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Benin Named Fastest Place to Start Business Online – Thanks to COVID ?

COTONOU, BENIN – Benin set up a service early in the COVID-19 pandemic to allow people to register their business online, and now the West African country is the world’s fastest place to start a business, according to a U.N. agency.

Sandra Idossou, owner of a store selling art in Cotonou, Benin, submitted her business application online and received approval and legal documents within three hours.

She said if the e-registration system did not exist and she instead had to go stand in line to start a business, she never would have done it.

To create her business, Idossou went online to monentreprise.bj, a platform in Benin to create and formally start a business. The site was launched in February 2020 by the country’s Investment and Export Promotion Agency, which did not want people to come into their offices during the pandemic.

Applicants fill out the required information, download the required documents and make a payment online. The documents arrive at the agency’s headquarters, where staff verify the information and mail business certificates to those who are approved.

Laurent Gangbes, general manager of the Investment and Export Promotion Agency, said in 2019 the agency was at 28,000 businesses created. In 2020, the figure went to over 41,000. He said the agency now processes an application in about three hours.

The online service helped make Benin the fastest place in the world to start a company, according to the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development.

The businesses must be located in Benin; however, people abroad can use the service if they are in the process of setting up a business inside the country.

Economists like Albert Honlonkou see big benefits for entrepreneurs.

He said the online service reduces costs, reduces delays and avoids corruption. It also avoids carrying papers around and, in the COVID period, it avoids contacts.

The Investment and Export Promotion Agency said it will continue to review the procedures and work with the private sector to further improve the process.

Source: Voice of America

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Adal Poultry Enterprise Demonstrating Poultry’s Potential

Adal Poultry Enterprise was established more than 20 years ago at the outskirts of the town of Keren. “Good things come to those who are prepared to work hard on their goal,” says Mr. Omer Yessuf, the acting manager of the firm. We have conducted a brief interview with him, and the excerpts follow.

The enterprise was established in the year 2000 with a 600 thousand capital, which has now grown to more than five million Nakfa. Initially, poultry farming was perceived as an impracticable and difficult enterprise considering the losses farmers were experiencing. However, determined to grow and expand in this sector, Adal Poultry Enterprise has been exemplary in the commercial poultry farming sector.

“Initially we started the business with around 2700 chicks bought from private hatching enterprises at small poultry houses. Currently we are operating with around 18 thousand chickens. The chicks were originally imported from countries such as Holland, Germany and Hungary. But with the advent of the bird flu we are limiting our sources in line with the Ministry of Agriculture’s (MoA’s) plan to control diseases. As a result, the diseases have become known and easy to administer,” says Mr. Omer.

Animal feed for the chicken come from different sources. From 2001 to 2011 it was bought from plants such as Dibarwa Animal Feed Plant. But since 2011 the enterprise has been producing feed for its own use. The price of chicken and eggs is greatly influenced by the price of feed at the market. When the enterprise started to produce on its own, it became possible to store feed for a longer period of time and therefore avoid the market price instability, which indirectly influences the price tag of their produce. They also buy milled fish from the Department of Marine resources and calcium from Ghedem Gement Factory.

This has enhanced their ability to manage the content of feed which is tested in a laboratory. Accordingly, they feed the chicken 18 percent milled fish, 12 percent byproduct of sesame, one percent calcium and 70 percent sorghum. They utilize chopped straw from their farm to bed the chicken. The chicken are always locked inside and they must check the floor continuously. Mr Omer says “the floor has to be dry always and if it gets wet it’s an indication that there is an issue”.

Mr. Omer said that during the on-going COVID-19 crisis, the enterprise made big profits as the supply of chicken was very limited and the chicken they produced fetched more remunerative prices. Presently, the firm is earning around one million Nakfa before tax. In the coming year they have a plan to expand their ventures to include chicken production intended for meat. Mr. Omer says this will be very lucrative because these chicken are ready for sale within 45 days.

Mr. Omer holds a firm opinion that any work that began with enthusiasm and zeal bears the fruits of success. In the present scenario, he calls on farmers not to depend only on one type of activity but to add various supplementary enterprises to the existing one to raise the farm’s income and attain the government’s aim of achieving food security. “When we started as a small scale poultry farm for meat and egg production, we also included dairy farm. Currently we have more than twenty cows,” he says.

Moreover, in the context of the enterprise they are operating, Mr. Omer is of the opinion that sanitary practices are key to the success of poultry farming as it minimizes the incidence of diseases. If you can keep the chicken disease free, you can make profit. “After starting the business and we experienced a lot, we have acquired more knowledge on how to keep chicken. We always learn from our mistakes. We have experienced diseases in the past and incurred enormous lose on our business. This was because it takes time to identify the diseases and apply the necessary medication,” says Mr. Omer. In order to avoid this they follow cautious procedures in the feeding system, poultry housing, ventilation and the chicken’s exposure. They also vaccinate the chicken regularly. Though they have no particular vet that they work with, when there is an issue they are helped by experts. Under normal circumstances, all of the feeding and vaccinating is supervised by him. The chicken begin to be vaccinated right from their early age.

Mr. Omer said that they have a plan to expand the capacity of their poultry farm to 50 thousand egg producing and ten thousand chicken intended for meat production step by step in different phases.

When asked why in phases, he said they will invest their savings from the enterprise itself for expansion without financial assistance from other sources. He also said he wants the MoA to launch innovative programs for small scale poultry farmers. He is happy that the government has now initiated programs to assist small scale poultry farmers and interested households which he envisions will further help in the expansion of poultry farms in rural areas.

Mr. Omer offers his advice to interested start-ups who engage in poultry farming. He says that the imported chicken are different from the indigenous chicken which are more resilient. Those who want to invest in poultry must first learn how to manage chicken and consult experts. This will help them avoid unnecessary and unexpected losses.

Mr. Omer concluded by saying that their enterprise is a proof that if one is determined, success is inevitable even under the most adverse conditions. He has high expectation from the government to provide subsidy on the purchase of chicks and feeds for small scale poultry farmers. Besides, he hopes to see a hatchery established for the production of good breed of chicks suited to the different climate conditions in the country.

Adal Poultry Enterprise, which has given job opportunities to around 50 workers, has outlets in Keren and Asmara where eggs are sold at fair prices.

Source: Ministry of Information Eritrea

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Egypt Opens 33rd Edition Of Int’l Agricultural Expo For Africa, Mideast

CAIRO, Egypt opened yesterday, the 33rd edition of the Sahara expo, the International Agricultural Exhibition for Africa and the Middle East, at the Egypt International Exhibition Centre.

Under the auspices of the Egyptian Ministry of Culture and Land Reclamation, the four-day expo is sponsored by a number of Egyptian national banks and investors, gathering dozens of exhibitors from Egypt, China, Russia, Italy, the Netherlands, Jordan and Lebanon.

“You might have noticed that the whole world has started to focus on the agriculture sector, due to the belief in its importance, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic,” Egyptian Agriculture Minister, El-Sayed el-Quseir told a press conference, after inaugurating the expo, noting that the sector is flexible and shock-absorbing.

Agriculture constitutes about 15 percent of Egypt’s GDP and more than 25 percent of employment in the most populous Arab country, Quseir said, stressing that, Egypt currently exports more than 350 kinds of agricultural products to over 150 countries.

Exhibitors featured a variety of products related to the agricultural field, including chemicals, fertilisers, pesticides, seeds, seedlings, as well as, machinery, including tractors, loaders, irrigation systems and spare parts.

One of the Egyptian exhibitors, Univest Agri Systems, displayed part of a centre-pivot irrigator with all its metal parts made in Egypt.

“We’re the first purely Egyptian manufacturer of pivot irrigation systems in the country,” said Moemen Zaki, vice president of Univest Agri Systems for product and development.

“Our focus on the agricultural sector is very important because it coincides with the country’s policy, to save water and restructure the irrigation system.”

Italian company, Greenhas Group, also featured some of its innovative fertilisers and bio-stimulants, with an eye on expanding its business in the Middle East and North Africa.

Agostino Giambelli, marketing and sales director of the group, said, it was the company’s first time to take part in the Sahara expo, with the hope to support its distributors in Egypt.

“We also hope to operate our business in other African countries. With a research centre, we are a producer of fertilisers and would like to promote through this platform our products and distributors in northern and eastern Africa,” Giambelli said.

Scheduled to end this Wednesday, Sahara 2021 expo attracted a lot of visitors, including farmers, experts, engineers and businessmen engaged in the agricultural field.

