<div style="display: block; position: relative; max-width: 730px;">
<div style="padding-top: 56.25%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0px; bottom: 0px; right: 0px; left: 0px;" src="//players.brightcove.net/1571595826001/default_default/index.html?videoId=5978131972001" allowfullscreen="" border=0 frameborder=0></iframe></div>
</div>
<p>In Sub Saharan Africa, more than 60 per cent of farms are powered by humans, with less than 20 per cent provided by machinery, a model which is not sustainable as food demand increases. To better understand this CNBC Africa is joined by Abdiganim Diriye, Research Manager at IBM Research Africa.</p>


IBM Research, Hello Tractor unveil digital wallet for agriculture based on AI and Blockchain

<div style="display: block; position: relative; max-width: 730px;">
<div style="padding-top: 56.25%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0px; bottom: 0px; right: 0px; left: 0px;" src="//players.brightcove.net/1571595826001/default_default/index.html?videoId=5973521044001" allowfullscreen="" border=0 frameborder=0></iframe></div>
</div>
<p>The number of Sub-Saharan Africa countries at high risk of debt distress rose from 8 in 2013 to 18 in 2018, according to the World Bank, fuelling fears that many countries may fall into a debt trap. The issue tops the agenda of the 49th biannual research workshop that will take place in Nairobi over the weekend. For more on this CNBC Africa is joined by Dr. Witness Simbanegavi, Director of Research at AERC African Economic Research Consortium that organised the workshop.</p>


Researchers raise red flag over looming debt crisis in Africa

<div style="display: block; position: relative; max-width: 730px;">
<div style="padding-top: 56.25%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0px; bottom: 0px; right: 0px; left: 0px;" src="//players.brightcove.net/1571595826001/default_default/index.html?videoId=5967818667001" allowfullscreen="" border=0 frameborder=0></iframe></div>
</div>
<p>The Global Head of Treasury and Syndications at the International Finance Corporation (IFC) Frederic Wandey, joins CNBC Africa to discuss capital markets development in Sub-Saharan Africa and IFC’s initiatives in the region.</p>


IFC’s Frederic Wandey talks on capital markets development in Africa

<div style="display: block; position: relative; max-width: 730px;">
<div style="padding-top: 56.25%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0px; bottom: 0px; right: 0px; left: 0px;" src="//players.brightcove.net/1571595826001/default_default/index.html?videoId=5852212683001" allowfullscreen="" border=0 frameborder=0></iframe></div>
</div>
<p>After a rebasing exercise that changed the base year from 2006 to 2013, Ghana&#8217;s GDP expanded by 25 per cent to $52 billion dollars, making the West African country the 6th largest economy in sub-Saharan Africa. John Ashbourne, Africa Economist at Capital Economics joins CNBC Africa to analyse the underlying factors in Ghana&#8217;s economy.</p>


