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The world is making huge strides toward finding more viable and environmentally friendly alternatives to power-guzzling and gas-emitting vehicles. Though electric vehicles have always been viewed as the most practical option, it wasn't until the last fiscal year that they made a significant gain in the motor vehicle space that the world took notice.

Sharp Increase Despite the Pandemic

In 2020, 10 million electric cars hit the road globally, a whopping 43% increase from 2019. Even though conventional and overall new car registrations fell considerably on account of COVID-induced restrictions, the global electric car sales share increased to 70% in 2020. Among regions, Europe led with 1.4 million new registrations of electric cars, followed by China with 1.2 million and the US with 2,95,000.

In European countries, battery electric vehicles (BEVs) accounted for 54% of all EV registrations in 2020, double the previous year's figure. Germany registered a maximum of 3,95,000 new electric cars, followed by France with 1,85,000 and the UK with 1,76,000. While Norway witnessed electric cars’ sale share jump to 75%, Iceland saw a 50% increase, Sweden 30%, and the Netherlands 25%. In Canada, the new car market shrunk 21 %, while new electric car registrations remained unchanged from the previous year at 51,000. In other countries, despite negative headwinds, electric car markets showed resilience in 2020. 

Determined Efforts from Governments

As governments across the world doled out $14 billion as direct purchase incentives and tax deductions for electric cars in 2020, consumers spent a whopping $120 billion on EV purchases, a 50% increase from 2019. This year promises to be even better as an increasing number of automakers are electrifying their lineups and ramping up the production of gasless vehicles. Online car shopping site Edmunds says 30 EVs from 21 brands will be in the market in 2021, up from 17 models last year.

Jaguar Land Rover, a British company owned by Tata Motors, has become the latest manufacturer to commit to an electric future. Jaguar will become an “all-electric luxury brand” by 2025. The company has set another ambitious goal: zero net carbon emissions in its supply chain, products, and operations by 2039. Meanwhile, Ford Motor’s entire passenger vehicle lineup in Europe will run solely on batteries by 2030 while Bentley Motors’s first electric vehicle will debut in 2025. General Motors has also vowed that 40% of US models will be battery electric vehicles by the end of 2025.

With electric vehicles at the heart of governments' and automakers' future growth strategies, an emission-free future is becoming a reality.

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Small and medium-sized businesses form the majority of enterprises across the globe, according to the World Bank. 

MSMEs (micro, small, and medium enterprises) in Africa have struggled to get credit in the past. However, following the fintech transformation, lending is now possible. Recent estimations from the IFC (International Finance Corporation) suggested that the finance difference for SMEs (small and medium enterprises) in Africa is $331 billion. 

MSMEs are the foundation of the economy in different African countries. Investing in this industry adds up to 38% of the GDP in sub-Saharan Africa. Still, 51% of the entire 44 million formal MSMEs across the continent lack sufficient finance to scale.

Lack of Liquidity a Major Bottleneck

Governments within the African continent have classified poor liquidity as the greatest bottleneck in the business industry. Private enterprises are adopting advanced financial services to seal the gap. 

Technology-enabled finance and digital solutions are becoming popular, and the MSME industry has not been left behind. During the IFC-supported small and medium-sized enterprises finance forum in Kenya, Karin Finkelston of IFC (International Finance Corporation) said, “We see significant improvements in access to finance in Africa, creating opportunities for small and medium enterprises that create jobs and reduce poverty. We should celebrate the gains while recognizing we have much more to do. Digital finance is the future, so we must expand and tailor products and services to meet the growing needs of a dynamic continent.”

Many SMEs struggle with Lack of Access to Financing 

Lacking access to financing is another obstacle that SMEs struggle with, especially those seeking to scale their operations in developing countries and emerging markets. The IFC says that Large firms can access bank loans easier than is the case with SMEs.  

Estimations from the global firm suggest that 65 million companies or 40% of formal MSMEs in developing countries have unfulfilled financial needs annually. This inadequacy totals $5.2 trillion, or 1.4 times the present level of global MSMEs lending.  

Founder and CEO of Lidya, a digital SME platform specializing in lending, Tunde Kehinde, tells Ignatius Annor of Business Africa that, “Increasingly, there are agency networks, you see fintech booming. And we also want to play our role because what we’ve said is that just using pure data at Lidya; we can access you for a facility, then next day give you a loan.’’ 

Saving the MSMEs

Digital and technology financial service providers can offer payment and financing services to the MSMEs to drive growth. Various fintech players, like supply and payment chain finance platforms, and marketplace lenders, can play a role in closing the credit gap by partnering with large or conventional financial organizations. They can also launch their financing institutions to aid the MSMEs. 

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There is a seismic shift occurring in technology; no one saw it coming, and no one knows when it will end. Local tech companies have been targeted by Chinese regulators, in contrast to how they were previously protected at the expense of foreign tech companies. The tech crackdown has impacted major tech companies such as Alibaba, Tencent, Didi, and more.

The Government Asks for Changes

It all began in October 2020. Alibaba's plans to list its fintech arm, Ant Group Co., in China have been stymied by the Chinese government. The Chinese government launched an antitrust investigation against the company, forcing it to halt operations. Didi, a ride-hailing company, was forced to stop accepting new customers and had its app removed from app stores two days after its initial public offering (IPO) in early July. It had been subjected to a security audit by regulators due to how it handled consumer data.

Meituan, a food delivery service, lost $62 billion in market value after the Chinese government demanded better working conditions for its employees. In a statement, China's State Administration for Market Regulation said companies should ensure that riders earn the local minimum wage, reduce the intensity of the workload, and strengthen traffic safety education and training, among other measures. Meituan promptly promised to comply with the requests.

In July, China's Ministry of Education stipulated that education and private tutoring companies can't be for-profit entities. They can't raise funding from stock markets or seek foreign capital through mergers and acquisitions. Before this, the tutoring companies were flourishing due to China's ultra-competitive education and exam system. Parents needed the companies to give their children an advantage. The Ministry of Education said that it wanted to reduce the workload on students and improve after-school services.

Two days after the announcement, New Oriental Education and Technology lost roughly $7.7 billion in market value in Hong Kong. Another education firm, Koolearn Technology, lost approximately $250 million in market value soon after the announcement. In comparison, TAL Education (TAL) lost more than $9 billion, and Gaotu erased $1.5 billion in value in their respective markets.

Growing Concerns about the Crackdown

The crackdown has scared many investors. Goldman Sachs estimates that Chinese tech firms have lost $1 trillion in value since February. On the surface, it appears that the Chinese Communist Party is authoritarian and overregulatory. Others have suggested that the party is worried about the companies' power and they don't want a situation where tech companies and executives can distract the country's direction.

But others see something else, a pragmatic approach to reigning in an industry that is becoming monopolistic and seemingly above the law. Instead, the Chinese government wants to give innovative small companies a chance to compete and hold big tech accountable for its social impact. This policy is a clear departure from the American model, which encourages unrestricted growth of big tech.

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Recently, the largest exporting state in Australia, Western Australia, has asked Canberra to avoid opposing China. Canberra, the capital city of Australia, stretches approximately 240 kilometers to the southwest area of Sydney. 

