<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/ZIC_7318-copy-1-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-423057" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/ZIC_7318-copy-1-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/ZIC_7318-copy-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/ZIC_7318-copy-1-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/ZIC_7318-copy-1-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/ZIC_7318-copy-1-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/ZIC_7318-copy-1-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /></figure>



The COVID-19 pandemic showed the world that strong healthcare supply chains are critical to&nbsp; addressing global crises. As the African Development Bank leads the work to bolster African &nbsp;manufacturing, attention must also be paid to strengthening the supply chains that bring health&nbsp; products to people. African-led innovations can modernize supply chains to ensure they are resilient,&nbsp; agile, and responsive to patients&#8217; needs.&nbsp;



Local supply chain start-ups have already proven they can achieve results with very limited resources,&nbsp; attracting the interest of governments and leading healthcare, tech, and supply chain organizations such&nbsp; as Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation, Merck Sharpe &amp; Dohme (MSD), Microsoft, AmerisourceBergen and&nbsp; Chemonics. However, engaging with local start-ups has been difficult for global companies and governments alike; and African-led, women-led, and Francophone-led companies are often most&nbsp; excluded from investment, contracts, and partnerships.



To flip this paradigm, a set of global sponsors recently launched the Investing in Innovation program,&nbsp; selecting 31 leading supply chain innovators from across the continent and providing them with a flexible grant, investment readiness support and introductions to leading customers.&nbsp;



“Investing in Innovation is not an accelerator,” says Salient Advisory’s Malyse Uwase, one of the  program’s coordinators, “The continent has many successful accelerator programs already. Instead, we  take leading-edge African health tech companies with products and services in the market and introduce  them to major customers who can help drive their impact at scale.” Hassan Belkhayat, Co-founder of  Southbridge A&amp;I, another of the program’s coordinators, notes that the companies in the programs  inaugural cohort are still small, but collectively have impressive reach. “The companies may be start-ups,  but their promise is clear. Collectively they’re already distributing medicines, devices, and health care  consumables to nearly 25,000 African pharmacies, clinics, and hospitals across the continent.”



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/ZIC_7537-copy-1-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-423058" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/ZIC_7537-copy-1-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/ZIC_7537-copy-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/ZIC_7537-copy-1-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/ZIC_7537-copy-1-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/ZIC_7537-copy-1-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/ZIC_7537-copy-1-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /></figure>



Seun Afuye, of Salient Advisory, notes “It’s thrilling to see interest in African healthtech grow. African&nbsp; investors are actively engaged, and investors like the IFC and the US’ Development Finance Corporation &nbsp;are expanding their efforts.” However, despite growing interest from institutional investors, there’s&nbsp; cause for caution: for healthtech companies to succeed at scale, they also need major healthcare&nbsp; customers – who are not connected with local or regional innovations that can accelerate their goals.&nbsp; “Investing in Innovation is meant to bridge that gap – to help innovators and health care giants across&nbsp; the public and private sectors build relationships, that over time can transform systems,” Afuye says.



In a bid to bridge that gap, the Investing in Innovation program held its inaugural ‘Access to Markets’ event in Lagos, Nigeria in December. Over two days, the 31 start-ups selected from across the continent gathered to meet with more than 50 potential customers from the government, the pharmaceutical&nbsp; industry, supply chain companies, major donors, and global tech companies. Hundreds of pre-matched&nbsp; meetings were held to build an understanding of leading supply chain innovations and to also lay the&nbsp; groundwork for potential partnerships. And there’s evidence that the program is working; within its first&nbsp; three months, 35% of the selected start-ups have reported signing a new partnership with industry actors, governments or donors.



“We’re excited to be working alongside our partners in governments, global health agencies and&nbsp; industry to shine a light on leading African innovations, and help accelerate promising start-ups’&nbsp; impact,” says the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation’s Ann Allen, who spearheads their support to this&nbsp; initiative. “We are especially thrilled to see so many women-led supply chain start-ups in this program.&nbsp; These women are showing both local and global communities that new models for health system&nbsp; leadership are possible today.”



While the program has shown early signs of promise, there is still a lot of room for learning. Program&nbsp; coordinators say they are taking learnings from the first cohort of the program to further improve it in its second year. But as the program evolves, its key ambition will remain the same. “Our ultimate goal is to inspire substantial public investment in locally-led innovations that help address governments’ goals in health care, education, agriculture and more – while creating high-value and sustainable jobs,” Uwase&nbsp; says.

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Fixing Africa’s broken health supply chains is a difficult task – but a new program focused on  local innovators is making headway

Technologies have made financial instruments trading possible and accessible from anywhere on the globe where there’s Internet connection. Annoying ads always assure that stocks and currency trading is easy, but in reality the majority of self confident investors end up in losses. For some it is a discovery that you actually need to study first. Others may think that financial market trading is some kind of a game, however one’s profit would normally depend on accurate calculations and strict compliance with the rules rather than luck.



