Red Shield
Global Domination
Man I just don't know anymore
Essential The Africa the Media Doesn't Tell You About
- Thread starter TommyHilltrigga
- Start date
Man I just don't know anymore
loyola llothta
☭☭☭
Ethiopia have the best chance of being the China of Africa when it comes to developing but with that civil war idk now
West Africa welcomes data centre developments
VAUGHAN O'GRADY | 07 APRIL 2021
While South Africa is home to the largest concentration of data centres on the African continent, the appeal of West Africa seems to be growing, with new developments planned for both Senegal and Nigeria.
The first of these involves the Morocco-based data centre company N+One, which has said it is planning to build three data centres in the Senegalese capital Dakar.
Details of size and power density are not yet available, but we do know that N+One has partnered with the Ministry of Digital Economy and Telecommunications, along with the General Delegation for Rapid Entrepreneurship of Women and Youth (DER/FJ) and the Digital Technologies Park of Senegal (PTN), as part of the country’s Digital Senegal plan.
The Senegal Digital Technology Park in Dakar was first announced in 2015. Part-funded by the African Development Bank, the 25-hectare site aims to promote the country as a base for international technology companies.
Meanwhile, a company with a strong presence in South Africa and Kenya is now branching out into the west of the continent. Africa Data Centres has said it plans to build a data centre in Lagos, Nigeria.
Construction of the 10MW facility is apparently well underway, with the first phase due to go live in the middle of this year.
As with many new data centre projects there is a sustainability element. The company says it will be using non-potable water for cooling and utilizing solar energy to offset its reliance on the grid.
Currently, ADC has facilities in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Nairobi.
Nor are these the only recent announcements relating to West Africa and data centres. As we reported in March, Ghana’s only Tier IV data centre has reportedly been bought by fund management group African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM), which now promises to make the former Etix facility the largest data centre in the country.
West Africa welcomes data centre developments
VAUGHAN O'GRADY | 07 APRIL 2021
While South Africa is home to the largest concentration of data centres on the African continent, the appeal of West Africa seems to be growing, with new developments planned for both Senegal and Nigeria.
The first of these involves the Morocco-based data centre company N+One, which has said it is planning to build three data centres in the Senegalese capital Dakar.
Details of size and power density are not yet available, but we do know that N+One has partnered with the Ministry of Digital Economy and Telecommunications, along with the General Delegation for Rapid Entrepreneurship of Women and Youth (DER/FJ) and the Digital Technologies Park of Senegal (PTN), as part of the country’s Digital Senegal plan.
The Senegal Digital Technology Park in Dakar was first announced in 2015. Part-funded by the African Development Bank, the 25-hectare site aims to promote the country as a base for international technology companies.
Meanwhile, a company with a strong presence in South Africa and Kenya is now branching out into the west of the continent. Africa Data Centres has said it plans to build a data centre in Lagos, Nigeria.
Construction of the 10MW facility is apparently well underway, with the first phase due to go live in the middle of this year.
As with many new data centre projects there is a sustainability element. The company says it will be using non-potable water for cooling and utilizing solar energy to offset its reliance on the grid.
Currently, ADC has facilities in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Nairobi.
Nor are these the only recent announcements relating to West Africa and data centres. As we reported in March, Ghana’s only Tier IV data centre has reportedly been bought by fund management group African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM), which now promises to make the former Etix facility the largest data centre in the country.
West Africa welcomes data centre developments
Africa Data Centres building new Lagos Data Centre
Africa DataCentres would be expanding its existing data centre floor space in Kigali Rwanda, Nairobi Kenya, Johannesburg and Cape Town in South Africa.
By Oluniyi D. Ajao - 7th Apr 2021
Set to launch in mid-2021, Africa Data Centres, a business of the recently renamed Liquid Intelligent Technologies has announced the soon-to-be-completed new data centre in Lagos Nigeria.
