By <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/karen-gilchrist/">Karen Gilchrist</a> 



Making your first investment can feel like a daunting prospect.



Memories of the global financial crisis — and subsequent market dips — hang heavy for savers, particularly those who came of age during the 2008 downturn.



Multiple studies point to millennials’ and Gen Z’s skepticism toward investing:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/01/why-millennials-are-scared-of-the-stock-market.html">One Bankrate report</a>&nbsp;found that just 23% of those between 18 and 37 years of age saw the stock market as the best long-term money store. That’s compared to 33% of Gen X (those between 38 and 52 years old) and 38% of baby boomers (people between 54 and 74 years old).



But with low, and in some places negative, interest rates continuing to suppress cash savings globally, sitting on the sidelines could do more harm than good.



Analysts suspect that the savings shortfall could have major implications for long-term financial goals.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/12/17/standard-chartered-majority-of-savers-set-to-miss-retirement-goals.html">A recent study from Standard Chartered</a>, for instance, found the majority of savers in the fastest-growing economies are set to miss their retirement goals by 50%.



The good news, however, is that it’s easier today than ever to invest; new technologies and a host of digital wealth managers have opened up entry into lower-risk investments from anywhere in the world.



<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/make-it/">CNBC Make It</a>&nbsp;spoke to some experts to find out their top tips for getting started.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Set a goal</h2>



Before you begin thinking about your first investment, or choosing the type of vehicle to use, it’s crucial to figure out what you’re doing it for, experts said.



Dhruv Arora, CEO of digital wealth manager&nbsp;<a href="http://www.syfe.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Syfe</a>, recommended starting with a specific life goal — such as a wedding or retirement — rather than an “arbitrary numerical figures.”



“Rather than throwing up a number, try and be a bit scientific about it,” said Arora, noting that online calculators can help you figure out an investment strategy as a proportion of your income.



That doesn’t mean you must stay with that plan: “Your goals may change over time, and that’s fair,” said Michele Ferrario of online wealth platform&nbsp;<a href="http://www.stashaway.sg/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">StashAway</a>. But it creates a tangible reward to work toward.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Figure out your timeline</h2>



Next up, figure out how much time you have to reach that goal. That will help you figure out how much you need to put away each month in order to get there.



As a general rule, financial advisors recommend a 50/30/20 strategy, whereby 50% of your income goes to living expenses, 30% to discretionary spending — or wants — and 20% to savings. However, that may vary depending on your goal and time horizon.



Often the more you can put in early on, the better. That’s due to<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/11/how-compound-interest-works-and-how-it-can-help-you-save-money.html">&nbsp;compound interest</a>, which enables you to earn interest on your returns. But Ferrario cautioned investors to be realistic.



“Understand what you can afford,” he said. “If you start baking into your plan the fact that you’re to have a great career, you may be disappointed. Start with what you know you have, and then over time, you can adjust it.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Know your risk tolerance</h2>



Alongside timeline, you need to know your risk tolerance. More often than not, the two will be intertwined.



“If you’re a millennial, your objectives are likely to be quite long-term in nature,” said Steve Brice, chief investment strategist at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/11/how-compound-interest-works-and-how-it-can-help-you-save-money.html">Standard Chartered</a>, noting that may give you a greater risk tolerance.



However, Brice noted there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. He recommended doing a scenario analysis to see how you respond to different events to ensure future downturns don’t “blindside” you.



Arora agreed, saying investors should be true to themselves: “If you’re not comfortable with what you’re doing this for, you will end up making the wrong investment.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Get diversified</h2>



Once you’ve pinned down your goal and your strategy, it’s time to work out the best investment vehicle for you.



For many first time investors, that will be a passively managed&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/19/why-index-funds-are-a-smart-investment.html">index fund</a>, which gives you access to major market indices, or a low-cost digital wealth manager which will build a portfolio on your behalf.



The most important element to look for, however, is diversification, experts said. This means building in exposure to different asset classes, such as equities, bonds and alternatives like property, as well as different geographies.



“You need to have a portfolio that’s diversified and doesn’t make you lose sleep,” said Ferrario.



“You should be building a portfolio that’s resilient to different risks,” Brice added.



Their advice closely mirrors that of legendary investor&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/id/10000263">Warren Buffett</a>. The 89-year-old self-made billionaire has long advocated long-term, low-risk investing that focuses on a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/17/warren-buffett-tips-on-how-to-invest-in-the-stock-market.html">diversified and detached approach</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Remember fees</h2>



While digital wealth platforms have helped lower barriers to entry, the fees charged can vary across the board, so it’s important to know where your money is going.



As Ferrario put it, unlike other purchases, “the thing you’re buying when you invest is returns.”



American online financial advisor Betterment, for instance, charges a low annual fee of 0.25% on assets under management, helping it nab the title of best platform for new investors in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/13/why-betterment-is-the-best-roboadvisor-for-beginning-investors.html">a recent report</a>. The annual fees charged by U.S. robo-investors often hover between 0.25% and 0.89% — well below the several percentage points charged by traditional wealth managers.



Investors elsewhere in the world can find comparably low fees. Europe’s Moneyfarm charges approximately 0.7% per year, while in Asia, StashAway charges up to 0.8% and Syfe up to 0.65% — both with no exit fees.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Forget about it</h2>



The last step for investors, new and old, is to learn to forget.



With most investment platforms now offering some form of on-demand performance analysis, that can be easier said than done. Indeed, observing your portfolio can be a good way of monitoring your risk tolerance.



But it’s important not to let it disrupt your long-term strategy, said Arora, who recommended checking in on your investments on a quarterly basis.



“Investing should be as exciting as watching grass grow,” Ferrario added.



This article was first published on CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/18/investing-advice-experts-share-tips-for-making-the-first-investment.html">https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/18/investing-advice-experts-share-tips-for-making-the-first-investment.html</a> and is republished with its permission.

CNBC

Experts share their best advice for making your first investment

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The need for Africa to invest in research and data collection continues to lead the conversation on how best we can include the marginalised excluded groups on the continent. On how to overcome these challenges, Dr. Alfred Hanning, Executive Director of Alliance for Financial Inclusion joins CNBC Africa&#8217;s Arnold Kwizera for more.

Alfred Hanning on why financial education is key to bridging financial exclusion gap

TOKYO (Reuters) &#8211; Japan will offer enhanced trade insurance to boost private sector investment in Africa, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Wednesday as his country competes with rival China for influence in the resource-rich continent.



 “Let me make a promise,” Abe told the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) attended by a few dozen African leaders and representatives of international organisations such as the World Bank.



“The Japanese government will do its utmost so that our private-sector investment in Africa, which came to $20 billion over the past three years, will be expanded continuously,” Abe added.



The enhanced insurance would fully cover loans to African governments, their affiliated institutions or private companies buying Japanese goods for infrastructure projects in Africa, according to government briefing materials and a state-run firm offering trade insurance.



“For example, our cooperation with local financial institutions will create a new trade insurance that could cover 100% of your transactions,” Abe said in his speech.



He did not make a major funding announcement at the Tokyo meeting.