These rules have been elaborated by traders throughout decades. Those who know them and follow have more chances to achieve constant income in trading. Even though it seems that currency and energy carrier exchange rates are absolutely unpredictable, there are certain signals that show you when you need to place a buy or sell order. Understanding these signals one makes it easier to enter the market and then close the deal with profit. Therefore you need to pass a learner’s course before you open your first orders or invest into any financial asset.



Currencies are as good for trading as oil, gas, gold or wheat and anything else. Currencies rates are never static, they always move allowing traders to make a profit from it. You don’t even need to go to a bank to buy the euros, USD or Japanese yens there – you can do that right in front of your laptop or even tapping your phone’s screen would be enough. You can still buy and sell and consequently earn more than you currently have.



How’s that possible? The majority of the deals in trading are carried out using the leverage, a special setting that allows one to use 50, 100 or even 1000 times more funds. Sounds very attractive, but it’s not that easy: as we’ve mentioned before one has to follow specific rules and at least have an understanding of what to sell or buy.



It’s best to start with the basics of trading, for example on a free learner’s course by FIBO Academy. You’ll learn what trading is and how it works. Having understood the principles of financial markets you would discover new financial possibilities for yourself. The knowledge of basic terms will help you understand what it is being talked about in the finance news, how this news influence the currency rate movement and index and commodities prices. Studying the fundamental analysis will let you evaluate the economic situation yourself. The learner’s course will help you not only take the right decisions in trading or investment but also in life. It is also a good way to know yourself better, learn how to take weighed decisions and draw grounded conclusions. It is of zero importance if trading becomes one of your income sources, you can always apply your knowledge in other activities.



Watch: <a href="https://www.fibogroup.com/analytics-and-training/training/videocourses/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.fibogroup.com/analytics-and-training/training/videocourses/</a>

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Earnings in financial markets: is it roulette or science?

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="429" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Gerrit-Schmidt-III-MSc-is-Chief-Commercial-Officer-at-SFO-and-Head-of-Affinity-Research-at-Stellenbosch-Institute-for-Family-Governance.-820x429.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-417587" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Gerrit-Schmidt-III-MSc-is-Chief-Commercial-Officer-at-SFO-and-Head-of-Affinity-Research-at-Stellenbosch-Institute-for-Family-Governance.-820x429.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Gerrit-Schmidt-III-MSc-is-Chief-Commercial-Officer-at-SFO-and-Head-of-Affinity-Research-at-Stellenbosch-Institute-for-Family-Governance.-300x157.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Gerrit-Schmidt-III-MSc-is-Chief-Commercial-Officer-at-SFO-and-Head-of-Affinity-Research-at-Stellenbosch-Institute-for-Family-Governance.-160x84.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Gerrit-Schmidt-III-MSc-is-Chief-Commercial-Officer-at-SFO-and-Head-of-Affinity-Research-at-Stellenbosch-Institute-for-Family-Governance.-768x402.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Gerrit-Schmidt-III-MSc-is-Chief-Commercial-Officer-at-SFO-and-Head-of-Affinity-Research-at-Stellenbosch-Institute-for-Family-Governance..jpg 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /></figure>



Family Governance is not a buzzword. It has global economic relevance.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Stellenbosch Institute for Family Governance, by SFO, partners with Stellenbosch Business School to pilot AffinityLab; a family focused research incubator to nurture and stimulate familial cooperation in Ultra-High-Net-Worth (UHNW) families.



Featured in June/July 2022 issue of Forbes Africa 



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Data from research providers in financial services and academia support the relevance of thinking in familial terms. Forbes projects the greatest wealth transfer in history from baby-boomers to next generation custodians, estimated at over 30 trillion dollars over the next 20 years, with significant inherent risk of failure.&nbsp; According to the Oxford Ownership Project, an estimated 70% of global businesses are owned by families.&nbsp;



Everyday interactions with family enterprises are closer to home for people buying products from big brands such as Louis Vuitton, Samsung and LEGO. Family governance is relevant, and it is in the interest of the world economy for family enterprises to grow, whereas the families which own them are likely to grow apart.



Family governance, especially familial cooperation, remains a challenging topic due to the complexity of relations in these organisations, compounded by the newly realised knowledge gap. Industry-wide, financial services professionals understand the need for sound governance but run the risk of putting the cart in front of the horse by relying on so-called best practices of what worked elsewhere. Rather, we as financial services professionals, should be working with families to develop the best familial cooperation practices that are relevant for them and their context.