Located in the Eko Atlantic, the new data centre will be ready in phases and eventually have 10 MW power capacity.
This would be Africa Data Centres’ first foray into the western African sub-region having expanded its floor space in southern and Eastern Africa over the years.
“This region is hungry for digitisation and to pave the way for our hyperscale customers to deploy digitisation solutions to West Africa, Africa Data Centres’ construction of a 10-megawatt data centre in Lagos is well underway.” says Stephane Duproz, CEO of Africa Data Centres.
With its goal to be the premier data centre company in Africa, the company recently acquired Africa’s only Tier-IV data centre (located in Samrand Business Park South Africa) from Standard Bank and inherited Neotel’s Midrand data centre as part of Liquid Telecom’s acquisition of Neotel.
Related
“Our expansion into Nigeria marks one aspect of the company’s growth on the continent,” says Duproz. “In response to demand generated by hyper scalers, key cloud operators and multinational enterprises already making use of our data centres, we have purchased the Samrand facility in South Africa and our key build in Midrand is underway. These same clients, who have trusted us with their expansions into Kenya and other African territories, have expressed their interest in bringing digitisation at scale to West Africa. Our leadership and best practice in data centre operations have made us the obvious choice in their expansion strategies.”
The creation of a digital hub is the beginning of digital transformation capabilities for the region. Naturally, says Duproz, multinational enterprises will wish to be housed under the same roof as our hyperscaler customers due to the lower latency enjoyed. As such, the combination of cloud providers and enterprises make these data centres marketplaces of the ecosystem – and, most importantly, he says, the base for the country’s digital and economic development. Additionally, keeping African data on African soil is another key consideration driving the demand for local data centre facilities. “We are proud to be ensuring that African data stays in Africa,” he says.
The new LOS1 Lagos Data Centre would feature among other things:
Having secured premium land in Lagos, Africa Data Centres has designed its latest data centre facility in line with environmental best practice, using grey, or non-potable water for cooling and utilising solar energy to offset its reliance on the grid.
The new data centre is expected to also serve as a POP for the local IXP – IXPN Lagos.
Africa Data Centres building new Lagos Data Centre
Africa DataCentres would be expanding its existing data centre floor space in Kigali Rwanda, Nairobi Kenya, Johannesburg and Cape Town in South Africa.
By Oluniyi D. Ajao - 7th Apr 2021
Set to launch in mid-2021, Africa Data Centres, a business of the recently renamed Liquid Intelligent Technologies has announced the soon-to-be-completed new data centre in Lagos Nigeria.
Located in the Eko Atlantic, the new data centre will be ready in phases and eventually have 10 MW power capacity.
This would be Africa Data Centres’ first foray into the western African sub-region having expanded its floor space in southern and Eastern Africa over the years.
“This region is hungry for digitisation and to pave the way for our hyperscale customers to deploy digitisation solutions to West Africa, Africa Data Centres’ construction of a 10-megawatt data centre in Lagos is well underway.” says Stephane Duproz, CEO of Africa Data Centres.
With its goal to be the premier data centre company in Africa, the company recently acquired Africa’s only Tier-IV data centre (located in Samrand Business Park South Africa) from Standard Bank and inherited Neotel’s Midrand data centre as part of Liquid Telecom’s acquisition of Neotel.
Related
- Amazon to open data centres in South Africa
- SACS Cable to boost connectivity in Africa via Teraco Data Centres
“Our expansion into Nigeria marks one aspect of the company’s growth on the continent,” says Duproz. “In response to demand generated by hyper scalers, key cloud operators and multinational enterprises already making use of our data centres, we have purchased the Samrand facility in South Africa and our key build in Midrand is underway. These same clients, who have trusted us with their expansions into Kenya and other African territories, have expressed their interest in bringing digitisation at scale to West Africa. Our leadership and best practice in data centre operations have made us the obvious choice in their expansion strategies.”