China is Australia’s leading trade partner while the US is one of Australia’s leading allies. During one of Australia's biggest oil and gas industry conference, Mark McGowan, the Western Australian Chief, stated, "This isn't about kowtowing to other countries and giving in. There needs to be a national reset in that relationship."

Tension between the Two Countries

Relations between Australia and China weakened in 2018 following rising worry of Chinese political influences in the Australian society, including universities, the government, and the media. China’s viewpoint regarding the dispute along the South China Sea also raised issues. Therefore, Australia’s recent demand for a nonpartisan inquiry into the genesis of the coronavirus triggered trade retaliation from China. That reaction affected different Australian goods such as lobster, coal, wine, and barley hard. 

Trade relations had already worsened when Australia outlawed Huawei, a Chinese technology giant, from its 5G network back in 2018. Begging the federal government to put a stop to the trade discussion and conflict revenge, McGowan sought to understand: "How is it in our interests to be reckless with trading relationships that fund and drive our prosperity and our nation forward?"

Little Improvement after Conferences

McGowan uttered these comments two days following the Group of Seven leaders meeting in Britain. During the meeting, the leaders blamed China over many issues which forced Beijing to respond angrily. 

Scott Morrison, the Australian Prime Minister who had appeared as a guest during the G7 meeting, met Boris Johnson, the British Prime Minister, and Joe Biden, the US president. The three leaders held discussions about Indo-pacific security. Leading Spare Australian exports that have suffered China’s trade retaliation are liquefied natural gas and iron ore. 

China sources iron ore for its steel sector from Australia. It also relies on Australia for gas to facilitate power generation while looking for alternatives to help reduce coal emissions. According to Woodside Petroleum, one of the largest LNG exporters in Australia, the political conflict has not impacted its LNG (liquefied natural gas) sales. 

Furthermore, the retaliation also has had no effect on the exporter's relationships with Chinese shipyards that are constructing a production center for the organization's oil project in Senegal. Meg O'Neill, the acting chief executive at Woodside, speaking to reporters during the APPEA conference, said, "there's political tension that's coming to bear in certain elements of trade, but for our product and business relationships that we have, we do not see any spillover." 

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In May 2021, the ruling from the EU's top court finally put an end to Bayer's years-long fight against the prohibition on its pesticides. But to the company’s disappointment, the ruling confirmed the union’s ban on three insecticides linked to bee harm, prohibiting their use on specific crops.

Years of Legal Battles

In 2013, the European Food Safety Authority scientifically established that the neonicotinoids present in certain pesticides pose enormous risks to bees. After the publication of this report and studies confirming it, there was some public concern, forcing environmental associations to take strong actions. The EU decided to restrict the usage of some harmful products, and agrochemical companies, such as Bayer and Syngenta, started to suffer profit damages.

After envisioning imminent disadvantages, Bayer filed a complaint to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) to overturn the ban. This legal battle lasted for years before EU member states voted in favor of a definitive ban on the use of three neonicotinoids which were present in pesticides. The company expressed its strong determination by appealing the decision again to the EU Top Court, which ended up in vain by the Commission's final ruling.

“The verdict seems to allow the (European) Commission almost carte blanche to review existing approvals upon the slightest evidence, which need not even be new scientific data," the Bayer spokesperson said.

Importance of Bees in Biodiversity 

This may make you wonder, "Why go to such lengths for bees?" This is an important question, especially seeing all the efforts being made from various stakeholders. The main reason is that bees play an essential role in ecosystems by pollinating plants, allowing them to reproduce. They are among the most effective pollinators, along with wasps and butterflies.

Bees pollinate one-third of the food we eat, and without them, the indirect and long-term losses would be enormous. The global economic value of pollination is estimated to reach 265 billion euros per year, excluding wild bees.

"The Court of Justice has reaffirmed that protecting nature and people’s health takes precedence over the narrow economic interests of powerful multinationals," said Greenpeace legal strategist Andrea Carta.

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India’s leather exports have already suffered a significant drop due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While exports rose briefly in the summer of 2020, they soon fell again, a trend that continued into 2021. Now, the problem has worsened as workers in tanneries in West Bengal, a key leather manufacturing location in India, operate with a skeletal workforce due to the rise in COVID-19 cases.

Exports of leather goods from India will likely drop 40-50% by the end of the year if these tanneries don’t implement drastic measures. The government, however, has made no announcements regarding the implementation of relief measures to support the industry. 

Indian Leather Exports are Declining

India accounts for 13% of the world’s leather production and is the second-largest producer. Leather is one of India’s key exporting industries, but like many sectors around the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a detrimental impact on production. 

Exports of leather and related products in India dropped by 40.5% during the initial stage of the pandemic, falling from $411.38 million in June 2019 to $244.89 million in June 2020. While these figures are concerning, numbers have recovered since their worst drop between April and May of 2020 where exports saw a steep decline of 83%. These statistics reflect the devastating effects of the pandemic on manufacturing and logistics, which may force the industry to lose large markets such as the European Union (EU), the UK, and the US.

The pandemic forced the closure of many brick-and-mortar stores around the world for extended periods of time, altering the nature of commerce. People are conducting business transactions online in greater numbers than ever before. This transition has altered the way businesses manufacture and ship products. Customers no longer want large stock inventories, but rather smaller orders shipped in shorter timeframes. However, this demand for faster delivery has been experiencing a slowdown as a result of a recent shipping container shortage, which further harmed the Indian leather industry by limiting access to containers and increasing container costs.

COVID-19 Outbreak Further Hurts Indian Leather Exporters

The Indian leather industry suffered another setback in May. An outbreak of COVID-19 forced tanneries and leather manufacturing units in West Bengal's Bantala region to operate with a skeleton crew for several weeks. Cases in India reached a new high in May of this year, with a seven-day rolling average of newly reported cases reaching 392,000. After the US, the country now has the highest number of COVID-19 reports. The second wave caused havoc in many industries as large numbers of critical workers became ill or needed to be isolated. The potential recovery of the leather industry was hampered by the second wave, as only a bare minimum of employees were available to work across tanneries in Bantala.

India usually exports $5.5-6 billion worth of leather products each year. The industry thus has a huge potential if it can bounce back from the pandemic. Fortunately, many European buyers are looking to shift contracts to companies based in China and India, which could help boost the industry once more. However, it may take roughly six to nine months for the industry to start seeing actual progress.

