NEWS: 1.20.2022

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January 20, 2022

UK Firm Designing Nairobi Railways City

A plan to build a Sh28 billion city has advanced after the Nairobi Metropolitan Service in partnership with Kenya Railways chose UK firm Atkins Global to design the project. The firm will design the iconic Nairobi Railways City, multi-modal urban development project in Nairobi. The project will be situated within 425-acres, 292 acres of which is owned by Kenya Railways and currently serving as the Nairobi Railway Station.

Germany and South Africa Collaborating on Green Hydrogen Development

The South African government announced a collaboration with the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development to promote the development of green hydrogen in the country. According to Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele, the project aims to enhance capacity and knowledge of South African stakeholders in the green hydrogen and Powerfuels sector, and enable the creation of a green hydrogen export economy.

African Payment System Launched

The Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) was formally launched at an event in Ghana yesterday, opening for commercial use as a platform which aims to make cross-border payments simpler within Africa. The system was developed by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and promises to reduce the cost and time of payments, lower the level of banking liquidity required to make payments, and improve central bank oversight of payments.

Tanzania and Uganda Agree to Remove Non-Tariff Barriers to Ease Trade

Uganda and Kenya signed several Memorandum of Understandings among them that will see the removal of non-tariff barriers between the two countries as one way to ease trade. The agreements were signed during the meeting of the fourth session of the Joint Permanent Commission between Uganda and the Republic of Tanzania in Kampala. The Tanzanian delegation in Uganda was led by their Minister of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, Amb Liberata Mulamula.

The Continued Rise of Investor Interest Across Africa

Weyinmi Popo of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld assesses the outlook for a resurgent African M&A and private equity market. It was an inauspicious start to 2021, with COVID-induced lockdowns keeping much of the world behind closed doors. Fast forward 12 months and the resurgence of COVID globally would seem to suggest that not much has changed. However, that would be very misleading when considered in the context of the African mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and private equity landscape. The last 12 months have seen a huge resurgence in deal activity, fundraising and overall investor confidence in Africa.

Amazon’s South African Headquarters Project Splits Khoisan Groups

The Goringhaicona Khoi Khoin Indigenous Traditional Council (GKKITC) filed an interdict against Amazon's ongoing construction development in Cape Town along the Liesbeek River where the online retail giant intends to build its African headquarters. This is in opposition to the First Nations Collective (FNC), a fellow group of Khoisan members who support the construction initiative. "We argue that the consultation process was flawed from the beginning, and the fact that the GKKITC did not participate in that specific consultation did not mean that they waived their right to any consultation," stated Hercules Wessels, one of the attorneys representing the GKKITC.

EVENTS – 1.20.2022

North Africa Outlook 2022.Invest Africa. Virtual. 26 January 2022.

Southern Africa Outlook 2022.” Invest Africa. Virtual. 31 January 2022.