AIRTEL MONEY to transform mobile commerce in Ghana

Development of the mobile telecommunication industry has enhanced transactions of various nature; Airtel Money is one such venture.

Airtel Ghana yesterday December 21st re-launched its award winning mobile money platform, under a new brand name Airtel Money, which is better positioned to provide customers with an efficient alternative to cash transactions and provide millions of subscribers with access to banking services for the first time.

Airtel Money includes the most comprehensive package of m-commerce and payment features currently available on the Ghanaian market and it seeks to empower its customers with access to a convenient, secure and readily available way of making payments through the mobile platform.

A media statement states that Airtel is already in partnership with leading international and regional banks including Ecobank, GT Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Unibank, United Bank of Africa, Zenith Bank, Energy Bank and Databank to provide customers with more convenient ways of conducting mobile commerce service, deposit and withdraw cash, money transfers, banking services, paying bills, contributing to investments.

There are more than 500 Airtel Money dealers, ensuring the widest availability of Airtel Money throughout Ghana.

Kola Sonola, Mobile Commerce Director at Airtel Ghana explained at the official launch of Airtel Money that the service, which previously was mainly a mobile money platform, had fully evolved into a mobile commerce platform, offering four major services, namely mobile money mobile top-up, money transfer, mobile banking and financial services for micro-finance, micro insurance and B2B services.

Customers, according to him, could therefore pay their utility bills, DSTV subscription fees, buy Airtel credit, pay for goods, servicesand loans through Airtel Money as well as make corporate batch payments and deposit or withdraw cash from a bank.

“Airtel money provides customers with a “mobile wallet” which allows them to use their mobile phones in much the same way as a bank debit card. It provides customers with increased security and flexibility, reducing the need to carry cash and ensuring prompt payments of bills, goods and services”, he stated.

Kola Sonola added that the uniqueness of Airtel Money also allowed customers on other networks to also enjoy the benefits of money transfer.

Managing Director of Airtel Ghana, Philip Sowah explained that Airtel aimed to deliver relevant and innovative mobile solutions to help customers overcome their daily challenges, stating that the companywas once again offering Ghanaians the tools to feel free and improve their lives. “Our goal as a company is to make communications, banking, payments, retail and infotainment affordable and accessible to all in Africa”, he added.

About Airtel in Africa
Airtel is the new brand name for the 16 Zain operations across Africa which was acquired by Airtel International in June 2010. Airtel is driven by the vision of providing affordable and innovative mobile services to all. Airtel has African operations in: Burkina Faso, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Madagascar, Niger, Nigeria, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. Airtel International is a Bharti Airtel company. For more information, please visit www.airtel.com

About Bharti Airtel Limited
Bharti Airtel Limited is a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 19 countries across Asia and Africa. The company offers mobile voice & data services, fixed line, high speed broadband, IPTV, DTH,turnkey telecom solutions for enterprises and national & international long distance services to carriers. Bharti Airtel has been ranked among the six best performing technology companies in the world by BusinessWeek. Bharti Airtel had over 223 million customers across its operations at the end of April 2011. To know more please visit,

Kenya-Zambia strengthen bilateral ties

Despite the distance and regional blocks, Kenya and Zambia still see the need to tap into each other’s economies for potential investments.

Zambia and Kenya an East African country have continued working on strengthening bilateral ties with the successful hosting of the 2nd Zambia-Kenya Business Forum in Lusaka. The forum held on December 12, 2011 at the Kenyan Embassy and running under the theme “Exploring the untapped potential in the service industry in Kenya and Zambia,” attracted players from various sectors of the economy especially in the service industries from the two countries.

The Kenyan government through its Minister of Information Samuel Poghisio highlighted the vital role that Information Communication Technology (ICT) plays in economic development. Mr. Poghisio revealed that the continent has over the years recorded tremendous development in this sector as evidenced with the laying of optic fibre cables cross cutting the continent. He has however cautioned African nations to exercise care in receiving donations of ICT nature which might be detrimental on the economy.