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Until January 2021, the European Union (EU) was the most important destination for UK food and live animal exports, but Brexit has marked a dramatic trend reversal. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), in the first quarter of 2021, the UK’s exports to the EU decreased by 44 % (compared to an 18 % fall of non-EU countries) due to Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic.
The LSE Business Review’s report also analyzed the evolution of the exports of food and beverages from the UK from 1997 to 2021. During this time period, the EU was the main destination for food and live animal exports from the UK, accounting for up to four times the value of exports to non-EU countries. Food trade in both EU and non-EU countries increased steadily until January 2021. On the other hand, exports of beverages, particularly scotch whiskey, to non-EU countries increased roughly twice as much as those to the EU.
In particular, meat and meat preparations, dairy production and eggs, fish and shellfish, cereals, vegetables and fruit, coffee, tea and cocoa, and animal feeding stuff were in decline because UK exporters had gradually built these markets under the advantages of the EU single market, under common standards on animal welfare, safety, and labeling.
The trends in the first group have far-reaching regional implications as well. Salmon and beef, for example, are major Scottish exports. All of the UK countries export lamb, a food item that is crucial for some communities in Wales and Scotland, with dairy exports being especially important for England.
Given the magnitude of exports to the EU, it is not feasible to replace those commodities in the short term with free trade agreements in the food and drink sector. 
Imports from the EU to the UK fell by 25% during the same time period, with chicken, beef, and pork suffering the most. While post-Brexit trade rules are to blame for much of the slump, changing behaviors during the pandemic and difficulties at the ports may also have played a role.
Businesses, especially SMEs, face significant challenges when trading with the EU due to blockings. EU exporters may face similar difficulties when the UK’s new border operating model comes into effect in 2022. 
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#EXIMA #UKfood #foodexport #drinkexport #EUcountries #nonEUcountries

The Chinese government has finally decided to crack down on cryptocurrency within the country. Even in the past, the Chinese government had been wary of cryptocurrency. It ordered third-party payment providers to stop using bitcoin in 2013. It prohibited token sales in 2017, and crypto exchanges were targeted in 2019. But, soon after those incidents, the government softened its stance; this time, however, it appears to be different.
China surprised the markets in May when it prohibited financial institutions and payment companies from providing cryptocurrency-related services. The following month, the government arrested a large number of people who were using cryptocurrencies in illegal ways. The pressure on banks and payment companies to stop providing cryptocurrencies with services did not abate. The People's Bank of China said in a statement that it has instructed financial institutions not to provide trading, clearing, and settlement services for cryptocurrency transactions.
Because Bitcoin is the cryptocurrency that precedes all others, its rise and fall has set the stage for others. Bitcoin was on the rise, reaching a peak of $64,870 in April, but it has since dropped by more than half to $28,890. Although the crypto market was experiencing fundamental strains as a result of a rapid rise in prices, the drop is primarily attributed to the crackdown in China.
The crackdown extended to bitcoin miners, forcing the closure of 26 operations in the southwest province of Sichuan. Before the restrictions, China's share of total Bitcoin mining power had dropped from 75.5% in September 2019 to 46% in April 2021, according to the University of Cambridge. According to the data, China was the world's second-largest bitcoin miner.
Surprisingly, the crackdown has benefited miners elsewhere. Without Chinese miners to compete with, other miners are finding it easier to mine bitcoin.
Cryptocurrencies have previously been used to carry out scams, pyramid schemes, and money laundering. Experts believe the government intends to eliminate competition for its e-Yuan and halt capital outflows through unregulated instruments.

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The UK government has recently announced plans to open eight new freeports in England. It hopes that the establishment of these trading hubs will help regenerate some of the country’s most deprived areas.

Number of UK Freeports Will Double

Freeports are typically located near airports or shipping ports, and products arriving at freeports from outside the country are exempt from tariffs normally charged on goods imported into the country. These taxes are only paid if the goods leave the freeport to another location in the UK; if they are sent from the freeport to a location overseas, the fees do not have to be paid.

According to recent data, there are currently around 3,500 freeports in the world. Free trade zones exist in roughly 135 countries, with most of them being located in the Far East. Between 1984 and 2012, the UK had seven freeports at locations such as Liverpool, Southampton, the Port of Tilbury, the Port of Sheerness, and Prestwick Airport. However, the legislation that established freeports in the UK was not renewed.

The UK government announced in its March 2021 budget that it will set up the eight new freeports in the following locations: East Midlands Airport, Felixstowe and Harwich, Humber region, Liverpool City Region, Plymouth, Solent, Thames, and Teesside.

The Benefits of Freeports

As mentioned before, freeports, also known as free trade zones, are areas where tariffs that usually apply to the trade of goods do not apply. Simply put, they are areas where goods can be imported, manufactured, and exported without tariffs. Freeports thus allow companies to import raw materials, produce goods, and export them without paying the high tariffs that are typically associated with these activities. Companies that operate within freeports generally pay lower taxes such as VAT and employment tax.

There are clear benefits for manufacturers who want to operate in these zones. Supporters of freeports claim that adding freeport locations to the UK will help boost manufacturing, increase job opportunities, and enhance investment in areas that may otherwise struggle. Some experts also believe the freeports may offer UK-based manufacturers a way to benefit after the detrimental impact of Brexit.

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#EXIMA #England #freeports #benefits #manufacturing #jobopportunities

The future of warehousing is automation. Warehouses have become more agile, responsive, and self-sufficient due to the increased use of robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), and data analytics.

Aside from reducing the scope of human error, the implementation of automation also fine-tunes warehouse management in terms of temperature control, detecting potential cyberattacks, and sending alerts in the event of any scarcity or oversupply of any items. Thus, warehouse automation is expected to become a $27 billion industry by 2025, while the logistics automation industry will reach $104.2 billion in the same year.

Here are the five leading trends dominating warehouse automation management:

Robotics

Robotic autonomous forklifts are now being used in an increasing number of warehouses. Besides accelerating the pace of work, they can also reduce labor costs and optimize workflows. Technology is constantly evolving, which means the return on investment calculations are now much more favorable than before. For example, in the US, a typical warehouse spends almost 65% of its budget on labor costs, a figure that is increasing by up to 3% each year.

Data Analytics Tools

Data analytics tools can notify warehouse managers of upcoming demand for specific items, allowing them to prepare inventory ahead of time. For example, there may be an increase in demand for water heaters during the cold winter months. Instead of rushing to meet such demand, businesses will be able to plan ahead. This allows warehouses to be more agile and responsive to market demands.

The Internet of Things (IoT)

The Internet of Things (IoT) can connect all necessary devices and systems while collecting operational data to increase the likelihood of detecting a scope of error at an early stage. For example, if the temperature in which medicines are being stored fluctuates, an alert will be sent to the appropriate team to take remedial measures.

Automated Picking Process

Picking is most likely one of the most time-consuming activities in warehouse management. It demands long hours and much labor work, consuming a significant amount of production time. Many big companies such as Amazon and Walmart are therefore integrating automated picker robots into their operations. These robots can collect products and transport them to a central location, allowing human employees to complete the next job tasks much more quickly.

Cloud-Based Inventory Management System

Lastly, cloud-based tools offer real-time data monitoring from a remote location. It helps managers to keep an online record of the items coming into and leaving the warehouse. Because all data is processed in the cloud, it reduces the possibility of human error and provides foolproof recommendations to optimize warehouse management.

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The United Nations’ 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs), which were adopted in 2015, were founded on three pillars: environmental protection, social inclusion, and economic growth. These goals aim to unite nations and create a secure future for upcoming generations.
Seeing different organizations executing activities for a good cause is encouraging and sets the stage for a more localized, democratic, and diverse world. However, various challenges impede the path to sustainable development, which, fortunately, blockchain-based technologies can assist in overcoming, as we will see below. Such advanced solutions will make the SDG plan more organized while ensuring that all resources are being effectively utilized.

Blockchain-Oriented Solutions

Players in the industry can leverage blockchain technologies to change sustainable development and influence investing. These technologies can facilitate provable measurement, accountability, and history, which enable data-based decision-making in various enterprises and profit-driven industries.

