September 2021 / Focus Africa

September 30 2021

Africa in Review by the Numbers (September 2021)

$3 trillion

Africa's GDP as projected by the Africa Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), making the AfCTA the biggest free trade area in the world. The free trade area is expected to bring 30 million people out of extreme poverty and raise 68 million others who live on less than $5 per day to $50. (National Accord Newspaper)
 

205,880 Terabytes

Amount of data consumed by Nigerians in 2020, an increase that is directly linked to the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led a number of activities and functions to be held virtually, including learning and corporate meetings, among others. (The Guardian)
 

57%

Growth in Kenya's earnings from exports to Uganda after a deal that cleared tax hurdles for goods such as pharmaceuticals, confectionery, juice and spirits. The deal saw Uganda commit to removing a 13% duty on Kenya’s juices, malted beer and spirits, as well as a 12% verification fee on pharmaceuticals. (The East African)
 

1,200%

Growth of the bitcoin market in Africa in the past year, making it one of the fastest-growing regions for cryptocurrency adoption. According to a report by Chainalysis, African countries collectively received around $105.6 billion worth of cryptocurrency between July 2020 and June 2021. (Forbes)
 

4 billion tonnes

The annual capacity of a new recycling plant in Mozambique to be run by Gravita India for the commercial production of aluminium. Gravita will procure domestic aluminium scrap for production from the plant and will cater to the needs of auto and FMCG sectors in South and East Asian markets. (Club of Mozambique)
 

6 outlets

Number of Shoprite stores in Uganda that will be taken over by Carrefour as the South African retailer exits the market this year. The transaction will further expand the regional presence of Carrefour, whose franchise is held by Dubai-based multinational Majid Al Futtaim. (Business Daily)
 

$136 million

The value of Nigeria’s green bonds market, comprising four issuances over three years, two from the federal government and corporate issuances from Access Bank and North South Power Company. (The Guardian)
 

1.4 million tonnes

Cocoa beans produced in Ghana's 2020/21 season, a 45% increase on the year before, and topping the record 1 million tonnes achieved in 2009/10. The cocoa board attributed the successful harvest to the implementation of programmes such as increased irrigation, hand pollination and rehabilitation of old and diseased-infected farms. (Techcrunch)
 

14%

Growth of South Africa’s asset management market, surpassing the 10-year average and topping regional and global growth rates, according to a report by Boston Consulting Group. The strong performance is driven by institutional investors, which contribute 59% of assets under management. (Moneyweb)
 

15 startups

African startups in Y Combinator's 2021 summer batch of 377 total. The figure is a record for African startups in a single YC cohort, up from 10 in the winter group. Africa's startups hail from seven countries: Nigeria (5), Egypt (4), Morocco (2); and Kenya, Ghana, Zambia and South Africa with one each. (Techcrunch)
 

$57 million

Amount spent by Kenya's KCB to acquire Bank Banque Populaire du Rwanda Plc (BPR) from London-listed Atlas Mara Limited and other investors. This move is part of a strategy by KCB Bank to expand its operations in the regional market and take advantage of future growth opportunities given the low uptake of financial services in those markets. (Business Daily)
 

10.9%

Growth in electric car sales in Egypt, with a total of 1.78 million cars during the first nine months of 2020, compared to 1.61 million units during 2019. This follows a favourable government policy on environmentally friendly mobilisation, making Egypt one of the most promising markets in Africa and the Middle East for the localisation of electric vehicle technology. (Daily News Egypt)
  Review by Kili Partners . Powered by Asoko Insight
September 29 2021

Rwanda Commits to Start Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information by 2024

According to a press release of 28 September 2021, published by the OECD, Rwanda has committed to implement the international standard for the OECD Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information Agreement (2014) (AEOI), by September 2024. This commitment makes Rwanda the 120th Global Forum member to commit to start AEOI by a specific date, and the ninth African country to do so.

These new international standards already adopted by more than 100 countries will help Rwanda to generate additional tax revenues by allowing it to identify cases of tax evasion and will also help to boost tax compliance.

For more information, see OECD's press release of 28 September 2021.