At the last TICAD conference in the Kenyan capital Nairobi in 2016, Japan pledged $30 billion in public and private support for infrastructure development, education and healthcare in Africa over three years.



Foreign investment in sub-Saharan Africa rose 13% last year to $32 billion, bucking a global downward trend and reversing two years of decline, according to a United Nations report published in June. [nL8N23K3T7]



Last September at a summit with African leaders in Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged $60 billion in financing for Africa and wrote off some debt for the continent’s poorer nations. [nL3N1VP28R]



Western critics say the Chinese funding is saddling the continent with unsustainable debt, but Beijing denies it is engaging in “debt trap” diplomacy. [nL3N1VQ2CD]



Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; editing by Darren Schuettler

Here’s how Japan plans to drive Africa investment

By <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/ramit-sethi/">Ramit Sethi</a>



People have lots of reasons for not managing their money properly. A few of those reasons are valid, but most are just poorly veiled excuses for being lazy and not wanting to spend 10 minutes on research.



I’ve heard some blame the education system for not teaching them about money. It’s easy for people in their 20s to wish that their colleges had offered some personal finance training. But guess what? Most colleges&nbsp;do. You just didn’t take them!



The harsh truth is that you’re not victims. You’re in control of your own finances — and the sooner you internalize that, the sooner you can start to go on the offense.



The first step is to acknowledge some of the biggest money lies young people tell themselves:



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">1. “I need to focus on making passive income.”</h2>



To many millennials, passive income sounds like a dream. They hear about some guy who took a three-week vacation — while still continuing to earn money — and then say, “I can’t do that!” What they don’t see, however, is the amount of time and work it took to get there.



Most people, especially the young ones who are just entering the workforce, don’t need to focus on passive income. Instead, they should be putting more effort into improving their&nbsp;active&nbsp;incomes&nbsp;— by focusing on their careers. They can do this by sharpening their work skills, solving more problems for their bosses and basically out-hustling their co-workers.



A lot of people hate hearing this because it means that instead of fantasizing about earning a passive income of $500 a day, they actually have do some real work at their jobs.



I’ve also seen people who&nbsp;are&nbsp;hard workers, but are too afraid to ask for a salary increase because their “company doesn’t have the funds” or because “economy is bad.”



Why? Because it’s easier: If we accept a force that we believe is out of our control (like a “bad economy”) in dictating whether or not we get a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/17/dont-make-these-5-mistakes-when-negotiating-salary-says-self-made-millionaire-ramit-sethi.html" class="">get a raise</a>, we feel less pressure to put in the effort.



Solution: Put in the hours and get better at your job so you can earn more money. If getting a raise isn’t an option, find another job and&nbsp;<a href="https://youtu.be/CdbFwr1qcD4" class="">negotiate a higher salary</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">2. “If I just try harder, I can save more money.”</h2>



We all know we need to save money, the same way we know we need to exercise more, eat healthier and call our families regularly. But there are serious barriers to doing all these things.



Simply “trying harder” won’t help you succeed (there are even&nbsp;<a href="https://www.chronicle.com/article/When-Trying-Harder-Doesnt/136063" class="">studies</a>that will tell you the same thing).&nbsp;Trying&nbsp;to save money by buying the cheaper item isn’t enough.&nbsp;Trying&nbsp;to cut back on buying lattes won’t help, either.



In order to see results, you need to actually sit down and have a conversation with yourself about what needs to be done, step-by-step.



Take a look at your finances and ask yourself: What are you trying to do that takes a lot of effort, but for little gain? What’s not working no matter how hard you try? How can you make things easier for yourself?



Solution: <a class="" href="https://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/automate-your-personal-finances/">Automate your finances</a> so you’re not dependent on your willpower.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">3. “I’m going to start keeping a budget.”</h2>



Most of us, at some point in our lives, will get motivated and decide: “Yes! I’m going to start keeping a budget!”



Creating a budget to cut down on your expenses is the sort of worthless advice that personal finance experts feel good prescribing to millennials. But the few people who actually attempt to budget completely fail after a few days because they eventually realize that it’s really difficult (and overwhelming) to track every penny they spend.



Also, more often than not, it doesn’t work because a budget tracks what you’ve already spent, and so when you look back at the end of the month, you feel horrible and guilty after realizing that you overspent. Budgets offer no forward-looking information.



Instead of keeping a budget, I recommend creating what I call a “Conscious Spending Plan,” a strategy that forces you to look to the future while also allowing you to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/money-dials/" class="">spend extravagantly</a>&nbsp;on the things you love — as long as you cut costs mercilessly on the things you don’t love.



Solution: Create a Conscious Spending Plan by splitting up your income into four categories:



<ol><li>Fixed costs: Rent, groceries, student loans, utilities, etc. (50% to 60% of your income)</li><li>Long-term investments: 401(k), Roth IRA, etc. (10% of your income)</li><li>Savings goals: Holiday gifts, vacations, down payment on a home, etc. (5% to 10% of your income)</li><li>Guilt-free spending: Dining out, movies, shopping, etc. (20% to 35% of your income)</li></ol>



By allocating your money this way, you can make sure you have enough to pay off all your responsibilities first. Then, any money left over can go towards your savings goals and everyday spending.



The guilt-free spending category allows you to buy what you want while knowing that your most important expenses are taken care of. (More on how to create a Conscious Spending Plan&nbsp;<a href="https://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/budget-help/" class="">here</a>.)



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">4. “My friends earns less than me, yet they’re still able to go on four vacations every year!”</h2>



You friends are either highly skilled practitioners of Conscious Spending — or have absolutely no clue how to manage their money.



Think back to when you were a kid: How many times did you hear one of your parents ask the other: “Why can’t we go on vacations the way our neighbor does?” — without actually understanding how their neighbor’s spending breaks down. Chances are they’re not conscious spenders, but rather over-spenders.



Put another way, would you ask your friend who failed his English 101 class for grammar lessons? Hopefully not. So why would you look at your ordinary friends — who make ordinary money decisions and end up with ordinary results (a.k.a. not having enough money) — as role models?



Solution: Refocus your financial aspirations and strive to become like people who make conscious money decisions. Don’t follow the examples of those who show off by spending more than they have. If you suspect they can’t afford it, they probably can’t.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">5. “I’m going to start investing.”</h2>



Ask any of your friends how much they’ve&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/14/billionaire-warren-buffett-proves-successful-investors-always-ask-themselves-this-1-question-before-buying-or-selling.html" class="">invested in stocks</a>, and most of them will probably say they “don’t earn enough money” or “don’t have enough expertise” to do it.



According to a recent&nbsp;<a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/233699/young-americans-wary-investing-stocks.aspx" class="">Gallup</a>&nbsp;poll, only 37% of young Americans ages 35 and under said they owned stocks between 2017 and 2018, compared to the 61% of people over the age of 35 did own stocks.



Opening an investment account gives you access to the biggest money-making vehicle in the history of the world — and you don’t have to be rich to do it. Many account providers will waive minimums (the amount required to open an account) if you set up an automatic monthly transfer.



