My Corporate Africa Newsletter

Africa Outlook and Risk

Both concern and hope were expressed for the political situation in Guinea-Bissau, after the death of President Malam Bacai Sanhá in January. Votes will be held on 18 March in Guinea-Bissau, and neighbor Senegal is also in the process of elections. The 26 February elections were not conclusive and Senegal will now hold a second round of presidential elections that will witness a run-off between President Abdoulaye Wade and former prime minister, Macky Sall.

Good governance is an important feature of thriving, sustainable and progressive business. Africa is not an indistinguishable land mass but has distinct regions, industries and cultures. However, across the continent, 2012 will be marked as the year of elections. Further presidential and parliamentary elections are planned for Mali, Gambia, Lesotho, Egypt, Angola, Seychelles, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Togo, Libya, Tunisia, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe, Mauritania, Algeria, Ghana, Republic of Congo, Guinea and Madagascar. New leaders may materialize who will borrow time to continue their mandate and impact upon the region’s industries and economies.

Sustainable and transparent legal systems are high on many of the presidential agendas competing in elections in 2012. The realization by many African leaders post democracy in South Africa was that the best way to attract investors is to deter risks and increase security through sound and visible legal structures taking in all the country’s laws and investment needs.

Numerous conferences and exhibitions will be staged alongside many of the elections. Many of them will focus upon the absence of investments that have become emblematic of Africa and a challenge for all African governments. Every year, meetings after meetings and case studies followed by more studies confirm the virtues of investing in Africa, and praises for the numerous sectors of opportunities ripe for investors’ monies. In the past decade the responses are that the risk factors are still prevalent and impact upon long-term projects like transport which has a long pay-back time and government regulations in the details.

Invest Africa 2012

Despite the tradition of insecurity and risks associated with Africa some industry sectors have abundant opportunities paramount for investments in 2012.

Mining

Several countries have largely underdeveloped mining industries with huge commercial potential. Nigeria is considered to be an oil and gas oasis but also has massive untapped resources in mining; a vast array of mineral resources which include iron ore, coal, bauxite, gold, tin, lead and zinc which have been overlooked because of a lack of a cohesive industry policy and preoccupation with oil. DRC, Tanzania, Namibia, and Zambia also have massive reserves of valuable elements such diamond, cobalt, gold, copper, zinc, and coltan.

Infrastructure

According to Forbes a hugely influential US business magazine, investments in infrastructure is critical to Africa’s growth. The World Bank estimates that Africa needs an annual US$80 billion annually to cover infrastructure needs. A sum considered by Corporate Africa to be at best 10 times less than the amount really required if Africa is to own cutting edge infrastructure that would allow the region to compete globally. Corporate Africa forecasts that the Africa region has a need for near $800 billion annually over the next ten years to become globally competitive. And because of the finance gap and a deficit of reserves in governments’ coffers, numerous opportunities for private investors abound to partner with governments in their bid to build capacity in infrastructure the likes of reliable power and water supplies, roads and railway systems, and communal infrastructure space and housing.

Fast Moving Consumer Goods

The McKinsey Global Institute estimates that Africa consumers’ spend will be about US$1 trillion in 2012, with a middle class of near 300 million looking to buy new products and services, proving a bounty trail for fast moving consumer goods (FMCG). There is also a huge and increasing opportunity for manufacturers and retailers of FMCGs like food, beverages, home and personal care products. Investors who can quickly step in to occupy the market will be the dominant players in the future economy.

Technology

Corporate Africa has noted that Africa’s technology sector is also very promising and contains numerous opportunities surrounding the internet, ecommerce, and software. A myriad of opportunities similar to those in the northern hemisphere are locked up in this sector. Yet the challenge facing many entrepreneurs across Africa is the absence of a pool of venture capitalists to fund projects, especially technology which is often considered a side issue by financiers in Africa who are unwilling to fund the sector and give it the acknowledgement it deserves.

Technology of the present and indeed the future are integral to Corporate Africa, its agenda and reports. Our publication desires to spearhead an explosion of technology across the continent. As Africans become more technology savvy and connected by web and social media, Corporate Africa will be defining the technology, finance, and opportunities that could lead into an African Silicone Valley which would register the continent as a place for technological innovation and investments.

Corporate Africa through its social media, conferences, digital and print publications will be urging entrepreneurs and investors across the continents to make their own reality. Establishing the X factor necessary to propel ideas and innovations will provide untold impetus if bands of venture capitalists are prepared to take risks to get the African Jacks out of the Box and onto the corporate streets of the future, where they will be required to support the people and their economies. Corporate Africa is calling financiers to the task of laying down smart monies and options for gifted and business minded entrepreneurs and visionaries to bring about some world-class companies that could change the future of the continent during the 21st century.

Conferences

5th Partnerships for Prevention and Care Africa Health Conference
Mulungushi International Conference Centre
Lusaka, Zambia
1-3 July 2012

In association with Beckton Dickinson (BD), Novo Nordisk and the National Health Ministry, Zambia, the event focuses on private-public partnerships to increase investments into prevention and care in Zambia, the Southern Africa region and Africa whilst promoting the competence of national health and Medicare infrastructure inside the country. It offers a one stop-shop for investors and governments to engage, through plenary and discussion sessions, simulation panels, exhibition, and pre scheduled qualified behind closed doors meetings, and workshops.

