June 28th, 2012 by Tom Minney
Xavier Rolet, Chief Executive of the London Stock Exchange, will be celebrating the rise and rise of African fixed interest on Monday 2 July, when he opens the 2nd Africa Debt Capital Markets Summit (ADCM) at the LSE. It is organized by African Banker magazine and Springwood Capital. The keynote speech is Nedbank Capital’s Mark Weston on “Spain is not Uganda”. Other sessions will cover the fast-growing appetite for African debt, progress and problems for investors into Africa’s domestic debt markets, debt as fuel for growth including building infrastructure and securitizing assets, and regualtory and risk issues about developing the market for African debt. Speakers include Fred Omach, Minister of State for Finance from Uganda, together with top speakers from the world’s leading investment banks, advisory houses, asset managers, issuers including governments, development finance institutions and advisors such as lawyers, rating agencies and other experts. It is a top conference and recommended. The conference website is here. Omar Ben Yedder of IC Publications and IC Events (African Banker, African Business, New African and other top magazines) will do the opening and closing.
Declaration: The author writes for some of these magazines as a freelance and will be moderating 2 sessions on Monday – see you there..
December 6th, 2011 by Tom Minney
Africa is using much less than its share of global financing available for carbon reduction projects, but the process to apply is complicated and a special facility has been set up to help. The African Carbon Asset Development facility has funded successful projects to reduce carbon emissions in Africa. A workshop was held last weekend for sharing practical lessons, attended by about 30 developers, investors, and local experts and bringing together African carbon asset development partners and financiers and beneficiaries including entrepreneurs on how to make carbon finance work for Africa.
The workshop highlighted successful carbon investment projects in Africa supported by the African Carbon Asset Development facility (www.acadfacility.org), formed by the United Nations Environment Programme (www.unep.org) in cooperation with Standard Bank Group (www.standardbank.co.za) and funded by the German Federal Environment Ministry (www.bmu.du/english). The ACAD partnership addresses key barriers that have stopped more people in Africa benefitting from carbon financing on projects as it provides technical assistance, seed capital, and specialized advisory services to both green entrepreneurs and to banks across Africa.
Although carbon financing is growing in importance worldwide, Africa’s share remains very low. According to ACAD facility’s website, in 2009 around $84 billion was invested in 684 emission reduction projects in emerging markets, but African nations got only 2% of the global total. The aim of ACAD is to help increase Africa’s carbon markets.
The workshop was held (somewhere) in Durban as part of a Conference of Parties (COP 17/CMP7) to discuss the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (at sometime) over the weekend 3-4 December. It was organized by Standard Bank and UNEP.
Two examples of successful projects were cited. Johannesburg-based AAP Carbon (www.aapcarbon.com) has developed a technology that can generate heat and electric power from furnace waste gases emitted during ferrochrome smelting. The development was piloted with a financing plan which included carbon credit revenue.
A plant near Rustenberg, South Africa is already operational for London-listed International Ferro Metals (www.ifml.com) and is reducing greenhouse gas emissions by over 200,000 tons a year. Alex Berger, Director of AAP Carbon, explained how the project benefited from UNEP support so that it could tackle challenges in registering for a Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), which is a global framework allowing industrialized countries to fund carbon emissions in places where this can be done more cheaply. The AAP Carbon project is now in the final stages of registration and has apparently been certified with the premium Gold Standard. Several investors are interested in using the climate-friendly technology for other plants, after IFM and AAP Carbon showed that it works.
Kevin Fruin, a South African small business owner, said there is scope to make bricks in a way that is more efficient with energy. He said that construction accounts for almost 30% of South Africa’s greenhouse gas emissions and 200 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in South Africa make clay bricks. He is one of the small businesses piloting a cleaner production technology called “Vertical Shaft Brick Kiln”. This can save manufacturers at least 50% of coal use and reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and air pollutants such as soot and black carbon. ACAD is supporting the development of a national programme using the CDM to scale up these demonstration projects so that other businesses can use the technology. It is giving financial advisory, legal due diligence, and a customized carbon-auditing tool for participating SMEs.
The session also provided some 30 participants an opportunity to learn more about how to benefit from grants from ACAD and training.
July 29th, 2011 by Tom Minney
[SPONSORED STORY] A top conference in October will be “Investment & Innovation in Microfinance: Africa” (www.microfinance-africa.com, date 17-19 October, at Hilton Nairobi Hotel, