Category Archives: Business

The Maravi Post is a leading source for reliable Business news and analysis on Business. Top African Business like  Dangote  Group in Nigeria, Mulli Brothers in Malawi

The 10 Greatest Living Business Leaders In Africa Today
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  • Aliko Dangote, Nigerian.
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  • Onsi Sawiris, Egyptian.
  • Brian Joffe, South African.
  • Strive Masiyiwa, Zimbabwean.
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Business

Government urged to control entry of illegal fishing gear in border posts

Maravi Post Reporter

By Chisomo Kambandanga

MANA-(NKHATABAY)-Fishermen in Nkhata Bay have urged the government to tighten security in all border posts to prevent entry of illegal fishing gear into the country.

Speaking in an interview on Thursday during a media tour organised by PACT Malawi under REFLESH project, one of the fishermen, Timothy Phiri, from the area of Traditional Authority Fukamalaza, said that it is frustrating to see that a lot of illegal fishing gears enter into the country yet they are not allowed.

“Fishermen are just end users of these illegal fishing gears like gillnets, monofilament nets and others. If the department of fisheries is to win the battle against illegal fishing gears, let government tighten security in the boarders otherwise the challenge will still go on and affecting the fishing sector,” Phiri said.

Commenting on the matter, Chairperson for Kawanga Beach Village Committee, Kambeja Chirwa, highlighted that as a committee they are committed to enforcing bylaws in order to curb the malpractice.

“We have bylaws which were made by local leaders and fishermen themselves, with guidance from government officials and other stakeholders. These bylaws are in operation to prohibit the use of illegal fishing gears among others.

“These fishing gears are dangerous to aquatic life, as they take long to decompose once left in the waters,” Chirwa said.

In his remarks, Principal Fisheries Officer responsible for research in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Climate Change, Salim M’balaka, said that government is struggling to completely end the malpractice because some of illegal fishing gears, such as monofilament and the gillnets get into Malawi through unchartered roots.

He, however, assured fishermen that government will continue confiscating illegal fishing gears once found in shops and increase awareness campaign on the dangers of using them while it is looking into ways of dealing with the problem once and for all.

Business, Regional

NBM Plc ranked best in Malawi, Central Africa

Maravi Post Reporter

BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)-National Bank of Malawi (NBM) Plc has been rated the best Bank in Malawi and Central Africa by the France-Based Media Group, Africa Report.

The Media Group, which also publishes a monthly Magazine called ‘Jeune Afrique’, has ranked NBM Plc 20th among the 200 African Institutions with South Africa’s Capitec Bank leading the list.

“A weight is assigned to each to give a score out of 100. Each criterion itself consists of various indicators to which we have assigned a specific weight. In total, around 20 indicators were used”.

According to the methodology used in the ranking, which has been posted on their Africa Report Website, the ranking is composed of five criteria: profitability, liquidity, solvency, and size.

“For example, the profitability dimension includes, among other things, the net result ratio over total assets, liquidity includes the loan-to-deposit ratio, solvency includes the equity to total assets and size includes the total balance sheet. A penalty is applied if a group’s dimension is missing due to insufficient data. When two or more indicators are missing, the bank is not ranked,” reads the methodology.

NBM Plc Marketing and Corporate Affairs Manager, Akossa Hiwa said the recognition is a true indication of the impact made by the Bank in multiple areas.

“We are honoured to be recognized alongside other players within our eco-system. As a Bank, we commit to continue providing financial solutions that create value for the end-user ,” Hiwa said.

In its five-year strategic plan from 2023 to 2027, NBM Plc indicated that it plans to grow to two countries apart from Malawi and Tanzania where the Bank runs Akiba Commercial Bank.

Standard Bank and First Capital Bank (FCB) have been ranked 62 and 67 respectively.

FDH Bank and NBS Bank are positioned 87th and 124th respectively.

https://www.theafricareport.com/322902/capitec-leads-our-ranking-of-africa-top-200-banks/

Agriculture, AMA

Ethiopia: African Development Fund grants $46 million to improve access to water and sanitation for pastoral communities in the Borana region

MaraviPost
Tens of thousands of farmers and low-income households in southern Ethiopia will benefit from a program financed by an African Development Fund donation.

