Category: Business

In recent years, Africa has witnessed a remarkable surge in the popularity of online sports betting, bringing with it a wave of excitement, opportunity, and, of course, risk.

This trend is largely fueled by advancements in technology and increased internet connectivity, making it easier for people across the continent to engage in this thrilling pastime.

Among the various aspects of betting, the meaning of high odds is crucial; these represent a lower probability of an event occurring but promise higher rewards if the predictions turn out correct.

With a burgeoning youth demographic enthusiastically embracing technological innovations, Africa is rapidly becoming a hotbed for online sports betting. The ubiquitous nature of mobile devices means that bets can be placed conveniently, anytime and anywhere, leading to an unprecedented increase in participation rates.

The industry’s momentum is further propelled by the integration of mobile money services, simplifying transactions and lowering the entry barrier
for prospective bettors who might not have traditional banking access.

Exploring the vibrant world of online sports betting in Africa

The sports betting landscape in Africa is characterized by its rapid growth and incredible diversity, ranging from football and rugby to cricket and beyond. This growth is a true testament to cross-cultural communication and community. Many Africans have discovered sports betting to be a way to connect more deeply with their favorite sports, while others see it as an avenue for leisurely entertainment.

However, the charm of big wins carries with it the necessity for responsible betting, underscoring the importance of balance in this rapidly expanding industry.

How sports betting is changing the game for fans and athletes alike

Online betting platforms have heralded a new era for sports enthusiasts and athletes, offering more than just the opportunity to place bets. These platforms provide in-depth analytics and insights into games, enhancing fans’ engagement and altering t
he way athletes and games are viewed.

On the flip side, this has also increased the pressure on players and teams, as their performance directly impacts the outcomes of countless bets worldwide. The increased attention can benefit lesser-known sports, but it also raises questions about maintaining integrity and fairness in the game.

Bridging cultures through the global fascination with sports betting

The universal appeal of sports betting has the unique ability to bridge diverse cultures, connecting individuals across continents through their shared passion. The adoption of international betting practices by local markets, and vice versa, illustrates a fascinating exchange of cultures.

Illustrative is the story of a Kenyan football fan betting on a match in the English Premier League, or a European bettor placing a wager on an African cup match. This cross-cultural engagement highlights the unifying language of betting, transcending geographical and cultural barriers.

The impact of online betting on loca
l sports and communities

One cannot overlook the profound impact that online betting has had on local sports leagues and communities throughout Africa. The enthusiasm generated by betting has significantly increased viewership and engagement in local sports, providing a much-needed boost.

Moreover, the economic benefits are undeniable, with both winners and betting companies contributing to the local economy. Yet, this boom also necessitates a careful approach to managing the social challenges it brings, particularly the risk of gambling addiction among the youth.

Technological advances and the future of sports betting

The journey of sports betting from traditional bookmakers to the digital platforms of today is a fascinating saga of evolution and innovation. Technology has not only made betting more accessible but has also enriched the experience with features like live betting and instant updates, making it more engaging than ever before. This transition represents a significant shift in how fans intera
ct with their favorite sports, marking a new chapter in the long and storied history of sports betting.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC) has reached a milestone performance in the Banana sector by exporting a record 3, 347 tons of banana in January 2024 since resuming activities in June 2020. This outstanding performance is thanks to its workers who have been constantly complaining of poor treatment by the management, thereby multiplying a number of strike actions demanding months of unpaid salaries. The recent protest staged by workers of the state-owned company was in April 2023 when the Alliance of CDC Workers declared 10 days of industrial action. The aim was to raise awareness of their sufferings to the national and international communities.

This is the third time the company’s banana export goes above 3,000 tons since resuming activities some four years ago after the 3,103 tons exported in December 2022 and the 3,302 tons exported in December 2023.

According to figures from the National Banana Producers Association (ASSABACAM), the Banana sector exported a total of 22,521 tons in January 2024
with the CDC recording its best performance despite the security challenges that have crippled the company for the past years.