Public Anti-Tamper Ledger to Facilitate Data Storage

Data siloing can be a significant impediment in the sustainable development industry, as keeping track of projects and expenses can get difficult. While nonprofit organizations and Certified B Corporations are required to submit annual reports and may publish their work on individual websites, non-registered, disorganized, and unpublished informal efforts account for a sizable portion of the influence. Even if you can access a specific project's data, it is typically in its own silo, making it impossible to compare it to similar or related projects.

Thus, many issues arise as a result of the lack of a single searchable or comparable repository of impact data, such as reinventing the wheel, a lack of collaboration, and failing to leverage the lessons learned.

Overall, these problems can be defined as “networked improvement deficient." Having a searchable, public, and anti-tamper record of significant projects can facilitate a networked culture and an advanced community that can significantly accelerate impact.

Missing Framework

In this ecosystem, an anti-tamper ledger is thus the missing framework, and can help monitor all impact-making outputs, activity, and outcomes on a public blockchain. A public and identity URL for each significant individual or organization used to view the entire journey will likely lead to an "internet of impact." Today, social media platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook enable the tracking and improvement of organizations’ or people’s activities, resulting in professional or social achievements. However, a public framework capable of monitoring and boosting the significance of achievements is not yet available, making it all the more urgent. It would not only promote impact but allow for accountability and auditing as well. Moreover, it would also develop a network in which partners could rely on each other’s knowledge and work to become a networked-enhanced group.

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The Covid-19 pandemic has brought permanent changes in consumers’ spending habits. To combat the spread of the virus, an increasing number of consumers are turning to digital or cashless payment methods, which are convenient, safe, and widely available. This continuing trend away from cash is expected to be more buoyant in the UAE, the Arab world’s second-largest economy, according to Mastercard’s Economy 2021 report.

The report offers some interesting insights into consumer behaviors and spending and predicts a shift in the payment methods of consumers of the UAE and the wider Middle East region. It also stated that the pandemic has accelerated the growth of online banking, disrupted FinTech, and created new opportunities to increase financial inclusion in the UAE.

“The continuing trend away from cash is expected to be more persistent in economies such as the UAE, which already has a resilient e-commerce infrastructure and a young, digitally savvy population,” Mastercard said in the aforementioned report.

“As e-commerce rapidly becomes a way to pandemic-proof a business, adoption by older generations and added convenience and lower costs for consumers will contribute to the continued growth of digital demand in 2021,” it added.

The report revealed that 73% of consumers in the Emirates were shopping more online than they did before the pandemic.

“This growth of the digital economy represents a coming of age for e-commerce, a turning point in bridging the digital divide. We are heading for a multi-speed global recovery that favors low-touch over high-touch...Small businesses and micro-merchants are especially crucial to the region’s economies and by enabling them to accept digital payments, we can connect more people and communities to financial freedom and eventual prosperity,” stated David Mann, Mastercard’s Chief Economist for Asia and MEA.

It is worth noting that there is sufficient evidence pointing to a cashless shift in the UAE. In a separate poll conducted by Standard Chartered, two-thirds of UAE residents expect the country to become fully cashless by 2030. A McKinsey survey also found out that UAE consumers are 10% more likely to use a credit card or a digital wallet, with 20% stating they are less likely to use cash when making a payment.

Consumers are also keen on having alternatives to handling cash, pens, and keypads while shopping in person. In fact, 74% of UAE customers, compared to 47% globally, said they would not shop at a store that does not offer a contactless way to pay, according to the latest report by Visa.

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According to the IEA, the global electric car market reached the 10 million mark in 2020. The year saw a 43% increase in new car sales from the previous year, resulting in $120 billion in revenue for the market. The leading EV markets are China, Europe, and the US.

The growth in electric vehicles is due to several factors such as:

Supportive government policies and regulations like grants and tax benefits that promote the manufacture and adoption of EVs
Climate change awareness and the shift towards reducing fossil fuel emissions
Technology for batteries getting better and cheaper
Automakers investing heavily in viable EVs
New entrants into the auto market, such as Tesla, NIO, Fisker, and possibly Apple

Tesla is currently the leader in the EV market. When most manufacturers were focusing on making bigger fuel-guzzling cars, it made an investment in EVs that seemed like a long shot at the time. Yet, they have built a car brand synonymous with innovation, clean energy, and the “cool factor'' over the years.

Moreover, as governments and consumers worldwide become more aware of the human impact on the environment, they started to actively adopt products that aligned more closely with their beliefs and goals. This has led legacy auto manufacturers to take note and invest in releasing new EVs for the market:

Ford plans to have EVs make up [url=https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/ford/2021/05/26/ford-electric-vehicles-global-sales-2030-40-percent/7445074002/#:~:text=DETROIT%20(AP)%20%E2%80%94Ford%20expects,from%20this%20year%20to%202025.]40% of its global sales[/url] by 2030
At its Annual General Meeting, BMW announced that it would reduce its carbon emissions by over [url=https://erticonetwork.com/bmw-group-sets-ambitious-goal-to-reduce-co2-emissions-by-2030/#:~:text=BMW%20Group%20sets%20ambitious%20goal%20to%20reduce%20CO2%20emissions%20by%202030,-May%2025%2C%202021&text=The%20BMW%20Group%20is%20underpinning,tonnes%20of%20CO2%20by%202030.]200 million tonnes[/url] by 2030. To achieve this, it will adopt green technology and boost sales of EVs by an average of over 50% per year till 2025. It forecasts that this will lead to 50% of global sales being EV by 2030.
General Motors plans to only sell EVs by 2035, which will be a massive shift from its gasoline and diesel-powered cars, trucks, and SUVs.
Apple is rumored to be actively looking for a partnership agreement with a legacy carmaker to enter the EV market.

However, automakers still face significant barriers to mass adoption, with one of them being the lack of charging infrastructure and standardization. Nonetheless, the market is undeniably moving towards EV, and no automaker wants to be left behind.

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In recent months, a series of incidents around Saudi Arabian waters have forced some ship insurers to raise their rates. Merchant ships traversing the Red Sea have seen a spate of attacks that are complicating and endangering international shipping. The incidents are linked to the geopolitical instability of the region, which is the ongoing crisis in Yemen. One of the last actions of former President Donald Trump was to designate the Houthi movement as a foreign terrorist organization. The Houthis are principal players in the Yemen conflict, and they are aligned with Iran. Recently, high-profile incidents such as a tanker anchored at Jeddah's port being hit with an explosive-laden boat and the Iranian seizure of a South Korean tanker in the Strait of Hormuz have gotten everybody on edge. This could thus result in a significant increase in prices, ranging from basic commodities to oil.

“We are seeing increased rates for vessels making port calls in the Red Sea due to concerns over risk of attack by militia groups, whereas previously this was of an issue of more concern in the Arabian Gulf. This will be impacting vessels traveling to Red Sea ports such as Jeddah,” stated Gallagher's Mike Ingham.

All ships require various types of insurance when entering high-risk locations, such as an annual war-risk coverage and a "breach" premium. Ships traveling to Red Sea ports are thus likely to see their insurance costs rise. In fact, breach rates have already risen to 0.015% of insurance costs in January 2021, up from about 0.012% in December 2020. This means a seven-day voyage in a high-risk area now costs tens of thousands of dollars more than it did a few months ago.