“It is very clear from the beginning to demand the best in technology and there are many places to benchmark with not to accept technology just because it is being pushed by some one as a donation, technology does not have to be a donation because it can be very dangerous for us,” said Mr. Poghisio.
The Minister further appealed for linkages among African nations in order to foster economic development.
“We have had close relations between Africa and the US, Africa and Europe, Africa and Asia, but what we need is good bilateral relations among African nations,” he added.

And officiating at the occasion Commerce, Trade and Industry Deputy Minister Keith Mukata lamented unbalanced trade between the two countries despite being members of the same regional group.

“You may wish to know that Kenya’s exports to Zambia were at US$ 35million in 2010 and Zambia’s exports to Kenya in 2010 were US$ 33million,” he said.
“These figures are not impressive especially that both Zambia and Kenya are members of the COMESA Free Trade Area.”

Mr. Mukata says notes that Zambia has massive investment opportunities in sectors like health, education, banking and communication adding that platforms like the Business Forum are valuable for networking.

“In this way we shall be able to reap the full benefits of Trade and Investment, create jobs and foster economic growth and development,” said Mr. Mukata.
The business forum has seen business gurus from Kenya represnting various service delivery sectors such as health, education, manufacturing and retail among others coming through seeking prospective investment opportunities in Zambia.

ZCF in K 7.5billion fertilizer deal with Nyiombo Investments

While the vision of recapitalizing the coorporative movement is gaining momentum ZCF has scored big in a fertilizer distribution deal.

THEZambia Co-operative Federation (ZCF) has signed a US$ 1.5million (K7.5bn) deal with Nyiombo Investments on Fertilizer Distribution amongst small holder farmers country wide. The deal signed on December, 7, 2011 will see the federation utilize its infrastructure dotted across the country to distribute Urea and D-Compound fertilizer to it’s over 4,500 members.

ZCF Director General James Chirwa says this further increase the contribution that small holder farmers make to the country’s agriculture sector beyond the current 80percent. Mr. Chirwa adds that the project will be a form of supplement on the existing Farmer Input Support Program (FISP) by government. “Farmers have remained small in the country despite having started benefiting from FISP in 2002…we want to avert this situation as a federation through this deal with Nyiombo Investments,” said Mr. Chirwa.

He said the deal provides for a competitive price by Nyiombo to ZCF which will in turn be passed on to beneficiaries across the country with three provinces namely Northern, Western and Southern earmarked in the first phase which commenced on December, 8, 2011. The prices will not go beyond the existing market price of K 200,000 per 50kg bag. Mr. Chirwa was however quick to mention that co-operative members who have already made their K 50,000 contribution toward the recapitalization program from among the federation’s over 4,500 members will be given the farming input at a good price as part of incentives.

“We want to recognize the role that our members have played in the recapitalization program hence we will award them with a good price for the fertilizer so that they can increase on the yield,” stated Mr. Chirwa.

Meanwhile speaking at the same occasion which was held in the ZCF Boardroom, Nyiombo Investments Limited Operations Manager Kwazi Dlamini said his firm was happy with the deal entered into with ZCF. He is optimistic that the fertilizer will reach its targeted beneficiaries the small holder farmers who are the drivers of the country’s economy.

“We are confident that farmers in the rural areas will greatly benefit from this program so that they can be motivated to increase their yields owing to availability of the farming input,” he said. Mr. Dlamini further revealed that Nyiombo Investments is looking at going beyond supplying of fertilizer but also other farming inputs.

The US$ 1.5million between ZCF and Nyiombo Investments will continue beyond the current farming season. Market analysts are expectant that ZCF’s active participation in developing the small holder farmers will further enhance their contribution toward agriculture development making Zambia a regional food basket through successive bumper harvests.

US ISSUES TRAVEL WARNING FOR ZAMBIA AHEAD OF 2011 ELECTIONS

Is this a predication of violence ahead of the much anticipataed 2011 tripartite elections in Zambia?