Understanding Ghana’s rebased GDP

<p><em>By World Bank </em></p>
<p><strong>WASHINGTON, October 3, 2018 </strong>— Sub-Saharan African economies are still recovering from the slowdown in 2015-16, but growth is slower than expected, according to the October 2018 issue of <a href="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/WB_AfricasPulse_Fall2018_vol18_Web.pdf">Africa’s Pulse, the bi-annual analysis of the state of African economies by the World Bank</a>. The average growth rate in the region is estimated at 2.7 percent in 2018, which represents a slight increase from 2.3 percent in 2017.</p>
<p><em>“The region’s economic recovery is in progress but at a slower pace than expected,”</em> said <strong>Albert Zeufack, World Bank Chief Economist for Africa</strong>. <em>“To accelerate and sustain an inclusive growth momentum, policy makers must continue to focus on investments that foster human capital, reduce resource misallocation and boost productivity. Policymakers in the region must equip themselves to manage new risks arising from changes in the composition of capital flows and debt.”</em></p>
<p>Slow growth is partially a reflection of a less favorable external environment for the region. Global trade and industrial activity lost momentum, as metals and agricultural prices fell due to concerns about trade tariffs and weakening demand prospects. While oil prices are likely to be on an upward trend into 2019, metals prices may remain subdued amid muted demand, particularly in China. Financial market pressures intensified in some emerging markets and concern about their dollar-denominated debt has risen amid a stronger US dollar.</p>
<p>The slower pace of the recovery in Sub-Saharan Africa (0.4 percentage points lower than the April forecast) is explained by the sluggish expansion in the region’s three largest economies, Nigeria, Angola, and South Africa. Lower oil production in Angola and Nigeria offset higher oil prices, and in South Africa, weak household consumption growth was compounded by a contraction in agriculture.  Growth in the region &#8211; excluding Angola, Nigeria and South Africa &#8211;  was steady. Several oil exporters in Central Africa were helped by higher oil prices and an increase in oil production. Economic activity remained solid in the fast-growing non-resource-rich countries, such as Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, and Rwanda, supported by agricultural production and services on the production side, and household consumption and public investment on the demand side.</p>
<p>Public debt remained high and continues to rise in some countries. Vulnerability to weaker currencies and rising interest rates associated with the changing composition of debt may put the region’s public debt sustainability further at risk. Other domestic risks include fiscal slippage, conflicts, and weather shocks. Consequently, policies and reforms are needed that can strengthen resilience to risks and raise medium-term potential growth.</p>
<p>This issue of Africa’s Pulse highlights sub-Saharan Africa’s lower labor productivity and potentials for improvement <em>“Reforms should include policies which encourage investments in non-resource sectors, generate jobs and improve the efficiency of firms and workers,”</em> said <strong>Cesar Calderon, Lead Economist and Lead author of the report</strong>.</p>


Sub-Saharan Africa is not growing as fast as expected, here’s why

<div style="display: block; position: relative; max-width: 730px;">
<div style="padding-top: 56.25%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0px; bottom: 0px; right: 0px; left: 0px;" src="//players.brightcove.net/1571595826001/default_default/index.html?videoId=5841370072001" allowfullscreen="" border=0 frameborder=0></iframe></div>
</div>
<p>The World Bank projects that by 2025, urban waste generation in sub-Saharan Africa will amount to 161.27 million tonnes per year. CNBC Africa’s Christy Cole explores how young innovative entrepreneurs in Nigeria are turning waste to wealth.</p>


Nigeria’s young entrepreneurs turn waste to wealth

<div style="display: block; position: relative; max-width: 730px;">
<div style="padding-top: 56.25%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0px; bottom: 0px; right: 0px; left: 0px;" src="//players.brightcove.net/1571595826001/default_default/index.html?videoId=5836873340001" allowfullscreen="" border=0 frameborder=0></iframe></div>
</div>
<p>The 4th annual East Africa Investor Conference is underway in Nairobi with focus on key market fundamentals and analysis on the political and economic landscape in Kenya and Sub-Saharan Africa. Joining CNBC Africa is Yvonne Mhango, SSA Economist Renaissance Capital and David Dalhuisen Head of Investment Banking, Africa Renaissance Capital.</p>


4th Annual East Africa Investor Conference underway in Kenya

<div style="display: block; position: relative; max-width: 730px;">
<div style="padding-top: 56.25%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0px; bottom: 0px; right: 0px; left: 0px;" src="//players.brightcove.net/1571595826001/default_default/index.html?videoId=5824403319001" allowfullscreen="" border=0 frameborder=0></iframe></div>
</div>
<p>Total merchandise exports by Africa currently stand at US$555 billion only US$98 billion of this is the contribution from intra-African trade. Joining CNBC Africa for a look at the challenges faced in trade finance in Sub Saharan Africa is Hogan Lovells&#8217; Partner Lodewyk Meyer.</p>


Is Intra-African trade the key to sustainable economic development in Africa?

<div style="display: block; position: relative; max-width: 730px;">
<div style="padding-top: 56.25%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0px; bottom: 0px; right: 0px; left: 0px;" src="//players.brightcove.net/1571595826001/default_default/index.html?videoId=5818989784001" allowfullscreen="" border=0 frameborder=0></iframe></div>
</div>
<p>The World Bank says losses in wealth due to gender inequality resulting from differences in lifetime earnings between women and men are estimated at about 2.5 trillion dollars for sub-Saharan Africa. Serah Makka-Ugbabe, Nigeria Country Director at One Campaign joins CNBC Africa to discuss the cost of inequality in Nigeria.</p>


What is the cost of inequality in Nigeria?

