa (UBA) in an intimate open house discussion.

The Presidential Convening is a highlight of the Forum, allowing the African entrepreneurs in attendance to closely engage with political leaders, to give first hand testimony of the important role government can play in catalysing growth and encouraging business ambition.

The forum is also expected to as usual bring together leading policymakers, business leaders, development agencies and the entire entrepreneurship ecosystem including alumni of the Foundation’s Entrepreneurship Programme.

What seeded entrepreneurs are to expect

The Forum agenda includes masterclasses and panel discussions with leading speakers and sector experts, from Africa and globally, who will engage attendees in specialised training sessions to share insights, deepen their knowledge and refine their skills.

The Forum will also feature a pitching event, where select entrepreneurs will deliver exciting presentations on the goods and services they provide to a distinguished judging panel.

Last year, a significant highlight was the launch of TEFConnect, the digital networking platform for African entrepreneurs, which provides a unique digital hub for the African entrepreneurship, facilitating networking, mentorship and most importantly business beyond borders.

What drives the TEF

The Tony Elumelu Foundation’s determination to bring change in scale, across Africa and its relentless focus on entrepreneurship is rooted in the inclusive philosophy of Africapitalism, created by its founder.

The idea recognizes economically empowering Africa’s youth — the continent’s future wealth creators — and thereby creating sustainable economic and social wealth, as one of the most pressing issues of the 21st century.

In 2015, the Foundation committed $100 million to empower 10,000 entrepreneurs from across the continent, over 10 years. Now in the 5th year, the Foundation has funded, mentored and provided business management training to over 7,500 start-ups and small businesses, from all 54 countries in Africa.

TEF CEO speaks

“The TEF Entrepreneurship Forum will not just convene the most important stakeholders in the African entrepreneurship ecosystem, it provides an opportunity for everyone to make a commitment to advance entrepreneurship and scale the impact of our entrepreneurs if we are to accelerate the development of the continent,” TEF CEO, Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu said.

She added: “We are constantly inspired by the stories we receive from our entrepreneurs who are creating jobs, employing people and impacting their local communities and ultimately, the continent.

“We believe that these entrepreneurs are our future. Invest in them now and reap the Africa of our dreams tomorrow. This is what we are committed to.”

The government of Senegal, led by President Macky Sall, has made increased renewable energy generation one of the key pillars of its power generation strategy, with hopes of achieving universal access to electricity by 2025.

As part of its Plan for an Emerging Senegal (PES), the government expects increased generation capacity to help position Senegal as a middle-income nation by 2035.

A target of 15% renewable energy in Senegal’s energy generation mix looks set to be accomplished ahead of the 2025 schedule, as colossal utility-sized wind and solar power plants are due to be added to the national grid within the next two years.

The country has traditionally relied on imported liquid fuels for its oil and diesel-fired plants, but recent discoveries in oil and gas reserves could make Senegal an oil exporter in the coming years.

A further objective of 25% of renewable energy in the mix by 2030 looks achievable, according to Massaer Cisse, Senegal general manager of renewable power generation company Lekela Power.

“It’s an aggressive target and with that target come challenges, notably that grid integration and transmission will have to keep up with supply.

“It’s vital that all stakeholders are involved in work to upgrade the grid, but things are moving in the right direction,” says Cisse.

These are dramatic developments for a nation formerly hampered by the low supply and high cost of electricity, which stunted economic growth at the beginning of the decade.

Between 2010 and 2018, access to electricity increased from 54% to 68% according to the World Bank, and generation capacity rose from a 2012 low of 573 MW, to a current 864 MW capacity, subsequently providing cheaper tariffs for consumers. 

Senegal has experienced yearly GDP growth above 6% since 2015, and optimism about further growth among the young and rapidly expanding 16.6m population is palpable.

The power market continues to benefit from a partially liberalised structure, allowing private companies to build and operate power plants, while transmission and distribution remains controlled by state-owned utility Senelec. 

West Africa’s largest windfarm

Lekela – a 60:40 joint venture between emerging market investor Actis and a consortium led by Mainstream Renewable Power – has initiated construction on the Taiba N’Diaye windfarm, 80km northeast of Dakar.

Once complete in 2020, it will be the largest windfarm in West Africa, adding 158.7 MW to the grid and providing more than 450,000 MW hours of energy per year for 2m people.

Lekela deploys its fund in Africa, with a portfolio of three established windfarms in South Africa, and development of additional plants in Ghana and Egypt.

Chris Ford, Lekela’s COO, says that the business can add value to a nation benefiting from a stable government, and political leadership committed to a vision of how it wants the market to develop.

The company also profits from advancements in technology that will enable it to install 46 Danish-made Vestas turbines that will each be able to produce 3.45 MW of energy.

Wind turbines are getting bigger, more powerful and increasing in generating capacity, enabling greater returns. 

“The technology is getting cheaper over time, particularly as turbines get bigger the physical and technical limits the turbines push out increase.

“The direction of travel for renewables is positive and I think it continues to surprise people just how competitive it can be. As rates go down, and with the comparative volatility of oil prices, renewables become mainstream,” says Ford.

The Lekela project is also expected to contribute up to $20m to the local community and provide 400 jobs during construction, while continued employment opportunities will be provided for a maintenance team during operation of the plant for at least 25 years. 

Spurred on by the successful construction of smaller scale solar plants, Senegal launched a tender process in 2018 to build two further plants with a combined installed capacity of 60 MW, which will almost double existing capacity.

Developed in partnership with the International Finance Corporation  and part of a wider initiative called Scaling Solar, 14 bids were tabled.