The United States government is urging its citizens to take precautions when traveling to Zambia ahead of September 20th national and local elections, saying there is a potential for unrest.

The U.S. State Department yesterday urged Americans traveling to Zambia during or immediately following next month’s elections to monitor local news, assess travel routes when making plans, and to avoid all demonstrations. It said even peaceful protests can quickly become unruly.

During the September vote, Zambia's President Rupiah Banda will seek his first full term in office. The president took power during special elections in 2008, after the death of his predecessor, Levy Mwanawasa. During that election, Mr. Banda narrowly defeated rival Michael Sata.

This year’s elections have been marred with a lot of political violence with the country’s major opposition party Patriotic Front being confident of winning.

Voice of America

FNB-ZAMBIA AWARDS EMPLOYEES SALARY INCREAMENT

First National Bank (FNB) Zambia has joined many local financial institutions trying to sustain its worksforce through increament of salaries in th advent of new entrants in the sector.
The Zambian financial sector has continued responding to increases in the cost of living through increased packages for its workforce.

Zambia Union of Financial and Allied Workers (ZUFIAW) President Cephas Mukuka says his union has been advoctating for increased salaries for its members owing to inflationary changes and cost of living. Mr. Mukuka tells the DataBank that the latest institution is FNB Zambia which has nodded to a ZMK 700,000 salary hike across the board.

“I can safely confirm that my union did sign a collective agreement with FNB Zambia on August, 8, 2011 after negotiations,” Mr. Mukuka said.

FNB is the third bank to have awarded its workers a salary hike after Investrust Bank and Standard Chartered Bank which equally gave its employees the same amount.
By Brian Mwale

IS ZAMBIA’S ATTAINMENT OF THE MIDDLE INCOME TARGET MEANINGFUL?

Excitement is in the air among different stakeholders about Zambia’s reclassification into the Lower Middle Income bracket by the World Bank, but a few meters from its central business district of the capital city Lusaka in a place called Chibolya where people are languishing in abject poverty.

The Zambian government has attributed the country’s attainment of the vision 2030 target of becoming a middle income country 19 years earlier to good economic policies. Zambia’s Finance and National Planning Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane at a media briefing in the capital city Lusaka today stated that good policies have allowed increased investments especially in the mining sector which coupled with huge exports have increased earnings.

Dr. Musokotwane said the reclassification of the Lower middle income status means that the Southern African nation will now have access to non-concessional loans which are high value and good for developing the country; a step ahead of the concessional loans which were limited in nature as the World Bank only offers US$ 70,000,000 under t his category.

“The reclassification now allows us as a country to borrow more for investments as we have the capacity to pay back as has been seen from increase earnings from copper exports,” said Dr. Musokotwane adding that “our status now makes the country known to the international community as a hub for good investment.” And when asked about how soon the gap between the rich and the poor will be narrowed, the Minister stated that the poor are a common sight even in the world’s huge economies.

In a Wednesday edition of the United Kingdom-based newspaper The Guardian the World Bank reclassified Zambia as a middle-income country along with Ghana. The World Bank said the upward adjustment in Zambia’s income growth is a result of foreign aid-driven interventions and surging prices of copper in the last few decades.

“Zambia and Ghana are ranked 27th and 28th among 63 countries which the World Bank has reclassified as middle-income countries since the year 2000,” The Guardian newspaper reported. Low-income countries are those with the average gross national income (GNIs) of less than US$1, 005 per person annually. Lower middle-income countries have per capita GNIs of between US$1,006 per year and upper middle-income countries have per capita GNIs between US$3, 976 and US$12, 275.

The middle-income countries now account for most of the world’s population living in absolute poverty and they need aid allocation models which will take account of poor people and deprivation beyond income. On the Millennium Development Goals, the Guardian newspaper states that Zambia and Ghana have done well although the progress to attain the goals is slow.

