East African Business Notifier

British International Investment has announced a  ZAR125 million ($6.7 million ) investment in two 140MW wind farms in the Northern and Eastern Cape of South Africa.  The new funding was trailed at a business reception in Cape Town hosted by  BII and the UK’s development finance institution (DFI) and impact investor, while they celebrated 75 years of investing for impact in Africa.  This is part of a three-project cluster co-developed by H1 Capital and EDF Renewables. Currently under construction, the two wind farms are expected to reach completion in 2024 and will provide clean, affordable energy to South Africa. BII has invested in at least 150 South African businesses since 1995, amounting to over $2bn committed to South Africa, and its portfolio companies have supported over 54,500 jobs a year since 2014. By the end of 2022, BII’s portfolio value in South Africa had expanded to approximately $285 million.  South Africa faces a severe energy crisis, which aff...

  Airtel Uganda, Uganda’s First 5G Network has launched the first 5G Home Broadband Device with a promise to boost connectivity in Uganda. The new development was announced during the Airtel – Wednesday Night Golf monthly mug tournament held at Uganda Golf Club today 29 th  November 2023. The adoption of Home Broadband internet has gradually grown over the years and was further boosted by the recent COVID-19 pandemic. The lockdown saw a surge in demand for home internet as the population adjusted to working from home, online studies, and online business, among other shifts.  To meet this high demand, Internet Service Providers (ISP) have had to offer innovative solutions for their customers to enjoy different opportunities of the internet such as fast downloads, live video streaming in real-time with no buffering, working from home with ease, online gaming, among others.    Airtel Uganda, Home Broadband Director, Denis Kahindi, said, “In August, we broke the new...

The Bezos Earth Fund announced  its headline sponsorship of the 2023 Global Student Energy Summit (SES 2023), under the theme “Reimagining the Future”, hosted by New York University Abu Dhabi from November 28th to December 1st, 2023.  This historic event will take place at the margins of COP28, bringing together 650+ young people from over 150 countries with industry leaders and energy experts, championing youth participation in driving a just and equitable clean energy future. SES is the world's largest youth-led energy event, ensuring equal gender representation and  diverse perspectives with 40% of attendees experiencing their first international conference .   The summit provides a transformative space for collaboration on energy solutions, engaging over 30,000 young people in virtual and in-person capacity-building and digital engagement sessions leading up to SES 2023. Andrew Steer, President and CEO of the Bezos Earth Fund, expressed enthusiasm for this g...

When we turn a blind eye to content piracy, we undermine the ability of African storytellers to express themselves. By fighting to protect intellectual property, we keep local productions viable, and we ensure our people have a voice. Beloved,   Damalie, Hotel  Mara, and Kan See Me … all of these are expressions of our society, showcased by talented creators and production crews, telling African stories for African audiences. All are threatened by content piracy. A nation’s creative output is a fundamental part of its identity. One could even argue that art and creative works are  what allows a group of people to define themselves as a nation. In centuries past, those artworks might have included pottery, sculpture, textile and clothing design, as well as religious and cultural artefacts. Today, these cultural signifiers are still produced, but they exist alongside contemporary art forms that are equally important in defining national culture today. Those modern art forms...

From the advent of time, businesses have leaned into communities not only for growth but also for dependence.  The dependence on people for sales, for staffing and even for manufacturing. Without community, businesses would cease to exist as they so seem.  However, the major question is the role of businesses and the communities they operate in beyond employment and the provision of goods and services. Key to this is to consider the need for businesses to give back to and ensure that the communities they operate in thrive and are operating efficiently hence the term CSR or corporate social responsibility. The birth of CSR as we came to know it began in the 18 th  Century wealthy businessman and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, fronted the Gospel of Wealth, urging the rich to support social causes, by lifting up and protecting those less fortunate, according to an article titled Wealth in the North American Review No. CCCXCI, June 1889 In the 1880s, CSR was mainly looked at...