Here are details of January 2024 banana exports per company :

Upper Penja Plantations – 16 875 tons

CDC – 3 347 tons

Mondonie Banana company – 946 tons

Boh Plantations – 1 353 tons

The January 2024 performance is a decrease as compared to December 2023 which saw an export of 25 503 tons, making a difference of 2 982 tons.

Worthy to note is the fact that the CDC’s activities were halted in September 2018 due to the socio-political crisis rocking the English-speaking regions of Cameroon.

Source: Cameroon News Agency

The Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC) has reached a milestone performance in the Banana sector by exporting a record 3, 347 tons of banana in January 2024 since resuming activities in June 2020. This outstanding performance is thanks to its workers who have been constantly complaining of poor treatment by the management, thereby multiplying a number of strike actions demanding months of unpaid salaries. The recent protest staged by workers of the state-owned company was in April 2023 when the Alliance of CDC Workers declared 10 days of industrial action. The aim was to raise awareness of their sufferings to the national and international communities.

This is the third time the company’s banana export goes above 3,000 tons since resuming activities some four years ago after the 3,103 tons exported in December 2022 and the 3,302 tons exported in December 2023.

According to figures from the National Banana Producers Association (ASSABACAM), the Banana sector exported a total of 22,521 tons in January 2024
with the CDC recording its best performance despite the security challenges that have crippled the company for the past years.

Here are details of January 2024 banana exports per company :

Upper Penja Plantations – 16 875 tons

CDC – 3 347 tons

Mondonie Banana company – 946 tons

Boh Plantations – 1 353 tons

The January 2024 performance is a decrease as compared to December 2023 which saw an export of 25 503 tons, making a difference of 2 982 tons.

Worthy to note is the fact that the CDC’s activities were halted in September 2018 due to the socio-political crisis rocking the English-speaking regions of Cameroon.

Source: Cameroon News Agency

The Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC) has reached a milestone performance in the Banana sector by exporting a record 3, 347 tons of banana in January 2024 since resuming activities in June 2020. This outstanding performance is thanks to its workers who have been constantly complaining of poor treatment by the management, thereby multiplying a number of strike actions demanding months of unpaid salaries. The recent protest staged by workers of the state-owned company was in April 2023 when the Alliance of CDC Workers declared 10 days of industrial action. The aim was to raise awareness of their sufferings to the national and international communities.

This is the third time the company’s banana export goes above 3,000 tons since resuming activities some four years ago after the 3,103 tons exported in December 2022 and the 3,302 tons exported in December 2023.

According to figures from the National Banana Producers Association (ASSABACAM), the Banana sector exported a total of 22,521 tons in January 2024
with the CDC recording its best performance despite the security challenges that have crippled the company for the past years.

Here are details of January 2024 banana exports per company :

Upper Penja Plantations – 16 875 tons

CDC – 3 347 tons

Mondonie Banana company – 946 tons

Boh Plantations – 1 353 tons

The January 2024 performance is a decrease as compared to December 2023 which saw an export of 25 503 tons, making a difference of 2 982 tons.

Worthy to note is the fact that the CDC’s activities were halted in September 2018 due to the socio-political crisis rocking the English-speaking regions of Cameroon.

Source: Cameroon News Agency

The Atlantic Lithium Company has advanced feasibility studies for the revamp of the defunct Saltpond Ceramics Company in the Mfantseman Municipality, Mr Antwi Boasiako, the Social Performance Manager of Atlantic Lithium Ghana has said.

The move, he indicated formed part of Atlantic Lithium’s diversification and empowerment strategy to accelerate the pace of socio-economic development of the area for mutual gain.

Aside from job creation, reducing poverty and provision of social amenities, he said the Ceramics factory would maintain a balance of imported and exported ceramic goods.

Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, he said the development was in tune with the traditional authorities’ request for lithium for factories to accelerate development beyond the 15-year operational span of the company.

‘The Company is committed to diversification, and we are doing a feasibility study to explore the potential that can be harnessed to move into industrial activities outside lithium as requested by t
he traditional authorities.

