africa today
Business in Africa
It is interesting how Africa is going neck and neck with other internationally established institutions. However, she has yet to see her share of international prestige. As we can see from looking through Wikipedia’s list of African countries, they are all in one way or another shining examples for the world. Whether they are just starting out and hoping to get their footing on solid ground or they have already achieved what is expected of them as a third-world country; all these nations moving forward are admirable and amazing. In recent years, African countries have shown remarkable dynamism in the field of technology, governance, and a general improvement of the business climate.
On the improvement of technology in Africa, we have prevalent examples like mPesa in Kenya also known as Mobile Money in other parts of Africa, which is the ability to have money on your phone and is viable for the exchange of goods and services without having to handle physical cash. This does not involve the banks and is more inclusive in its user base. Since the usage of mobile phones have become second nature to us, a lot of solutions are channeled through these nifty devices. There are other companies like Farmer Line, located in Ghana, which is specialized in providing local farmers with the needed information about farming activities. Information such as the weather pattern, farming practices, and others that enable farmers to make informed decisions are made available on their phones via SMS.
Africa’s governance is improving constantly. The reforms and austerity measures that many African nations are enacting are very wise. For example, in Rwanda, there are published mandatory standards regarding the packaging and labeling of prepackaged foods for special dietary uses. In the past, these were unregulated and anyone could just expose these to the public without going through the needed governmental checks for the safety of the food product.
Although they may seem harsh to everyday citizens, they will only be beneficial towards a positive future for all who reside there. Hopefully, this will broaden the horizons of people outside of Africa to see past the glaring tragedies that play themselves out on the news on a daily basis.
On the business and financial front, we have seen an unprecedented push for an entrepreneurial mindset. College graduates are always being hardwired to kick start their own businesses. In view of this, there are organizations helping with this venture such as Meltwater Incubation, who help to get businesses started with the needed business fundamentals.
These and many more activities are aiding Africa to improve generally.
References
Shanta DevarajanAfrican Successes. World Bank Blogs. https://blogs.worldbank.org/africacan/african-successes
United Nations. (2008). Export Performance Following Trade Liberalization: Some Patterns and Policy Perspectives [E-book].
World Health Organization. (2013, August 1). Policy – Compulsory mandatory standards | Global database on the Implementation of Nutrition Action (GINA). https://extranet.who.int/nutrition/gina/en/node/14734
World Health Organization. (2014). Policy – Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy 2013–2018 | Global database on the Implementation of Nutrition Action (GINA). https://extranet.who.int/nutrition/gina/en/node/22998
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