The creation of a digital hub is the beginning of digital transformation capabilities for the region. Naturally, says Duproz, multinational enterprises will wish to be housed under the same roof as our hyperscaler customers due to the lower latency enjoyed. As such, the combination of cloud providers and enterprises make these data centres marketplaces of the ecosystem – and, most importantly, he says, the base for the country’s digital and economic development. Additionally, keeping African data on African soil is another key consideration driving the demand for local data centre facilities. “We are proud to be ensuring that African data stays in Africa,” he says.
The new LOS1 Lagos Data Centre would feature among other things:
- 5 data halls with 2000m² of white space. World-class rated 3 data centre located in Lagos, in the special Economic Zone called Eko Atlantic City.
- Maximum Client IT load of 5 MW (Megawatt)
- Interconnection of all Africa Data Centres’ sites across the continent
- Hot aisle and Cold aisle Containment done to maintain cooling efficiencies
- Connected to 24/7 Security Operations Centre and Service Control Centre
- Low-pressure gas system installed in the data halls triggered by double knock detection of fire alarm
- Colocation: Private Cage, Secured racks, Power Metering and Cross Connects
- HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning), Power and Building critical systems managed and monitored 24/7
Having secured premium land in Lagos, Africa Data Centres has designed its latest data centre facility in line with environmental best practice, using grey, or non-potable water for cooling and utilising solar energy to offset its reliance on the grid.
The new data centre is expected to also serve as a POP for the local IXP – IXPN Lagos.
Africa Data Centres building new Lagos Data Centre
loyola llothta
☭☭☭
Secure Da Bag
Veteran
WODE MAYA goes to South Sudan.
Malawi Issues 86 Licenses For Cannabis Production
Published on April 10, 2021
By Staff Writer
Malawi’s Cannabis Regulatory Authority said on Friday they had issued 86 licenses to 35 companies and cooperatives to venture into cannabis cultivation for industrial hemp production.
Boniface Kadzamila the Board Chairman of Cannabis Regulatory Authority made the announcement from Lilongwe on Friday afternoon.
He said that a total of 41 companies applied but only 35 of them satisfied the requirements.
According to him the authority has issued licenses for cultivation, processing and storage and has not yet issued any license for export of cannabis.
A recent analysis by Invegrow Limited, one of the firms that conducted research on industrial hemp, found that a kilogram of industrial hemp could fetch U$1,444 on the market that there is potential for direct annual benefit for Malawians in excess of U$ 135,440,973 on 16.5 hectares or U$8,803,663 per five hectares.
The analysis further indicated that the crop has ready markets whose global value chain is worth U$9billion thus giving local Malawi investors a basis to take up cannabis production.
Malawi Issues 86 Licenses For Cannabis Production
Published on April 10, 2021
By Staff Writer
Malawi’s Cannabis Regulatory Authority said on Friday they had issued 86 licenses to 35 companies and cooperatives to venture into cannabis cultivation for industrial hemp production.
Boniface Kadzamila the Board Chairman of Cannabis Regulatory Authority made the announcement from Lilongwe on Friday afternoon.
He said that a total of 41 companies applied but only 35 of them satisfied the requirements.
According to him the authority has issued licenses for cultivation, processing and storage and has not yet issued any license for export of cannabis.
A recent analysis by Invegrow Limited, one of the firms that conducted research on industrial hemp, found that a kilogram of industrial hemp could fetch U$1,444 on the market that there is potential for direct annual benefit for Malawians in excess of U$ 135,440,973 on 16.5 hectares or U$8,803,663 per five hectares.
The analysis further indicated that the crop has ready markets whose global value chain is worth U$9billion thus giving local Malawi investors a basis to take up cannabis production.
Malawi Issues 86 Licenses For Cannabis Production
loyola llothta
☭☭☭
How you cry like a bytch cause China has such a monopoly on funding shyt in Africa or whatever but won't spend a dime over there yourself?