“Such exhibitions serve as a link between farmers and exhibitors, because they gather all exhibitors under one roof, enabling us to know the latest products and agricultural material available in Egypt,” said Hamdy Anwar, an old Egyptian agricultural engineer.

Jordanian farm owner, Jihad Al-Othman described the event as “a good and big exhibition.”

“We came to the exhibition to see development in the production of fertilisers and fodder, because we greatly need them in Jordan. We visit such exhibitions to develop our plantation and production,” he said.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

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Tunisia’s president says necessary to amend constitution

TUNIS— Tunisian President Kais Saied has announced plans to amend the constitution and form a new government months after he dismissed the prime minister and suspended parliament in moves his

critics called a coup.

Speaking to two TV stations after an evening stroll through the heart of the capital on Saturday, Saied said he would form a new government “as soon as possible” after selecting “the people with the most integrity”. But he declined to give a specific timeline.

Saied also said it was necessary to change the constitution.

“The Tunisian people rejected the constitution,” he said, while adding that the charter is “not eternal”.

“We can introduce amendments to the text,” he said.

Elected in late 2019, the legal theorist and former law professor has billed himself as the ultimate interpreter of the constitution. He invoked that power on July 25 to fire the prime minister, freeze parliament and assume all executive powers.

The power grab came amid chronic legislative infighting that had crippled governance and was followed by a sweeping anti-corruption drive that has included detentions, travel bans and house arrests of politicians,

businessmen and judicial officials.

Saied has yet to appoint a new government or reveal a roadmap towards normality, despite repeated demands by political parties.

His moves have been criticised by judges and opponents, in particular the Islamist-inspired Ennahdha party, the largest bloc in parliament.

But some Tunisians, exasperated by their political class and its perceived corruption, impunity and failure to improve living standards more than a decade since the country’s protests launched the Arab Spring, see them as a

necessary evil.

The chants of “Dignity!” and “Work!” that filled the air during the revolution have again started to sound at demonstrations.

In images posted on the Tunisian presidency’s Facebook page Saturday, Saied was seen walking down the capital’s Bourguiba Avenue as a crowd sang the national anthem, before he stopped to speak with the TV channels.

Earlier that day on the same central thoroughfare, a man set himself on fire, later dying of his burns.

The act of self-immolation followed another just days before protesting living conditions and recalling the street vendor who burned himself alive on December 17, 2010 and launched both Tunisia’s revolution and the Arab Spring.

Hailed as a rare democratic success story in the Middle East and North Africa, Tunisia was struggling with dire economic woes and the Covid-19 pandemic before being plunged into the latest political crisis.

Earlier this month, diplomats from G7 nations — Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the US — called on Saied to return Tunisia to “a constitutional order” and urged him to convey a clear way forward.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

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Zambia’s new leader vows ‘zero tolerance’ on corruption

LUSAKA— Zambia’s new President Hakainde Hichilema vowed to strengthen anti-corruption efforts and show “zero tolerance” for graft, in his first speech to parliament.

Hichilema, elected last month in a landslide, said the government would devise a mechanism to recover state assets allegedly stolen under the southern African country’s previous regime.

On his arrival at the National Assembly, Hichilema received a 21-gun salute and inspected the guard of honor before entering hand-in-hand with his wife, Mutinta.

Dozens of supporters, clad in red, sang his campaign songs.

“We have a zero-tolerance policy on corruption in all its forms,” Hichilema said, speaking in a medical mask and white gloves before lawmakers.

“There will be no sacred cows in the fight,” he added. “We will increase the benefits of being honest and the cost of being corrupt.”

Hichilema promised to strengthen investigative wings agencies and create special courts to hear corruption cases.

He also outlined an economic recovery plan to fix the impacts of unsustainable borrowing and mismanagement that caused copper-rich Zambia to default on its debt last year the first country in Africa to do so in the coronavirus era.

Rising living costs, unemployment, and everyday hardship boosted Hichilema’s popularity, particularly among the majority of young voters.

He beat his long-term rival Edgar Lungu in Aug 12 polls by a landslide of almost one million votes a victory hailed as a democratic milestone for opposition movements in Africa.

“We have indeed inherited an economy that is in dire straits and requires bold and decisive action,” Hichilema said, vowing to boost key sectors like mining, agriculture, and tourism.