A deeper understanding of cooperation within families is key to gain traction with family governance. But, if a family is unable to work together as a family of affinity foremost, one cannot reasonably expect wealth transfers to be sustainably successful.



AffinityLab intends to address latent familial cooperation needs. UHNW families typically consist of multi-generational branches with members located in various jurisdictions, pushing global families to rethink wealth management strategies beyond investment performance. In times of geopolitical crises questions around goal-based investing are extending to goal-based living, reaffirming the need for a consolidated strategic approach to family governance. Starting with the need to establish Affinity as a primary goal of family and puts familial cooperation squarely in the research focus of AffinityLab.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">“Cooperation needs to be at the heart of family strategy for families to realise goal-based living together. Family Governance starts with Affinity.” – Gerrit Schmidt III (Chief Commercial Officer at SFO). </blockquote>



Entitlement and perceived inequitability frame familiar problems in UHNW families. These problems negatively influence family organisations and do not typically allow for cooperation or a sense of interrelated affinity. Furthermore, these problems intensify alienation and place unique strain on family branches, driving at best, superficial cooperation for short-term gains. Once this occurs, it is a question of time before the family implodes, dividing their assets at the cost of cooperating as a family.



The family is stronger by design if able to meaningfully engage members, at varying levels of involvement, in their enterprise. The purpose of an enterprising family should not be limited to a specific industry or specialism. Family purpose should, however, be specific to the ideals of working together as a purpose-led organisation with established collaboration from members who share the common vision and lived purpose. Stellenbosch Institute for Family Governance by SFO specialises in family-management consulting by helping businesses and business families to realise these ideals. We design family structures conducive to nurturing inclusivity and developing proficient Ultimate Beneficial Owners.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Coming back to the idea of putting the cart in front of the horse, financial services providers should primarily be thinking in terms of succession development and designing purposeful family structures conducive to more than tax efficiency and return maximisation.&nbsp;



The qualitative aspects of wealth management matter and the disruptive work of Africa’s first Institute for Family Governance has the potential to shift family enterprise futures, stimulating the global economy.



Family Governance starts with Affinity. Started by SFO. A family focused financial services group.

Gerrit Schmidt III (MSc) is Chief Commercial Officer at SFO and Head of Affinity Research at Stellenbosch Institute for Family Governance.

Family Governance Starts with Affinity

As Africa’s leading entertainment company, MultiChoice delivers Direct To Home (DTH), Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) and online video entertainment services through its entertainment platforms – DStv, GOtv, Showmax and DStv Now – to approximately 20 million subscribers across 50 countries in Africa.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="806" height="600" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Multichoice-logo-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-417481" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Multichoice-logo-1.png 806w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Multichoice-logo-1-300x223.png 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Multichoice-logo-1-121x90.png 121w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Multichoice-logo-1-768x572.png 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 806px) 100vw, 806px" /><figcaption>MultiChoice</figcaption></figure>



The depth and breadth of this offering is why the company needs its data and analytics to be agile, future-proof and scalable. For MultiChoice, this meant one thing: a benchmark project to deploy Microsoft’s Azure <a href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/services/synapse-analytics/#overview">Synapse</a> technology – bringing together data integration, enterprise data warehousing, and big data analytics – to give the Group deeper insights, faster, to better serve millions of viewers.



Aspiring to extraordinary analytics capabilities &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



The initiative – codenamed ‘Vibranium’ after the fictional Wakanda metal with extraordinary abilities to absorb, store, manipulate and release large amounts of kinetic energy – sought to achieve the same power from data across the MultiChoice Group. The Group, already mature in its data analytics strategy, was challenged in that it had numerous data and analytics teams working throughout the company’s &nbsp;businesses across Africa.&nbsp;



These teams had been relying on disparate data environments, many of them on-premise. “We needed an agile and scalable, cloud-based single source of truth, with full governance and compliance that would not limit or slow the work of our autonomous analytics teams,” says Jeandre Du Toit, Lead for Modern Data Architecture at MultiChoice Group.&nbsp;



The company partnered with Microsoft to implement aspects of its enterprise data strategy across the Group, including data management, modern data architecture, BI and advanced analytics, and more modern ways of working. 



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MultiChoice introduced DataOps with continuous integration and delivery, as well as a more agile approach in which solutions were delivered in slivers for immediate value, then expanded for incremental value.&nbsp;



“We also wanted to adopt cloud in order to take advantage of new features and new technologies being made available, while also ensuring that we could easily scale, consume and adopt. Because we already had a trusted relationship with Microsoft and in-house Microsoft skills sets that the Group could leverage, we turned to Microsoft,” says du Toit.



Getting deeper insights, faster



The ideal solution for MultiChoice’s needs was Azure Synapse Analytics. Delivering insights up to 14 times faster than other cloud providers, the solution addressed the MultiChoice Group’s top priorities: getting deeper insights, faster.