‘One of such potential factories is the revamping of the existing ceramic factory, which has been turned into a paper packaging company.’

He said the abundant feldspar deposits in Ghana, particularly in the Mfantseman Municipality as raw material for ceramic would be the anchor for setting up the factory.

Feldspar is used as a fluxing agents to form a glassy phase at low temperatures and as a source of alkalis and alumina in glazes.

They improve the strength, toughness, and durability of the ceramic body, and cement the crystalline phase of other ingredients, softening, melting, and wetting other batch constituents.

‘Atlantic Lithium is optimistic about the buoyancy of the ceramic factory because one of the key things for setting up a factory is constant raw material supply. If you have an industry without raw materials, then you have failed from day one.

‘Fortunately, we have it in abundance,’ he said.

Touching on some interventions to empower the communities, he said per t
he mining lease agreement, Atlantic Lithium Company was expected to pay one per cent of its revenue into a Community Development Fund.

The amount would be utilised for the development of communities impacted by its operations and work to establish a chemical plant for processing lithium.

‘There is potential for local industrialisation from the application of the Community Development Fund.

‘This will encourage the growth of other industries and sectors such as construction, transportation and hospitality,’ he stated.

Mr Boasiako said the company acknowledged the impact of mining on host communities and was committed to ensuring the communities as well as Ghanaians who were by law the owners of the minerals benefited from them.

He pledged the company’s readiness to adhere strictly to the country’s mining laws and the agreement reached with the government and ensure it engaged in responsible, sustainable, and environmentally sound mining practices.

After seven years of exploratory activities, all is set f
or the mining of lithium to start in commercial quantities, with improved terms for the country.

The $250-million project, located at Ewoyaa in the Mfantseman Municipality is expected to commence production by 2025 for 15 years.

The government inked a deal with Barari DV Ghana Limited, a subsidiary of Atlantic Lithium Limited, which includes a royalty rate of 10 per cent and a free carried interest of 13 per cent incorporates new and enhanced terms intended to ensure that the country benefited, optimally, from the mineral.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Adama West Africa Limited, manufacturers of pesticides, has engaged stakeholders in the cocoa industry as part of efforts to provide a cost-effective farm input to cocoa farmers.

The engagement was also to afford management of Adama West Africa the opportunity to elicit feedback from Chief Farmers, Cocoa Technical Officers, Agro Input Dealers and other stakeholders in the cocoa value chain on the efficacy of its products.

Mr Joshua Banana Awutey, Marketing and Development Manager of Adama West Africa, told participants that their products were tried, tested and safe for use.

He said with their global presence and direct reach to farmers, his outfit was committed to using innovative technology and digital solutions to solve problems cocoa farmers faced.

According to him, Adama products such as Banjo Forte 400, Vamos 500 SC, EMA STAR 112 EC, Aceta star 46 EC and Trivor 310 DC among others, were effective and efficient in controlling major insect pests and diseases on cocoa farms.

Mr Awutey, however, cautio
ned farmers not to mix two products or chemicals together to avoid complications. Instead, they should read instructions and seek advice from extension officers before spraying the chemicals on their crops.

Mr Samuel Osei, the Western-South Regional Manager of Cocoa Health and Extension Division (CHED) of Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), said the news from the Chief Executive Officer of COCOBOD that Ghana has lost over 500,000 hectares of cocoa farms to cocoa swollen shoot virus disease was a source of concern to the cocoa sector especially, the CHED.

He said cocoa production had declined in the last three years, thereby affecting the local economy, hence welcomed the collaboration with Adama West Africa Limited to sensitize cocoa technical officers, farmers, and agro input dealers on the right and appropriate use of their products for maximum yields.

Mr Osei noted that as part of the Productivity Enhancement Programmes, COCOBOD had earmarked 900,000 hectares of cocoa farms for pruning throughout the country t
his year, with 222,798 hectares of the total figure being in the Western-South Region.