The Board of Directors of the African Development Fund in Abidjan on 28 February 2024, donated $46.02 million to Ethiopia to implement Phase 2 of the Borana Resilient Water Development for Improved Livelihoods Program in the country’s south.

Financial support from the African Development Bank Group’s concessional rate loans window is intended to improve access to integrated, sustainable, climate-smart, gender-sensitive water supply and sanitation services for pastoral communities in the arid lands of the Borana area, in the Oromia region.

Borana’s estimated population of 1.2 million people, of whom half are women, is growing rapidly and projected to reach 1.8 million by 2030. Most rely on pastoralism for their livelihood and are therefore subject to the effects of varying rainfall levels and recurrent droughts that lead to water insecurity. As of March 2023, over 3.3 million livestock have died of water scarcity in the region, leaving over 67,000 households without livelihoods. The climate impacts on pasture and water availability also tend to exacerbate tensions over land and water resources.  

“This is a peace-building program in an environment where the extremes of climate change are increasingly manifesting, millions of livestock are lost, and conflicts are increasing among pastoralist due to limited pastures and water supply,” said Dr Beth Dunford, Vice President, Agriculture, Human and Social Development.

The African Development Fund grant will be used mainly to build and optimize water production and transport systems over more than 85 kilometres. It will also be used to build 9 reservoirs, distribution systems (142.6 kilometres) and connections to give 36,000 new users access to drinking water. In addition, 99 watering troughs will be installed for almost 109,000 head of livestock. The program will also help fund property acquisitions and associated works and services (including overseeing construction) aimed at reducing the climate risks associated with providing multi-purpose drinking water supply and sanitation services. It will also strengthen community-level WASH management systems to support the operation and maintenance of the installed facilities.

“This program responds to the critical challenge of rising water demand in Borana region and intends to mitigate the effects of drought, supporting solutions such as the development of key water infrastructure, institutional capacity building, and enhancing service delivery for sustainable and climate-resilient water provision,” said Osward Chanda, Director, Water Development and Sanitation at African Development Bank Group.

In addition to modernizing sanitary facilities in schools and health centres, the program will fund the construction of public sanitary facilities and run hygiene awareness campaigns, and also provide capacity building and technical assistance on regulating water services at the regional and woreda (district) levels. To fund the maintenance of rural supply systems, the program will help a rural water utility, which — in consultation with the users – will develop applicable tariffs to operate and maintain the new facilities.  

Finally, the program plans to strengthen the management frameworks for catchments that are resilient to climate change and to implement practical adaptation measures for ecosystems, landscapes, and resistant, sustainable livelihoods as well as smarter water management systems.

The rural and peri-urban communities in the Borana area, who are mainly pastoralists and low-income households, especially women and young people, are the program beneficiaries.  An estimated 35,816 people will benefit from access to water supply services, of whom half are women. Some 21,000 people, of whom at least half are also women, will benefit from better access to basic sanitation services.

Distributed byAfrican Media Agency on behalf of African Development Bank

The post Ethiopia: African Development Fund grants $46 million to improve access to water and sanitation for pastoral communities in the Borana region appeared first on African Media Agency.

Source : African Media Agency (AMA)

Business

“Release traders’ names holding sugar”- CAMA tells Fair Trading Commission

Dorica Mtenje

LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-The country’s Consumer Association of Malawi (CAMA) has demanded Competition and Fair Trading Commission (CFTC) to release names of traders holding sugar that has become a scarcity commodities on the local market.

CAMA has also bemoaned sugar’s exorbitant prices on the market.

In a statement signed by CAMA Executive Director, John Kapito state that consumers continue to experience scarcity and high prices of Sugar on the market though sugar is a controlled commodity with no competition regarding the competition and distribution.

Kapito observes that the CFTC which President Lazarus Chakwera ordered to investigate and inform the nation on the reasons behind sugar scarcity on the market has not release a comprehensive report till date.