I told cats the US don’t invest in infrastructure but propaganda and weapons
Secure Da Bag
Veteran
How you cry like a bytch cause China has such a monopoly on funding shyt in Africa or whatever but won't spend a dime over there yourself?
By "market", they mean IMF, World Bank, sanctions, and "diplomacy" (ex: Firestone).
Ghana's farmers eye sweet success from chocolate
By Ijeoma NdukweBBC Business
There is a lot of money in chocolate but the producers of the raw material see very little of it.
Last year the retail industry was worth $107bn (£78bn), according to one projection, but Ghana - the world's second largest cocoa producer - earned just around $2bn.
This is a familiar pattern for many African countries where the economy is still shaped by a colonial relationship in which they export commodities to be processed elsewhere.
Ghana's President, Nana Akufo-Addo, served notice on this last year when he told an audience in Switzerland that "there can be no future prosperity for the Ghanaian people" if this way of doing things continues.
The country currently processes about 30% of its cocoa crop, but despite plans for growing the domestic chocolate industry there are still many obstacles in the way.
Ambitious cocoa farmer Nana Aduna II - a traditional ruler, who inherited his 80-acre plantation two decades ago - is well aware of the difficulties.
"The equipment to make chocolate is very expensive. Plus we don't have a local dairy industry"", Source: Nana Aduna II, Source description: Cocoa farmer and entrepreneur, Image: Nana Aduna II in his plantation
He is among a number of Ghanaian entrepreneurs who are keen to seize the opportunity to process cocoa in Ghana itself, before exporting a more lucrative finished product.
But when it comes to the sweet stuff, Nana Aduna "decided not to go down the chocolate route", he tells the BBC.
"The equipment to make chocolate is very expensive," he explains. "Plus we don't have a local sugar industry and we don't have a local dairy industry."
World's largest:. . .
Instead he makes an income from offering tours where visitors can witness the fermentation process and observe how the cocoa pods are left outdoors to dry in the sun before they are processed into teas, wines and cacao nibs to be sold.
To make chocolate, on the other hand, would require Nana Aduna to import milk and sugar, which would drive up the cost of production.
He also says producing the confectionary requires consistent refrigeration, but the high cost of the equipment to achieve that is a major obstacle for entrepreneurs without substantial funds.
Image copyrightOHENE COCOA
Image captionNana Aduna makes chocolate wine and tea for export from Ghana
The farmer's teas and wines are not typically associated with cocoa, but the goods are selling well, according to Nana Aduna, who says he can make 15 to 20 times more on these products than the raw beans.
Chocolate could have more of a mass market appeal and also offer good returns but for the moment, he says that's not viable.
There are others with ambitions to set up a processing plant in Ghana but who are currently taking the cocoa beans overseas.
They include British-Ghanaian farm-owner and chocolate-maker Raphael Dapaah, who is based in London.
In 2016, he decided to add value to the cocoa that his family has been growing in Ghana for six decades by co-founding premium vegan brand Dapaah Chocolates.
He refines batches of chocolate in his London factory incorporating ingredients such as coconut milk powder and sea salt from Ghana's Atlantic coast.
Relocate to Ghana
The former civil servant, who has global ambitions for his brand, says setting up production in the UK was a carefully considered strategy as it is closer to important markets.
"Once we're able to establish a foothold in the UK and across Europe and North America, we would then relocate the bulk of our production to Ghana," Mr Dapaah says.
Nevertheless, he acknowledges that infrastructure challenges in Ghana also influenced his decision to set up shop in the UK.
He highlights similar concerns to Nana Aduna about the business environment in Ghana.
He says he was worried about the inconsistent supply of energy in rural parts of Ghana and the large upfront capital expenditure required to buy equipment such as refrigerated lorries to transport the finished products to the port.
Image copyrightDAPAAH CHOCOLATE
Image captionRaphael Dapaah hopes to process his chocolate in Ghana but says there are some logisitcal issues at the moment
Access to funds is a big problem and Nana Aduna says that high interest rates on bank loans are an issue for fledgling businesses and at the moment he cannot afford to borrow money.