So many people say they’re “going to start investing,” and then end up not doing it. Why? Because they don’t think they’re capable of understanding the basics and don’t want to risk losing their hard-earned money.



But for every day that you don’t invest, you’re&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/15/self-made-millionaire-this-is-the-no-1-way-to-get-rich-ramit-sethi.html" class="">losing money</a>&nbsp;due to inflation — and you’ll never realize this until you’re in your 70s, at which point it’ll be too late.



Solution: Any new topic is overwhelming (i.e., diets, workout regimens, parenting). The answer isn’t to avoid it — it’s to pick a source of information to learn from and then actually start investing.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">6. “Wanting to ‘get rich’ is bad.”</h2>



Obsessing over money and being consumed by greed is bad, but wanting a better future for you and your loved ones is anything but.



Having more money opens up an incredible amount of options for you and everyone around you. I’ve said this many times, and I’ll say it again: “Getting rich” isn’t just about money — it’s about living a rich life, and living a rich life might mean different things to different people.



For some, it means having the financial freedom to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/money-dials/" class="">spend extravagantly on their hobbies</a>. For others, it means having the luxury of paying for a house cleaner every week.



For me, part of what living a rich life means is the ability to step away from my business for six whole months to go on my honeymoon.



Solution: Think about what living a rich life means to you and let that inspire you to take action in growing your money.



<a class="" href="http://iwillteachyoutoberich.com/">Ramit Sethi</a>, author of the New York Times best-seller ”<a class="" href="https://www.amazon.com/Will-Teach-You-Rich-Second/dp/1523505745">I Will Teach You To Be Rich, ”</a> has become a financial guru to millions of readers in their 20s, 30s and 40s. He became a self-made millionaire at a young age, thanks to his <a class="" href="http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/">website</a> (which he started as a Stanford undergraduate in 2004), book and personal finance courses. 



This article first appeared on CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/23/self-made-millionaire-6-biggest-lies-we-tell-ourselves-about-money.html">https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/23/self-made-millionaire-6-biggest-lies-we-tell-ourselves-about-money.html</a> and is republished with its permission.

Self-made millionaire: 6 biggest money lies young people need to stop telling themselves

By <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/ramit-sethi/">Ramit Sethi</a>



Change is a constant and continuous process in life. As we grow older, we change how we dress, what we eat, where we live and who we become friends with.



Yet when it comes to how we use our time and money ― especially for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/26/money-mistakes-millionaires-like-warren-buffett-bill-gates-google-eric-schmidt-never-make.html" class="">high earners and wealthy individuals</a>&nbsp;― we tend to be more resistant to change.



Here’s a little scenario to illustrate my point: I have a friend who earns more than $750,000 a year. He loves his job, but if you asked him how he’s doing, his biggest complaint would be:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/25/stop-saying-im-busy-harvard-study-reveals-how-successful-people-say-no-and-protect-their-time.html" class="">“I’m so busy.”</a>



So imagine my surprise when I visited him one day and pointed to the bags sitting on his kitchen counter.



“Oh, I just got back from the grocery store,” he said.



After a quick pause, I asked, “Have you ever considered having someone else do your grocery shopping?”



He looked at me like I was crazy.&nbsp;Pay&nbsp;to have someone do his grocery shopping? What kind of elitist would do that?



Here was an adult earning $750,000 a year, but behaving as if he still earns $50,000.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The hidden paradox of money vs. time</h2>



The concept of buying back your time is one of the most powerful productivity concepts I’ve learned as a business owner.



Buying back your time is all about convenience: By spending on things like Lyft rides, pre-cooked meals or a housekeeper, you’re actually&nbsp;savingmoney because you get back the hours that you’d normally spend doing things that don’t make you happy.



Most high earners fail to recognize the effectiveness of buying back time. Maybe it’s because growing up, their parents didn’t have more money than time, which changes the calculus of how they make decisions. As a result, those high earners never end up changing their approach to work and their personal lives.



This is a huge paradox of earning more money: Many people claim they value time over money, but if you look at their calendars, you’ll find that the opposite is true.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Buying back your time isn’t an act of arrogance</h2>



I used to scoff at people who flew first-class and think,&nbsp;Why would anyone spend an insane amount of money something so pointless? We’re all getting to the same destination.



But more often than not, those people were not stupid. They were high earners who understood value in a different way than I used to.



If you earn $40,000 a year, for example, spending $5,000 on a first-class flight is crazy. But if you’re a CEO who earns $450,000 a year, it makes perfect sense.



In business, misaligned beliefs on time and money can cost you dearly ― while getting aligned can become a force multiplier.



Sometimes, people who buy back their time are seen as showing off. But guess what? Many of us already do it:



<ul><li>Eating at a restaurant instead of cooking at home</li><li>Getting the car oil changed instead of doing it yourself</li><li>Taking an Uber instead of walking or taking public transportation</li><li>Paying retail price instead of looking for a good deal</li></ul>



I’d bet that some of you do these things every week and don’t consider it as “buying back your time.” But you actually are because you’re spending on convenience so you can focus on getting results and move on to more important things.



I’m really into fitness, for example, and Theoretically, I could read a ton of material on bodybuilding, structure my diet and fitness routine ― and stick to it.



But I know I’ll never be as efficient as my trainer, who lives and breathes fitness. By paying him, I can trade money for time and get the best results. (Again, I could be doing it all on my own, but I don’t have to; I’d rather spend that time on my business and with my family.)



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Give it a shot―it might change your life</h2>



I still find it difficult to know when it’s “right” to spend money or time on something ― and I’m not alone.



Think about all the wealthy and successful people, like my friend who earns $750,000 per year, who are uncomfortable with the idea of delegating tasks to others. But if you’re working hard, you should be able to buy back your time.



The key is to ask yourself:&nbsp;What do I get out of it?



What do you get if you got three hours of your time back every week? Do you get to fly your parents out and put them up in an amazing suite? (If you’re Indian like me, the answer is no: They’ll be staying with you.) Do you get to do things you really enjoy, like cooking your own meal or composing music?



If you’re making more money than ever, aim to save at least one hour per week. Think about all the responsibilities that you hate (e.g., doing the laundry, grocery shopping, managing your finances) where there are great solutions available to outsource or systematize the work.



Then, as you get more advanced, you can tackle trickier topics like scheduling, email management and entire project management.



<a href="http://iwillteachyoutoberich.com/" class="">Ramit Sethi</a>,&nbsp;author of the New York Times best-seller&nbsp;<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Will-Teach-You-Rich-Second/dp/1523505745" class="">“I Will Teach You To Be Rich,”</a>&nbsp;has become a financial guru to millions of readers in their 20s, 30s and 40s. He became a self-made millionaire at a young age thanks to his&nbsp;<a href="http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/" class="">website</a>&nbsp;(which he started as a Stanford undergraduate in 2004), book and personal finance courses.