Adoption was accelerated by using Microsoft Consulting Services, and MultiChoice had direct access to international Microsoft engineers for guidance and collaboration to ensure a well-architected design and framework. The new principles and systems required some upskilling in partnership with Microsoft, but the Group’s data analysts report that they are excited about the new tools at their disposal to deliver on MultiChoice’s requirements.&nbsp;



Vibranium is also among the first projects in the world to be privy to information about new Synapse features still in development, and is therefore able to develop its architecture with a view to utilising those features in future as technologies and demands change.&nbsp;&nbsp;



A single version of the truth



Teams can now also tap into additional information they previously did not have access to, or didn’t know was available, through integrated data stored in a single place and acting as a single version of the truth.



“We are becoming an analytics-driven organisation that understands why treating our data as an asset in a digital world is critical and considers insights an imperative to continuously adapt in a world where change has become a constant,” says Debra Goosen, Analytics Innovation Lead at MultiChoice. “As a large-scale transformation programme, Vibranium is the vehicle that has been set up to achieve these objectives and enables us to continuously evolve.”



The project is also building synergies in the company, with data and analytics teams building on each-other’s work and developing far richer solutions for the organisation. In addition, standardised principles and governance are now applied across the group to ensure data is managed appropriately.&nbsp;



The MultiChoice Group views the large-scale project as transformative in nature, delivering both a modern data platform and a more modern way of work, which will enable it to be more competitive and deliver more personal, relevant engagement and services for its viewers.



“The deeper insights we’re gaining allows us to push our strategy to the next level. We’re a lot more agile and we are starting to see an increase in the cadence of our deliveries,” says du Toit.



To find out what benefits Azure Synapse Analytics can bring to your business, visit <a href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/services/synapse-analytics/">Azure Synapse Analytics | Microsoft Azure</a>

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Making Africa’s leading entertainment company’s data and analytics agile, scalable and future-proof

Africa’s largest financial institution, Standard Bank, is on a mission: to find ways to set itself apart so that the bank can meet its customer needs in today’s complex, ever-changing world. Operating in more than 20 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and globally, the Bank aims to show customers that It Can Be.



This means that it needs the right tools, resources and platforms to enable the innovation, resilience and efficiencies required to empower its customers. For Standard Bank, that means using <a href="https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/">Microsoft’s Power BI</a> platform to harness data insights and predictive and prescriptive analytics through AI and machine learning. This allows the bank to better serve customers through more accurate targeting and service delivery.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="389" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Standard-Bank_30-Baker-Street_Interior_2-1-820x389.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-417477" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Standard-Bank_30-Baker-Street_Interior_2-1-820x389.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Standard-Bank_30-Baker-Street_Interior_2-1-300x142.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Standard-Bank_30-Baker-Street_Interior_2-1-160x76.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Standard-Bank_30-Baker-Street_Interior_2-1-768x364.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Standard-Bank_30-Baker-Street_Interior_2-1-1536x728.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Standard-Bank_30-Baker-Street_Interior_2-1.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Standard Bank Baker Street</figcaption></figure>



In 2017, the organisation moved from a traditional centralised business intelligence team to a self-service BI model because its value-added capabilities allowed more accurate and effective targeting and serving of customers. “Power BI helps make citizen data scientists out of anyone who wishes to be one,” says Ziyaad Valli, Lead Analytics Engineer on the BI Data Visualization team at Standard Bank.



By 2020, adoption of the company’s self-service BI was such a success that Standard Bank’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-teams/group-chat-software">Microsoft Teams</a>&nbsp;channel for Power BI included more than 3,000 members.



The bank’s data visualization team was using a descriptive analytics model to evaluate what had already happened. But Valli wanted to explore the predictive (what might happen) and prescriptive (what are the possibilities) paths to add to the toolsets for internal teams. As a result, the data visualization team collaborated with the bank’s Insurance Business group to use AI and automated machine learning to predict and accurately target customers.



Using data to tell a more accurate story



In July 2020, Standard Bank Insurance launched a funeral cover product – insurance to cover funeral expenses – that sold well: customers were queuing at branches and phoning the bank’s call centres. Mohammed Tootla, Manager of Data Visualization for the Insurance Business group at Standard Bank, decided they needed more from their data. 



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“We started looking at alternatives to tell a better story with our data,” says Tootla. “We wanted to explore machine learning, but we had no data scientists on our team.”



Tootla then contacted Valli, explaining that his team wanted to move forward with predictive and prescriptive analytics. Valli’s and Tootla’s teams began collaborating in Power BI. They aggregated and analysed sales for the funeral cover across multiple dimensions, discovering a surprising insight that aligned with feedback from business leads: millennial customers were creating higher demand than any other generation.



