July 2020

10Jul

Understanding the Greater Diffusion of Mobile Money Innovations in Africa

By Simplice Asongu, Nicholas Biekpe, Danny Cassimon The present research extends Lashitew, van Tulder and Liasse (2019, RP) in order to understand the greater diffusion of mobile money innovations in Africa. To make this assessment, a comparative analysis is engaged between sampled African countries and the corresponding sampled developing countries. Three main types of predictor groups are used for the study, namely: demand, supply and macro-level factors. The empirical evidence is based on Tobit regressions. The tested hypothesis is...

July 10, 2020
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06Jul

Nigeria. Edo govt spends N25bn on pension, clears arrears with N4.3bn

The Edo State Government has expended over N4.3 billion in clearing the backlog of outstanding pension arrears owed about 3,128 pensioners in the state. The state government also spent N25, 047,472,632.77 in the monthly pension payment of 13,081 pensioners from November 2016 to May 2020. According to a Mid-Year Report by the Edo State Pension Bureau as at 30th June, 2020,“the government spent a total of N771,714,393.01 between November and December 2016 for the payment of pensions;...

July 6, 2020
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02Jul

Morocco to extend social protection to 2.5 million handicraftsmen

Some 2.5 million handicraftsmen and their dependents will finally have access to social protection after the government approved a law to enlist them in the private sector pension fund CNSS. The new law was presented by tourism and handicrafts minister Nadia Fettah Alaoui to MPs as part of a reform that aims to fill a legal void in the handicrafts industry. Handicrafts accounts for 7% of Morocco’s GDP and employs 20% of the work force with a concentration in...

July 2, 2020
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01Jul

Nigeria´s FCMB bolstering its pensions business to drive profitability

First City Monument Bank Group is set to acquire up to 96 percent of Aiico Pensions Limited, the financial services group said in a notice on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, in yet another move to expand its pensions unit. The planned acquisition follows the company’s increase of its stake in Legacy Pensions – now FCMB Pensions – to 91.6 percent last year, giving it full control of the business. As of March, FCMB Pensions had grown its assets under...

July 1, 2020
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June 2020

30Jun

BP under scrutiny over Zambian pension shortfall

When BP sold off its Zambian fuel marketing business in 2010 to Puma Energy, it appeared to be a fairly straightforward example of a super major dispensing with non-core assets. For former employees of BP Zambia, though, it marked another setback in their struggle to win recognition for pensions earned. As BP’s new CEO Bernard Looney has set out his thoughts on tackling racial injustice and a desire to help the world “build back better”, the case of ageing...

June 30, 2020
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26Jun

Financing Africa’s Development: Paths to Sustainable Economic Growth

By Diery Seck This book examines the impact of financing on Africa’s economic development. By exploring various financial instruments including the role of alternative sources of funding like migrant remittances and illicit flows, it analyses the role of financing for Africa’s macroeconomic development and other development indicators such as infrastructure, transport, global trade, industrialisation, social services, external indebtedness and governance. By presenting and examining case studies on various African countries and regions, the respective contributions investigate the capacity...

June 26, 2020
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25Jun

South Africa: UCT Urged to ‘Prioritise Mentorship’

When Malizole Mdlekeza was a youngster, children his age dreamed of becoming doctors and engineers. But he dreamed of becoming the next Michael Schumacher or Lewis Hamilton. Mdlekeza simply loved the thrill of racing cars and turning this passion into a career was once on the cards. A lot has changed since then, and let's just say his other love - actuarial science - took pole position when this maths and science buff chose his career path at the...

June 25, 2020
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24Jun

Kenya proposes CMA to regulate private equity firms

Kenya, a popular investment destination for private equity (PE) firms, has proposed measures to make the operations of PE firms and venture capitalists more transparent by bringing them under the scrutiny of the Capital Markets Authority (CMA). Read also The Mixed Case for Private Equity in Retirement Plans The plan is already causing disquiet among PE firms whose fund raising and choice of companies to invest in is often shrouded in secrecy. The measures were announced by the National Treasury...

June 24, 2020
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23Jun

How COVID-19 is impacting Nigeria’s pensions industry

Monthly data from Nigeria’s pensions industry shows that the country’s total pension fund assets stood at 10.6 trillion naira as at April this year with Federal Government Securities weighing 66.25 per cent of the total pension fund assets. The data also showed that new retirement savings account grew 85 per cent less in April 2020 compared to the same period in 2019. Pabina Yinkere, Chief Investment Officer at Sigma Pensions joins CNBC Africa for more. Read more @CBC Africa

June 23, 2020
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18Jun

Covid-19 pandemic: Africa is outperfoming the rest of the world

Obscured by the myriad stories of coronavirus global devastation are three headlines from the continent with no shortage of epidemics, man-made and natural disasters. That would be Africa. Of its 54 countries, six are among the top 10 fastest-growing economies in the world this year. The continent is the favorite bazaar for appreciating equity after Eastern Europe and has one of the stock market's best-performing industries: communications. Africa finds itself with fewer Covid-19 cases than other heavily...

June 18, 2020
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