The US Maritime Administration has also issued a warning for seafarers to watch out for increasing military activity and political tensions, which are continuing to pose significant threats to commercial vessels. But you don’t need to be a keen observer of rising shipping insurance costs to know that piracy and military conflict have made shipping an increasingly risky job in the region. The Suez Canal blockage is a good example of the threats pirates and militia groups pose. Rather than leaving the canal and backtracking around Africa and the Red Sea, shipping companies preferred to wait for the Suez Canal to be unblocked. While this may have been a gamble that the blockage would pass faster than it would take to circumnavigate Africa, along with a reluctance to pay the extra fuel costs, the shipping companies and crews’ fears of pirates and militia could not go unnoticed.

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Even with recent technological advancements, players in the transport industry continue to struggle with various complexities. Transportation and logistics companies are constantly under pressure to remain competitive, provide quality customer service, and find innovative ways to optimize their operations in today's customer-centric, digitized world. Here are some of the industry's top challenges and the technologies that will help overcome them:

1. Inventory Tracking, Visibility, and Management

Inventory is the foundation of numerous businesses, making the ability to successfully control a business's inventory one of the vital competencies for transportation and logistics. Thus, if a company does not have detailed, real-time visibility into available inventory at a given location, it can hurt both sales and customer satisfaction.

Moreover, a supply chain is frequently required to track and manage inventory from multiple warehouses, stores, or locations, which can be a difficult task if the business systems are not centrally connected. Logistics and transportation companies are thus both shifting away from on-premise software solutions and investing in integrated cloud-based technologies that offer data in real-time instead. Some organizations are also utilizing predictive analytics to better determine detailed inventory requirements.

2. Bringing Down Transportation Costs

The rise in fuel prices means customers have to pay more for shipping. Thus, to better address this issue, companies have implemented advanced strategies aimed at identifying transportation challenges and the development of efficient solutions. These include adopting technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and autonomous tracking to monitor potential real-time data with routes, along with alternative routes to reduce transportation costs. This is highly beneficial, especially for companies looking to boost fuel efficiency and evaluate road conditions.

3. Providing Customer Service and Segmented Assistance

Supply chain relies on segmented and customized technology when sharing a single platform of information across various departments. Data sharing across the supply chain in logistics facilitates more transparency, allowing customers to make more careful purchasing choices, building trust between the customer and the company.

Technologies like blockchain can help track a product's life cycle and ownership transfer from its origin to the store shelf, even as it passes through the hands of the manufacturer, retailer, and customer. Through an easily transferable tracking system, blockchain also enables the supply chain industry to locate where inventory is throughout the company. Many companies have thus started to integrate blockchain technology more and more into their websites, helping customers see the route of their package as well as the desired delivery time the moment they place their orders.

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Back in 2011, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced his vision for the country, which included making Turkey one of the top ten economies of the world and a vital player in the international trade arena by 2023. The “2023 Vision” targeted significant improvements in economic activities, energy, health care, transportation, and democratic reforms. The AKP government set major economic goals such as reaching a GDP of $2.6 trillion and an average per capita income of $25,0000, boosting annual Turkish exports to $500 billion, and lowering the unemployment rate to 5%.

At the time, these goals seemed somewhat feasible, thanks to Turkey’s expanding textile, automotive, and transportation industries, along with an increase in foreign investments, enabling the country to achieve relatively higher annual economic growth rates. This prompted the Turkish government to invest over $90 billion in building bridges, roads, airports, and other transportation infrastructures, and until 2011, the expansionary monetary policy of the FED allowed the government to sustain its economic policies.

However, after 2011, the FED decided to change its policy and announced that a new approach was needed to stimulate the domestic economy to recover from the adverse conditions of the global financial crisis. The main reason behind this was that the Turkish economy used its financial resources in industries with low productivity, resulting in high inflation as the inflation rate reached 25% in 2018, the highest level in 15 years.

In response, the Turkish government implemented a strange economic policy, increasing imports with relatively lower prices. However, this meant local producers were losing market shares and being forced to decrease their production levels. In other words, the economic policies were not well-thought-out by the government, creating inertia in the economy.

Recently, President Erdoğan declared that he is still insistent on the 2023 vision, despite the unemployment rate recording almost 30% and inflation being nearly 35%, as the budget and the international trade deficit remain high. The private-public sector cooperation projects are also placing a significant burden on the budget, while the Turkish Central Bank continues to suffer from a large amount of deficit.

The Ministry of Public Finance and Economy and the Turkish Central Bank have thus revised the annual goals several times now, and the updated targets are much far away from the announced targets in 2011 for 2023. Considering that less than two years are left to reach 2023, it is highly unlikely that Turkey will reach its previous vision. The political conflict, faltering international relations, and the US prosecution of Halkbank are just a couple among a large number of ambiguous situations in the Turkish economy. Dealing with just these conflicts alone will take several years, meaning the 2023 vision will likely not be met on time.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated digital transformation, as it forced businesses, households, and governments to digitize their services, work from home, and find other ways to reach out to their customers. Tech giants like Google and Facebook hugely benefited from this trend, which fueled one of the most impressive stock market comebacks after the sudden meltdown in March and April.

Economists now speak of a K-shaped recovery. While some parts of the economy, especially the digital industries and the people working in it, benefit from the crisis, businesses and employees in other sectors such as tourism or travel have fallen into a recession. The result is rising income inequality and a discussion on how to distribute the cost of this crisis fairly.

Budget Holes and Income Inequality Increase the Pressure on Legislators

Legislators intend to patch budget holes by imposing new taxes on the corporations that have so far benefited from the crisis. This is because large tech giants currently pay very little in taxes when they sell their digital services worldwide, which often does not result in a tax liability.

The question of how governments should tax digital companies with no physical presence in their countries but still sell services to their citizens is not a new one. The reason why pressure is now increasingly mounting on legislators to discuss it with more urgency is that someone will eventually have to pay the bill for the COVID-19 crisis, while the rising inequality also inevitably increases social tensions.

Governments in Europe and elsewhere are thus looking to implement stricter digital services taxes that will apply to overseas companies selling goods and services to their citizens online. Such a tax would, in particular, hit American tech companies, as they are the leading players in most online industries such as eCommerce or online advertising.

Talks Postponed to 2021

Talks regarding digital agreements were originally postponed to 2021 last year. This is because if countries imposed taxes that particularly hit US companies, the Trump administration would likely answer with retaliatory threats, fueling another escalation of the trade war.

Six months into the new year, the US is currently working on creating broader international negotiations, participating actively to produce ideal outcomes for all. Fortunately, some tech businesses are not completely opposed to a global taxation framework since it would erase many of the complications that arise when dealing with different digital services taxes in foreign countries.

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Online trade has been growing significantly in Africa in recent years. The continent boasts of over 600 online marketplaces, which recorded 2.17 billion visits in 2019. However, according
The International Trade Centre (ITC), only ten countries such as Egypt, Algeria, South Africa, and Nigeria are responsible for 94% of Africa’s total online business.