The other key learning was that sales were happening on a particular day of the week. According to marketing and industry standards, most sales are expected to happen on Wednesdays and Thursdays. However, data showed that funeral cover sales were happening on Fridays.



“We were able to uncover these patterns and key insights solely because of the AI analytics capabilities within Power BI,” says Tootla.



Understanding these trends in the data allowed Standard Bank to make proactive adjustments to target the right audience and prepare for sales accordingly.&nbsp;



Better serving customers and mitigating customer cancellations



Next, Valli and Tootla delved into the forecasting models to compare what sales might look like if factors remained unchanged, with “what-if” parameters – adjusted policies forecast – such as: what happens if South Africa returns to a hard lockdown because of COVID-19 and movement is restricted?



They created hindcast data models for four time periods to compare predictions to actual results and presented them to business leads, who determined the hindcasts accurately stayed within the upper and lower thresholds of the actual numbers.



Because of the forecasting model, the leads now use predictive and prescriptive insights to more properly staff employees in branches and call centres to better serve customers.



Tootla’s team also had another objective: to analyse the high churn rate in his group’s short-term insurance book. The previous report already utilised descriptive analytics models, but these only offered insights as to why a customer had cancelled insurance in the past. They didn’t indicate what might happen in the future.



Valli and Tootla built a binary classification model using the automated machine learning (AutoML) feature in Power BI, which quickly yielded value in affecting the bank’s bottom line.



Using the churn model, 88,000 customers were evaluated—40,000 active and 48,000 previously cancelled. The churn model predicted the risk of losing approximately 8,000 active customers and broke down the 8,000 customers by segment, policy persistency, age, province, and income, so the insurance group could target them when running retention campaigns.



“We were highly impressed with the fast turnaround time with which the Power BI AutoML led to outputs,” says Tootla. “A data scientist would come in and might not produce a report for months. We produced the first binary classification model within three weeks.”



Uniting datasets and adding value



Valli and Tootla agree that the project is still in its infancy. Tootla envisions expanding the forecasting and churn models to the full Standard Bank insurance product line. Beyond that, he foresees uniting the sales, cancellations, and retentions datasets.



“We’d like to bring in customer demographic information and build an all-in-one dataset model we can use as an input into our customer lifetime value model,” he says.



The collaboration and outcomes have altered how Valli contemplates data by assessing any new features broadly and contemplating how they can add value to any business unit his team supports. He says AI analytics is about helping the bank extract value and demonstrating the robust capabilities of the Power BI tools.



“This is only the start. We&#8217;re going to be doing a lot more going forward and we’re all really excited about that,” says Valli.



To find out what value Power BI can add to your business, visit <a href="https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/">https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/</a>.

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Standard Bank shows ‘it can be’ by using AI and analytics to improve customer service

Sub-Saharan Africa has the potential to generate inclusive growth and eradicate poverty, according to the latest World Bank overview of the continent’s economic prospects.1



“Sub-Saharan Africa, home to more than&nbsp;1 billion people, half of whom will be under 25 years old by 2050, is a diverse continent offering human and natural resources that have the potential to yield inclusive growth and eradicate poverty in the region. With the world’s largest free trade area and a market of 1.2 billion consumers, the continent is creating an entirely new development path, harnessing the potential of its resources and people,” the World Bank says.



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However, between the recognition of this potential and its realisation – the day when all Africans are freed from poverty – an enormous amount of work remains to be done. As the continent marks Africa Day today, it is useful to consider what is required.



A 2021 Economic Development in Africa Report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) states that one condition for achieving inclusive growth in Africa is that workers must acquire better skills to respond to evolving labour market demands.2



It says inclusive development relies on the capacity of social, economic and political systems to provide the circumstances for well-being on a sustainable, long-term basis.



“Therefore, inclusive development should be measured along the interconnected dimensions of human, social and economic development and environmental considerations,” the report says.



In addition, inclusive growth requires higher rates of female participation, yet women remain marginalised in the labour market in Africa.



The private sector has a major role to play in enabling inclusive growth. It is both the engine of economic development and dependent on a flourishing continent for its own success.



At Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA), our aim is to create greater shared opportunity for the business and the communities we serve across the value-chain, and our social and community ambitions address some of the most immediate needs in Africa.



We believe in creating inclusive growth opportunities for communities, with our focus on women and youth. More relevant in Africa than any other continent, women are integral to our continent’s shared success and are often the decision drivers behind consumer spending trends.



We seek to empower women both in the workplace and through community programmes throughout our markets on the continent.



We support female entrepreneurs to thrive through the provision of financial support, mentoring and training.



