Seeds of Opportunity: The African Growth Series
September 2022 | Issue 5
In this week's issue, you will learn more about:
- Farm to Fork Food Security
- Co-ordinating Transformation in the Energy and Transport sectors
- Africa as the Catalyst for Tech Generation and Innovation
- Renewable Energy Integration Plans in Southern Africa
Farm to Fork Food Security
In 2021, 278 million Africans were affected by hunger and the continent accounted for the highest level of food insecurity, where nearly a quarter of undernourished people suffered from severe hunger. Geo-political or social conflict, climate variability, economic downturns and accessibility to nutrient-dense foods are some issues that drive food insecurity across the continent. Whilst Africa faces rapid urbanisation and a boom in population growth, more innovation is needed to sustainably increase agricultural production and improve global and local supply chains whilst decreasing food prices and waste. Innovation across these four metrics can ensure that people suffering from hunger and malnutrition can have better access to nutritious food. Agrodata is a social enterprise that promotes sustainable farming by using geo-information science (GIS) technology, remote sensing IoT, AI and ML models to improve crop yield, to restore soil and ecological systems whilst improving rural communities. iCow is an organisation with similar goals, but their app is designed for low-end feature phones that might not have internet access. They have various libraries and analyse metadata submitted by the farmers to provide actionable feedback through SMSs or push notifications. To improve access to financing, the African Development Bank launched its US$ 1.5 billion African Emergency Food Production Facility in 2022. The program aims to provide direct subsidies to farmers for seeds, fertilisers and other inputs in a bid to improve food production and reduce the price of food for the consumer. Education is how Vodacom plans to tackle food consumption and waste. Through the launch of their Green Early Childhood Development (ECD) programme, this six-step journey support eight ECD centres in establishing food gardens to assist their communities.
Co-ordinating Transformation in the Energy and Transport sectors
In Yaa Agyare - Dwomoh's presentation at the 10th annual Transport Evolution Africa, Forum & Expo, Africa’s largest transport event, she discussed how Africa could co-ordinate the transformation of the Energy and Transport sectors.
Africa is currently experiencing significant economic growth and infrastructure development. This places Africa in a unique position to develop sustainable transport and energy industries that are reliable and can offset the region’s carbon footprint while facilitating economic growth throughout the region. In 2018, the transport and Energy sectors accounted for 78% of CO2 emissions. Several factors, such as the importation of older, fuel-inefficient vehicles and poor mass transportation, all contribute to the 31% of CO2 emissions emitted by the transport sector alone. By amending our import policies to promote the importation of fuel-efficient vehicles, including hybrids and electric vehicles, while prioritising sustainable, reliable and affordable mass transportation and infrastructure development of cycling and pedestrian lanes, Africa could emerge as a global leader in sustainable transportation. The region has further made significant strides in redefining energy generation. As the grid becomes decentralised due to renewable energies, technology such as AI, Digital Twins, and IoT (or Internet of Energy – IOE) will be essential in managing and meeting the market's demands. Green hydrogen remains a viable renewable option that Africa is well poised to benefit from. As the cost of hydrogen production decreases, Africa has the potential to produce 5,000 megatonnes of hydrogen per year at less than USD 2 per kilogramme—equivalent to the global total energy supply today.
Africa as the Catalyst for Tech Generation and Innovation
In the first quarter of 2022 alone, start-ups in Africa received USD1.4 billion in funding amongst various funding stages, with series A accounting for USD 355 million of that amount. In fact, in Q2 of 2022, 18.44% of Nigeria’s GDP came from the ICT industry, overtaking the oil sector by 12.11%. This is especially important information in consideration of the estimation that by 2050, 23% of the world’s workforce will be in Africa. This is one of many indicators that Africa is currently experiencing a massive tech boom, a forceful catalyst to move the economy forward and assist in solving global issues. In particular, the technology developed in the continent is helping to close socio-economic gaps through increasing digitisation and internet penetration rates (estimated to reach 700 million internet users by 2025). A potent example is Reliance Health, a Nigerian-based start-up, that utilises technology to make healthcare more affordable, and accessible and provides an integrated suite of healthcare solutions. Closer to home, an example of innovative African start-ups include South African-founded Job Crystal, an AI tech platform that assists SMMEs in finding employees to contribute in a positive way to their enterprises and, ultimately, increase employment rates throughout the country.
Renewable Energy Integration Plans in Southern Africa
Amidst ongoing power supply challenges in the region, positive developments are underway, with Namibia being among the countries taking steps forward. In a recent announcement, the Namibian Electricity Control Board (ECB) has issued the first of their kind and size, generation, and export licenses under its Modified Singe Buyer (MSB) framework. The export license was issued for Schonau Solar Energy's 125 MW solar PV plant being developed by Emesco in Karasburg. Through the license, Schonau Solar Energy aims to export its power generated (over 25 years) into the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) electricity markets, facilitated through South Africa. The SAPP countries include Namibia, South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Zambia, Malawi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo all of which have traditionally had power generated through one utility.
The move in Namibia is a testament to progress taken by member states of the SAPP to encourage private sector participation of various forms in trading electricity via organized streams, to help lessen the power deficit experienced in the region and fast track the clean energy transition. Moreover, through this partnership and other projects in the pipeline, Namibia has committed to its objectives of positioning itself as a key power exporter in the region.
To find out more about opportunities in Africa, please contact Lynne Martin.