This is an adapted version of a post that originally appeared on <a class="" href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.quora.com_What-2Dis-2Dthe-2Dgreatest-2Dparadox-2Dof-2Dbecoming-2Dwealthy-3Futm-5Fsource-3Dquora-26utm-5Fmedium-3Dawareness-26utm-5Fcampaign-3Dcnbc-2Dparadox-2Drepost&amp;d=DwMFaQ&amp;c=LO_8KzsOlAGvgA6hdGI4v02U_XLiES0sR51Zca0yIy4&amp;r=fnb6sKq7SKN8iiAQiVc8NQSbL93Ztb9TeGwNUoj2-0Y&amp;m=2n9dCazpBKNeP0sZNLEWPLc0xX64x1aJMuex4HNZRU0&amp;s=C44tttzUAhsbXoPxK8ckmvpylc5UfocO2HdM3gtkpaE&amp;e=">Quora</a>.



This adapted version first appeared on CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/08/self-made-millionaire-this-is-the-greatest-paradox-of-getting-rich-people-fail-to-recognize.html">https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/08/self-made-millionaire-this-is-the-greatest-paradox-of-getting-rich-people-fail-to-recognize.html</a> and is republished with its permission.

Self-made millionaire: This is the greatest paradox of wealth—and most people fail to recognize it

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; South African mobile phone operator Vodacom Group will spend more than 9 billion rand ($589 million) this year on network enhancements particularly in rural areas in its home market, its Chief Technology Officer said on Thursday.



Vodacom, majority-owned by Britain’s Vodafone, invested 9.6 billion rand in 2018, Andries Delport said during a media briefing.



The investment will be spent on the firm’s rural coverage acceleration programme, replacing and modernising base stations and digital services.



Vodacom has grown its South African rural network coverage significantly over the past six years, covering over 16 million people with 4G/LTE services.



Its 3G network is now available to more than 97% of the South African population living in rural areas and 4G is available to 75%, Delport said.



“Despite the lack of available spectrum, Vodacom has made substantial progress in improving network coverage in both rural and deep rural areas of South Africa,” he said.



“With rural land making up 98.6% of the total land area in South Africa, Vodacom has prioritised connectivity in these regions, facilitating access to the digital resources which many of us take for granted in cities.”



Vodacom has been battling with vandalism and theft at its base stations, where as many as 500 towers out of the 14,000 have either been vandalised or had batteries stolen every month.



“This year alone the investment is about 250 million rand to 300 million that we’ll invest just in batteries,” said Delport.



($1 = 15.2734 rand)



Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by David Holmes

South Africa’s Vodacom to invest more than $589 million on network enhancements, what you need to know

JOHANNESBURG/VRYHEID, South Africa (Reuters) &#8211; Cattle have long been considered a measure of wealth across Africa &#8211; but it is not just farmers cashing in.



A pioneering app in South Africa lets investors, eager to benefit from rising global beef demand, buy shares in a cow from their mobile phone for as little as 576 rand ($41).



Self-styled “crowd-farming” company Livestock Wealth connects investors with small-scale farmers via its “MyFarmbook” app, where they can buy their own cow and receive interest rates of between 5% and 14% depending on where they put their money.



Launched in 2015 with 26 cows, the project now includes more than 2,000 cows and has taken in 50 million rand, with 10 percent of investors coming from outside South Africa.



Groups of investors can buy a whole cow, while individuals can purchase shares in a pregnant cow or young calf.



A pregnant cow costs 18,730 rand and takes 12 months before the newborn calf can be sold for a return, while investing in a calf costs 11,529 rand and takes six months for it to grow enough to be sold.



“We can link small scale farmers to big markets by introducing private capital into the growing phase,” said 38 year-old Livestock Wealth founder and CEO Ntuthuko Shezi, who was inspired by his grandparents’ farming success.



“The household bank account was a crop,” added Shezi of his family experience, standing among a herd of cattle at a partner farm in Vryheid, a ranching town in northern KwaZulu-Natal province.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">“EASIER” THAN REAL FARMING</h3>



Livestock contributes around 51% to the agricultural economy in South Africa, with global sheep and beef prices rising after droughts in major producing areas.



“Many people live in urban areas and they have interests in participating in farming but they cannot physically be there and this offers them a platform to do that,” said Wandile Sihlobo, economist with South African agribusiness association Agbiz.



Small business consultant Nontokozo Sabela, 34, was once interested in farming &#8211; but found the app a better alternative.



She bought her first cow in 2016 and earned around 6,000 rand from it. “This way it’s easier for me, it’s cheaper, it’s convenient,” said Sabela.



As with any investment, however, risks exist. Both the impact of weather on feed costs and fluctuations in global demand for beef can affect the cow investments.



Shezi now hopes to expand his business into the produce market after launching a vegetable growing system this month that aims to give a 220 rand return per month over five years.



($1 = 14.1696 rand)



Reporting by Tanisha Heiberg; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne

Is African cattle investment the new cash cow? Here’s how investors are cashing in…

By <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/kathleen-elkins/">Kathleen Elkins</a>



Since retiring from his 19-year basketball career in 2011, Shaquille O’Neal has seen just as much success off the court: He was <a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/11/shaquille-oneal-tells-ellen-degeneres-how-he-invested-in-google.html">an early investor in Google</a> and has since accumulated an impressive portfolio, including <a class="" href="https://www.wsj.com/video/shaq-business-investment-slam-dunks/E05D17E5-2967-46DD-8AEC-941E4E975DD2.html">investments</a> in Apple, 24 Hour Fitness and nightclubs in Las Vegas. He also <a class="" href="http://money.com/money/5640584/shaq-business-empire/">owns 17 Auntie Anne’s</a>, a Krispy Kreme franchise and a Big Chicken restaurant in Las Vegas.



When it comes to investing, the former NBA star draws inspiration from Amazon’s founder and CEO: “I heard Jeff Bezos say one time [that] he makes his investments based on if it’s going to change people’s lives,”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/video/shaquille-oneal-discusses-investing-franchising-and-donuts/8063A172-ABFF-496B-8700-4D51A6234054.html" class="">O’Neal told the Wall Street Journal</a>&nbsp;in a recent interview. “Once I started doing that strategy, I think I probably quadrupled what I’m worth.”



It helps him decide what opportunities to jump on and which ones to pass up. “If something comes across my desk and I don’t believe in it, I don’t even look at it,” said O’Neal, even if it looks excellent on paper. In fact, he rarely focuses on the numbers: “Whenever I do business, it’s not about the money.”



As he <a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/video/2018/05/08/shaq-talks-business-at-btigs-charity-day.html">told CNBC’s Bob Pisani last year</a>, “I never say, ‘If I invest in this, five years down the line, we could sell it for this.’ Every time I’ve had that model, it’s always been a failure.”



He’s not the only successful investor who sticks with what he knows and trusts. “Make sure you’re investing in things that you believe in, as opposed to investing in things that other people believe in,” PayPal’s senior vice president of international markets, Rohan Mahadevan,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/24/the-money-advice-every-millennial-needs-to-hear.html" class="">tells CNBC Make It</a>. He recommends testing a product or service before investing in it to better understand how the business operates.



O’Neal also prefers to work with companies he personally enjoys. Of all of his investments, Krispy Kreme is his favorite, he told the WSJ, “because I like donuts. &#8230; Krispy Kreme is a fabulous donut. I was introduced to it in college and have been in love with it ever since.”