An example is the Entoto women empowerment programme in Ethiopia, which was launched in 2020. It has enabled more than 260 women to earn higher incomes by collecting and selling used plastic bottles and distributing The Coca-Cola Company’s products – and in turn also aided our environmental initiatives in relation to recycling.



As we see significant growth potential in Ethiopia, we established nine new intensive training centres to increase the amount of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) collected, resulting in more than 400 women having received intensive training on PET reuse and recycling.



In addition, we also embarked on a market development programme which empowered over 800 women business owners through the provision of coolers to sell more products and expand their businesses.



On the youth front, empowering young people and enabling their inclusion in the economy is critical if we are to achieve our vision of making Africa a better place for all.



We empowered over 15&nbsp;000 youth in 2021 across various of our markets to help make them active participants in the economy.



In South Africa, as an example, we established an enterprise development initiative in 2015, known as Bizniz-in-a-Box, to make a sustainable impact on youth unemployment by creating an ecosystem of viable micro-businesses offering complementary products and services in township communities.



Using the spaza shop as the anchor, each business operates out of a custom-designed container, covering various core needs of the local community. The programme offers young entrepreneurs an opportunity to learn business skills to enable them to grow and run their own business.



We have trained over 720 young entrepreneurs and rolled out over 220 Bizniz-in-a-Box outlets since the inception of the programme, of which 47% are female owned businesses.



Communities where we operate benefit by gaining access to more and/or better resources, which over time enable them to become more self-sufficient and sustainable.



Many members of these communities get employment opportunities they would otherwise not have, and some go on to start their own sustainable businesses through our enterprise development initiatives.



We understand the importance of nurturing from the grass roots level up and in Ethiopia, near one of our factories, we built a fully operational public school that accommodates up to 1,000 students. We built a similar school facility in Bahrdar community in 2019, and we are on track to complete our third school, which is located near our Ambo plant, for the local community.



Creating shared value is mutually beneficial to CCBA, as these individuals ultimately become CCBA consumers, with a real sense of Coca-Cola brand loyalty given the impact CCBA has had on their personal lives.



We continue to work with our supply chain to improve sustainable and ethical local sourcing practices, including a continued commitment to protect human rights.



As at the end of 2020, our local sourcing was at 83%, exceeding the global Coca-Cola target to source locally, 80% of the raw materials usually imported by 2022. This translates into increased opportunity for African suppliers, entrepreneurs and industrialists, helping to develop local economies, diversify goods made in Africa and support inclusive growth.



We continue to support our suppliers to upskill and improve the quality of materials to meet our high standards.



An example is in Ghana, where we sourced 100% of raw materials locally by 2020. Initially local suppliers didn’t have the necessary technical equipment and expertise to produce preforms, closures and labels according to our specifications and high standards.



We proactively supported local suppliers with technical skills and contractual off-take agreements which enabled them to purchase the required machinery to improve their standards.



With increased local sourcing, we saved costs on shipping, customs, clearing and inventory management, driving bottom line profitability – illustrating how economic inclusion can be beneficial to both businesses and local economies.



Another example is in South Africa, where we sourced 98% locally, including sugar.



Increasingly as the African Continental Free Trade Area takes effect, opportunities will open up for local manufacturers to produce higher-value goods and the development of intra-continental value chains that spur inclusive growth.



Companies like CCBA will play a significant part in empowering entrepreneurs, workers and communities to take full advantage of these opportunities.



<ol class="wp-block-list" type="1"><li><a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/afr/overview#1">https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/afr/overview#1</a></li><li><a href="https://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/aldcafrica2021_en.pdf">https://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/aldcafrica2021_en.pdf</a></li></ol>

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Africa Day should spur action to end poverty and empower the continent to reach its full potential

LAGOS, NIGERIA – MAY 5, 2022: Access Holdings Plc; trading as Access Corporation (&#8220;the Corporation&#8221;) announced today its start of operations, with initial portfolio companies and its future strategy. The Corporation, which builds on Access Bank&#8217;s scale and ethical standards, will have portfolio companies with significant complementarities, allowing the ecosystem to walk with customers across their life cycle while delivering value to stakeholders.



Herbert Wigwe the Group CEO of Access Corporation, speaking on its debut said: &#8220;Many of you would have heard us talk about Access Corporation earlier this year. This natural evolution of our company will ensure that we continue to use digital tools and our partnership with Fintechs to support our customers&#8217; lifestyles outside of the banking system. We have set our sights on and delivered ambitious plans to transform the African financial services sector over the last 20 years. Until now, we have concentrated on banking, with the goal of becoming the World&#8217;s Most Respected African Bank. Our banking subsidiary is now Nigeria&#8217;s largest bank by assets and Africa&#8217;s largest in terms of customer base. It is now time for us to take the next transformative step, where we provide our customers with beyond banking services delivering new interconnected financial services across customers’ needs.&#8221;



The Corporation will comprise verticals cutting across banking, payments, consumer lending, insurance brokerage and asset management. Access Bank Group will continue to operate in Nigeria and through its subsidiaries and business offices in Africa, Europe, and Asia. These businesses, when combined, will position Access Corporation to provide banking services, including intra-and inter-Africa trade, consumer lending, payments services, and insurance services to our customers, thereby improving wealth diversification and preservation.



