Month: September 2021

 

The Africa insurance market reached a value of US$ 70 Billion in 2020. Looking forward, the market is set to grow at a CAGR of around 7% during 2021-2026.

Keeping in mind the uncertainties of COVID-19, we are continuously tracking and evaluating the direct as well as the indirect influence of the pandemic. These insights are included in the report as a major market contributor.

Insurance refers to a contract or a policy that protects the insurer from financial losses. The African region consists of several underdeveloped and developing economies, with the insurance industry remaining largely staggering in terms of growth. However, overall economic growth in the region witnessed over the past decades is steadily creating growth opportunities for the insurance market in the region.

The presence of numerous untapped markets is one of the key factors driving the insurance industry in the African region. However, there are a few developed markets, such as South Africa, which are highly competitive due to the presence of well-capitalized local players.

Key players from the global market seek to exploit these untapped regional opportunities, along with exploring ventures in concentrated markets. Furthermore, a significant rise in literacy levels, coupled with the increasing number of educated youths, is creating a positive outlook for the market.

An overall improved educational scenario is expected to create significant awareness regarding the associated benefits of insurance, thus creating lucrative opportunities for the market players.

Rapid urbanization, emerging middle class, and growing working population, along with improving internet connection and technological advancements, are some of the other factors catalyzing the growth of the insurance sector in the African region.

Key Questions Answered in This Report:

• How has the Africa insurance market performed so far and how will it perform in the coming years?
• What has been the impact of COVID-19 on the Africa insurance market?
• What is the breakup of the Africa insurance market based on the type?
• What is the breakup of the Africa non-life insurance market based on the type?
• What is the breakup of the Africa insurance market based on the country?
• What are the key driving factors and challenges in the Africa insurance market?
• What is the structure of the Africa insurance market and who are the key players?
• What is the degree of competition in the Africa insurance market?

Competitive Landscape:

The report has also examined the competitive landscape of the market and some of the key players include

• African Life Assurance
• Liberty Group Limited
• Libya Insurance Company
• Misr Insurance Company
• Momentum Metropolitan Life Limited
• Old Mutual Limited
• Sage Life Insurance
• Sanlam Life Insurance Limited
• Santam
• Societe Nationale d’Assurance

Report Scope:

Market Breakup by Type

• Life Insurance
• Non-life Insurance
• Automobile Insurance
• Fire Insurance
• Liability Insurance
• Other Insurance

 

 

Source: Business Wire

 

Luanda – Angolan minister of Culture, Tourism and Environment Jomo Fortunato Monday in Luanda highlighted the importance of training the staff in the area of tourism and provide tourist guides with relevant information about the country’s peoples, culture and history.

Jomo Fortunato was speaking ahead of the World Tourism Day, celebrated Monday, having acknowledged the deficit in the training area.

But he assured that the Executive will continue to invest in pedagogical training actions to help boost the sector, both internally and externally.

According to the minister, the country has hotel units that can be turned into tourism pedagogical training schools.

“It is necessary to continue providing the young people with training. Tourism is crucial for development of the country and youth”, he concluded.

Jomo Fortunato said that the sector plans to launch, soon, a project on the tourist route for museums in Luanda, which will combine cultural and natural beauties.

The project, he said, will be organised with the support of several hotels, with stress to those units based in Luanda city.

“It is up to the tourism sector to launch actions aimed at creating infrastructure and promoting tourism. In this project, our history and culture will be our attraction,” he stressed.

The minister reiterated his commitment to the tourism industry, in terms of promoting the activity and its sustainable and inclusive development, with a view to benefiting all stakeholders, ranging from large multinational companies to small operators.

In the minister’s view, the pandemic was a blow to international tourism. He described the pandemic as a worst crisis in the history of tourism and which caused 86 percent drop in international revenues.

As is the case around the world, Angola, according to the minister, also suffers the negative impact caused by the pandemic, with many companies having halted their activities.

Jomo Fortunato added that the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Environment has made efforts to recovery the tourist activity with financial support for companies, reduction of the tax burden and maintenance or recovery of jobs.