"You cannot grow a business when you have to service interest rates of 18-20% or even more," he says.
But the government has pledged to address these structural issues.
'Break the narrative'
Echoing the president's words, Trade and Industry Minister Alan Kyerematen says that industrialisation is a major tenet of government policy.
"It only makes sense that the most important commodity in our country, which is cocoa… should become the target for a major programme of industrialisation," he tells the BBC.
"If you look at all the most powerful nations globally they also happen to be the most industrialised economies."
Ghana, however, is not known for its chocolate.
There are some local brands, like Golden Tree and artisanal label '57 Chocolate, but President Akufo-Addo's government still needs to do a lot of work to overcome production issues.
His One District One Factory programme aims to kickstart industrialisation by providing the infrastructure for agribusiness.
The establishment of processing plants in some of the big cocoa-growing areas is a key goal.
Image copyrightOHENE COCOA
Image captionGhana processes about 30% of its cocoa crop and the rest is exported
The fact that it has become easier for the private sector to invest in food processing is a welcome move, according to commodities expert Ekow Dontoh, who works for Bloomberg news.
He also highlights the big tax rebate available to processing companies that set up in the country's free zones - designated areas to encourage economic activity - in a bid to help them export.
"There have been signs that there are prospects coming up that are exciting," he says.
"All these are laudable ideas, [but] some of them still have teething problems. In principle we can say that there's been some good steps, but the full impact is yet to be shown in the economy."
Perhaps when the path is fully cleared, the likes of Nana Aduna and Mr Dapaah will become part of the country's chocolate-exporting sector.
Mr Dapaah says this is his ambition, which developed once he realised the imbalance in earnings between cocoa producers like his family and Western chocolate manufacturers and brands.
"I thought it was about time our family took action to break that narrative… [and about] how I could return to Ghana and be of service to my family and the ambitions of the nation."
By Ijeoma NdukweBBC Business
- 10 April 2021
- Africa
There is a lot of money in chocolate but the producers of the raw material see very little of it.
Last year the retail industry was worth $107bn (£78bn), according to one projection, but Ghana - the world's second largest cocoa producer - earned just around $2bn.
This is a familiar pattern for many African countries where the economy is still shaped by a colonial relationship in which they export commodities to be processed elsewhere.
Ghana's President, Nana Akufo-Addo, served notice on this last year when he told an audience in Switzerland that "there can be no future prosperity for the Ghanaian people" if this way of doing things continues.
The country currently processes about 30% of its cocoa crop, but despite plans for growing the domestic chocolate industry there are still many obstacles in the way.
Ambitious cocoa farmer Nana Aduna II - a traditional ruler, who inherited his 80-acre plantation two decades ago - is well aware of the difficulties.
"The equipment to make chocolate is very expensive. Plus we don't have a local dairy industry"", Source: Nana Aduna II, Source description: Cocoa farmer and entrepreneur, Image: Nana Aduna II in his plantation
He is among a number of Ghanaian entrepreneurs who are keen to seize the opportunity to process cocoa in Ghana itself, before exporting a more lucrative finished product.
But when it comes to the sweet stuff, Nana Aduna "decided not to go down the chocolate route", he tells the BBC.
"The equipment to make chocolate is very expensive," he explains. "Plus we don't have a local sugar industry and we don't have a local dairy industry."
World's largest:. . .
Instead he makes an income from offering tours where visitors can witness the fermentation process and observe how the cocoa pods are left outdoors to dry in the sun before they are processed into teas, wines and cacao nibs to be sold.
To make chocolate, on the other hand, would require Nana Aduna to import milk and sugar, which would drive up the cost of production.
He also says producing the confectionary requires consistent refrigeration, but the high cost of the equipment to achieve that is a major obstacle for entrepreneurs without substantial funds.