Previous visitors and delegates included Governments, Investors, SME’s Doctors and Consultants, Medical service suppliers, Public Health Directors and Coordinators, Health Agencies and National Business Coalitions combating HIV/AIDS.

For more information visit www.corporatehealthfoundation.org

The Republic of South Sudan Summit
Juba, the Republic of South Sudan
20-22 March 2012

The country has an unquenchable thirst for investment in health and Medicare, primary and tertiary infrastructure, including construction, housing, telecommunication, water purification, pharmaceutical plants, warehousing, and electric power generation sectors.

In partnership with Corporate Africa, this ground breaking event will be the first of its kind to be held in Juba, South Sudan. With the event in Juba, the Government of South Sudan and its ministries will be in a position to send a strong delegation.

Johannesburg – Africa’s World Class City

Johannesburg’s status as one of the most prominent cities in Africa is undeniable. This year, Corporate Africa invites investors from South and Southern Africa, Africa and globally to partner us and the JDZ (Johannesburg Development Zone) to work in rebuilding and rejuvenating inner city Gauteng and make it a truly World Class City capable of attracting world class investors, events, markets and visitors seeking leisure in one of Africa’s most exciting cities and countries.

Special Reports

Corporate Africa special reports are distributed on name and job title basis to Business Consumers and Policy Makers across Africa and in delegates’ packs and conferences promoting the competence of the region’s industries and economies. Since 1994, 30,000 investors, exporters, and governments from around the world, many of whom are already established trade partners with Africa have benefited from participation and association with the journal, including IBM, Rohde and Schwarz, Telkom, MTN, and Intel.

Africa Oil and Gas

Corporate Africa has tasked leading experts and business people to address issues surrounding the implementation of Nigeria’s Petroleum Investment Bill. The bill has been and still is a significant talking point in the business world and Corporate Africa will renew its focus on this matter and how it will add capacity and bring value to the exciting opportunities already being exploited across West Africa, Africa’s energy landscape.

Africa Telecom Growth Strategy Report

Telecommunications is big business in Africa and Corporate Africa will look at the next phase for satellite technology and its partnership with mobile telephony and national telecom to build capacity and access to connectivity across the region, especially in remote regions onshore deserts and offshore where much of the region’s oil and gas industry is situated.

Partnerships for Prevention and Care Health Report: Zambia

To coincide with this year’s health conference in Zambia, Corporate Africa is producing its special report on health and Medicare each quarter throughout 2012. The reports focus upon the prevention and care of infectious diseases through Private Public Partnerships lead by private sector investors and the application of their expertise, sciences, and technology in pursuit of increasing prevention and care, fitness and wellness. The health reports partner with foreign investors including life science and Medicare companies, governments, international developmental agencies, including UNAIDS, World Health Organization, and global and national business coalitions on HIV/AIDS, TB, and Malaria.

The Partnerships for Prevention and Care Health reports are distributed to corporate and political leaders, ministries of health, directors of national health services, doctors, management nurses, public health directors and managers, national planning coordinators and financiers, director general of IDOs, directors of national and international NGOs and community care clinics and health centers.

More than 60,000 companies receive this newsletter each month. But information is at the foot of this letter about how to unsubscribe or update your contact details should you require. Do not hesitate to contact us if you require any further information. Thank you for reading this edition of Corporate Africa newsletter

African Petroleum Corp & Anadarko
21 February 2012
New discoveries raise West Africa oil hopes

MONROVIA/FREETOWN - Energy companies African Petroleum Corp and Anadarko said they struck oil off the coasts of Liberia and Sierra Leone, raising hopes for an energy bonanza in the war-scarred West African states.

African Petroleum said on Tuesday its Narina-1 well struck 105 feet of net oil pay at its offshore Liberia LB-09 block, adding an extensive exploration and appraisal programme was planned to see if the reservoir was commercially viable. "Narina-1 has identified a potentially large accumulation of light good quality oil at the Turonian level as well as excellent quality oil in the Albian," Chief Executive Karl Thompson said in a statement.

Liberia's top oil official said the discovery was "good news for Liberia" but warned against unrealistic expectations. "We urge everyone to be very patient," Liberia National Oil Company CEO Randolph McClain said on local radio. "It will take time to fully appraise this discovery and years, between five to seven years, before a drop of oil is produced from the well."

Anadarko Petroleum Corp also said on Tuesday that one of its deepwater exploration wells located offshore Sierra Leone encountered 98 net feet of hydrocarbons. Oil exploration off the coast of West Africa has surged since 2007 when Tullow Oil found the Jubilee field, one of the continent's biggest recent finds. The field came on line in late 2010, driving double-digit economic growth in Ghana.

"What you've had since then was an increasing number of finds showing that there are oil systems in the region. Announcements like this will only raise the excitement," said John Marks, director of consultancy Africa Energy.

Both Liberia and Sierra Leone have been eager to develop their mining and energy industries after years of civil war hindered investment and left infrastructure in ruins. "It means a lot for the economy of Sierra Leone, it means a lot for our revenue generation drive," said Richard Konteh, Sierra Leone's minister of trade and industry.
Countries along West Africa's Gulf of Guinea already produce more than 3 million barrels of oil per day, most of it from OPEC member Nigeria, and Washington estimates the region will supply about a quarter of U.S. oil imports by 2015. Positive drilling results along the coast have raised hopes among ordinary people in Sierra Leone and Liberia that joining the club of oil exporters will help them, but they have also triggered fear of corruption and instability that has hit other resource-dependent countries like Nigeria.

"We want to see what the government will do, so it will benefit the average Sierra Leonean," said Samuel Issa Kamara, a 29-year-old shop worker in Freetown. "The oil is a natural gift from God, so every Sierra Leonean should benefit from it."

The oil find could also raise the stakes in Sierra Leone's presidential election, due in November, a spokesman for President Ernest Bai Koroma said. Koroma is seeking a new term in the polls. Anadarko said the Jupiter 1 well offshore Sierra Leone was drilled to a total depth of about 21,212 feet in water depths of about 7,215 feet in the Sierra Leone/Liberia Basin. It said additional evaluation of the area was likely.

Anadarko operates the block with a 55 percent working interest. Co-owners in the block include Repsol Exploracion Sierra Leone S.L and Tullow Sierra Leone B.V. Australia-listed African Petroleum Corp owns 100 percent of Liberia blocks LB-09 and LB-08.

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The World Bank
16 February
Robert Zoellick will retire as President of the World Bank on June 30

WASHINGTON - The President of the World Bank Group Robert B. Zoellick announced today its intention to leave office at the expiration of its current mandate on 30 June. The five years of this term saw the Bank make changes internally and externally, play an unprecedented role in the global economic crisis, including relying on record levels of replenishment to inject over 247 billion dollars in developing countries to help to ensure higher growth and fight against poverty.

"It's an honor to have led such an outstanding institution and provided with an exceptionally talented staff," said Zoellick. "Together, we worked to help developing countries to negotiate crises and adapt to changes in the global economy. The Bank has recognized that the world we live in now is a result of multiple poles of growth that make the traditional concepts of "Third World" outdated, and at which developing countries now have a key role as drivers of growth and as stakeholders in their own right and responsible. At the same time, we have greatly expanded the support for the poor, both at the population level and at the country or community level, and showed that the Bank can play an indispensable role as an integral both engine, catalyst and innovator in the context of a modernized multilateralism. "

"I am delighted that when the world needed an increased effort on the part of the Bank, our shareholders have responded by increasing its resources and supporting key reforms that have enabled us to act more faster and more efficiently and more open, "he added. "The Bank is now in a position strong and healthy, and well placed to face new challenges, and the time has come naturally for me to hand in a new direction, to provide feedback my full support. "
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African Union & World Bank
1 February 2012
The African Union Commission and the World Bank held High-Level Consultations at the AU Headquarters

ADDIS ABABA - The meeting was part of regular consultations on the partnership between both organizations and was chaired by the Chairperson of the Commission, H.E. Dr. Jean Ping, who was accompanied by the Deputy Chairperson, H.E. Mr. Erastus Mwencha, while the World Bank Delegation was led by the Vice President for Africa, Mrs. Obiageli Ezekwesili.

The purpose of the meeting was to follow-up on the theme of the Summit – Boosting Intra-African trade – and review ways and means of enhancing and maximizing the effectiveness of WB support for the AU and Africa, in that respect.

Issues discussed at the meeting included: sub-regional and regional integration and trade; capacity building; agriculture and food security; funding; and mechanisms for the Bank’s support to the Commission. The Chairperson thanked the World Bank for its support to Africa and emphasized the need for Africa’s Donors and Partners to follow through on their commitments and pledges to the Continent.

Chairperson Ping thanked Vice President Ezekwesili, who will be leaving her post in May, for her fruitful efforts to improve relations between the World Bank and Africa.

“I commend you for the excellent job you have done to improve relations between the World Bank and Africa. We understand the challenges you may have encountered in the process and appreciate your productive focus and tenacity. I wish you success in your professional pursuits and hope that wherever you go, you will not forget Africa,” the Chairperson said.

On her part, Vice President Ezekwesili thanked Chairperson Ping for making time to personally receive her delegation, despite his exhausting Pre-Summit and Summit schedule.

With regard to her tenure at the Bank, Mrs. Ezekwesili said: “Improving relations between the World Bank and the African Union was the most natural thing for me to do. Dealing with Africa as a true partner and not simply dictating policy to the Continent is the right approach. It was not easy but I am proud of what we accomplished by working together and I promise that my successor will continue in the same vein. This is a good time for Africa, as all the key macro-economic indicators suggest. Africa and the African Union must continue to drive the agenda, with more emphasis on economics than politics.”

The Vice President assured the Chairperson of the sustained interest and determination of the World Bank to continue assisting Africa’s agricultural sector to help achieve food security for the people of the Continent