He adds that sugar distribution and pricing has remained a challenge to consumers by a syndicate of corruption saying, “Producers and distributors are taking advantage of consumers who are already going through the highest cost of living”.

He therefore called upon ministry of Trade to immediate intervene and assist consumers to access sugar at the recommendable price.

Over three months now, Malawi has been grappling with scarcity of sugar as both government and producers have not come up with concrete reasons why the commodity is scarce on the market.

Business

Bliss GVS pharmaceuticals Ltd donates MK30m drugs to KCH

Maravi Post Reporter

LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-In its quest towards Corporate Social Responsibility (CRS) Bliss GVS pharmaceuticals Limited on Wednesday, February 28, 2024 donated assorted medical drugs to Kamuzu Central Hospital (KCH) in the capital Lilongwe.

The medical drugs which including antimalarial, antibiotics, painkillers, cough slap, were worth MK30 million.

Speaking after handing over the medical drugs, Bliss GVS pharmaceuticals Limited’s Marketing Representative Gift Dzingo Mvera said his firm thought of making donation to fill the gap of medical drugs supply shortage to the facility.

Mvera however expects KCH authorities to make use of the donated drugs, “We have confidence in the hospital administration to use drugs for intended purposes while controlling theft”.

Receiving the donation, KCH Nursing officer and administrator Dorica Kambuka lauded Bliss for the timely donation saying will help to ease drug shortages towards Malaria fight, “This rainy season cases of Malaria are high, as such these antimalarial drugs will ease the burden”.

According to Kambuku, KCH treats over 1100 patients daily.

“We need more support beyond drugs to ease medical supplies shortage in our facility as we treat more than 1110 patients daily”, urges Kambuku.

AMA, Business

African Development Bank approves $150 million for Eastern and Southern African Trade & Development Bank (TDB)

MaraviPost

ABIDJAN, Côte d’Ivoire, 29 February 2024, /African Media Agency/-The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group has approved a $150 million Trade Finance Unfunded Risk Participation Agreement facility between the African Development Bank and Trade & Development Bank (TDB). The agreement is expected to boost intra-Africa trade, promote regional integration and contribute to the reduction of the trade finance gap in Africa, in line with the aspirations of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA(link is external)).

African Development Bank will provide guarantee cover of 50% and up to 75% for transactions in low-income countries and transition states on a risk share basis with TDB to a number of qualifying local and regional banks in the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) region, which are active in the trade finance sector. The facility is expected to support about $1.8 billion of trade over the next three years.

“Supporting trade in Africa is a key priority for the AfDB. Trade finance is an important driver of economic growth and is critical for cross-border trade particularly in emerging markets,” said Nwabufo Nnenna, the group’s Director General for the Eastern Africa region. “We are delighted to work with TDB, a strong partner with extensive knowledge and network in Africa, on a shared ambition to support the region’s Trade.”

Admassu Tadesse, TDB Group President and Managing Director, emphasized,  “TDB Group is very pleased to continue building on its strategic partnership and fit-for-purpose risk sharing facilities with the AfDB Group to scale up trade finance and other offerings in a region, where there continues to be large gaps in access to trade finance, among others, and where major international banks have been withdrawing and reducing their risk appetite.”

Distributed byAfrican Media Agency on behalf of African Development Bank

About the AfDB’s Unfunded Risk Participation Agreement (RPA): The Unfunded RPA is one of the trade finance instruments offered by the Bank to support local banks in Africa.  It is designed to give regional and international commercial banks and eligible regional DFIs partial risk cover for their trade finance operations in Africa, with the African Development Bank typically taking a 50 % share of the risk. The Bank selects its commercial partners based on the size of their African portfolio, the breadth of their African market coverage, support for intra-African trade and the quality of the credit approval processes.

The African Development Bank also offers 3-year trade finance Transaction Guarantee (TG) Facility to local banks to support confirmation of their trade finance transactions.

The post African Development Bank approves $150 million Regional Trade Finance Unfunded Risk Participation Agreement facility for Eastern and Southern African Trade & Development Bank (TDB) appeared first on African Media Agency.

