Solar power rule heats up market for equipment vendors

Solar equipment vendors have seen an upturn in business as property developers move to comply with a new law meant to cut electricity costs. The Energy (Solar Water Heating) Regulations 2012 require builders of residential and commercial houses to include solar water heating systems in their designs. The regulations affect units whose hot water needs exceed 100 litres per day and also require existing premises with no solar heaters to have them retrofitted by 2017. “Our sales.... Read more »

Posted on : Monday , 28th July 2014

Construction works of Taveta-Mwatate Road begins

President Uhuru Kenyatta commissioned construction works of the crucial road that traverses across the vast county and which has been ignored since independence. Local leaders lauded President Kenyatta saying the tarmacking of the road will not only spur growth in the county but ease transportation of people and goods between Kenya and Tanzania in the spirit of the East African Cooperation. The 110 km road links Tanzania and Kenya through the Taveta-Voi road. The road is.... Read more »

Posted on : Monday , 28th July 2014

New road to unlock 'The South'

Construction of a railway line to connect Mtwara Port in Mtwara Region and Mbamba Bay in Ruvuma Region to ease haulage of heavy cargo along the Mtwara Corridor in southern Tanzania is in the offing, President Jakaya Kikwete has announced. Addressing a mammoth crowd at a public rally, the president said the government has found it ideal to construct the railway network to unlock the corridor to the rest of the country and the world. “In our plans, there will come a time.... Read more »

Posted on : Monday , 28th July 2014

Africa: Chinese Automaker Foton Launches Vans for African Market

Nairobi - Chinese automaker Beiqi Foton on Saturday launched its van for the Africa market. Foton's general manager Wang Jinyu told journalist in Nairobi that Kenya is an emerging market for commercial vehicles on the continent. "We hope to provide transport solutions for growing urban centers in Kenya and the entire Africa region," he said, adding that Chinese firms are impressed by the favorable investment climate in Kenya. Foton East Africa General Manager Calvin.... Read more »

Posted on : Monday , 28th July 2014

Ford drives plans for expansion in Africa

Ford has aggressive plans to expand its business in Africa and will be launching 25 new vehicles into the Middle East and Africa region by 2016, with 17 of these models launched into sub-Saharan Africa. Jim Benintende, the president of Ford Middle East and Africa (MEA), said yesterday Ford had launched earlier this year its fifth business unit, MEA, comprising 67 markets that represented “the final frontier for growth within the global automotive.... Read more »

Posted on : Monday , 28th July 2014

SMEs driving printer sales in East Africa

The company also runs an office in Ethiopia and plans to launch in Tanzania. Epson’s East Africa regional manager Mukesh Bector says the region is a “key focus market” thanks to recent economic growth. Bector tells How we made it in Africa that the establishment of more small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and government agencies as well as growth in the photography industry, are impacting printer and other office equipment sales in the region. “People need.... Read more »

Posted on : Monday , 28th July 2014

Plastic recycling project in Kenya

Plastic usage worldwide has been on the increase in the last three decades as this is the most convenient of packing, storing and transporting many products the world. In our country Kenya, most products are packed in plastic vessels. Regrettably, this has led to environment pollution and degradation due to the way these plastics are disposed off after usage. A casual look around the country reveals lots of poorly disposed plastic bags and bottles. With the above in mind, a group.... Read more »

Posted on : Monday , 28th July 2014

Enhancing your printing solution to work smarter, easier and more profitably

The printing industry has changed, with many established printer providers, as well as new companies, adopting digital printing solutions to meet the demands of the print market, says Leon Minnie, product manager: production systems at Konica Minolta South Africa. The purchase of a digital device is not always done willingly, sometimes it is done through necessity and sometimes the technology is embraced as companies look to the future. For those printer providers working in a.... Read more »

Posted on : Monday , 28th July 2014

Cipla to acquire majority stake in UAE-based pharma manufacturer for $21M

Mumbai-based drugmaker Cipla Ltd is acquiring 51 per cent stake in a UAE-based pharmaceutical company which has manufacturing and distribution business in Yemen for $21 million. “Given the recent preference to local manufacturing, this secures the company’s presence in a fast growing market,” the company said in a stock exchange announcement. At present Cipla has over 200 products in Yemen market. The company will pay $21 million for this transaction with.... Read more »

Posted on : Monday , 28th July 2014

Africa's first medical tablet wins award

Five young visionaries from Africa, India, Europe and the Middle East were announced at London’s leading scientific institution, the Royal Society, as winners of the 2014 Rolex Awards for Enterprise. One winner in particular, Arthur Zang from Cameroon, has invented what is believed to be Africa’s first medical tablet, which will allow health-care workers in rural areas to send the results of cardiac tests to heart specialists via a mobile-phone connection. This type.... Read more »

Posted on : Monday , 28th July 2014

German's industrial machine exports to Africa hit 580m euro

German exported industrial machines worth 580 million euro to Africa in 2013, representing 7.5 per cent of the country’s total export, Mr Richards Clemens, Managing Director, Packaging Machinery Association of Germany told journalists in Lagos on Monday.He said there was an increase in the global demand for German technology, adding that Nigeria was top on the list of countries making such demands. Nigeria is one of our largest markets with an import volume of about 114.... Read more »

Posted on : Monday , 28th July 2014

Southern Africa: Prospects for Industrial Development in SADC

The first major challenge for SADC economies, as is the case with most African states, is a development model that is driven by consumption and primary commodity exports. The limitations of this kind of an economic growth path were severely exposed during the recent global economic crisis when the region’s economic performance was severely jolted. Further, the regional integration model in Africa has tended to focus too much on trade at the expense of the development of.... Read more »

Posted on : Monday , 28th July 2014