<p><em>In most economies, parents would like to see their children have a higher standard of living, and with it a better life, than they had themselves. In Africa this unfortunately has not been the case for most. In this post which was first published on the World Bank’s Let’s Talk Development blog, and can be viewed here: <a href="http://blogs.worldbank.org/developmenttalk/which-countries-do-children-have-best-chances-surpass-their-parent-s-education?CID=POV_TT_Poverty_EN_EXT">In which countries do children have the best chances to surpass their parent’s education?</a> &#8211; Roy van der Weide and Ambar Narayan look at upward mobility around the world.</em></p>
<p>By <a href="http://blogs.worldbank.org/team/roy-van-der-weide">Roy van der Weide</a>, Economist, Development Research Group, World Bank<br />
Co-authors: <a class="flipboard-author" href="http://blogs.worldbank.org/team/ambar-narayan">Ambar Narayan</a></p>
<p>In most economies, parents would like to see their children have a higher standard of living, and with it a better life, than they had themselves. When children are asked, they too tend to consider their parents a natural benchmark to compare their economic progress against (Goldthorpe, 1987; Hoschschild, 2016, Chetty at al., 2017). A simple measure that captures this notion of progress is the percentage of children who managed to surpass their parents, which we will refer to as <em>absolute mobility</em>. Chetty et al. (2017) find that the United States did exceptionally well by this measure for the generations born in the 1940s and 50s, when over 90 percent of children managed to do better than their parents in terms of income. Absolute mobility in the United States has since faded to around 50 percent for the current generation. How has absolute mobility fared elsewhere in the world? In which economies do children have the best chances to improve upon their parents? Are the highest rates of absolute mobility observed in economies that are starting from a low base?</p>
<p>These are among the questions explored in our new global study, <a href="https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/28428" rel="nofollow">Fair Progress? Economic Mobility across Generations around the World</a>, using the newly developed <a href="http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/poverty/brief/what-is-the-global-database-on-intergenerational-mobility-gdim" rel="nofollow">Global Database on Intergenerational Mobility (GDIM)</a>. GDIM provides estimates of intergenerational mobility – absolute and relative – for 148 economies representing around 96 percent of the world’s population born in the 1980s, who are the youngest generation of adults to have completed their education. For 111 economies, or 87 percent of the world’s population, estimates of mobility span five decades: from those born in the 1940s to those born in the 1980s. We focus primarily on mobility in education, since human capital is a key aspect of economic well-being and educational mobility has a strong association with income mobility. And crucially, intergenerational data on education is much more widely available than that on income. For absolute mobility, our primary measure is the share of individuals in a generation who have higher educational attainment than their most educated parent (see report). This is a measure of mobility in educational qualifications rather than skills, since it does not consider the quality of education received by individuals.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="flipboard-image" title="" src="http://blogs.worldbank.org/developmenttalk/files/developmenttalk/capture1_32.png" alt="" width="579" height="238" /></p>
<div>The study finds that absolute mobility varies considerably across the 148 economies (for those born in the 1980s), with a clear geographic pattern (Figure 1; darker colors indicate <em>higher</em> levels of mobility). Sub-Saharan Africa stands out as the region with some of the lowest rates of absolute mobility, which is as low as 12 percent in some of the poorest or most fragile economies of the region, compared to over 80 percent in parts of East Asia. Absolute mobility for the ‘80s generation is also relatively high in Europe, Canada, Latin America, parts of the Middle East, and South Africa. On the average, absolute mobility is significantly lower in developing (low- and middle-income) economies than in high-income economies (based on <a href="https://datahelpdesk.worldbank.org/knowledgebase/articles/906519-world-bank-country-and-lending-groups" rel="nofollow">the latest World Bank classification</a>).<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="flipboard-image" title="" src="http://blogs.worldbank.org/developmenttalk/files/developmenttalk/capture2_27.png" alt="" width="579" height="322" /><br />