That said, you don’t necessarily want to invest in something just because you like it. You want to make sure you truly understand the company, too,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/20/how-warren-buffett-decides-what-to-invest-in.html" class="">says legendary investor Warren Buffett</a>: “What an investor needs is the ability to correctly evaluate selected businesses. Note that word ‘selected’: You don’t have to be an expert on every company, or even many. You only have to be able to evaluate companies within your circle of competence.



“The size of that circle is not very important; knowing its boundaries, however, is vital.”



Simply put, when it comes to investing, Buffett says to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/02/02/warren-buffett-simplifies-investing-with-a-baseball-analogy.html" class="">stick to what you know</a>. “Defining what your game is — where you’re going to have an edge — is enormously important.”



Once you’ve done that, <a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2016/03/04/warren-buffett-buy-hold-and-dont-watch-too-closely.html">buy and hold</a>, he adds: “If you aren’t willing to own a stock for 10 years, don’t even think about owning it for 10 minutes.”



This article first appeared on CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/11/shaquille-oneal-says-he-invests-like-jeff-bezos.html">https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/11/shaquille-oneal-says-he-invests-like-jeff-bezos.html</a> and is republished with its permission.

Former NBA star Shaq: As soon as I started investing like Jeff Bezos, ‘I probably quadrupled what I’m worth’

WINDHOEK (Reuters) &#8211; Namibia is to host a two-day economic summit which is expected to attract at least $1 billion worth of investments over the next two years, the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology said on Wednesday.



Namibia’s economy has contracted for the last two years, and the southwest African nation has been ravaged by a drought which the meteorological services estimate to be the deadliest in 90 years.



The economic summit, which will take place from July 31 to Aug. 1 in the capital Windhoek, is aimed at reviving and growing the Namibian economy, creating job opportunities and attracting investment opportunities, the ministry said in a statement.



It will also seek to promote Namibia as an investment and tourist destination as well as identifying and removing bottlenecks that are slowing the growth of the local economy.



The International Monetary Fund projects that Namibia’s economy, which contracted by 0.8% and 0.1% in 2017 and 2018 respectively, will mildly contract again this year due to poor rains and reduced diamond production.



About 600 delegates from across the country, Africa and the world are expected to attend the summit, which is the first of its kind.



“The summit will provide a platform to showcase growth and investment prospects in the local economy as well as present local and international investors with a portfolio of investment projects in several sectors,” the ministry said.



Reporting by Nyasha Nyaungwa; Editing by Alison Williams

Namibia aiming for $1 billion worth of investments, here’s what you need to know…

By <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/emmie-martin/">Emmie Martin</a> 



“The key to your financial freedom in the future is investing when you are young,” Suze Orman, personal finance expert, best-selling author of<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Women-Money-Revised-Updated-Orman/dp/0812987616/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_0?_encoding=UTF8&amp;amp;psc=1&amp;amp;refRID=4DW7BVRGNY76PRRGC6Q0" class="">“Women &amp; Money”</a>&nbsp;and host of the&nbsp;<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/suze-ormans-women-and-money/id1439621652" class="">“Women and Money” podcast</a>, tells&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/make-it/" class="">CNBC Make It</a>.



“I would much rather see you invest a specific amount of money when you are young, a lesser amount of money, than waiting and have to invest five or six times [as much] when you are older,” she says.



That’s because with <a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/11/how-compound-interest-works-and-how-it-can-help-you-save-money.html">compound interest</a>, any interest accrued then earns interest on itself. So the earlier you start, the more your money will grow.



Orman gives the example of a 25-year-old who invests&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bankrate.com/calculators/retirement/roth-ira-plan-calculator.aspx" class="">$100 a month in a Roth IRA</a>&nbsp;for 40 years and earns a 12% average annual return. When that person retires at age 65, their investment will be worth just over $1 million.



But not everyone starts putting money away in their 20s. “You think, ‘I don’t have to invest, I’m young,’” Orman says.



If you start investing $100 per month at age 35, though, you’d only have around $300,000 by the time you reach age 65. “Those 10 years just cost you $700,000,” Orman points out.



“How much would you have to be investing later on to make up for that?” she says. “Hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of dollars a month.”



It is worth noting that all investments are risky and you’re never guaranteed to earn a 12% rate of return. The S&amp;P 500 index, for instance, has earned an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/18/the-sp-500-has-already-met-its-average-return-for-a-full-year.html" class="">annual average return of 9.8%</a>&nbsp;over the past 90 years, and&nbsp;<a href="https://personal.vanguard.com/us/funds/tools/benchmarkreturns" class="">other indexes average even less</a>. But even at lower rates of return, the difference between starting at 25 and 35 is significant.



Here’s about how much you’d earn with various average annual rates of return if you invest <a class="" href="https://www.bankrate.com/calculators/retirement/roth-ira-plan-calculator.aspx">$100 per month into a Roth IRA</a> and retire at 65.



 With a 6% rate of return



Starting at age 25: $196,000 Starting at age 35: $100,000



 With an 8% rate of return



Starting at age 25: $335,000 Starting at age 35: $146,000



 With a 10% rate of return



Starting at age 25: $584,000 Starting at age 35: $217,000



“The key isn’t the amount, the key is the time,” Orman says. So, even if you can only contribute $50 a month, do “whatever you can do.”



There are several easy ways to get started. The simplest choice is to contribute to an employer-sponsored 401(k) plan,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/30/the-no-1-retirement-savings-mistake-is-skipping-the-401k-match.html" class="">especially if you’re offered a match</a>, which is essentially free money.



If your company doesn’t offer a 401(k), you can look into other&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/09/definitive-guide-to-retirement-savings-accounts.html" class="">tax-advantaged retirement savings accounts</a>, such as a Roth IRA, a traditional IRA or a SEP IRA.



Outside of retirement accounts, many experts, including Warren Buffett, recommend <a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/19/warren-buffett-and-tony-robbins-agree-invest-in-index-funds.html">investing in low-cost index funds</a>, which allow you to own a small piece of many different companies. You can curate a mix of funds yourself or <a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/02/i-invested-my-first-7000-dollars-heres-where-i-decided-to-put-it.html">use a robo-advisor</a>, which does the work for you.



This article first appeared on CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/10/suze-orman-why-you-should-start-investing-in-your-20s.html">https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/10/suze-orman-why-you-should-start-investing-in-your-20s.html</a> and is republished with its permission.

Suze Orman: Why you should start investing in your 20s

By <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/shawn-m-carter/">Shawn M. Carter</a> 



All eyes are on video-streaming giant Netflix, which faces new competition from&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/15/what-a-1000-dollar-investment-in-disney-10-years-ago-would-be-worth-now.html" class="">Disney’s highly anticipated streaming platform,</a><a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/11/disney-plus-will-be-available-starting-november-12-for-6point99-a-month.html" class="">Disney+,</a>&nbsp;as it reported its<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/16/netflix-reports-earnings-tuesday-after-the-bell.html" class="">&nbsp;first-quarter earnings</a>&nbsp;Tuesday.



