On 4 April 2018, Covington’s client Building Energy, a multinational company operating in the renewable energy industry, signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with the South African state owned utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd (Eskom) to build, own and operate a 147 MW wind plant in Roggeveld (on the border of the Western and Northern … Continue Reading
The theme of this year’s African Development Bank (AfDB) meetings, which ran from May 23rd to the 27th, was timely and necessary: “Energy and Climate Change.” In the first day of the meetings, AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina announced the AfDB Group agenda for the continent’s economic transformation, which includes The New Deal on Energy for … Continue Reading
As the currency crisis plaguing Sub-Saharan Africa in 2015 continued through the recent holidays, Nigerians have learned that they can have their naira, but they can’t spend it too. Nigerians saw several restrictions on foreign exchange (“forex”) put in place, limiting what they could do with their naira. Triggered by the dive in oil prices … Continue Reading
President Obama, on January 11, suspended the application of duty-free treatment to South Africa’s agricultural exports that come into the U.S. under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). The suspension will take effect on March 15 if South Africa does not lower tariffs on American poultry products before then. The development represents another twist … Continue Reading
Well-known as a destination for experiencing some of the world’s most breathtaking natural assets, the Sub-Saharan African region is making progress in staking a larger claim to the multibillion dollar medical tourism industry and is the fastest growing region for wellness tourism. Strategic trade and investment policies have played a significant role in these advancements. … Continue Reading
Landowners in South Africa again are focused on a governmental land reform policy that seeks to prohibit foreign ownership of land in the country. The government has been publicly discussing the policy for over two years but it is back in the spotlight after President Jacob Zuma announced in last week’s State of the Nation … Continue Reading
As recently reported in Covington’s GlobalPolicyWatch blog, the US Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) has granted CNN permission to use drones under the terms of a research agreement that will study how drones can be used safely and effectively by news organizations. Drones or unmanned aircraft systems (“UAS”) have also been used for journalism in Africa; … Continue Reading
IBM and Metropolitan Health–one of South Africa’s largest financial services and healthcare companies–recently announced Africa’s first commercial application of IBM’s Watson Engagement Advisor (“Watson”). Watson is a potentially revolutionary cognitive computing application that can “comprehend” a question posed to it in natural language, process relevant data equivalent to about one million books, and provide a … Continue Reading
The October 2014 Africa’s Pulse released by The World Bank confirms that economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa continues to be strong. The average growth in the region is projected to increase to 5.2 percent during 2015-16 (up from 4.6 percent in 2014) and to 5.3 percent in 2017. Some markets and industries are looking to … Continue Reading
More states in Africa seem keen on joining the global Islamic finance sector, which is projected to be worth $2 trillion by the end of 2014. According to Moody’s Investors Service, global issuance of sovereign Islamic bonds – also known as “sukuk” – is expected to increase 30 percent in 2014 to reach $30 billion. … Continue Reading
The recently completed annual BRICS (the collective name for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) summit generated three agreements which demonstrate the ongoing move towards self-reliance and strategic cooperation amongst emerging and developing economies. The Agreement on the New Development Bank and the Treaty for the Establishment of a BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement have … Continue Reading
In the past two decades, the spread of democracy has been one of the most important advances across the African continent. Since the 2008 launch of the website Ushahidi (the Swahili word for “testimony” or “witness”) which crowd-sourced and mapped user-generated reports of post-election violence in Kenya, technology has been playing an increasingly critical role … Continue Reading