Source : African Media Agency (AMA)

Business, Regional

Launched Airtel Ads to support African businesses growth

Maravi Post Reporter


LAGOS-(MaraviPost)-Airtel Africa has launched Airtel Ads, Africa’s first integrated Demand-Side Platform (DSP) aimed at empowering advertisers and agencies to efficiently manage, purchase, and optimize digital ad inventory across multiple ad exchanges in real-time.

Powered by Intent.ai, Airtel Ads is designed for media agencies and businesses, streamlining the process of purchasing advertising space.

This feature enables advertisers to make informed ad placement decisions by combining various tools and functionalities within a single platform and offers a comprehensive solution for digital advertising management.

The platform will leverage Airtel Africa’s extensive customer base of more than 150 million customers, utilizing data from both telecommunications services and mobile wallets.

This approach aims to not only target digitally engaged individuals but also include those traditionally excluded from the digital realm through its 2G and feature phone user base.

Additionally, through the integrated Airtel Voice Reward Ads, the platform has the capability to reach consumers on various devices.

Understanding the current limitations in ad performance for organisations, Airtel Ads aims to seamlessly merge all ad networks with Airtel Africa’s first party telecommunications data.

It will provide a unified advertising platform with precise audience segmentation, a dedicated marketing team, data analytics with post-campaign support in addition to both native language support and access to 260+ bidding parameters.

The platform, powered by ai based brand safety tools, will also accept payments in local African currencies.

Since its inception, the platform has achieved a weekly audience reach of 27 billion impressions, 23.5 million in-app daily impressions and over 200 million daily SMS notifications daily with end-of-SMS tag messaging potential.

Speaking on the launch, Airtel Africa’s Chief Commercial Officer, Anthony Shiner said: “We are excited to introduce Airtel Ads in Africa. This innovative platform will support advertisers and businesses to gain unprecedented control over their marketing campaigns, leveraging Airtel Africa’s extensive customer base and world class technology.

“Airtel Ads is a testament to our leadership in shaping the communications landscape in Africa, ensuring businesses are supported to achieve their objectives using data first tools to inform their business decisions.”

Business

NBM contributes MK2.5m towards Wealth Women Summit

Maravi Post Reporter

BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)-National Bank of Malawi (NBM) Plc has contributed MK2.5 million towards this year’s Wealth Woman Summit slated for Friday and Saturday in Lilongwe.

Speaking after presenting the Cheque to the Summit organisers on Wednesday, NBM Plc’s Marketing and Corporate Affairs Manager, Akossa Hiwa said the Bank considered partnering with Wealth Magazine as it commits to fostering female representation in leadership positions and providing equal opportunities for career growth.

“Critically, this summit, organized by Wealth Magazine, serves as a platform to champion the cause of diversity, challenge stereotypes, and create opportunities for women from diverse backgrounds to thrive.”

“Currently, 41 percent of our total staff members are female, and 28 percent of our managers are female. National Bank of Malawi plc will sponsor this Summit with a contribution of  K2.5 million, demonstrating our commitment to supporting initiatives that promote diversity and inclusion,” said Hiwa.

CEO Africa Roundtable Malawi Chapter and Board Member, George Damson thanked the Bank for supporting the fourth edition of the summit celebrated under the theme ‘Inspiring Inclusion’.

“We are very thankful that the National Bank recognizes that inclusion is a very important aspect in today’s world. Organizing this summit is our way of making sure that we bring to the fore the issue of inclusion,” said Damson.

Organized by CEO of Africa Round Table Malawi Chapter, the summit fosters an inclusive environment where everyone feels valued and empowered to contribute their unique perspectives and talents to society.

Business, Entertainment

PIL plants 6,000 trees in Soche Mountain

Maravi Post Reporter

BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)-Petroleum Importers Limited (PIL), a consortium of four oil marketing companies namely TotalErnegies Malawi, Vivo Energy, Petroda, and Puma Energy, on Wednesday took time off from their offices to plant 6000 trees in Soche Mountain in Blantyre. 

PIL General Manager, Martin Msimuko said the company decided to plant the trees as a way of giving back to the community and restoring the environment.