Its stock fell more than 1% in after-hours trading, after closing with a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=NFLX&amp;amp;qsearchterm=netfli" class="">share price around $360</a>.



Still, investing&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/16/technology/16netflix.html" class="">in early 2007</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://media.netflix.com/en/about-netflix" class="">when Netflix first began streaming</a>, would have proved to be a good bet. A $1,000 investment made on Jan. 15, 2007, would be worth more than $110,000 as of midday April 16, 2019, according to CNBC calculations, fora total return of about 10,000%. Over the same period, the S&amp;P 500 was up just over 100%.



While the company’s stock took a slight dip after hours Tuesday, following its earnings release, it reported quarterly revenue that beat estimates and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/16/netflix-reports-earnings-tuesday-after-the-bell.html" class="">shares are up more than 34 percent</a>&nbsp;as of Tuesday’s close.



Many investors relayed optimistic messages early this week. In a note, analysts at banking firm KeyBanc <a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/16/netflix-reports-earnings-tuesday-after-the-bell.html">seemed skeptical that new streaming competition could pose a significant threat</a>.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/NFLX_chart-4.1555438177659.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-334850"/></figure>



CNBC: Netflix stock as of April 16, 2019



“While other services may carve out valuable add-on positions, we do not expect the launch of new services from Apple, Disney, AT&amp;T, or others to meaningfully impact Netflix,” they said. “We continue to view Netflix’s strategic positioning very favorably.”



Investment banking company Deutsche Bank&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/16/deutsche-bank-buy-netflix-as-it-becomes-a-global-cultural-necessity.html" class="">raised its rating on Netflix shares from “hold” to “buy”</a>&nbsp;early Tuesday, saying the service is becoming more like a “platform” every day.



“Platform status brings network effects not available to peers and competitors,” analyst Bryan Kraft wrote in a note. “Specifically, this is making Netflix even more of a go-to destination when consumers want to watch something, and it means having Netflix is becoming more of a cultural necessity for people around the world. It also&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/16/netflix-earnings-how-much-is-netflix-spending-on-content.html" class="">makes Netflix a magnet for talent</a>. ”



That means “consumers stay captive within the Netflix walled garden for significant amounts of time,” Kraft added. “Aside from pay TV, which is losing audience share, there are no other competing platforms that approach Netflix’s reach.”



Netflix had a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/13/netflix-will-double-subscribers-in-10-years-to-335-million-credit-suisse.html" class="">whopping 148 million total subscribers as of February</a>, and some analysts predict that number will grow to 335 million by 2028. By comparison, Disney+, which will&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/11/disney-plus-will-be-available-starting-november-12-for-6point99-a-month.html" class="">officially start streaming mid-November</a>, expects&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/12/disney-shares-are-surging-but-some-analysts-are-not-sold-on-the-streaming-service.html" class="">to reach 60 million to 90 million subscribers</a>&nbsp;by 2024.



While Netflix’s stock has shot up recently and has mostly done well over the years, though, any individual stock can <a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/11/30/how-amazon-became-one-of-warren-buffetts-biggest-investment-regrets.html">over- or underperform</a> and <a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/03/avoid-these-4-investing-mistakes.html">past returns do not predict future results</a>.



Not everyone is sanguine about the company’s prospects. While many believe Netflix’s platform won’t see major disruption thanks to Disney+,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/15/netflix-shares-look-risky-ahead-of-earnings-warns-technician.html" class="">shares fell a little more than 1%</a>&nbsp;following Disney’s announcement.



The “action obviously has nothing to do with anything other than a big competitor joining the ring, but what’s important here about Netflix is how poorly it’s been acting over the past one, two, three months and more,” analyst Carter Worth said on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/options-action/" class="">CNBC’s “Options Action.”</a>



Worth, chief market technician at market research company Cornerstone Macro, acknowledged that Netflix’s stock is “one of the great winners of all time,” but added, “I think it’s risky to go into earnings long, at least full long. I’d reduce or buy puts or some other strategy to protect oneself.”



Disney+ will also be more affordable to consumers than Netflix, which&nbsp;<a href="https://grow.acorns.com/netflix-subscription-price-increase/?gsi=611kqv" class="">recently raised its prices</a>. Disney+ will start at $6.99 a month or around $70 a year for popular content such as the “Star Wars” franchise, as well as the original content it is spending heavily to produce. Netflix, which aimed to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/16/netflix-earnings-how-much-is-netflix-spending-on-content.html" class="">spend up to $8 billion on content last year</a>&nbsp;— including on original content — is priced at $13 per month for its standard plan.



Netflix also faces competition from streaming services by Amazon and Apple. However, some analysts at bank-holding company SunTrust say more streaming options could be a positive,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/12/netflix-is-falling-on-concerns-of-competition-from-disney.html" class="">causing consumers to “accelerate cord-cutting”</a>&nbsp;and focus on their favorites.



If you’re <a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/11/when-the-stock-market-tank-dont-do-these-3-things.html">looking to get into investing</a>, seasoned investors such as Warren Buffett <a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/17/warren-buffett-and-tony-robbins-agree-on-the-best-way-to-invest-your-money.html">suggest you start with index funds</a>, which hold every stock in an index, meaning they’re automatically diversified and tend to be low cost. Plus, because they fluctuate with the market, they’re typically less risky than picking individual stocks.



This article was first published by CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/16/what-a-1000-dollar-investment-in-netflix-in-2007-would-be-worth-now.html">https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/16/what-a-1000-dollar-investment-in-netflix-in-2007-would-be-worth-now.html</a> and is republished with its permission.

