Africa

It has been over a decade since Business Excellence (BE) first ran a feature on Namibia Power (NamPower). At that time, the company was focused on delivering the Caprivi Link Interconnector (now known as the Zambezi Link Interconnector), a N$3.2 billion project which would connect Namibia’s electricity network with its northern neighbours, enabling it to trade directly with them. Delivered in 2012, the company has now set its sights on more ambitious targets.

In 2022, the Barrick Gold Corporation marks a quarter of a century operating at the Loulo-Gounkoto Mine in western Mali. At Barrick, which previously operated in the country under the name Randgold Resources, the goal is to stay in the country for another twenty-five years. That sentiment alone tells us a lot about the relationship between the country and the company marketing its silver anniversary year. Business Excellence made the decision to visit the project in order to learn the keys to a successful mining partnership.

In November 2015, Lesedi La Rona, the world’s second-largest gem-quality diamond ever found, was mined at the Karowe Mine in Botswana. The mining team behind the discovery was Lucara Diamonds (formerly called Boteti Mining), a diamond exploration and mining company founded in 2009. In less than six years, the Canadian-registered firm had made a discovery that placed it firmly in the spotlight of industry analysts.

In June 2019, the government of Rwanda put forth the National Electrification Plan, which aims to see 100% of Rwandan households with access to electricity, both on-grid and off-grid, by 2024.

The remarkable progress made by Rwanda’s electricity sector since the turn of the millennium provides a true case study for other developing countries to learn from. World Bank figures show that just 6.2% of the Rwandan population had access to electricity in 2000, and now, according to Rwandan government data, that figure has surpassed 65%. The government’s vision is for 100% of the population to have access by 2024.

Rwanda’s Transport Development Authority (RTDA) faces a stern challenge to deliver on its mandate. Firstly, there are the budgetary restrictions that come with being a low-income country. Next, there is the country’s population density: At 416 people per square kilometre, Africa’s highest. Finally, Rwanda is known as the ‘land of a thousand hills’ - outlining, in the plainest of terms, what might be the biggest challenge of all.

Liquified natural gas (LNG) has been universally recognized as a stepping stone in the energy transition. Thanks to its 25 percent lower carbon emissions than traditional fuels, LNG finds are now usually treated with more fanfare than the discovery of oil wells. It is wholly understandable in this context then, the enthusiasm that surrounds the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) LNG project off the coast of Senegal and Mauritania.

With a population of slightly over 2.5 million people, Namibia is one of Africa’s least populous countries. But that hasn’t limited the country’s ambition. Since gaining its independence 32 years ago, the country has managed to make a successful transition to democracy, dramatically improve the living standard of its citizens, and to diversify and internationalize its trade so that its top five trading partners include the likes of Switzerland, Italy, and China.

On this last point, one organisation can take much of the credit.

The 21st century has been a time of growing prosperity for Ghana and its citizens. Although the country’s GDP remained largely stagnant for the 50 years to the beginning of the century - growing just 13% between 1955 and 2000 - its growth since then has been phenomenal. In 2021, the country’s GDP was measured at over $72 billion - nearly 15 times higher than in 2000, when the same figure stood at a little less than $5 billion.

Perhaps more than any change currently underway in Africa, the continent’s ongoing massive investments in developing the infrastructure's economic enablers point to a highly prosperous and brighter future. The pace of progress is furious.