“We thought it wise to have our first Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative of the year by planting trees as it coincides with the national forestry season.

“PIL is concerned about how Blantyre and its mountains are being degraded. We expect that these trees will grow and add beauty to the scenery of Blantyre and they are also going to purify our environment in our city,” said Msimuko.

Soche Mountain Conservation Trust Project Coordinator, Yangairo commended PIL for the initiative but asked more companies to emulate the gesture, saying the efforts to plant the trees can only bear fruits if they are well nurtured. 

“We need more support from companies just like PIL and its shareholding companies have done. However, we need, as a country, to make sure we take up initiative to take care of the trees. Let us empower the members of the community who volunteer to take up the tasks of caring for the trees,” said Yangairo. 

One of the forest guards at the mountain, Edson Mukhweya also thanked PIL for the support. 

Mukhweya however asked for collaboration between the security agencies and the forestry department in enforcing the forest regulations on those found destroying trees. 

“It is so disturbing to see that as we collaborate to end the wanton cutting down of trees in our mountain, some government agencies act like they are supporting the behaviour. For instance, as guards, we cannot persecute those who are found destroying the trees.

“We therefore take them to the Police, but surprisingly, you will meet the same people in the forest again the next day after being released without trial,” said Mukhweya. 

The national forestry season starts in December up to April every year. 

Business, Regional

 Airtel Africa, Cisco revolutionize secure connectivity for businesses with Network-as-a-Service

Maravi Post Reporter

NAIROBI-(MaraviPost)-Airtel Africa, a leading telecommunications service provider, today announces a ground-breaking expansion of its service portfolio in collaboration with Cisco.

The strategic partnership aims to empower businesses to seamlessly embark on their digital transformation journey by offering Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) solutions across various service platforms.

In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, Airtel Africa recognizes the growing need for businesses to accelerate their operations without the additional task of building or managing network infrastructure.

The NaaS offerings include an array of services such as enhanced security, surveillance, connectivity, and cloud solutions, all delivered through a secure cloud platform.

Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) represents a paradigm shift in how organizations consume network infrastructure, allowing users to operate networks efficiently without the need to own, build, or maintain physical infrastructure.

This innovative approach reduces the challenges associated with traditional network models, including capital expenses, manual service provisioning, and lengthy issue-resolution processes.

Airtel Africa’s NaaS offerings, powered by Cisco’s cutting-edge Catalyst and Meraki cloud-based platforms, promise to revolutionize connectivity for businesses of all sizes.

The solutions are designed to replace hardware-centric VPNs, load balancers, firewall appliances, and Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) connections.

With the flexibility to scale up or down based on demand, rapid service deployment, and reduction of hardware costs, Airtel Africa and Cisco are reshaping the future of business connectivity.

“As Africa transitions digitally, businesses will require a fusion of connectivity, mobility, security, and cloud into a service offering for every business irrespective of geographical spread or operational needs,” remarked Oliver Fortuin, CEO of Airtel Business Africa.

“Airtel Africa NaaS also allows a managed service option, enabling Airtel Africa to fully manage the daily operational requirements of supporting such infrastructure as growth accelerates.”

The NaaS offerings will be accessible to all business customers, including small businesses, as well as global customers with operations worldwide.

Airtel Africa and Cisco Systems are committed to facilitating a smooth digital transition for businesses, providing them with the tools they need to thrive in an increasingly connected world.

“At Cisco, we believe that every organization would benefit from simplifying powerful technology,” said Vish Iyer, President, Service Provider, Asia Pacific and Japan, Cisco.

“Together with Airtel Africa, we are reducing networking complexities and securely connecting the world through Network-as-a-Service. This innovative approach is a great option for businesses wanting to shift to a cloud operating model without a heavy lift.

Our partnership with Airtel Africa marks a pivotal moment as we pledge to deliver the majority of our cutting-edge technology portfolio to businesses across the continent in the most simplified, flexible manner imaginable: cloud-driven, cloud-delivered, cloud-managed, offered as-a-service, and, above all, fortified with unparalleled security.”