For most developed countries, e-marketplaces are typically the dominant form of e-commerce for consumer goods. These are prominent in Africa as well, serving a new generation of consumers and creating market opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). However, not much is known about these marketplaces yet, especially regarding their struggles and growth potential.

A significant challenge in accessing Africa’s e-marketplaces is that they vary significantly from country to country. Most use a domestic, country-focused model, and the most active ones are present only in the biggest, most advanced economies. Although every African country has online marketplaces, only a few countries have an abundant amount. South Africa leads the continent with 105, followed by Morocco with 102, and Tunisia with 92.

Moreover, limited internet access, differences in business environments, and the relatively smaller sizes of African marketplaces according to global standards are adding to the difficulty in accessing the continent’s online marketplaces. For example, only 40% of Africans were online in 2019. Thus, for e-commerce to further grow in the continent, African countries must create modern, technologically advanced marketplaces by improving financial systems, internet access, and commercial infrastructure, which will naturally enhance the quality and widen the reach of e-commerce. They must also encourage innovation and competition while strategizing ways to attract more investments.

While there are several challenges confronting e-marketplaces in Africa, there is also a significant opportunity for growth. They can help boost African economies and generate new opportunities for small traders to grow their businesses, but this can be possible only if more Africans become stakeholders as e-commerce becomes a global norm.

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The rise of digital payment services like Samsung Pay, Apple Pay, Google Wallet, PayPal, and TransferWise has led many countries to go cashless, with Ghana being no exception. Thus, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Ghana should consider eliminating cash payments to take advantage of this trend. Here are three main benefits of doing so:

1. Increase in Checkout Efficiency

No customer wants to wait in long lines and waste time. That’s why companies such as Starbucks and Walmart are offering mobile order-and-pay apps and scan-and-go services to let customers pay ahead of time and skip the checkout line. This allows for a more efficient checkout experience, which could also translate into more purchases, loyal customers, and savings in both time and money.

2. Easier to Manage Accounting

Dealing with cash can be exhausting and time-consuming, especially when you have to count down to every penny. Not only is this frustrating, but it also leaves a lot of room for error. However, you can eliminate such issues and inconvenience when you use mobile and digital payments since every transaction is automatically tracked and recorded. Moreover, you will no longer have to visit the bank to receive change or make deposits, saving you a lot of time. Real-time data regarding your company’s cash flow will also help you identify areas of improvement and make better business decisions.

3. Minimized Risks

One of the main risks associated with handling large sums of cash is theft. Countless SMEs in Ghana are victims of random armed robberies each year. Not only are random robberies a problem, but employee theft is also another issue. Fortunately, going cashless will help boost employee safety while keeping your company assets safe.

Although cashless payments are growing in increasing popularity, this does not always mean it’s right for every business. You must first consider your customer base and weigh out all the pros and cons before deciding to go cashless.

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In Cameroon, online payments have gained great popularity in recent years. It is experiencing an upsurge in the number of online payment aggregators, making it an exciting time for Cameroonian developers in the FinTech (Financial Technology) industry. Here are some of Cameroon's top online payment aggregators:

1. WeCashUp

This is a universal payment platform that aggregates various payment methods, from mobile money and physical cash to bank cards, via a single universal API. It is also one of Africa’s fastest-growing fintech startups with footprints in over 30 African countries. It allows easy access to online shopping, even to users without bank accounts or credit cards, while guaranteeing secure transactions for both the merchants and the customers.

2. Smobilpay

This digital financial service platform allows customers to pay bills or purchase items from any location. It is designed for third-party payment processors and connects users with service providers, allowing them to pay for water, electricity, and other important bills. It also consists of Cameroon’s major service providers such as CamWater, Orange, MTN, and ENEO.

3. Softeller

Developed by IWOMI Technologies Ltd, Softeller is a mobile and web application that lets users make direct payments into Mobile Money accounts instantly and securely. It already had more than 5,000 users in 2019, and these users have made over 10,000 transactions using the app. Moreover, with this app, you can top up airtime at any time, at any location, and to any other user.

4. WaZaPAY

Lastly, WaZaPAY is an online and e-wallet payment gateway that allows users to make and receive payments over the Internet safely and securely. Users can use WaZaPAY to pay for goods, online services, school fees, and other bills, while merchants can receive payments from customers through this service. It supports cryptocurrencies, Orange Money, MTN Mobile Money, bank payments, and MasterCard and Visa cards, significantly helping companies receive payments within Africa without much boundaries and limits.

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Preparing for the peak season of ocean and air freight shipping in the logistics industry requires observing and knowing past demand patterns. The COVID-19 pandemic, however, has changed everything. Many industries are currently facing peculiar shifts in their usual demand and supply trends. Let’s take a look at some of the most apparent changes:

There Has Been an Increase in Demand in Some Industries

While some industries have experienced high demands during the pandemic, others have struggled to remain afloat, creating a rare peak season. At the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020, Asian imports dropped to a record-breaking low, while lockdown orders and demand uncertainties created a short-term pause in manufacturing. Thus, many importers were forced to reconsider their orders.

Unpredictable Buyer Spending Habits

Buyer spending habits have also remained unpredictable throughout the entirety of the pandemic. Many countries are continuing to uphold restrictions, making predicting actual spending and inventory quantity highly difficult. This shift in buyer habits is affecting different industries in various ways, such as low demand for formal clothes and increased interest in home improvement products.

Volatility in Air Freight Options

The air cargo industry has been one of the most unstable industries in 2020. This has triggered a reduction in belly space, forcing governments to rush personal protective equipment shipments onto the fastest freight channel.

Meanwhile, an increase in demand has also led to the fluctuation of prices, with more than 35% of shippers experiencing disruptions in their air transport schedules. The high rates and low capacity have thus made securing space during the pandemic increasingly difficult.

So How Should Importers Prepare for Possible Delays Triggered by the Pandemic?

Importers can work with manufacturers and increase production to fit ocean freight shipment times as opposed to airfreight. Airfreight is fast, but ocean freight shipment options are cheaper.

Communicate with your logistics provider in advance to avoid delays and manage unexpected bottlenecks. A reliable logistics provider can provide shipping process guidelines and help you save money by handling documentation and customs clearance.

Should You Ship by Ocean or Air?
However, while ocean freight shipment offers less costly rates, the economy and express air freight shipping options can be faster and easier to track. Due to sail cancellations, some importers are opting for airfreight shipment, even though it is costlier.

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#EXIMA #pandemic #freightrates #COVID #industry #shippingindustry

Governments around the world are increasingly wishing to implement digital service taxes on US tech companies like Google, Amazon, and eBay. This is mainly because these companies have influenced competition in local markets. For instance, after Amazon entered the Turkish market, the local Turkish retailers have lost a significant portion of their market shares to Amazon. Moreover, even though many American companies are making profits in foreign countries, they are paying only US taxes. This has led to heavy criticisms, prompting countries like France, Italy, Austria, Spain, and Britain to impose digital services taxes. But the US did not sit back and has also threatened to apply tariffs on imports from these countries.