“However, in both Ghana and Zambia, the number of children in primary school has climbed along with literacy rates and infant mortality has fallen. Even if they are not on track to meet the MDGs, quality of life is getting much better,” it states.
There are only 35 low-income countries remaining out of the countries being assessed by the world.

ECONOMIC POLICIES FOR FOREIGN INVESTMENTS

Zambia’s provide for externalization of profits by foreign investors as a policy aimed at attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). The Country’s Commerce Minister Felix Mutati and Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) have on several platforms stated that foreign investors are free to bring in as much money as they want and take out as much as they want.

This policy has been attacked by many people like independent Economist Robert Sanyikosa who says affects development of the local economy. Mr. Sanyikosa says that owing to control of mines by foreign investors the reclassification of the country as a Lower Middle Income status has nothing to be excited about because people are still wallowing in poverty in most of Zambia’s rural areas.

“The yardsticks that the World Bank is using to reclassify Zambia is copper exports when allnot all earnings from the venture come back home because of the profit externalization policy,” says Mr. Sanyikosa. His sentiments have been supported by opposition Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD) President Edith Nawakwi has called for change of policies. Ms. Nawakwi is an opposition leader who has never run for presidency during elections since formation of her party in 2001 but only endorses other presidents.

By Brian Mwale.

LIBYAN ASSETS HELD BY LEADING GLOBAL BANKS

Some of the biggest and best-known financial institutions in the world held billions of dollars of Libyan state funds, a leaked report has revealed. Principal among them were HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Nomura and Societe General, Global Witness said. The banks refused to say whether they held, or are still holding, the funds.

All the assets have now been frozen by the European Union and United Nations. The document, dated June 2010, showed that HSBC held $292.7m (£179.9m) in 10 cash accounts, with a similar amount invested in a hedge fund, while Goldman Sachs had $43m in three accounts. Almost $4bn was held in investment funds and structured products, with Societe General alone holding $1bn.

“Start Quote
All the banks refused to make any public comment on the funds they received and managed on behalf of the Libyan Investment Authority, citing client confidentiality”
Robert Peston Business editor, BBC News

• Peston: Where Libya invests $53bn
Japanese bank Nomura and Bank of New York also held $500m each. A much larger proportion of Libyan Investment Authority's assets - $19bn in total - were held by Libyan and Middle Eastern Banks, the document revealed. It also showed that the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) holds billions of dollars in shares in global corporations such as General Electric, BP, Vivendi and Deutsche Telekom.
It had already been widely reported that the fund held stakes in UK publishing group Pearson, Italy's Unicredit bank and industrial group Finmeccanica, as well as Canadian oil exploration group Verenex.

'Economic sanctions'
"It is completely absurd that HSBC and Goldman Sachs can hide behind customer confidentiality in a case like this," said Charmain Gooch, director of campaigning group Global Witness.
"These are state accounts, so the customer is effectively the Libyan people and these banks are withholding vital information from them." Established in 2006, the LIA holds about $70bn of assets and is the 13th largest sovereign wealth fund in the world, according to the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute. The fund, built on Libya's oil wealth, scores two out of 10 on the institute's transparency ranking.
Earlier this month, the EU extended its economic sanctions against Libya to include the LIA and the country's central bank. It had already frozen assets of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and some members of his family. It did not initially target the LIA as there was some debate about whether its assets belonged to the Gaddafi family or the Libyan people, analysts said.

Source: BBC.

ZAMTEL INTEGRATES CALL CENTRE FACILITIES

With only a few months after taking over Zambia’s public owned telecommunication firm ZAMTEL, Lap-green Networks of Libya has embarked on intensive transformation of the local call centre through unleashing of a lot of packages out of the bag.

The company has announced that it is integrating its call centre facilities as part of the company’s strategy to deliver improved customer facilities across its three brand portfolios.