Looking ahead five years, Access Corporation will be a leading financial and ecosystem player, with services spanning B2B and B2C marketplaces, B2B services, health, housing, digital, mobility content, mobility, core banking offerings, and other financial services such as insurance and wealth management.



Wigwe concludes, &#8220;We recognize and embrace the change that is currently happening and, as we have previously demonstrated, we will lead. Access Corporation will be a driving force in the ongoing digital revolution to the benefit of our stakeholders. This transition will allow us to offer more career development opportunities across portfolio companies for our employees, allowing us to attract and retain the best talent in an increasingly global marketplace. We will unlock more value for our customers by focusing on distinct business opportunities with high growth rates globally, such as payments and consumer lending, <s></s>

Herbert-Wigwe-Group-CEO-Access-Bank-Plc1

ACCESS CORPORATION UNLOCKING NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR INTRA- AND INTER- AFRICA TRADE – HERBERT WIGWE

Africa is a continent that is bearing the brunt of the devastating impact of climate change, yet it has contributed the least to global emissions. The low carbon output reflects Africa’s crippling energy deficit which has stymied industrialisation and economic development.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="800" height="600" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/CNBC-article-2-_800x600.png" alt="" class="wp-image-417164" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/CNBC-article-2-_800x600.png 800w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/CNBC-article-2-_800x600-300x225.png 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/CNBC-article-2-_800x600-120x90.png 120w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/CNBC-article-2-_800x600-768x576.png 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /><figcaption>Enlit Africa</figcaption></figure>



A new report from the Africa Finance Corporation sets out the continent’s stance of balancing the need for emissions reduction with critical development imperatives as Africa starts to look to net-zero.



<a href="https://www.enlit-africa.com/">Enlit Africa (the unifying brand for African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa) invites you to join the conversation 7-9 June 2022 in Cape Town, South Africa</a><a href="https://www.enlit-africa.com/welcome">.</a> <a href="https://www.enlit-africa.com/the-event/attend">REGISTER TODAY</a>. 



“While renewable sources are the ultimate goal, Africa must also exploit its abundant reserves of natural gas as an essential transitional source of energy to support industrialisation – a position backed by the European Commission’s recent decision to classify natural gas as a form of green energy and a vital transition fuel in the path towards decarbonisation,” says the report.



A role for gas?



This is a position supported by <a href="https://www.enlit-africa.com/welcome">Enlit Africa 2022</a> (formerly African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa), and one that will receive coverage at the event as delegates explore the topic of gas masterplans and the role of gas across the energy transition. <a href="https://www.enlit-africa.com/the-event/Learn/speakers">Speakers</a> sharing their thoughts on the role of gas include Thabang Audat, Chief Director: Planning, from the South African Department of Mineral Resources and Electricity. He is supported by Craig Morkel, Gas Economy Leadership Group Chairperson for the SA Oil and Gas Alliance, Hasnayn Ebrahim, MD, Africa Infrastructure Advisors and Maggy Shino, Petroleum Commissioner, Namibian Department of Minerals and Energy.



But the development of gas markets is not limited to that of natural gas only – but includes the possibilities to be explored through the development of a hydrogen market – not only as a source of primary energy, but also as a commodity for an export market.



Alternative fuels



This will form the basis of discussions at Enlit Africa around the development of a hydrogen market in Africa, plans to commercialise hydrogen and what the considerations are when it comes to pricing hydrogen.&nbsp; Joining this conversation are Siggi Huegemann, Chairman, African Hydrogen Partnership; Hendrik Louw, CEO, Northern Cape Economic Development, Trade and Investment Promotion Agency, and representative from the Department of Science and Innovation, South Africa



Attendees and exhibitors at Enlit Africa represent the leading suppliers, experts and energy professionals from Africa and around the world, offering an opportunity to network and engage with utilities, municipalities, OEMs, government, regulators, EPC, developers, financiers and the entire energy ecosystem. <a href="https://www.enlit-africa.com/the-event/attend">Register today.</a>



The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction estimates that the cost of structural damage caused by natural disasters in Africa will climb to $145bn a year by 2030. The continent thus needs strong and resulting buildings to rebuild ocean and river defences and infrastructure in transport, construction of electricity grids and off-grid energy. This will in turn help develop sustainable mining and the circular economy that could drive growth and job creation.