 

 

 

Source: Angola Press News Agency

Luanda – State Minister for Social Affairs Carolina Cerqueira and the regional director of the World Bank (WB), Jean-Christophe Carret, Monday in Luanda reviewed the implementation and benefits of social programmes for vulnerable families in Angola.

Carolina Cerqueira and Jean-Christophe Carret reviewed issues related to the implementation level of the programmes, with stress to the strengthening  of “Kwenda” Social Protection and the programmes linked to the education and health fields.

Kwenda programme has been created by the Angolan Executive to support for the most vulnerable families.

The initiative foresees to assist 1.6 million families across the country.

Many families from the provinces of Zaire, Malanje, Cuando Cubango, Cuanza Norte, Bengo, Huíla and Cunene, have already benefitted from the programme.

Estimated at USD 420 million, the programme is co-funded by the World Bank (WB), which contributed with USD320 million, while the Angolan Government disbursed USD100 million.

The project covers Productive Inclusion which support viable economic initiatives, the Municipal of Social Action, the Integrated Social Action Centers (CASI), and the reinforcement of the Single Social Registry.

Carolina Cerqueira praised the Kwenda, stating that the programme presents positive and satisfactory results reflected on the well-being of populations, mainly those in rural communities.

In turn, the regional director of the WB, Jean-Christophe Carret, expressed the institution’s availability to identify the new areas for financing projects in the next five years, aimed at improving the social conditions of the population and the country’s socioeconomic development.

Jean-Christophe Carret, who is charge of WB in Angola, Burundi, DRC and São Tomé and Príncipe, highlighted the partnership with the Government of Angola, which translates into great achievements for strategic sectors of economic and social development.

He recalled the USD 150 million agreement signed on 16 September between the Angolan Government and the World Bank providing for the purchase of vaccines, as part of the process to halt Covid-19.

The official highlighted Angola’s efforts to vaccinate the population aimed to achieve coverage above 50%.

In Angola, the WB has financed several initiatives of the economy and social aspects, such as improving water supply, energy supply, fighting poverty, among others.

 

Source: Angola Press News Agency

Madrid – Angolan Head of State João Lourenço and the President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sanches meet on Tuesday in Madrid to assess the implementation of the cooperation agreements signed between the two countries.

Angola and the Kingdom of Spain have signed several cooperation agreements, mainly in the sectors of agriculture, fisheries, industry, commerce, tourism, defence and security and air transport.

President João Lourenço  has been in the Spanish capital since Sunday night, on an official visit, at the invitation of the President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sanches.

Joao Lourenço meets prior with King Filipe VI of Spain in morning, who will offer a lunch to the visiting presidential entourage.

The meeting between the Angolan President and the King of Spain will take place at the Zarzuela Palace, in Madrid.

On Wednesday, the last day of work in Spain, João Lourenço will visit the headquarters of the World Tourism Organisation (WTO), where he will sign the book of honour and unveil a plaque to mark the visit to the WTO headquarters in the Spanish capital.

WTO is a specialised agency of the United Nations and the main international organisation in the field of tourism, which serves as a global forum for tourism policy issues and as a source of practical knowledge about tourism.

The WTO has 158 countries as members and seven terrotories.

On the same day, Wednesday, the Angolan Head of State visits the Isabel II water channel, a public company that is responsible for managing the entire water cycle, mainly in the community of Madrid.

Dynamic bilateral cooperation

The minister of Foreign Affairs, Téte António, said Monday in Madrid that the visit of the President to the Kingdom of Spain will boost bilateral cooperation, which he considered dynamic.

“Bilateral cooperation is quite dynamic and what we have been doing since the visit of the President of the Spanish Government to Luanda is to align our priorities. Going to concrete actions and projects, as well as motivating more Spanish companies to invest in Angola”, he pointed out.

He recalled that the visit of the Head of the Spanish Government to Luanda, in April this year, made it possible to increase the credit line that exists with Spain.

“This is already a concrete result. As you know, in Angola we have many structuring projects that need lines of credit”, he underlined.

He noted that Angola cooperates with the Kingdom of Spain in almost all areas, “that is, in almost all sectors we have agreements with Spain, hence the composition of our delegation with ministers from various sectors”.