If you invested $1,000 in Netflix in 2007, here’s how much you’d have now

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/tolu-olarewaju-405190">By Tolu Olarewaju</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/staffordshire-university-1381">Staffordshire University</a>
Two of the largest banking and financial services institutions in the world, HSBC and UBS, have <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-03/hsbc-ubs-shut-nigeria-offices-as-foreign-investment-declines">recently closed their local representative offices</a> in Nigeria.
There’s also trouble brewing elsewhere in Nigeria’s business world that’s prompted fears about the climate for foreign direct investment in the country. Foreign direct investment is an investment made by a firm or individual in one country into business interests located in another country.
For instance, Nigeria’s government in September <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-17/nigeria-fires-back-at-hsbc-after-bank-criticizes-president">accused HSBC of money laundering</a> after an analyst working for the lender said a second term for President Muhammadu Buhari <a href="http://dailypost.ng/2018/09/11/2019-second-term-buhari-will-nigerias-economy-hsbc/">may stall economic recovery </a> in Africa’s biggest oil producer.
There are also tensions between Nigeria’s central bank and the South African telecom company MTN. In 2015, MTN was <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-45424537">fined about $5bn</a> for failing to cut off unregistered SIM cards. This was later reduced to $1.7 billion after a long legal dispute and the intervention of South Africa’s then President Jacob Zuma.
Recently, the central bank has <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-29/nigeria-orders-mtn-banks-to-refund-8-billion-exported-funds">ordered MTN to repatriate $8 billion</a> it said has been taken out of the country illegally.
Analysts are <a href="https://nextedition.com.ng/2018/11/09/analysis-hsbc-ubs-left-nigeria/">concerned</a> that the Nigerian government’s attitude towards MTN and the two banks may erode the confidence of foreign direct investors. Their fears seem to be well founded: foreign direct investment in Nigeria <a href="https://tradingeconomics.com/nigeria/foreign-direct-investment">fell to</a> <a href="https://www.ceicdata.com/en/indicator/nigeria/foreign-direct-investment">$1 billion in the first half of 2018, from $1.48 billion in the first half of 2017</a>.
Foreign direct investment is crucial for any economy. So how can Nigeria attract and keep the right kind of investment from global companies? Compromise will be key, both for the government and foreign firms.
<h2>Why foreign direct investment?</h2>
Foreign direct investment is often preferred to exporting. That’s because while exports merely involve moving goods from one country to another, foreign direct investment actually involves an investor establishing foreign business operations or acquiring foreign business assets.
This often includes establishing ownership or controlling interest in a foreign country (for instance an American business establishing a physical business presence in Nigeria). Many emerging economies like China, Brazil, Vietnam and India have <a href="https://www.industryweek.com/leadership/top-10-countries-receiving-foreign-direct-investment/gallery?slide=1">built their growth on FDI flows</a>.
The trick is to attract “quality foreign direct investment” that links foreign investors into the local host country economy. The International Growth Centre, a <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-international-development">British-funded</a> research centre that aims to promote sustainable growth in developing countries, <a href="https://www.theigc.org/blog/attracting-quality-foreign-direct-investment-developing-countries/">characterises</a> “quality” here as contributing to:
<ul>
<li>decent and value-adding jobs and enhancing the skill base of host economies;</li>
<li>transfer of technology, knowledge and know-how;</li>
<li>boosting competitiveness of domestic firms and enabling their access to markets.</li>
</ul>
<h2>What Nigeria can do</h2>
There are a few things Nigeria can do to boost foreign direct investment. For starters, it must play fair. Foreign and domestic businesses should be treated equally. They should be open, transparent and dependable conditions for all kinds of firms.
Another area that needs attention is infrastructure. Businesses need easy access to ports, an adequate and reliable supply of energy and relative certainty that the country will be good to invest in. Good institutions <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-9701.2006.00758.x">also promote FDI</a>.
The government should encourage partnerships between foreign and local businesses. Foreign firms might be familiar with global good business practices, but local firms will be more familiar with the indigenous context. This synergy could be very beneficial.
It’s also critical that Nigeria gets its regional governments involved: there are many regions in Nigeria, and these regions all have unique opportunities and challenges. <a href="https://journals.aom.org/doi/abs/10.5465/AMBPP.2018.11006abstract">Our latest research</a> shows that when the central government of Nigeria ran out of ideas and foreigners wanted to exit the agricultural sector, the regional government of Kwara state stepped in to create a positive business climate based on the cooperation of local banks, community members, and the foreigners themselves culminating in the <a href="https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/learning-commercial-farming-through-shonga-farmss-approach.html">Shonga farms</a> public-private venture.
This has kept the firm in Nigeria. It’s also brought private investors to the table, bolstering the firm and the local economy.
Nigeria should also tap into its huge <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/business-37727761/how-can-investors-tap-in-to-nigeria-s-diaspora">diaspora</a>. There are many Nigerians living outside the country who understand its challenges. They should be encouraged to help, or asked to work with their networks to invest in the country.
<h2>What foreign firms can do</h2>
Foreign firms also have a role to play. They can enhance their success in Nigeria (and elsewhere on the African continent) in several ways.
First, they need a long term strategic plan. This means thinking carefully about what sectors or activities to target. Many foreign firms come to developing countries when things are rosy but leave when conditions change. They don’t properly consider that solving such problems will gain them a competitive advantage in the long run.
If they stay and follow a learning curve, foreign firms will better understand the local business context. They’ll also gain credibility among ordinary people and possibly get more customers and support that way.
In the same vein, foreign businesses should create local solutions that meet ordinary people’s needs. The banks leaving Nigeria have <a href="https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/11/breaking-hsbc-ubs-close-their-offices-in-nigeria/">been accused</a> of only catering to the needs of wealthy Nigerians, who are <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/business/2010/10/201010116251929702.html">perceived as corrupt</a>. A more diverse portfolio that catered to the needs of ordinary Nigerians would have nullified this claim.
Foreign firms must also work closely with credible and strategic local firms, and be willing to enter into dialogue with the Nigerian government where necessary. This is crucial especially as administrations may change or government policy may evolve. Dialogue could ensure that all parties are on the same page.
<h2>Act local, think global</h2>
It’s unfortunate that these banking institutions have decided to leave Nigeria. Hopefully both the Nigerian government and other foreign investors can learn from this.
The main takeaway for both foreign investors and governments involved in foreign direct investment is that it would be prudent for all parties to act locally but think globally.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/107611/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/tolu-olarewaju-405190">Tolu Olarewaju</a>, Lecturer in Economics, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/staffordshire-university-1381">Staffordshire University</a>
This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-nigeria-can-attract-and-keep-the-right-kind-of-foreign-direct-investment-107611">original article</a>.

Here’s what Nigeria needs to boost foreign direct investment

JUBA (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa will invest $1 billion in South Sudan’s oil sector, including in the construction of a refinery, the South African minister for energy and his South Sudanese counterpart for petroleum said on Friday.
South Sudan’s oil industry is dominated by Asian firms including China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), Malaysia’s Petronas and India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC Videsh).
The two ministers signed a memorandum of understanding which will also involve South Africa taking part in the exploration of several oil blocks, the ministers said.
“When this refinery is complete, it will have the capacity of producing 60,000 barrels of oil per day,” said Jeff Radebe, South Africa’s minister of energy.
Ezekiel Lol Gatkuoth, petroleum minister for South Sudan, said the deal also offers avenues for cooperation in the construction of a pipeline to serve fields located in the south of the country.
South Sudan exports its crude through another pipeline that goes to a port in neighbouring Sudan to the north.
“It is instrumental to have a new a pipeline,” Gatkuoth said.
Reporting by Denis Dumo; writing by Duncan Miriri; Editing bt Mark Potter and Jason Neely

South Africa is investing $1 bln in South Sudan’s oil sector, what you need to know