The French alliance of Engie, the utility, and Meridiam, the infrastructure investor, won at auction.

Engie is currently building the plants in Kahone, near Kaolack, and Kaël in the Diourbel region, and they will represent one of the fastest buildouts of renewable power in Africa.

The contract was awarded with prices approximately 60% lower than the solar contracts previously agreed in Senegal.

Smart move

“In Senegal, they did something very smart, which other countries should learn from,” says Philippe Miquel, Engie Africa regional director.

“They built six solar plants without tender slightly above market rates to get the ball rolling, and in doing so they managed to bring four or five solar plants on budget, on time, and build an industry first”.

With companies confident they can quickly build a solar PV plant and take it to market, and sure they will be paid by Senelec, the market looks ripe for growth, with foreign capital set to follow.

Despite encouraging growth and a national utility aware of the need to increase transmission and distribution networks, there is a requirement for more nimble players in the market.

While there’s an 88% connection rate to the grid in urban areas, that number falls to 40% in rural areas, according to Power Africa, the US development programme. 

Faced with the choice of expanding the grid network deep into rural areas at cost or choosing not to, Miquel believes it would be best for Senelec to chose the latter. 

“As you reach out to people far away from the network it is costing per connection an enormous amount of money that’s not worth the investment, because the people, particularly in rural areas, consume very little,” he says.

Which is where the importance of mini-grids and companies like Oolu Solar – who sell solar home systems and in-home chargers – will play a key role if the country is to reach its target of universal electrification by 2025.

The long-term prospects for solar generation will face a brighter future if battery storage technologies can be developed and implemented in the country.

Senelec has expressed interest in piloting this solution, but owing to the high cost and unproven revenue streams of the technology it is yet to take off.

Despite these challenges, multinationals continue to show increasing interest in the renewable market in Senegal.

“There’s a clear vision and master plan so that’s really reassuring for a developer like ours, so Senegal is a market we want to continue investing in,” says Miquel.

Written by WIlliam McBain

Source: AfricanBusiness Magazine

World leaders from 37 countries, the United Nations secretary-general and the managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) gathered for a three-day forum in Beijing from April 25 to April 27.

Five African countries participated in the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRFIC): the presidents of Djibouti, Egypt, Kenya and Mozambique, and the Prime Minister of Ethiopia.

These were the top deals they signed:

Kenya

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta signed off on a $666m (67.5bn shillings) loan from Beijing to finance the construction of a data centre for a new tech city and for a highway in Nairobi.

The data center will be based in Kenya’s new smart city, Konza, located 70 kilometres south-east of Nairobi, and will be built by China’s telecoms giant Huawei with 17.5bn shillings in Chinese funding, according to a statement from Kenya’s presidency.

The remaining Sh51bn was pledged by the China Road and Bridge Corporation for the construction of the Nairobi JKIA to the James Gichuru expressway railroad project.

President Kenyatta also witnessed the signing of an operation and maintenance service agreement for the Nairobi to Naivasha segment of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR).

The deals add to Kenya’s bilateral public debt mountain, 72% of which is currently owed to China for most infrastructure projects, according to the Kenyan Business Daily, which quotes official documents from the Ministry of Finance.

China has so far issued Belt and Road-related loans worth over $90bn, a figure that Morgan Stanley bank predicts could reach $1.3trn.

Ethiopia

On the sidelines of the forum, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed met Chinese President Xi Jinping and announced the signing of several deals.

The largest was a $1.8bn agreement between Ethiopia and the State Grid Corporation of China to provide electric power transmission and distribution lines.

During the summit, China also promised to write off debt for all interest-free loans owed by Ethiopia through to the end of 2018. Talks on the restructuring of Ethiopia’s debt with China are expected to continue during the trip.

Djibouti

During the conference Chinese President Xi Jinping met Djiboutian counterpart Ismail Omar Guelleh, and called for progress on the China-Djibouti strategic partnership.

Djibouti’s strategic location at the mouth of the Red Sea has made it a lynchpin of the Belt and Road project.

Doraleh port, described as the most strategically located port in Africa, has pitted the tiny country at the centre of a battle between Dubai’s DP World and a Chinese conglomerate who want to take over the operations.

China set up a military base in Djibouti in 2017, the same year that the small Horn of Africa nation signed up to the Belt and Road, elevating concerns over China’s control of the trade gateway, where 10% of the world’s oil exports and 20% of all commercial goods travel.

A study by the Centre for Global Development listed Djibouti as one of eight countries where Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) funding is leading to rising levels of debt distress.

According to global law firm DLA Piper the One Belt One Road initiative and particularly the Maritime Silk Road, touches on a number of African countries in East and Southeastern Africa (such as Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Madagascar, South Africa), North Africa (Egypt, Morocco and Algeria), and inland African countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Egypt

In his speech at the opening session of the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi called upon Chinese and member states of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to invest in the inter-African megaprojects of Cairo-Cape Town Road and VICMED (a trade shipping route starting from Lake Victoria in Central Africa to the Mediterranean Sea).

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) spot lights on fields that come on Egypt’s priorities of 2030 Vision for comprehensive development, mainly, in energy, infrastructure, information technology, and transportation, President Sisi said, added that the BRI is also consistent with Egypt’s priorities of economic stimulus, trade enhancement, and culture exchange.

President Sisi also shed light on Egypt’s efforts in energy field and its strategic location of Suez Canal in transporting, storing and trading oil and gas products. Egypt is a center of freight transportation services for markets of Asia, the Middle East and Europe, President Sisi said.