The focus of the Energy Storage and Alternative Solutions sessions during Enlit Africa will focus on how alternative energy source such as renewable energies, are providing certainty and energy security to mines and other large industrial concerns, not only in the case of loadshedding, but also in response to the effects of climate change. However, the conversation will also focus on opportunities to utilise renewable energy to bring electricity to clinics and communities and how collaboration between mines and the communities surrounding them can be beneficial for all.



Innovation



In order to effect change, Africa-based institutions like the IFC need access to essential climate funds through financial innovation to support resilient building and investment in localised mass-scale manufacturing and processing. The IFC’s Green City Action Plan is one such initiative. Speaking at Enlit Africa,&nbsp; representatives from the IFC will share how, by working with the City of Ekhuruleni, they have developed a Green City Action Plan that sets out actions that can help CoE meet its climate mitigation and sustainability targets. The Green City Action Plan leverages a new IFC platform, APEX, which is supported by the APEX Online Application Tool that helps quantify and prioritise policy and investment solutions across four key sectors: energy, transport, water, and waste.



Innovative finance mechanisms and unpacking the reality of the just energy transition for Africa are topics of discussion at Enlit Africa. <a href="https://www.enlit-africa.com/the-event/attend">Register today</a>. 



Information about the programme, speaker line up, networking, roundtable and site visit opportunities can be found by visiting <a href="https://www.enlit-africa.com/programme">https://www.enlit-africa.com/programme</a>.



Back at the CTICC <a href="https://www.enlit-africa.com/welcome">Enlit Africa 2022</a> will return to the CTICC in Cape Town with a world-class exhibition, showcasing the latest technology and services on offer in the sector. Known for its compelling content and speakers, the organisers will not disappoint, with two keynotes and most of the content presented in speaking hubs on the expo floor. Conference delegates will also be able to enjoy the networking and site visits that the event has popularised for over two decades. Strict health and safety COVID-19 protocols will be observed. Industry support Eskom, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy and the City of Cape Town have been official hosting partners of the event for many years and 2022 will be no exception. <a href="https://www.esi-africa.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ESI Africa</a>, the continent’s leading news provider for power and energy news, is the official host publication.



<a href="https://www.enlit-africa.com/welcome">Enlit Africa (formerly African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa)</a> is Africa’s leading exhibition and conference, gathering the power and energy industry’s most influential professionals and decision makers from across the continent for three days of relevant, accredited technical and strategic conference seminars, valuable networking opportunities and access to world-class products and solutions.



Enlit Africa is organised by&nbsp;<a href="http://www.wearevuka.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Vuka Group&nbsp;</a>(formerly&nbsp;<a href="http://www.clarioneventsafrica.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Clarion Events Africa</a>), a leading Cape Town-based and multi-award-winning organiser of exhibitions, conferences and digital events across the continent in the infrastructure, energy, mining, mobility, ecommerce and CX sectors. Other well-known events by The Vuka Group include&nbsp;<a href="http://www.drcminingweek.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">DRC Mining Week</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.africaminingforum.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Africa Mining Forum</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nigeriaminingweek.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nigeria Mining Week</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://generationehq.com/smarter-mobility-africa/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Smarter Mobility Africa</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://ecommerce-africa.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ECOM</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://cemafricasummit.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CEM Africa</a>.



<a href="https://www.enlit-africa.com/">Enlit Africa (the unifying brand for African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa) invites you to join the conversation 7-9 June 2022 in Cape Town, South Africa</a><a href="https://www.enlit-africa.com/welcome">.</a> <a href="https://www.enlit-africa.com/the-event/attend">Register today</a>.

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Africa Day should spur action to end poverty and empower the continent to reach its full potential

ACCESS CORPORATION UNLOCKING NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR INTRA- AND INTER- AFRICA TRADE – HERBERT WIGWE

The role of gas in Africa’s energy sector is just one of the strategic angles being pursued at Enlit Africa

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Brandcom

Fixing Africa’s broken health supply chains is a difficult task – but a new program focused on local innovators is making headway

Earnings in financial markets: is it roulette or science?

Family Governance Starts with Affinity

Making Africa’s leading entertainment company’s data and analytics agile, scalable and future-proof

Standard Bank shows ‘it can be’ by using AI and analytics to improve customer service

Africa Day should spur action to end poverty and empower the continent to reach its full potential

ACCESS CORPORATION UNLOCKING NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR INTRA- AND INTER- AFRICA TRADE – HERBERT WIGWE

The role of gas in Africa’s energy sector is just one of the strategic angles being pursued at Enlit Africa

News Tips

Advertise With Us

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