SAP this week reaffirmed its commitment to youth skills by profiling its SAP Educate to Employ initiative, and public-private partnership with UNICEF and government at an event held in Johannesburg. The event showcases the SAP Educate to Employ initiative which aims to educate youth aged 16–24 years on soft skills, foundational knowledge and SAP skills using the  student zone on the SAP Learning site , where students can learn about the latest SAP solutions for free to kickstart their career.  The initiative forms part of SAP's global commitment to supporting UNICEF's Generation Unlimited (GenU), a public-private-youth- partnership that aims to deliver innovative solutions to challenges youth face around the world. In the region, the partnership is aimed at helping young people in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa gain skills for employment, with 100 youth forming part of the initial intake in South Africa. "Skilling of our youth to meaningfully participate in the digital ec...

Mastercard and Hatua.net – an independent UK and US registered charity working to promote education and employment among youth in Kenya and Uganda – have joined hands to empower young people with the essential skills needed to thrive in today's competitive job market. Primary school in Kenya and Uganda is free but secondary school fees, as well as the related costs, are most often not affordable for those living in slums. This means talented students are often unable to fulfill their full potential and make a difference to their communities and the wider world by continuing their education. “Hatua”, meaning ‘the next step’ in Swahili, works to help break this cycle of deprivation. By working with primary schools in some of the most challenged areas of Nairobi and Kampala, and with secondary schools with a proven ability to place students in leading universities, Hatua.net sponsorships give students the opportunity to build a brighter future.   Since 2010, Hatua.net has helped more ...

MTN South Africa and Huawei won the “Sustainability Champion of the Year” award at this year’s AfricaCom Awards. AfricaCom is the largest annual event in the communications industry in Africa.  Its awards are designed to recognise organisations and institutions that have made innovative and outstanding contributions to the telecom industry in Africa. The award was given in recognition of their work in building flexible green site solutions. Developed against the background of South Africa’s ongoing power crisis, the solution uses green and intelligent technologies to perform end-to-end site reconstruction and reinforcement with power supply, distribution, load, and intelligent O&M. Thanks to innovations that include anti-theft reconstruction and smart power consumption, the solution is highly adaptable to power outages and weak power grids and ensures more than 98% energy availability at sites. Huawei’s advanced OWS+NetEco intelligent O&M platform, meanwhile, helps achieve ...

Huawei announced it has already brought connectivity to 90 million people in remote regions in nearly 80 countries following its pledge to the International Telecommunication Union's (ITU) Partner2Connect (P2C) Digital Coalition.  The announcement was made as part of Huawei's first progress report since it joined the Coalition last year. Dr. Liang Hua, Chairman of the Board of Huawei, made the announcement at the company's 2023 Sustainability Forum, which is themed "Thriving Together with Tech: Realizing Sustainable Development." The event also brought together Doreen Bogdan-Martin, the Secretary-General of ITU; Jeffrey Sachs, President of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network and Commissioner of the UN Broadband Commission for Development; as well as representatives from telecommunications ministries and regulators, including some from Pakistan and Ghana. Attendees explored how digital infrastructure can better drive sustainable development and help ...

Motorcare Uganda Limited, has launched the Next-Gen Ford Ranger with advanced safety and technology features.    During the launch, Richard Musani the General Manager, Sales and Marketing at Motorcare Uganda, said, “We are thrilled to introduce the Next Generation Ranger into the Ugandan Market. The Next Gen Ranger Delivers High-Tech Features, Smart Connectivity, More Safety, Enhanced Capability and Versatility for Work, Family and Play.”   Addressing invited guests, Florence Makada the Managing Director, Motorcare Uganda noted, “ We are thrilled to have Ford as an addition to our Family of Brands at Motorcare Uganda, our customers now have an array of choice and can visit our recently opened showroom dedicated for Ford at Kitgum House. Aftersales Services are available at Motorcare Jinja Road and across our upcountry service network.”   New Look, New Capabilities Customer input was key to developing the next-generation Ranger’s rugged new look. Ford spent ...