To remedy this, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has been holding talks with 130 countries in order to create a proposal that would require multinational companies to pay a part of their income taxes where their customers are located. While the initial deadline for the OECD talks was December 2020, this date has been extended to 2021. Previously, the US withdrew from international talks on taxing large tech companies and has even been accused by France of trying to provoke the European Union (EU). However, the Biden administration has finally offered new proposals on taxing multinational corporations, which ask large multinational businesses to pay taxes based on their sales in each nation, calling for a global minimum corporate tax.

So far, Germany has been welcoming of this proposal, with the German finance ministry saying, “the constructive attitude of the new US administration is a decisive step which will make it much easier to reach agreement on how to tax the digital economy. The German government is confident that an agreement on this can be reached by the middle of 2021.” Pascal Saint-Amans, the head of tax administration at the OECD, has also shown appreciation of the US’s commitment, stating, “this reboots the negotiations and is very positive… It is a serious proposal with a chance to succeed in both the [international negotiations] and US Congress. Peace is more important than anything else and this would stabilize the [international corporate tax] system in the post-coronavirus environment.”

However, Robert Atkinson, the president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, believes otherwise and has declared that the proposal “would not only be discriminatory, as it selects certain firms for higher taxes, [but] it would be against US interests, as presumably much of the increased tax would be imposed on US technology companies doing business in other nations.”

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The success of international trade has brought various challenges, with the main one being the rise in carbon emissions. Trade is responsible for nearly a quarter of global carbon emissions, and around 25% of the 32 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions that enter the earth’s atmosphere every year are associated with the production and transportation of goods.

As international trade continues to produce a significant amount of carbon footprint, experts are attributing the rising figures in carbon emission to freight volume.

Freight Volumes

The global trade transport model is the system that facilitates the movement of all goods in international trade. The entire system uses GIS data and covers all the main roads, seaports, highways, rail stations, airports, and routes. As the global demand for goods and services continues to increase, exporters are utilizing transportation services more and more.

Inevitably, this has led to an increase in carbon footprint. So the big question remains: how is the shipping and export industry tackling this problem?

Addressing the Issue of Carbon Footprint

Though they might not seem obvious, there are practical solutions out there that could help lower carbon emissions in international trade. However, stakeholders in the export and import industry must first reduce the scale and speed of trade. Currently, international climate agreements have already excluded emissions from aviation, shipping, and trading policies. There are also emerging technologies and "trade tech" providing alternative eco-friendly transportation modes.

Here are some other steps to consider taking when trying to reduce the trade industry’s carbon footprints:

Shortening global supply chains
Reducing carbon-intensive trucking
Limiting trade liberalization to deter high carbon emissions
Encouraging the research and development of cleaner and environmentally-friendly energy sources

In order to curb carbon emissions in international trade, it is vital to design policies in line with supply chains that promote efficiency. International and national policies need to have the same agenda and ensure that exporters have the means and resources to meet expectations.

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In December 2020, the Zimbabwean government launched an agricultural commodities exchange called the Zimbabwe Agricultural Commodities Exchange. The government hopes it will increase market access and farmers' financial viability.

The key players in this exchange are:

Private companies like Financial Securities Exchange Limited (FINSEC), TSL Limited, and CBZ Holdings Limited. They have established the Zimbabwe Mercantile Exchange (ZMX) to enter the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) with the government to launch the exchange.
Finsec will provide the warehouse receipt system (WRS), while the Grain Marketing Board and TSL will provide transport, logistical, and storage facilities for farmers.
Regulatory oversight will be conducted by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Zimbabwe, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, and the Agricultural Marketing Authority.

The History Behind Zimbabwe Agricultural Commodities Exchange

Initially, Zimbabwe had a commodity exchange until it was closed in 2001 when the government gave the monopoly on corn and wheat trading to the state grain procurer, the Grain Marketing Board (GMB). In February 2011, the Zimbabwean government attempted to launch the commodity exchange once again, but due to the lack of political will and funding challenges, the project didn't launch.

Moreover, agriculture once again became a central issue with the land distribution program. Agriculture's GDP contribution, which is always experiencing fluctuations, reduced to less than 9% to its GDP in 2020. The fluctuations are mainly due to political interference and lack of investment.

The land distribution program confiscated land from commercial farmers and put it in communal farmers' hands. Critics of the program noted that these farmers lacked the experience, capital, and machinery to take full advantage of the land's commercial opportunity. But these critics also misunderstood the nuanced value of the land to Africans, which had cultural, spiritual, and historical significance.

But the lack of production from the farms has become a national security threat. Zimbabwe is not producing enough food, has a high unemployment rate, and unproductive industries (including agriculture). Thus, the government is desperate to maximize critical assets like farms.

The Possible Benefits of the Exchange

The exchange will utilize the WRS to ensure future delivery contracts for graded commodities such as grains, cotton, sugar, and coffee are bought and sold, so the government will no longer have to fix the prices of agricultural commodities.

The government hopes that the exchange will bring:

Various key players in the agricultural sector together, namely farmers, buyers, regulators, retailers, banking institutions, and warehouse operators
Direct access between farmers and buyers while closing arbitrage gaps caused by the middlemen
Efficient price discovery
Logistical and storage support for farmers

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The Democratic Republic of Congo is a vital player in the global economy. It is a resource-rich nation that supplies a substantial amount of the world's rare earth minerals, which are used in the components of many of the world's technological devices. However, in recent years, Congolese citizens have been suffering from the tech boom, which has ultimately led to the exploitation of Congolese minerals.

Frustrated by this situation, citizens of the Congo went online to make their voices heard. They created the hashtag campaign #CongoIsBleeding to highlight the effects of the technology boom on the DRC. The campaign has since been featured on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

The nation's troubles can be traced back to King Leopold II of Belgium's colonial rule from 1885 to 1908. The Belgian king used brutal and dehumanizing tactics to rule over the Congo. He extracted mostly rubber, ivory, and mineral resources from the nation.

After its independence, there have been multiple wars in the country, leaving it devastated. An estimate of 6 million people have died due to violence in the country since 1996, and the instability has resulted in the rise of over 100 rebel groups in the country. Both the national army and rebel groups have been accused of various human rights abuses.

The global interest in the vast nation is because it is rich in mineral resources, namely cobalt. 42% of all cobalt supplies are used to make the lithium-ion batteries and magnetic steel batteries used in cellphones, laptops, and electric cars, with Congo supplying [url=https://investingnews.com/daily/resource-investing/battery-metals-investing/cobalt-investing/top-cobalt-producing-countries-congo-china-canada-russia-australia/#:~:text=Democratic%20Republic%20of%20Congo&text=The%20Democratic%20Republic%20of%20Congo,to%20100%2C000%20MT%20in%202019.]60% of the world's[/url] cobalt. If a company is making a tech product, the cobalt it uses will most likely be from the DRC. However, over 40,000 child laborers are currently working in the Eastern DR Congo's mines, where they work for 12 hours to receive only $2 per day.

The region's instability is a disadvantage for its citizens but a boon for others. Wars, disease epidemics, widespread sexual violence, and extensive recruitment of child soldiers have made it difficult to govern. This lawless environment makes it easier for war crimes and crimes against humanity to occur. For decades, advocates and citizens of the DRC have pleaded with the government and international communities to bring peace to the nation. But its riches are just too tempting, especially to the technology companies and their customers.

