October 2022 / Focus Africa

$670 million First round funding closed for Afreximbank's Fund for Export Development (FEDA), which will help to finance the equity gap and support foreign direct investment in Africa's trade sector. The financing is split across four funds: direct equity, strategic initiatives, private credit and venture. (Africa Global Funds)

58,000 Workers likely to get jobs in the renewable energy sector in Kenya as more producers connect to the grid following the saturation of the off-grid market. The growing demand has resulted in companies increasing training opportunities for workers to address skills gap in the sector. (Business Daily)

50% Stake in GlobalFeed acquired by Morocco's leading fertiliser company OCP Group. The acquisition of the Spanish company will help OCP diversify its phosphate solutions and become a leading player in animal nutrition sector. (CEO Business Africa)

$1 billion Anticipated amount private equity fund Carlyle Group hopes to raise in the sale of its Gabon-focused oil and gas producer Assala Energy. The sale process is being run by investment bank Citi and is set to be launched in the coming weeks. (Energy World)

232 million KW Hours of electricity reportedly supplied by state-owned utility in Ethiopia to neigbhouring Sudan and Djibouti. Ethiopian Electric Power reported it earned $13 million through electricity exports, though external sales fell 30% shy of its target. (Africa Energy Portal)

20% Reduction of iron and steel imports in Kenya reported in the second quarter of the year amid a slowdown in the construction sector. Prices of some steel products in Kenya shot up 40% in the first quarter due to a shortage occasioned by supply fears related to Russia’s war on Ukraine and the shilling weakening. (Business Daily)

$1.5 billion Green finance facility AfDB plans to launch at next month's COP27 to meet surging demand for funds to develop clean energy and defend infrastructure against storms and floods caused by global warming. (BNN Bloomberg)

200,000 Houses earmarked for low-income earners to be built annually in Kenya. Financial institutions have been tasked to fund projects that will aid in reducing the housing deficit in the East African country. (KenyaMoja)

11.5% Turnover growth recorded by South African retailer Pick n Pay in its half year ended in August 2022. This increase in revenue reflects the normalisation of the environment of policies implemented in 2021 which negatively impacted the base. (Food Business Africa)

$520 million Investment in Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones launched in Nigeria to transform the country’s agriculture sector and achieve food security. The project is a joint partnership between Africa Development Bank, Islamic Development Bank, International Fund for Agricultural Development and the Nigerian government. (Food Business Africa)

80 Projects in the transportation sector – covering port development, container terminals, cruise berths, marine passenger terminals, multimodal transport, river ports and metro – set to be launched in Egypt with an estimated investment value of some $6.6 billion. (Hellenic Shipping News)

72.8% Increase of sales recorded by Kwale miner Base Titanium in the quarter ended September on increased exports and higher prices of the minerals in the international markets. The jump in turnover will boost earnings for the Kenyan government, which is paid royalties at a rate of 5% of sales. (Business Daily)

Review by Kili Partners . Powered by Asoko Insight

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has published a tax guide for small businesses. This guide is a general guide dealing with the taxation of small businesses such as sole proprietors, partnerships and companies not part of large groups. Some of the discussions in this guide could, however, be applicable to any type of taxpayer.

The guide also deals, amongst others, with the following:

• general characteristics of different types of business;
• registration as a taxpayer;
• year of assessment and filing of income tax returns;
• the SARS eFiling and SARS MobiApp;
• connection between "net profit" and "taxable income";
• determination of taxable income or assessed loss;
• special allowances or deductions and recoupment;
• deduction of home office expenditure;
• deductions in respect of expenditure and losses incurred before commencement of trade;
• ring-fencing of assessed losses of certain trades;
• duty to keep records, retention period in case of audit, objection or appeal and records
• appointment of auditor or accounting officer;
• representative taxpayer;
• tax clearance certificates and tax compliance status;
• non-compliance with legislation;
• interest, penalties and additional tax;
• request for correction;
• objection against assessment or decision; and
• dispute resolution.

A detailed copy of the guide can be accessed here.