‘As part of the Agenda Restoration, cocoa farmers in the Western-South Region are being supported technically to increase their farms productivity through the adoption of good agronomic practices such as pruning, poultry manure application, foliar fertilisers application, hand pollination and effective crop protection to produce at least 300,000 metric tonnes of cocoa between 2023/2024 and 2024/2025 seasons,’ he added.

The Western-South Manager said COCOBOD would, therefore, assist all cooperatives, associations, and groups with standard and motorised pruners as well as fuel and lubricants for massive cooperative-led pruning exercise of all cocoa farms in the Region.

Mr Osei said: ‘We will also engage the services of mass sprayers to apply both flowering inducers and foliar fertilisers on all farms pruned in the Region and the country at large.’

He, thus, called on all cocoa farmers to support the Agenda Restoration ( A
gRes – 300K!) to restore and revamp cocoa production in the Region for enhanced economic activities in the cocoa growing communities.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Zenith Bank (Ghana) Limited, a leading holistic financial services provider, and African Guarantee Fund (AGF), have announced a strategic risk-sharing partnership to support Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

It is to provide increased access to funding for MSMEs in Ghana with a particular focus on green businesses and women-owned/led businesses.

Recognizing that most MSMEs struggle to secure loans due to insufficient collateral or lack of credit history despite their invaluable contribution to the economy, this collaboration unlocks a suite of financial products and services specifically designed to address the unique needs of these businesses, fostering their growth and success.

AGF will provide partial guarantees on loans issued by Zenith Bank Ghana, thus reducing the Bank’s risk and making it easier for MSMEs to qualify for funding, opening doors they might have found previously closed.

Mr Henry Onwuzurigbo, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Zenith Bank Ghana, speaking at
the signing ceremony which came off at the Zenith Bank Ghana Head Office in Accra, said the Bank was acutely aware of the importance of small and medium-sized businesses as well as the challenges they face in accessing finance.?

He added that the partnership was consistent with the Bank’s belief that banking is exhibited in its purest form when it has a direct impact on businesses and consequently, the real economy.?

‘MSMEs are the lifeblood of the Ghanaian economy, and we are committed to providing them with the financial support they need to thrive,’ Mr. Onwuzurigbo said.?

‘This partnership with AGF will enable us to reach more businesses, particularly those owned by women and those committed to sustainability and help them achieve their full potential,’ he added

African Guarantee Fund, in its first agreement with Zenith Bank Ghana, is pioneering a landmark partnership aimed at bolstering SME lending activities in the country.?

This collaboration marks a significant stride in fostering economic growth
and empowerment within Ghana’s vibrant SME landscape.?

Mr. Bendjin Kpeglo, AGF West Africa Managing Director, said, ‘This partnership is a significant stride in our mission to drive sustainable economic development through our guarantee facilities to increase Zenith Bank Ghana’s financing of MSMEs in Ghana.’

Despite the progress made in recent years in promoting financial inclusion for women, the gender financial gap in Ghana is estimated at $242 million.?

Women entrepreneurs face financial exclusion, often the biggest challenge in running and growing their businesses.?

These exclusionary barriers include a lack of collateral, lack of understanding of financing or lack of inexperience in business management, as well as social and cultural constraints like the inability to inherit land.

The partnership leverages the African Development Bank’s Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) Guarantee for Growth programme, which aims to unlock up to $3 billion in financing for women-led small and med
ium enterprises in Africa through financial institutions.?

A substantial portion of the risk-sharing mechanism will offer women-owned and women-led businesses discounted loan pricing and increased guarantee cover along with technical assistance support to help reduce the gender finance gap in Ghana.

?This aligns with Zenith Bank Ghana’s commitment to financial inclusion and gender equality.?

‘This new signature agreement illustrates the African Development Bank’s commitment, through the AFAWA initiative, to promote women’s economic empowerment and financial inclusion while addressing the gender financial gap in Ghana,’ Madam Eyerusalem Fasika, Country Manager of the African Development Bank’s Ghana Office, said.?