To see whether the gap between high-income and developing economies extends to older generations, average absolute mobility for each group is tracked over time. The averages are unweighted by population, which means that they represent the average mobility of economies and not of the average individual in each group. Figure 2 shows that average absolute mobility is lower in developing economies throughout the 50-year period. The gap is larger for those born in the 1940s and 1950s, and has narrowed over time, largely because of a decline in average absolute mobility in high-income economies since the ‘60s generation, even as it stopped rising in the developing economies.That average absolute mobility has been falling in high-income economies is not surprising – it becomes increasingly difficult to surpass one’s parents in education as tertiary attainment rates increase from one generation to the next. What is more surprising is that absolute mobility continues to be much lower in the developing world and has stagnated for the last 30 years, given that the scope for surpassing the education level of one’s parents is higher in these economies. For example, the tertiary attainment rate among the parents of the ‘80s generation in developing economies is comparable to that of the parents of the ‘50s generation in high-income economies.In Figure 3, we plot the percentage of children who have more education than their parents against the education of their parents for the average high-income economy. As one would expect, absolute mobility (conditional on parental education) declines with parental education. If the same pattern were also to apply to the average developing economy, absolute mobility would be higher in the developing world (where parents have lower levels of education), which is the opposite of what we observe empirically. A likely explanation for this apparent paradox is the lower availability of resources, parental and public, to invest in children in developing economies. And if that is the case, individual born in poorer (and less educated) households are more likely to be constrained in their mobility, which could lead to a different relationship between absolute mobility and parental education in the developing world.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="flipboard-image" title="" src="http://blogs.worldbank.org/developmenttalk/files/developmenttalk/capture3_16.png" alt="" width="579" height="305" />It turns out that the relationship between absolute mobility and parental education is indeed different in developing economies, more like an inverted-U than the declining function seen in high-income economies (Figure 4). The different panels of Figure 4 correspond to the average economy in each of the six different developing regions, as <a href="https://datahelpdesk.worldbank.org/knowledgebase/articles/906519-world-bank-country-and-lending-groups" rel="nofollow">classified by the World Bank</a>. The different shades of blue refer to different cohorts, with darker shades denoting younger cohorts. The inverted-U suggests that individuals with less-educated parents, who are likely to be poorer, are also less likely to be upwardly mobile in developing economies. That the inverted-U is most pronounced in the two poorest regions, Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, is particularly suggestive: poorer the region, more likely it is that individuals born to parents who do not have an education lack the means to get an education, which creates something akin to a poverty trap. Fortunately, this poverty trap appears to be weakening with each new generation, as the inverted-U gradually morphs into the pattern observed for the average high-income economy as regions become richer.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="flipboard-image" title="" src="http://blogs.worldbank.org/developmenttalk/files/developmenttalk/capture4_5.png" alt="" width="579" height="358" /></p>
<p>The global picture on absolute mobility in education is thus sobering, particularly for the developing world, as it has stopped rising at a much lower level of overall education attainment than in high-income economies. Behind the story of the averages are however causes for optimism. Rapid improvements from the ‘50s to the ‘80s generations occurred in the developing regions that are primarily middle-income – East Asia and Pacific, Latin America and Caribbean, and the Middle East and North Africa – to the extent that they match or surpass high-income economies in absolute mobility among the ‘80s generation. And even in Sub-Saharan Africa, rapidly rising enrollments for children born after the 1980s suggest that absolute mobility may be on the rise. These findings, along with other highlights from our global study – on topics such as <em>relative</em> mobility in education and income, multi-generational mobility, and the drivers of mobility – will be featured in future blog articles.</p>
</div>


Sub-Saharan Africa suffers from low rates of upward mobility, this is how bad it is…

<div style="display: block; position: relative; max-width: 730px;">
<div style="padding-top: 56.25%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0px; bottom: 0px; right: 0px; left: 0px;" src="//players.brightcove.net/1571595826001/default_default/index.html?videoId=5801606263001" allowfullscreen="" border=0 frameborder=0></iframe></div>
</div>
<p>According to the International Labour Organization, Kenya ranks low in Sub-Saharan Africa in productivity (GDP vis-a-vis hour worked), compared to similar economies globally.</p>


Kenya ranks low in productivity

<div style="display: block; position: relative; max-width: 730px;">
<div style="padding-top: 56.25%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0px; bottom: 0px; right: 0px; left: 0px;" src="//players.brightcove.net/1571595826001/default_default/index.html?videoId=5799658393001" allowfullscreen="" border=0 frameborder=0></iframe></div>
</div>
<p>By 2030 600 million people out of the 674 million people will be without access to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa, a majority of them in rural areas. Joining CNBC Africa to discuss the region&#8217;s energy outlook is Hannah Daly, World Energy Outlook: Energy Demand Division Directorate of Sustainability, Technology and Outlooks at International Energy Agency.</p>


Will energy for all be achieved by or before 2030?

