NEWS & INSIGHTS
A Stock Exchange for Social Businesses and Ventures: An African Innovation
Social investing, or socially responsible investing, means different things to different people and can be hard to define. Tamzin Ractliffe, the Chief Executive Officer for NeXii, describes it as, “strategies that aim to have a responsible mitigation impact on any negative consequences. It’s wanting to do no harm, making sure that you invest in a company that has good and responsible practices in regards to employees, the environment, and so on. In South Africa, social investing is essentially philanthropy.”
NeXii, an investment company located in South Africa, has introduced new innovations for raising capital for social and impact ventures. One of the innovations is the Impact Exchange Board (iX). iX is an exchange, like a stock exchange, through which people can purchase interest in social and impact ventures – be they for-profit or non-profit.
To listen to the radio episode, go to http://www.afribiz.net/content/a-stock-exchange-for-social-businesses-and-ventures-an-african-innovation.
East Africa: Key Sectors and Business Environment in 2011
By Nwakego Linda Eyisi
Agriculture is the largest sector for all countries in the EAC. Total sector contribution is about one third of total GDP for every country in the region. Agriculture, and related industries, is also a major foreign exchange earner and employer of labor. Countries in this region are major producers of tea, coffee, flowers, cotton, and tobacco. Agriculture remains the major revenue earner for this region despite major oil discoveries (Uganda) and massive expansion in commodity (gold) prices.
Despite the size and productivity of this sector, research and development is poor, farming is at a subsistence level, and credit is not easily available to agribusiness due to perceived high risk caused by poor infrastructure. These are areas of opportunity for investors. Further development of the agricultural value chain is key to boosting revenue earnings for countries in the region.
To read the entire article, go to: http://www.afribiz.net/content/east-africa-key-sector-and-business-environment-in-2011
African Consumer Markets Data
Afribiz is developing customized platforms to help you navigate the consumer markets in Africa. In the meantime, we will provide simple visuals to help you identify potential consumer markets based on consumer market demographics like GDP, population size, etc. Here are a few visual statistics that you might find interesting.
List of Large Cities in Africa by Population
GDP by Country 2012
Stay tuned for a fall webinar series which will focus on developing market entry strategies for African countries.
UPCOMING EVENTS
IFRS 2011: August 11-12, Johannesburg, South Africa
http://www.afribiz.info/content/ifrs-2011-august-11-12-johannesburg-south-africa
Practical Transfer Pricing Workshop: August 18-19, Johannesburg, South Africa
http://www.marcusevans.com/marcusevans-conferences-event-details.asp?EventID=17987&SectorID=2
MINEvolution Conference 2011: September 19-21, Johannesburg, South Africa
http://www.afribiz.info/content/minevolution-september-19-21-2011-johannesburg-south-africa
Strategic Sourcing and Procurement Workshop: September 19-20, Johannesburg, South Africa http://www.afribiz.info/content/strategic-sourcing-and-procurement-workshop-september-19-20-johannesburg-south-africa
Africa Energy Week 2011: September 20-23, Accra, Ghana
http://www.afribiz.info/content/africa-energy-week-2011-september-20-23-accra-ghana
SPECIAL OFFERS
List Your Business or Project on Afribiz for FREE!
Afribiz is opening its business and project directory to those who would like a place to share information on a business or project. Right now, you can list a business or project for free for 2 years. (There is normally a $100 fee).
Note: You must register on the Afribiz site, which is also free. Listing must include a website address for the specific business or project and a business email address not general email addresses like gmail.com or yahoo.com.
Redefining Business in the New Africa and Grow Rich in the New Africa Book Bundle – 2 for the Price of 1!
The New Africa book series is well on its way to being a useful and favorite collection of books sharing a fresh perspective on doing business and investing in Africa for entrepreneurs, non-institutional investors, and SMMEs. The books offer both strategy and practical insights for readers. Redefining Business in the New Africa is already available while the Grow Rich in the New Africa will be available in September 2011. If you purchase Redefining Business in the New Africa now as part of the bundle, you will get a copy of Grow Rich in the New Africa when it is released. This bundle includes free shipping within the continental United States! Get both books for only $24.95. To get this bundle special, click here.
For more information about each book visit: www.redefining-business-in-the-new-africa.com and www.grow-rich-in-the-new-africa.com.
TO CONNECT WITH US
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