Image copyrightOHENE COCOA
Image captionNana Aduna makes chocolate wine and tea for export from Ghana
The farmer's teas and wines are not typically associated with cocoa, but the goods are selling well, according to Nana Aduna, who says he can make 15 to 20 times more on these products than the raw beans.
Chocolate could have more of a mass market appeal and also offer good returns but for the moment, he says that's not viable.
There are others with ambitions to set up a processing plant in Ghana but who are currently taking the cocoa beans overseas.
They include British-Ghanaian farm-owner and chocolate-maker Raphael Dapaah, who is based in London.
In 2016, he decided to add value to the cocoa that his family has been growing in Ghana for six decades by co-founding premium vegan brand Dapaah Chocolates.
He refines batches of chocolate in his London factory incorporating ingredients such as coconut milk powder and sea salt from Ghana's Atlantic coast.
Relocate to Ghana
The former civil servant, who has global ambitions for his brand, says setting up production in the UK was a carefully considered strategy as it is closer to important markets.
"Once we're able to establish a foothold in the UK and across Europe and North America, we would then relocate the bulk of our production to Ghana," Mr Dapaah says.
Nevertheless, he acknowledges that infrastructure challenges in Ghana also influenced his decision to set up shop in the UK.
He highlights similar concerns to Nana Aduna about the business environment in Ghana.
He says he was worried about the inconsistent supply of energy in rural parts of Ghana and the large upfront capital expenditure required to buy equipment such as refrigerated lorries to transport the finished products to the port.
Image copyrightDAPAAH CHOCOLATE
Image captionRaphael Dapaah hopes to process his chocolate in Ghana but says there are some logisitcal issues at the moment
Access to funds is a big problem and Nana Aduna says that high interest rates on bank loans are an issue for fledgling businesses and at the moment he cannot afford to borrow money.
"You cannot grow a business when you have to service interest rates of 18-20% or even more," he says.
But the government has pledged to address these structural issues.
'Break the narrative'
Echoing the president's words, Trade and Industry Minister Alan Kyerematen says that industrialisation is a major tenet of government policy.
"It only makes sense that the most important commodity in our country, which is cocoa… should become the target for a major programme of industrialisation," he tells the BBC.
"If you look at all the most powerful nations globally they also happen to be the most industrialised economies."
Ghana, however, is not known for its chocolate.
There are some local brands, like Golden Tree and artisanal label '57 Chocolate, but President Akufo-Addo's government still needs to do a lot of work to overcome production issues.
His One District One Factory programme aims to kickstart industrialisation by providing the infrastructure for agribusiness.
The establishment of processing plants in some of the big cocoa-growing areas is a key goal.
Image copyrightOHENE COCOA
Image captionGhana processes about 30% of its cocoa crop and the rest is exported
The fact that it has become easier for the private sector to invest in food processing is a welcome move, according to commodities expert Ekow Dontoh, who works for Bloomberg news.
He also highlights the big tax rebate available to processing companies that set up in the country's free zones - designated areas to encourage economic activity - in a bid to help them export.
"There have been signs that there are prospects coming up that are exciting," he says.
"All these are laudable ideas, [but] some of them still have teething problems. In principle we can say that there's been some good steps, but the full impact is yet to be shown in the economy."
Perhaps when the path is fully cleared, the likes of Nana Aduna and Mr Dapaah will become part of the country's chocolate-exporting sector.
Mr Dapaah says this is his ambition, which developed once he realised the imbalance in earnings between cocoa producers like his family and Western chocolate manufacturers and brands.
"I thought it was about time our family took action to break that narrative… [and about] how I could return to Ghana and be of service to my family and the ambitions of the nation."
loyola llothta
☭☭☭
Red Shield
Global Domination
Yep
China's the only game in town right now for major development
loyola llothta
☭☭☭
Botswana I think will be the first African country to develop
Ethiopia or an East African Federation of states will be the first modern African superpower, provided they can get their internal issues under control within ten years