<p><em>By <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/philipp-trotter-455093">Philipp Trotter</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-bath-1325">University of Bath</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/sabah-abdullah-486513">Sabah Abdullah</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-queensland-805">The University of Queensland</a></em></p>
<p>Foreign investment in sub-Saharan Africa’s power sector has reached a <a href="https://www.icafrica.org/fileadmin/documents/IFT_2016/Infrastructure_Financing_Trends_2016.pdf">record-high</a>. Spurred on by the <a href="https://www.seforall.org/">United Nations’ goal</a> to ensure modern energy access for all by 2030, international donors have focused on increasing the region’s electrification access. It currently stands at only 35%, significantly less than any other part of the world.</p>
<p>The focus on electrification is illustrated by the type of foreign aid sub-Saharan Africa currently receives. While overall commitments from Western countries to the area have been largely constant over the last decade, aid to the power sector specifically <a href="https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=DACSECTOR">is six times greater</a>.</p>
<p>China has also upped its engagement, and is now responsible for <a href="http://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/Partner_Country_SeriesChinaBoosting_the_Power_Sector_in_SubSaharan_Africa_Chinas_Involvement.pdf">a third</a> of all new power plants in the region. And as private sector investments similarly rise, sub-Saharan governments now contribute <a href="https://www.icafrica.org/fileadmin/documents/IFT_2016/Infrastructure_Financing_Trends_2016.pdf">less than 25%</a> of power sector spending.</p>
<p>All those providing money have important short term interests. International donors like the US want tangible, fast results from their aid spending – both to meet UN goals and appease taxpayers at home. Private companies require quick profits, especially for investments viewed as high risk. And for African governments, providing electricity to previously unconnected households can potentially lead to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0973082616302587">more votes in upcoming elections</a>.</p>
<p>As a consequence, while electricity demand in sub-Saharan Africa will <a href="https://www.worldenergy.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/World-Energy-Scenarios_Composing-energy-futures-to-2050_Full-report.pdf">grow exponentially</a>, little thought has been put into understanding the long term implications of current investment.</p>
<h2>Foreign business versus domestic development</h2>
<p>The US and China are among those major donor countries that use aid to directly finance their own energy companies. This has led to electrification efforts being primarily motivated by foreign business interests rather than African development.</p>
<p>Non-African companies almost exclusively focus on high growth and profitable markets in a few <a href="https://2012-2017.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1860/PA_FINAL_508c.PDF">relatively stable African countries</a>.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, countries considered less stable, such as the <a href="https://theconversation.com/sahel-region-africa-72569">Sahelian</a> countries of Niger, Mali, and Chad, or Central African countries like South Sudan and the Central African Republic, have largely been left out.</p>
<p>Progress on rural electrification has also been limited. Poorer customers, challenging logistics and long cost recovery times all make for a weak business case for investment outside the cities. Yet <a href="https://www.vox.com/2014/10/13/6970513/africa-electricity-620-million-people-map-gas-coal-solar">over 80%</a> of the people without electricity in Africa live in rural areas.</p>
<p>So what is the impact of all this money streaming in from abroad? Arguing for the importance of domestic ownership for long term skill development, the French economist <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Piketty">Thomas Piketty</a> has <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=dqEuDwAAQBAJ&amp;pg=PA90&amp;lpg=PA90&amp;dq=capital+in+the+twenty-first+century+%E2%80%9Call+of+these+countries+themselves+financed+the+necessary+investments+in+physical+capital%E2%80%9D&amp;source=bl&amp;ots=Drpy2eqAy7&amp;sig=-gxZGsrL4zjuPI9e2j-or1PQKPk&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwje58GjybTaAhUHthQKHZ7RDmUQ6AEIRDAE#v=onepage&amp;q=all%20of%20these%20countries%20themselves%20financed%20the%20necessary%20investments%20in%20physical%20capital&amp;f=false">noted</a> that none of the recent Asian development success stories (Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China) has depended on foreign investments.</p>
<p>And for sub-Saharan Africa’s power sector, Western assistance comes with <a href="https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1860/USAID_PA_Roadmap_April_2016_TAG_508opt.pdf">strings attached</a>. In exchange for foreign support, African governments are asked to limit state intervention, liberalise energy markets and cut import taxes and local subsidies. So it is Africa’s industries which are likely to feel the implicit consequences.</p>
<p>When Kenya removed all import taxes for solar modules to help increase capacity in 2014, Kenyan businesses missed out. As Hajio Kruper, managing director of the first solar PV manufacturer in Kenya, <a href="https://www.pv-tech.org/news/kenya_lifts_vat_on_solar_imports">explained</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>The new tax exemption, while being a very noble idea on the surface, will have negative effects on local manufacturers. The vibrant solar energy market that Kenya has developed will be flooded with cheap imports.</p></blockquote>
<p>An opposite approach – strong national intervention, subsidy schemes and financial assistance for the rural poor – was evident in recent successful rural electrification cases in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S097308261400091X">East Asia</a>, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421508001961">South Africa</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0973082616302587">Ghana</a>.</p>
<p>Yet despite the long term concerns of current international investments in sub-Saharan Africa’s power sector, we are not calling for them to be reduced. Instead, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0973082617314059">we suggest a revised approach</a> focused on self-sufficiency, inclusiveness and sustainability.</p>
<p>Building a strong domestic power industry in Africa is crucial to avoid long term reliance on aid, and <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-017-06023-3">vulnerability to political change abroad</a>. To do so, it is key to implement efficient and stable sector regulations, as well as to foster <a href="https://theconversation.com/start-ups-can-help-africa-meet-its-energy-needs-but-they-need-to-be-encouraged-75497">African entrepreneurism</a>.</p>
<p>However, <a href="https://theconversation.com/after-obama-comes-the-big-challenge-for-africas-entrepreneurs-45383">scaling</a> these efforts to a continental level is the bigger challenge, and cannot be achieved without also dispersing expertise.</p>
<figure><iframe loading="lazy" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/89tInECFdQ4?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure>
<p>It is widely known that sub-Saharan Africa features a fast growing renewable energy market with tremendous potential. Market access should be viewed (and priced) as an African asset. The continent could look to China which requires foreign companies to find <a href="http://spiegeler.com/chinas-new-foreign-direct-investment-policy-investing-in-china/">Chinese joint venture partners</a> in certain industries before carrying out their business.</p>
<p>We will fall distressingly short of meeting the UN universal energy access goal without prioritising rural electrification in Africa. Households too poor to pay for electricity have to be granted feasibly low tariffs and cheap finance.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/94049/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />There is an unprecedented international focus on African electrification today. It’s time to help build an African power sector which is fully able to address the challenges of the future.</p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/philipp-trotter-455093">Philipp Trotter</a>, PhD candidate, <em><a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-bath-1325">University of Bath</a></em> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/sabah-abdullah-486513">Sabah Abdullah</a>, Research Fellow, <em><a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-queensland-805">The University of Queensland</a></em></p>
<p>This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-foreign-investment-is-no-easy-fix-for-africas-energy-needs-94049">original article</a>.</p>