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) &#8211; BP Southern Africa (BPSA) will invest $1 billion in South Africa in the next five years with more than a quarter of that set aside to upgrade the SAPREF refinery to produce lower sulphur diesel, its chief executive said on Thursday.
The 180,00 barrels per day SAPREF refinery, South Africa’s largest, is a 50:50 venture between Royal Dutch Shell and BPSA, a subsidiary of British oil major BP. The plant is located in the east coast city of Durban.
BP would invest 3.5 billion-4 billion rand ($252 million-$288 million) in the refinery upgrade, Chief Executive Priscillah Mabelane told Reuters, adding that about 40 percent of the total $1 billion investment would go on retail activities.
She said the upgrade would make “sure the refinery can meet the new specifications in terms of low sulphur and Marpol regulations.”
The plant would shut for maintenance from May to June 2019, she added.
The upgrade has been driven by new rules demanding a lower fuel sulphur content and changing customer preferences for cleaner diesel, such as D50 and D10.
Refinery operators have been in long-running talks with government on how to recover costs from upgrading work needed to produce cleaner fuel in South Africa, the continent’s most industrialised economy.
“From an industry perspective we are pushing very hard to ensure that there is policy clarity because we have been on this journey very long, almost a decade,” Mabelane said about the ongoing talks.
Industry players estimated in 2009 that the cost to upgrade to cleaner fuels would be about $4 billion.
Other operators in the sector include Total and Sasol.
Besides upgrading the refinery, Mabelane said BPSA would expand its retail activities in South Africa.
“We are aggressively going to grow our footprint in the country,” she said on the sidelines of an event with retailer partner Pick n Pay to launch a new innovation for a loyalty card that will also work at BP fuel stations nationwide.
BP was looking at opportunities to expand its services in Mozambique, where it is the second largest oil company, Mabelane said. “The market is exciting and dynamic,” she said.
($1 = 13.8783 rand)
Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Editing by James Macharia and Edmund Blair

What you need to know about BP’s plans to invest $1 bln in South Africa

By Eric Streso, Certified Financial Planner, FPI.
21 November 2018; “Clients often ask me when they should invest offshore and I tell them now is the time, why wait until the next financial setback reduces your potential investment capital further,” says Eric Streso, a top-flight financial consultant, with more than 20 years’ experience in financial planning.
“South Africa is a relatively small financial market and, with the ability to invest up to R1 million every calendar year, without a tax clearance certificate, the opportunities multiply internationally.
“Here are markets, sectors or even companies outside the JSE that represent a wealth of experience and prospects. Utilising South African advice and expertise, clients are able to discuss the portfolios with an expert, who then advises and creates investment opportunities in various markets. I find the personal touch alleviates the understandable anxiety of venturing into a new monetary space. I encourage clients to ask questions, review portfolios and generally understand the complexities of offshore investments, taxes and regulatory practices.
“Investing in funds that are registered in foreign currencies can protect your investments in a hard currency and, if you plan to use the money overseas without bringing it back to South Africa, can potentially protect you from political and economic downturns at home.
“Ideally, one should be looking at $30 000 as an investment, with an investment period of 5-8 years, otherwise the returns may not be as lucrative as desired. One must also take into account capital gains tax, if you wish to realise your investment and convert it back to Rands. However, again if the rand has depreciated over this period, your capital gain is likely to be lower on your offshore investment than it would have be on a rand-denominated fund,” concludes Streso.

OpEd: It’s a good time to invest offshore, here’s why

By: Amadou Hott, Vice-President of Power, Energy, Climate Change &amp; Green Growth at the African Development Bank
Accessible, reliable and affordable energy is the cornerstone of transformational socio-economic development. For Africa, delivering sustainable development is dependent on meeting the continent’s energy needs in order to lift populations out of poverty, catalyze industrialization, and stimulate economic growth.
Despite the continent’s abundant energy resources, energy poverty is still rife in the continent with close to 600 million people lacking access to electricity. This sets nations back on meeting energy access goals, retards industry progress, and diminishes the continent’s economic growth by 2 to 4 percent every year.
On a positive note, energy access has improved in recent years with the number of people without access in sub-Saharan Africa falling for the first time in absolute terms, and with countries such as Ethiopia, Kenya and Rwanda leading the pace. Africa is at the forefront of distributed energy systems that can increase energy access in rural areas faster, more cheaply, and more widely than conventional grid extension, driven by innovative business models and rapidly decreasing technology costs. At the same time, renewables are on the rise across the continent with significant renewable generation capacities added in countries such as Egypt, Morocco and South Africa.
Renewable energy investments are also on the rise across the continent from Senegal, to Kenya, and Zambia. While this progress is encouraging, the pace of energy access falls far short of meeting the universal energy access target by 2030.
Closing the gap on Africa’s energy challenges presents major opportunities for investors keen on engaging with the continent, especially on helping Africa meet the shortfall in the estimated $90 billion required to achieve universal energy access by 2030.
Clearly, these financing needs are of such magnitude that no single institution is capable of meeting them in isolation. This is why development finance institutions need a pragmatic shift in how they do business and leverage scarce public resources in order to mobilize private sector financing at scale, “from billions to trillions”.
The African Development Bank is leading by example. For instance, the Bank launched the Facility for Energy Inclusion to close funding gaps in the small-scale energy infrastructure sector, and catalyze last-mile energy access. Through a mix of commercial and concessional instruments, the facility provides low cost of capital, and mitigates key credit and currency risks. Additionally, the recently approved the Room2Run transaction allows the Bank to effectively transfer the credit risks of selected loan portfolios to investors, which lowers the total risk consumption of the Bank.
This initiative will enable the Bank to recycle capital efficiently in order to boost lending capacity and enhance private sector investments. The transaction has already attracted major support from partners like the European Commission who will provide a $100 million guarantee to be channeled into renewable energy projects in Africa. Ultimately, this will free up around $700 million, which can be re-allocated to new projects.
Multiple barriers hinder investments and private sector participation which could potentially fast-track energy access. These include lack of an enabling policy environment for investors, and other systemic bottlenecks that slow down transactions and escalate project costs. Transforming the energy landscape calls for a multi-faceted approach to unlock private sector capital by resolving these barriers in order to create the ideal conditions for investments in the continent.
The African Development Bank in close collaboration with other development partners is perched on the apex of creating a vibrant marketplace that will deliver the energy transformation necessary to move Africa forward. The Bank is dedicated to eliminating and minimizing barriers for investors, primarily through financial instruments to de-risk transactions, disseminating knowledge and market data, and facilitating peer-to peer learning and networking. Private sector engagement is on the rise, buoyed by various partnerships such as the New Deal on Energy for Africa and the US-led Power Africa Initiative.
To sustain this momentum, the bank convened the inaugural Africa Energy Market Place (AEMP) in Abidjan in July 2018. The AEMP is a platform for public private dialogue, and is set up to address barriers to mobilizing and scaling-up private investment into the energy sector. Effectively, AEMP reviews and prioritizes transformative energy transactions, and accelerates reforms in order to attract private investments and create a pipeline of bankable projects. Five countries participated in the inaugural edition: Côte d&#8217;Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Zambia.
The conversations that began at the AEMP are set to continue in November’s Africa Investment Forum (AIF) in South Africa. The forum convenes project sponsors, borrowers, lenders and investors with a shared interest in closing Africa’s infrastructure gap which is estimated to be anywhere between $130–$170 billion per year.
By convening,and facilitating mutually beneficial dialogue amongst stakeholders who can dramatically impact Africa’s energy landscape, the Bank is creating the requisite foundation for accelerated private sector investments in Africa’s energy sector to achieve universal energy access.
Indisputably, this will put the continent steadily on the path to socio-economic growth, and sustainable development.

OpEd: Why financing Africa’s energy infrastructure is a major opportunity for investors

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OpEd: Why financing Africa’s energy infrastructure is a major opportunity for investors

INFOGRAPHIC: Reasons to invest in South Africa

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