ZAMTEL Senior Manager for Corporate Communications Kennedy Mambwe says this caters for the company’s converged telecommunication solutions such as fixed lines, GSM mobile and data services as it has an internet service provider license. Mr. Mambwe adds that ZAMTEL has equally employed more personnel to handle the anticipated surge in call volumes from customers across the country.

He further disclosed that in the telecommunication firm plans to build an ultra modern call centre in the near future.

About ZAMTEL
ZAMTEL is part of the LAP Green Network, which has a footprint in six African markets to more than 4 million active subscribers. Lap Green owns 75% shares in the company with management control, while 25% shareholding is retained by the Zambian Government.

By Brian Mwale

ZAMBIA FINALLY SIGNS CAADP COMPACT AFTER TWO POSTPONEMENTS

The Zambian agriculture story is set to record further growth as the country finally signs the long awaited Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP) Compact.
After postponing the signing on two occasions in 2008 and 2010, the Rupiah Banda led government has appended its signature to an agreement which now compels it to allocate at least 10% of the annual budget toward development of the agriculture sector and work toward a sector growth target of 6%.
Launching the signing ceremony in the Zambian capital Lusaka today, (January, 18, 2011) Republican President Rupiah Banda through his vice Gorge Kunda says the CAADP Compact is in line with the country’s policies.
Mr. Banda says the country has deliberately created the Livestock and Fisheries Development Ministry which supports growth of the sector. “We are increasing the quality and quantity of livestock by products being exported as the current levels are not good enough,” says the Mr. Kunda.
And the Zambian Head of state says despite the country having recorded consecutive bumper harvests, many challenges still need to be addressed. He says poor road network, storage facilities, and lack of adequate funding and research have to be addressed in order for the country to go beyond its current production levels.
Comesa sentiments on CAADP
The Common Market for East and Southern Africa (COMESA) has expressed delight with Zambia accenting to the CAADP Compact.
COMESA Secretary General Sindiso Ngwenya says Zambia has signed at the right time when it has showed its agriculture potential through consecutive bumper harvests in the agriculture sector. He says this in the midst of the country having recorded a 2.8million metric ton maize bumper harvest in the 2009-2010 farming season an increase from the 2008-2009 farming season which saw Zambia’s staple food hitting a 1.9million metric ton bumper harvest.
“Zambia signing the CAADP Compact brings the number of countries in the COMESA region that have signed to eight which is a good indication,” Mr. Ngwenya reveals.
He says his organization and Zambia’s Ministry of Agriculture are working together to solicit for some technical support from the Food and Agriculture Organization –FAO-. Meanwhile Agriculture and Corporative Minister Bradford Machila says the CAADP Compact fits in Zambia’s Vision 2030 target of becoming a middle income country.
Mr. Machila says the program will be in line with government National Development Programs –NDPs- such as the current Sixth National Development Plan –SNDP- which runs from 2011 to 2015.
Finance and National Planning Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane signed on behalf of Zambia alongside his Agriculture Minister Counterpart Eustakio Kazonga and Zambia Association of Manufacturing –ZAM President Chance Kabaghe singed on behalf of the private sector.
About CAADP
CAADP is an initiative that aims at accelerating Africa’s development by using agriculture as the engine to drive such development.
The CAADP was formulated by African government under the African Union/New Partnership for Africa’s Development (AU/NEPAD) in 2003. In this regard, an annual agriculture growth target of 6% was set, which would be realized in part by allocating at least 10% of the country’s total annual budget to the sector.
The Zambian government in collaboration with COMESA has been engaged in the process of accelerating the implementation of the agriculture development agenda in line with the Comprehensive Africa Development (CAADP) framework.
CAADP’s four fundamental pillars
1. Extending the area under sustainable land management and reliable water control systems,
2. Improving rural infrastructure and trade related capacities for market access,
3. Increasing food supply and reducing hunger
4. Agricultural research, technology dissemination and adoption.

The pillars are deemed critical to sustainably accelerate agricultural production and productivity in countries on the continent.

By Brian Mwale