The Coronavirus (hereinafter “COVID-19”) is upending lives around the world—equally in developed and developing countries. Some are already affected by the deadly impact of COVID-19 (e.g. China, Italy, and France), while others’ lives have been altered due to efforts taken to “flatten the curve,” to ensure hospital systems
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Corporate and Investment
Summary of the Final 2018 Report of the President’s Advisory Council on Doing Business in Africa
In its final deliverable of the 2016–2018 term, the President’s Advisory Council on Doing Business in Africa (“Council”), issued a call to the U.S. Government and the American business community to make a deliberate effort towards nurturing greater U.S. commercial engagement with Africa. The final report was prepared by the…
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Smart Power: Investing in Youth Leadership and Development
“So, young people…my message to you is simple, keep believing, keep marching, keep building, keep raising your voice. Every generation has the opportunity to remake the world.”
-President Barack Obama, 2018 Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture, South Africa
Of the many statistics that define Africa’s complexity, this may be the most…
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Ross Outlines Trump’s Commercial Policy Toward Africa
Last week in a speech to the U.S.-Africa Business Summit sponsored by the Corporate Council on Africa, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross signaled that there would be continuity in U.S. commercial policy to Africa.
Ross struck a positive tone and noted that President Trump described Africa as a “place…
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Covington Opens a New Office in Johannesburg, Expanding the Project Finance Team
Covington will significantly expand its Project Development and Finance practice with the addition of Ben Donovan, Agnieszka Klich, Richard Keenan and David Miles, and the firm’s Middle East regional capabilities in corporate and dispute resolution matters with the addition of Jack Greenwald. With these additions, the firm will also open…
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Can Pension Funds Help Solve Africa’s Infrastructure Deficit?
Despite the global focus on growth trends in Africa, one trend has flown mostly below the radar: the increase in the number and size of pension funds. In addition to evidencing increased income security, the continent’s growing number of pension funds could potentially be a new source of funding to…
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Japan and Africa: Turning a New Page
Is Africa becoming a strategic priority for Japan?
The Sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD VI), held in Nairobi, Kenya on August 27 and 28, suggests that Japan is looking at Africa differently than in the past. For one, the five previous TICADs have been held in Japan;…
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Six Things to Consider When Doing Business in Sub-Saharan Africa
Over the past two decades, Sub-Saharan Africa has caught the attention of an increasing number of investors who are looking for new and promising opportunities. While growth has slowed in some of the region’s oil exporting countries, the “Africa Rising” narrative continues due to the region’s youthful population of 1…
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Commercializing Africa’s Rapid Urbanization
In a recent interview, Executive Director of the Nairobi-based United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) Dr. Joan Clos stated that “urbanization will be a big opportunity for Africa in the coming years.” It comes as no surprise that harnessing the potential of Africa’s urbanization will be a top agenda…
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Diamond (Mines) Are Not Forever
In the last week of February, Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe announced that all privately owned diamond mines would be nationalized and taken over by the newly created state-owned Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Co. The move affected six primarily Chinese companies. This decision is in keeping with the larger nationalization plan for…
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