Unveiled: 3 key emerging trends for Africa

NaijaAgroNet:

The 2017 version of Ecobank Research’s Fixed Income, Currency and Commodities (FICC) Guidebook, has identified tripod future for the African continent, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The Senior Public Relations Director at Ecobank group, Sherelle Folkes, disclosed in a press statement made available to NaijaAgroNet and listed these to include that the continent’s economy rebounding after a trying year, just as gas has been discovered as the next oil in West Africa, whilst the continent is evolving in Financial Technology (FinTech) leadership.

NaijaAgroNet quoted Folkes as saying that expert knowledge and analysis on African markets for investors and businesses, was launched at AfricaFICC, indicated a positive outlook for the continent, with three key trends forecast to take hold during the next 12 months.

NaijaAgroNet reports that the first indicates an economic rebound in sub-Saharan Africa driven by a recovery in the region’s economic heavyweights, such as Nigeria and South Africa, and ongoing growth in the top performers, Ethiopia, Côte d’Ivoire and (more recently) Ghana.

Growth will be driven by a rise in oil production (notably in Ghana, Republic of Congo, Nigeria and Angola), strengthening infrastructure investment across West and East Africa, and improved weather conditions which bode well for crops.

Strengthening economic activity, plus a moderate improvement in oil and mineral prices, will help narrow the current account deficit, but pressure on SSA currencies will remain.

The second emerging trend points to West Africa’s gas sector becoming a hive of activity in 2018 from Senegal to Angola, with the development of gas pipelines, floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) platforms and major gas field projects.

Governments in the Gulf of Guinea and across West Africa have ramped up efforts to secure gas supply in order to boost domestic power generation and diversify their revenues away from crude oil.

Deregulating the gas market and allowing market-driven gas prices will be key to unlocking further gas infrastructure investment across the region.

The third trend suggests Fintech innovation in Africa picking up speed in 2018 buoyed by a new generation of Africans who are ‘digital natives’. The proliferation of tech hubs across Africa (notably in South Africa, Kenya, Rwanda, Nigeria, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire) will nurture the next wave of African start-ups and help connect them with investors.

Isaac Oyimah/GEE

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LCCI to host Expo on ICT

   ITRealms

   

Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has unveiled plans to host Information Communications Technology (ICT) Expo tagged ‘ICTEL EXPO’ which is scheduled to hold at the Federal Palace Hotel, Lagos between 15th and 18th of April, 2015.

ITRealms learnt that ICTEL EXPO 2015 which has the theme “Connecting Businesses, Creating Opportunities” offers four days of inspiration, innovation and information”. LCCI is an event which aims to bring together the stakeholders in the ICT industry, both indigenous and international that will last for four days.

So far, the ICTEL Expo has received the support and endorsement of most of the key industry stakeholders; National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC), Nigeria Internet Registration Agency (NIRA), Federal Ministry of Communication Technology (COMTECH), Computer Professionals Registration Council Of Nigeria (CPN) and Co- Creation Hub(CCHUB)

 ITRealms also reports that application for participation for the ICTEL EXPO 2015 is open for brands, organizations who want to seize the opportunity provided by the platform to give visibility to their products and services. The EXPO also promises to provide excellent networking opportunities for business decision makers, innovation mangers, enterprise solution providers, startups investors and all other stakeholders in the ICT industry.

Cyriacus Nnaji/GEE


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AstraZeneca unveils health research grant in Nigeria

NaijaAgroNet:

The AstraZeneca Nigeria Research Grant has been unveiled in Nigeria for health affiliated research, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The grant, NaijaAgroNet gathered  is an initiative to facilitate research in both communicable and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in this West African country and follows closely on the recent successful launch of a comparable venture in Kenya earlier this year.

NaijaAgroNet also gathered that over the next three years, AstraZeneca plans to invest a total of US$300 000 (US$100 000/year) in a variety of research projects in Nigeria, with the aim of building medical capacity in the country, providing support to both experienced medical academics as well as medical academics embarking on a career in research.

Karl Friberg, AstraZeneca’s Country President for South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa, informed NaijaAgroNet the intention was to fund 5-7 projects per year. 

“Prevalence/epidemiological, pharmaco-economic and health outcomes data are vital if we’re to understand the disease burden in Africa. The Grant will make possible the studies needed to provide such data,” Friberg said.

The focus in Africa on infectious diseases like HIV/AIDS and malaria is now broadening to include NCDs like cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases (e.g. hypertension) and asthma. “We know these conditions are increasing rapidly in Africa, but we’re unable to quantify the extent of the problem,” he continues.

 “We need local data to know what we’re dealing with – so that we can partner with governments to address matters earlier in the disease process and avoid the higher downstream costs that come with treating advanced disease states.”

The Nigerian government is especially concerned about the increasing NCD burden. “The Minister of Health is interested in establishing a national stroke and cardiovascular disease prevention programme, but is dependent on hospitals coming up with good-quality representative data on the prevalence of major cardiovascular risk factors,” says Friberg. Over and above the Grant, AstraZeneca is therefore also funding a project run out of the capital, Abuja, to assess the prevalence of these risk factors.

The study involves 5000 subjects and is being undertaken in partnership with the National Hospital Abuja. It represents an investment of an additional US$100 000 and is currently under way. “We’re proud to feel that even before the official launch of the ‘Grant’, we’re already helping to meet Nigeria’s health needs,” observes Friberg. “By supporting the programme, AstraZeneca is positioning itself as the partner of choice in raising awareness, early detection and appropriate management of major cardiovascular risk factors. This will be to the benefit of all stakeholders – the hospital, the patients/community and AstraZeneca.”

The key aim of the ‘AstraZeneca Nigeria Research Grant’ is to build capacity and capability to conduct research in Nigeria. “We hope to build the next generation of academics in Nigeria by assisting them to undertake clinical trials, have their research published and present their findings internationally. For science to deliver value, data need to be shared and challenged as the findings become known, understood and used constructively.”

AstraZeneca believes that pharmaceutical companies need to move beyond their traditional roles and form partnerships to create a meaningful difference in the health of a nation. Friberg feels that the ‘AstraZeneca Nigeria Research Grant’ is a reflection of the company’s commitment to the country and to Africa as a whole. 

“When all is said and done, it’s about making a difference to the patients themselves. I have great hopes and expectations that this initiative will produce many high-quality research projects that will provide crucial insights into Nigeria’s disease profile, especially with regard to NCDs. And once we have this information, AstraZeneca will continue to work together with the Nigerian government to address these matters.”

Isaac Oyimah/GEE
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Pix: R-L: Tarek Rabah, Area Vice President , Middle East& Africa,AstraZeneca Nigeria, Professor Folashade Ogunsola, Provost College of Medicine, University College Lagos, Karl Friberg, Country President, South Africa & Sub-Sahara Africa, AstraZeneca Nigeria and Jude Abonu, Country Manager, AstraZeneca Nigeria at the grand launch of AstraZeneca Scientific Research Trust Grant in Nigeria held in Lagos yesterday- 19^th February, 2014