Explainer: Why foreign investment may not be the answer for Africa’s energy needs

<div style="display: block; position: relative; max-width: 730px;">
<div style="padding-top: 56.25%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0px; bottom: 0px; right: 0px; left: 0px;" src="//players.brightcove.net/1571595826001/default_default/index.html?videoId=5745974826001" allowfullscreen="" border=0 frameborder=0></iframe></div>
</div>
<p>The World Bank recently released the Global Prospects report highlighting Sub-Saharan Africa&#8217;s growth strengthening to 2.4 per cent in 2017.</p>


Sub-Saharan Africa economy grows 2.4% in 2017 – WB

<div style="display: block; position: relative; max-width: 730px;">
<div style="padding-top: 56.25%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0px; bottom: 0px; right: 0px; left: 0px;" src="//players.brightcove.net/1571595826001/default_default/index.html?videoId=5743059668001" allowfullscreen="" border=0 frameborder=0></iframe></div>
</div>
<p>Google has launched a new job search experience in partnership with recruitment sites, Fuzu and BrighterMonday in Kenya. The firm says this is in line with their investment in training 10 million African youth and 100 thousand developers.</p>


Google launches new job search experience

<div style="display: block; position: relative; max-width: 730px;">
		
						<div style="display: block; position: relative; min-width: 0px; max-width: 640px;">
					<div style="padding-top: 56%; ">
						<video-js
								id="5740541895001"
								data-video-id="5740541895001" data-account="1571595826001"
								data-player="962b8774-5f97-47fd-81a6-837da7aecf49"
								data-usage="cms:WordPress:6.5.3:2.8.4:javascript"
								data-embed="default" class="video-js"
								data-application-id=""
								controls   								style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0; bottom: 0; right: 0; left: 0;">
						</video-js>

						<script src="https://players.brightcove.net/1571595826001/962b8774-5f97-47fd-81a6-837da7aecf49_default/index.min.js"></script> 					</div>
				</div>
						
		
</div>
<p>With the global explosion of content consumption, Clint Brown, the Vice President of Sales and Market Development at SES Video Africa joins CNBC Africa to discuss how we can fuel video growth across Sub Saharan Africa.</p>

Fueling video growth opportunities across SSA

<div style="display: block; position: relative; max-width: 730px;">
<div style="padding-top: 56.25%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0px; bottom: 0px; right: 0px; left: 0px;" src="//players.brightcove.net/1571595826001/default_default/index.html?videoId=5718137115001" allowfullscreen="" border=0 frameborder=0></iframe></div>
</div>
<p>Moody&#8217;s recently published its Outlook report on Sub Saharan Africa for 2018 and projects a 3.5 per cent GDP growth for the region with a negative outlook.</p>


Sub-Saharan Africa

IBM Research, Hello Tractor unveil digital wallet for agriculture based on AI and Blockchain

Researchers raise red flag over looming debt crisis in Africa

IFC’s Frederic Wandey talks on capital markets development in Africa

Understanding Ghana’s rebased GDP

Sub-Saharan Africa is not growing as fast as expected, here’s why

Nigeria’s young entrepreneurs turn waste to wealth

4th Annual East Africa Investor Conference underway in Kenya

Is Intra-African trade the key to sustainable economic development in Africa?

What is the cost of inequality in Nigeria?

Sub-Saharan Africa suffers from low rates of upward mobility, this is how bad it is…

Kenya ranks low in productivity

Will energy for all be achieved by or before 2030?

Explainer: Why foreign investment may not be the answer for Africa’s energy needs

Sub-Saharan Africa economy grows 2.4% in 2017 – WB

Google launches new job search experience

Fueling video growth opportunities across SSA

Moody’s outlook for SSA negative in 2018

News Tips

Advertise With Us

Sub-Saharan Africa

IBM Research, Hello Tractor unveil digital wallet for agriculture based on AI and Blockchain

Researchers raise red flag over looming debt crisis in Africa

IFC’s Frederic Wandey talks on capital markets development in Africa

Understanding Ghana’s rebased GDP

Sub-Saharan Africa is not growing as fast as expected, here’s why

Nigeria’s young entrepreneurs turn waste to wealth

4th Annual East Africa Investor Conference underway in Kenya

Is Intra-African trade the key to sustainable economic development in Africa?

What is the cost of inequality in Nigeria?

Sub-Saharan Africa suffers from low rates of upward mobility, this is how bad it is…

Kenya ranks low in productivity

Will energy for all be achieved by or before 2030?

Explainer: Why foreign investment may not be the answer for Africa’s energy needs

Sub-Saharan Africa economy grows 2.4% in 2017 – WB

Google launches new job search experience

Fueling video growth opportunities across SSA

Moody’s outlook for SSA negative in 2018

News Tips

Advertise With Us

Newsletters