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#EXIMA #minerals #rareminerals #business #internationalbusiness #industry

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has finally submitted an oil reform bill to lawmakers, which the industry has been waiting for more than a decade. The ministry of petroleum resources estimates that the delay has cost the country around $15 billion each year in lost investments.

Along with reforms being delayed, the Nigerian oil production has also declined from its 2010 peak, and gas production growth has plateaued. The bill in its current form will:

Establish an upstream regulatory commission that will recommend either assigning or revoking licenses for crude exploration to the oil minister
Contain a framework to privatize the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), giving it the means to raise external funds
Reduce and streamline royalties
Increase the number of money companies pay to local communities and for environmental cleanups
Introduce new dispute-resolution mechanisms between government and oil companies
Set up a midstream government infrastructure fund

Oil and gas are vital sectors for the Nigerian economy. They generate approximately 10% of the nation's GDP and over 85% of its total export revenues. Nigeria also has around $37 billion barrels of crude oil reserves, along with over 200 trillion cubic feet of proven natural gas reserves and 600 trillion in unproven natural gas reserves.

Nigeria has Africa's largest oil and gas reserves as well. But the industry has been at risk due to poor leadership, corruption, and environmental degradation for decades. Opaque licensing deals, unaccountable middlemen, a lack of refining capacity, and graft have seen the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) always leak value every year. The oil-rich Niger Delta also loses value through sabotage and pipeline theft, amounting to billions of dollars in annual revenues.

Much like other oil-producing nations, Nigeria has had to deal with a range of external factors that include:

Price and production declines in 2014/15 by OPEC to counter the US fracking industry
A surplus of supply due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Competition from renewable energy and energy transition projects for international capital
The 2020 oil price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia resulting in a sharp decline in oil prices

However, there is still hope that oil reforms will encourage investments, reduce corruption, and enable Nigeria to gain from its resources. Civil unrest has been brewing in Nigeria in recent months, so the government must bring positive economic news.

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Technology is transforming the way we produce, consume, and trade agricultural products. This change is also creating opportunities to enhance productivity and sustainability in agricultural production chains, which have managed to address some of the barriers to international food security.

Understanding Technological Revolution in Africa

Technology can create applications that play a huge role in agriculture. It can also be utilized to examine, assess, record, and evaluate data collected in food systems to reduce input, increase output, and advance information flow.

In 2017, approximately 16% of African agricultural food imports and 25% of agricultural food exports were traded within Africa. This is a clear indication that there is potential to enhance intra-regional trade. However, Africa continues to struggle with food safety and security. Thus, combining trade integration and advanced technologies is crucial to help countries in Africa improve their agricultural sectors and develop the economy.

Digital Technologies Can Revolutionize Agriculture in Africa
Technological transformation is also bringing agricultural transformation to Africa. Low-cost drones are helping African farmers make production decisions, land registration programs are utilizing distributed ledger technology (DLT), and pest and disease management projects are using mobile phones to deliver animal vaccine and management information to last-mile farmers.

Digital trading is allowing access to new markets in Africa as well, with over 260 operational e-commerce startups integrating rural communities and linking producers to consumers. Digital trade finance can also close the global trade finance gap of $1.6 trillion, in which Africa accounts for around $100 billion. Moreover, digital solutions may even increase access to trade finance for MSMEs, which are usually hit the hardest by this gap.

DLT, along with smart contracts, can also provide a platform for parties to exchange trade information digitally while auto-executing payments to lower the costs of trade finance. Moreover, digital trade certificates can facilitate trade by reducing fraud, eliminating paper documentation, and speeding up border procedures to reduce costs.

While agricultural revolution and trade technologies may not be attainable in Africa at the moment, countries can still create digital ecosystems that will assist farmers and entrepreneurs in the future. Advanced technologies will help Africa take advantage of great upcoming opportunities.

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Zimbabwe has banned mobile money platforms, with the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) blaming mobile money for the country’s currency problems. In its mid-term monetary policy statement, the bank stated that the critical weaknesses among payments solution services such as OneMoney, Mycash, Telecash, and Ecocash were:

1. Not adhering to Know Your Customer (KYC) principles
2. Creating money on platforms that are not backed by balances in the Mobile Money Trust Accounts
3. Weak Anti Money Laundering (AML) controls and infrastructure weaknesses
4. Not complying with regulatory directives
5. Agreeing to delay or bypass account freeze orders
6. Not deducting or canceling statutory taxes
7. Abusing agent, super-agent, and bulk payment wallets

Although various banks and telecom companies have tested mobile money, it became popularized by Econet Wireless. Ecocash, a mobile payment solution launched by Econet, is currently the most preferred method for making transactions, including even black market transactions, since it is a simple, ubiquitous, and cheap transaction platform. As the RBZ noticed that a bulk of black-market currency transactions took place on Ecocash, it started to blame the company for the increasing currency issues.

The RBZ's attack on Ecocash and mobile money transactions was seen as hypocritical. Mobile money is merely a transacting platform and is not responsible for monetary policy, something the RBZ has been floundering with instead. Many have thus blamed the Finance Ministry and RBZ since they were the ones who created a dual money system and borrowed heavily under an opaque system. The government and RBZ have also acquired a great amount of debt, which the taxpayers have to pay for instead. They were also criticized for creating a complex and confusing currency system that no one wanted to use.

Thus, many people believe the restrictions on mobile money transactions will have far-reaching consequences like exacerbating Zimbabwe's cash situation. Zimbabwe does not have enough cash within its financial system, but mobile money has made it easier to operate as a cashless society. It may even jeopardize income for up to 50,000 mobile money agents while excluding low-income earners and rural households from the financial system.

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On the eastern peninsula of Lagos in the Lekki Lagoon, 30,000 workers are currently working on what may be the world’s largest refinery. It is the latest and largest project by Dangote Oil Refinery, a company owned by the Nigeria-based Dangote Group.

The oil refinery could be a massive boon for the Nigerian economy. Nigeria spends $7 billion per year importing fuel, even though it has been drilling oil for decades. The refinery will enable Nigeria to produce enough fuel supplies for itself and its neighboring countries. Additionally, the refinery could add $13 billion or 2.3% to Nigeria’s GDP and employ up to 70,000 workers. However, it should be taken into account that these estimates were made before 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, oil prices have fallen precipitously and have affected investment plans for significant oil projects worldwide, making these numbers less accurate.

This refinery will also have the world’s most massive distillation column, which will separate crude into various fuels at different temperatures. It is expected to process 650,000 barrels of oil per day. The $15 billion petrochemical complex will have a gas processor and the world’s largest ammonia and urea plant as well, which is used to make plastic and fertilizer. Fertilizer exports are also expected to generate $2.5 billion in revenue annually, bringing even more benefits.

Crude for the refinery will be garnered from local suppliers and two oil fields the Dangote Group bought from Royal Dutch Shell Plc. The refinery will comply with emission rules, which will make it easier to sell in Europe and North America.

Unfortunately, the project has had multiple delays; the initial opening date was in 2016 but was pushed back to 2019. Now, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Dangote Group has pushed operations to late 2021, but industry observers believe the opening may not happen before 2023. Nonetheless, the project will be a significant step forward for the oil-producing nation.

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