In addition to the Foreign Affairs minister, the presidential delegation comprises ministers of Finance Vera Daves, Interior Eugénio César Laborinho, Trade and Industry Victor Fernandes, and Energy and Water Baptista Borges.

On the other hand, Téte António has announced plans for construction of ophthalmology hospital in Angola in the near future, as result of partnership with the Kingdom of Spain.

“It is in our interest to have an ophthalmology hospital in Angola, I think Spain is a right partner (…) to make this project concrete,” he said.

He said that there are other comparative advantages of Spain that Angola would like to take advantage of.

Bilateral cooperation relations between Angola and the Kingdom of Spain are based on the General Cooperation Agreement signed on May 20, 1987, and the Complementary Agreement to the General Agreement signed in November 1987.

Cooperation between the two countries has intensified in the business sector with the presence of Spanish companies in Angola.

Spain currently has more than 60 companies operating in Angola in different sectors such as energy, banking, construction and agriculture.

 

 

Source: Angola Press News Agency

 

Botswana is set to emerge this week from an 18-month state of emergency that will remove the president’s emergency powers and end pandemic restrictions on trade and gatherings. While many shops, bars, and restaurants want to get back to normal, some in Botswana’s alcohol industry say it’s too soon to lift restrictions on night spots.

The minister of trade and industry, Kgafela Mmusi, says the end of the edict, set for this Thursday, means businesses can revert to normal trading hours. This includes the reopening of nightspots.

That should be welcome news to Botswana’s alcohol industry, which employs around 50,000 people, including those who work at bars, breweries and distributors.

But Botswana Beverages Association president Peter Noke warns some establishments might not be ready to reopen.

Those that do will likely have restrictions, including a ban on dancing.

He said they have requested that dance floors be converted into seating areas.

“There should be sufficient spacing between the tables and there will be no dancing,” he said. “If one wishes to dance, they can only do so while seated.”

Music promoter Zain Aftermath says the decision to eliminate the dance floor is ill-advised.

“How are you going to open clubs and then say people should not dance? It doesn’t make sense. I wouldn’t leave my house to go to a nightclub, pay and buy alcohol so that I can sit on a chair. It is going to affect attendance in a huge way,” he said.

Workers’ union leader Johannes Tshukudu welcomes the reopening as entertainment industry workers have been mostly out of work since March of last year. But he too, urges caution.

“We don’t expect full capacity at the beginning, we may decide to have half capacity at the venues so that at least so that we use that as an observation element. We don’t want to see this thing [opening of night clubs] as a trap by the government to justify reintroducing the state of emergency,” he said.

Minister Kgafela says the government will keep an eye on nightspots to ensure compliance with the rules.

 

 

Source: Voice of America

 

 

 

Facebook is putting its Instagram Kids project on hold amid growing concerns about potential harmful effects on young people, including anxiety and depression.

The idea is to provide youngsters with the Instagram social media experience but with no ads, more parental control and age-appropriate content.

U.S. lawmakers and advocacy groups have urged Facebook to scrap the plan entirely for safety concerns.

“Today is a watershed moment for the growing tech accountability movement and a great day for anyone who believes that children’s wellbeing should come before Big Tech’s profits,” said Josh Golin, executive director of Fairplay, an advocacy group focused on children.

“We commend Facebook for listening to the many voices who have loudly and consistently told them that Instagram Youth will result in significant harms to children.”

Golin vowed to continue fighting against Instagram Kids “until they permanently pull the plug.”

While Instagram Kids would require parental permission to join, the company said it was putting the idea on pause to “continue to build opt-in parental supervision tools for teens,” the company said in a blog post.

“We’ll continue our work to allow parents to oversee their children’s accounts by expanding these tools to teen accounts (aged 13 and over) on Instagram.”

The company said the reality is that kids are online and that a product like Instagram Kids would be “better for parents.”

Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal reported internal Facebook documents showed the company knows Instagram can have harmful effects on teens, particularly girls. According to the Journal, Facebook has done little to address the issue.

 

 

Source: Voice of America