Africa’s Potential

Good News Magazine & Africa Good News.

Africa’s Potential full heartedly supports two positive and good iniatives, Good News Magazine, the magazine which is free from famous people/faces and only promotes people from the daily walk of life. Inspirational news and so far really clean from commercials.

There’s a African equivalent on Facebook, Africa Good News, which Africa’s Potential highly recommend for all our blogreaders. This group is based on the online news portal www.africagoodnews.com, which is dedicated to offering a fresh perspective on Africa, a continent of hope and opportunity.

A magazine such as Good News Magazine and Africa Good News has really filled a large gap in the market, when it comes to ONLY promoting positive news.

Unfortunately the Good News Magazine is so far only  in Swedish. Hoping for a English version soon to take on the world.

VC4Africa: Connecting entrepreneurs with investors.

VC4Africa was started as a LinkedIn group in the spring of 2008 and has grown organically into what is now the largest online community dedicated to Venture Capital in Africa. The VC4Africa community and related platforms have always been free for anyone to join, and the entire network and its content remain open and accessible.

Currently the community can be found on social networking platforms like LinkedIn (+/- 3.900 members), LinkedIn Incubators (+/- 2.200), VC4Africa.com (+/- 3.300 members), VC4Africa.biz (+/- 3.400), Facebook Group (+/- 550 members) and Twitter (+/- 5.000). Members of the VC4Africa community use these social platforms to connect with other members and to exchange knowledge, information and contacts.

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SWEACC: Seminar the 27th of January regarding the East-African emerging market.

The Tanzanian Ambassador Muhammed Mazale and the Rwandan Ambassador Jaqcueline Mukangira during the SWEACC inauguration in Nov 2010.

The newly created Swedish – East African Chamber of Commerce (SWEACC) will be holding it’s first seminar during 2011 regarding the endless business possibilities regarding the emerging market of East-Africa. The overall objective is to give the participants, the business people and entrepreneurs concrete down to earth information of importance for future business ventures in the region.

The newly appointed Ambassador to Tanzania, Mr Mzale,  will make his first public speech in Sweden on this occasion.

Information regarding the EAC, the union and customs will be addressed. The inner market including 130 million people and the endless possibilities regarding technical development, mobile phone systems, relations with EU and Sweden.  Swedfund priorities investments in infrastructure, ICT, health, as well as How to find partners in EAC.

The mutual interst now is “trade not aid”!

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The Lion Kings?

The average African economy will outpace its Asian counterpart

MUCH has been written about the rise of the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India and China) and the shift in economic power eastward as Asia outruns the rest of the world. But the surprising success story of the past decade lies elsewhere. An analysis by The Economist finds that over the ten years to 2010, no fewer than six of the world’s ten fastest-growing economies were in sub-Saharan Africa (see table).

The only BRIC country to make the top ten was China, in second place behind Angola. The other five African sprinters were Nigeria, Ethiopia, Chad, Mozambique and Rwanda, all with annual growth rates of around 8% or more. During the two decades to 2000 only one African economy (Uganda) made the top ten, against nine from Asia. On IMF forecasts Africa will grab seven of the top ten places over the next five years (our ranking excludes countries with a population of less than 10m as well as Iraq and Afghanistan, which could both rebound strongly in the years ahead).

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Ushahidi & Hivos launches Uchaguzi Uganda, monitoring the Ugandan President Election.

Curious to know more what happens to presidential candidates Museveni, Moi, Besigye and other candidates at the upcoming presidential campaigns for the Ugandan elections in February 2011? Powered by the Ushahidi & Hivos platform they’ve now launched the , Uchaguzi Uganda site. On the picture to the left, main opposition leader Kizza Besigye’s campaign in Kampala. Will nominated Besigye be able to rock President Joweri Museveni, that has held the Presidency since the 29th of January, 1986? Follow the Ugandan elections and the campaigns on Uchaguzi Uganda. You’re able to monitor if there has been any registered hostilities, ballot issues, positive events, police action, e.t.c.

“Rwanda’s road to progress” – by Josh Ruxin.

One of the persons that made a great and lasting impact on me when I was in Kigali, is the very humble and at the same time very energetic entrepreneur and professor from Columbia University, Mr Josh Ruxin. Josh has worked and lived with his family in the Capital of Rwanda, Kigali, for a few years now and this article is an update on what is going on in Rwanda at this very moment. Here is his take on Rwanda which last year was the number one reformer in the world, and last month, the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report had Rwanda leading its East African counterparts in economic innovation, financial markets, and infrastructure. The photo is taken by Kit Cody at Rwanda Works and shows how fiber optic cable is being installed all over the country. Josh’s the Founder and Director of the Millenium Villages in Rwanda, he’s also the Founder of Rwanda Works, as well as the Access Project. Here’s his last article from the New York Times named “Rwanda’s road to progress”.

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“If they can do it in India, we can do the same in Kenya!”

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The Launch of the Swedish – East African Chamber of Commerce (SWEACC).

The 16th of November 2010 marks the date when the newly established Swedish – East African Chamber of Commerce (SWEACC) will be holding their launching-event at the Swedish Trade’s headquarter in Stockholm. Relations between Sweden and eastern Africa go back at least 50 years. East-Africa is made up by Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda who have now formed a political/commercial union, the East African Community (EAC). Officials from the Swedish Foreign Ministry, Trade organizations, Ambassadors and independent entrepreneurs all focused to do business with the EAC will appear at SWEACCs launch.

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