‘The AFAWA component within this transaction will support Zenith Bank Ghana in de-risking women-led businesses within its portfolio. We’re thrilled to see AFAWA and its implementing partner, the African Guarantee Fund, grow more support from financial institutions to boost women entrepreneurs’ ac
cess to finance in Ghana,’ Madam Fasika added.

The partnership also recognizes the growing importance of sustainability.

?Businesses operating in green sectors such as renewable energy, eco-tourism, and sustainable agriculture will benefit from increased financing backed by AGF’s Green Guarantee Facility, demonstrating both institution’s commitment to environmental sustainability.

Beyond financial support, Zenith Bank Ghana and AGF are committed to empowering MSMEs with the knowledge and skills they need to develop the capacity to expand their business.

They will collaborate to offer training workshops on financial literacy, business management, and sustainable practices.?

These workshops will equip MSMEs with the tools needed to navigate the market effectively, make informed decisions, and operate their businesses efficiently.

Longstanding tradition

This partnership builds upon Zenith Bank Ghana’s longstanding dedication to supporting MSMEs in Ghana. In October 2022, the Bank introduced dedicated MSME
accounts and partnered with organisations like the Development Bank of Ghana (DBG) and World Trade Center Accra in collaboration with Alibaba to expand market access.

Furthermore, the Bank has collaborated with the German Sparkassenstiftung for International Cooperation (GIZ) to provide access to finance training and partnered with VISA to roll out the Zenith SME Business card to serve the business needs of SMEs and improve their business efficiency and productivity.?

These initiatives demonstrate Zenith Bank Ghana’s unwavering commitment to fostering an environment where MSMEs can flourish and contribute meaningfully to the Ghanaian economy.

By combining their expertise and resources, Zenith Bank Ghana and AGF are creating a powerful ecosystem that empowers MSMEs in Ghana to overcome challenges, unlock their full potential, and become the driving force of economic growth and prosperity.

About Zenith Bank

Zenith Bank Ghana is a subsidiary of Zenith Bank Plc, one of Nigeria’s strongest and largest banks b
y

market capitalization, profitability and total assets and headquartered in Nigeria, with a presence in other West African Countries, the Middle East, Asia, and Europe.

Since its inception, Zenith Bank Ghana has differentiated itself from the competition by satisfying the changing needs and demands of customers through the deployment of cutting-edge ICT, employment of the best human capital in the industry and a firm commitment to first-class customer service delivery at its 42 business locations across Ghana.

The Bank is a member of the Ghana Deposit Protection Scheme.

African Guarantee Fund (AGF) is a specialized guarantee provider whose mission is to facilitate economic development and poverty reduction in Africa. To achieve this, AGF increases access to finance for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) across key economic sectors through an array of guarantee products and capacity development assistance. Since inception, AGF has unlocked more than USD 3.5 billion in SME financing, through partner
ships with 200 partner financial institutions across 40 African countries.??

AGF is backed by the following shareholders and sponsors: The Government of Denmark through the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), the Government of Spain through the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation (AECID), the African Development Bank (AfDB), French Development Agency (AFD), Nordic Development Fund (NDF) and Investment Fund for Developing Countries (IFU).

There rest are the German Development Bank (KfW), French Agency for Private Sector (PROPARCO), West African Development Bank (BOAD), Global Affairs Canada (GAC), USAID’s West Africa Trade and Investment Hub (WATIH), TechnoServe and Mastercard Foundation.?

African Guarantee Fund is rated AA- by Fitch Ratings.?

For more information, please visit: www.agf.africa? ??

About the Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA)

AFAWA is a pan-African initiative that aims to close the $42 billion financing gap for women in Africa through comprehen
sive support. AFAWA aims to unlock $5 billion in financing for women-owned and women-led small and medium enterprises by 2026.

?AFAWA is supported by the African Development Bank’s partners and donors, the G7 countries, the Netherlands and Sweden and the Women’s Enterprise Finance Initiative (We-Fi).

?Through AFAWA, the African Development Bank has approved $1,5 billion of investment for women entrepreneurs in 32 countries, channelled through 96 financial institutions.

Source: Ghana News Agency