He has vowed to secure a bailout deal with the International Monetary Fund — a drawn-out negotiation process started under Lungu — and to achieve economic growth of more than 10 percent within five years.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

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Seeking to change deadbeat image, Zimbabwe pays debt

HARARE, Sept 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — After 20 years of not paying its debts, Zimbabwe is taking steps to clean up its balance sheet and its image by making payments to major creditors.

Even if admittedly token amounts, the government hopes they will build goodwill towards Zimbabwe.

Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube announced during a video conference this month that Zimbabwe had made its first payments in two decades to a group of rich countries known as the Paris Club.

“We have started paying them because, as a country, we ought to be known as good debtors and not bad debtors,” Ncube said.

In addition to the first payments in two decades to the 17 nations that are part of the Paris Club, he said Zimbabwe was also settling its debts to multilateral lenders.

“We have taken the step of beginning to pay token payments to the World Bank, the African Development Bank and the European Investment Bank,” Ncube said.

Clearing Zimbabwe’s debts, or simply catching up on payments, is a mammoth task.

The $11 billion that Zimbabwe owes to foreign lenders amounts to about 71percent of the country’s GDP. Some $6.5 billion of the total is payments that are in arrears.

Ncube said the government would need a “sponsor” to bring its debt payments under control.

It was unclear what exactly he meant by that, but he said the goal was “really to tackle those arrears with the World Bank and the African Development Bank, the preferred creditors.”

“We are working hard on that,” he said.

Zimbabwe defaulted on its debts when the economy fell into a tailspin 20 years ago under then-president Robert Mugabe.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who took power after a coup in 2017, wants to renew ties with Europe and the United States, which had largely cut them over Mugabe’s undermining of elections and human rights abuses.

The West may take a lot of convincing.

Mnangagwa, once a top deputy to Mugabe, is among the senior government officials banned from travelling or banking in the United States and Europe.

Western countries froze his assets in protest of human rights violations, and so far have shown little inclination to ease them.

In July, Britain added new sanctions to a Zimbabwean official for fraudulently redeeming treasury bills at 10 times their official value.

Zimbabwe’s economy has swung dramatically since 2000, shrinking at a breathtaking rate during years of hyperinflation, before clawing its way back to growth in 2009.

Covid-19 and a drought pushed the economy back into recession, with inflation returning to triple digits.

Inflation has settled back down into double digits — sitting at 56 percent in July, down from 106 the previous month — and Ncube has ambitious plans to bring the country into the global middle class by 2030.

To do that, Zimbabwe will need capital and investors. Paying down its debts is one way to make the country more attractive.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

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Covid-19: Sinovac opens global pediatric vaccine trial in South Africa

PRETORIA— South Africa launched the main phase of a global COVID-19 vaccine study on children and teenagers led by Chinese maker Sinovac Biotech, with the first two participants jabbed in Pretoria.

The study is testing the efficacy of Sinovac’s two-dose CoronaVac on 14,000 children aged between six months and 17 years in Chile, Kenya, Malaysia, the Philippines, and South Africa.

CoronaVac is approved for use among adults in over 50 countries. China recently cleared it for use in minors, where it has already been administered to millions of children aged three to 17.

South Africa, where vaccination has not yet been extended to under-18s, kicked off the study with two teenagers jabbed on the sunny campus of Pretoria’s Sefako Makgatho Health Science University.

“We see a lot of milder and less severe disease in children, but they still remain susceptible,” project director Sanet Aspinall told reporters at the event.

“They are… getting the infection and they are then able to transmit it to the rest of the population,” she explained, assuring the Chinese vaccine was safe.

US manufacturers Pfizer and Moderna have also undertaken pediatric trials of their shots, prompting several countries to greenlight them for children in varying age groups.

South African Medical Research Council president Glenda Gray urged the country to follow suit.

“Delaying the inclusion of children in the Covid vaccine trials delays our ability to contain COVID-19,” she said during Friday’s event.

Over a third of South Africa’s population is younger than 19.

The country has enrolled 2,000 participants in the study, carried out in collaboration with Sinovac’s local partner Numolux Group.

Sinovac is also in talks about setting up a vaccine production facility in South Africa to provide the continent with shots against a range of diseases, Numolux executives said.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK