Ghana: Cashew is king as farmers gang up against traders

Under the darkness of midnight in Seketia, a farming village in western Ghana, cashew traders and middlemen go knocking from door to door looking for supplies of harvested nuts. 

"During the peak harvest, they visit us late at night, trying to get us to sell," says David Enkamah, a cashew farmer.

Worldwide demand for cashew has grown about 7% a year over the past decade on healthy snacking habits. The tree nut, along with sesame seeds — favoured especially by the Japanese, South Koreans and Chinese — and pigeon peas, a
common ingredient in Indian kitchens, are among a number of crops where the balance of power has tilted a little towards African farmers.

Nigeria signs US$350M deal with GE to support small-scaled power projects

The struggle by Nigeria to provide adequate power supply to industrial zones, as well as, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) seems to be bearing fruits especially after the government has just cemented a US$350m deal with General Electric (GE) to support the construction of small-scale power projects across the West African country.

The deal which was sealed over the weekend was signed by the Industry, Trade and Investment Minister Olusegun Aganga and his counterpart of Power ,Chinedu Nebo on behalf of the Nigerian government while the GE Global Chairman ,Jeff  Immelt and the Stanbic IBTC CEO, Sola David-Borha signed on behalf of their organisations. The fund would be managed by Stanbic IBTC Nigeria.

Quotes About Africa At The 2014 World Economic Forum In Davos

With CNBC Africa’s Bronwyn Nielsen’s opening remarks to the 2014 World Economic Forum session “Africa’s Next Billion”, the debate on Africa started with speakers President John Mahama of Ghana; President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria; Aliko Dangote, billionaire business-mogul; Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of Oxfam International; Julian Roberts, Group Chief Executive, Old Mutual and Doreen Noni, Creative Director, Eskado Bird.

While the narrative on Africa is evolving, more and more Africans are joining in the conversation and taking ownership of the issues that impact the continent. As such, the just ended annual global meeting in Davos attracted industry captains, political leaders and social entrepreneurs from Africa who shared their views on the continent.

Why Africa Will Rule The 21st Century

According to the authors of a new book, The Fastest Billion – the story behind Africa’s Economic Revolution, Africa’ s current sustained growth level is set to not only continue but rise over the next four decades so that, come 2050, the continent’ s GDP will equal the combined GDP's of the US and the EU at current prices. There is a possibility that Africa’s growth could outstrip that of Asia over this time span. Some have described this scenario as over-optimistic and an exercise in wishful thinking. But the authors of the book put forward sound arguments based on analyses of trends going back centuries to support their thesis. Editor Anver Versi talked to the book’ s lead author, economist Charles Robertson, to outline the case for a defence of the theory.

Ghana: The AGI Business Barometer 2013 (Q3)

Here is a Business Barometer Report from Association of Ghana Industries for the 3^rd quarter of 2013 financial year.

Improved Power Supply Boosts Business Confidence In Quarter Three (Q3).

Energy supply related issues have attracted more attention since the last three quarters. The impact of over 250 megawatts of power added from the Bui dam to the national grid between May and August was largely felt in quarter three (Q3), according to the AGI Business Barometer, Q3, 2013. This was a big relief to businesses and it is amazing how an improved power supply could significantly impact on business even though there were agitations over the proposed electricity tariffs.

Competitiveness conditions of basic factors such as cost of raw materials and utility prices have however proven to be severe obstacles to growth of businesses in Q3.

AGI believes the further removal of barriers to competitiveness must engage Government’s attention the more if local businesses are to remain relevant in the current global economy.

SMEs are still seen as pivotal players in creating economic growth, but their development continues to be largely constrained by access to credit and cost of credit as seen in Q3.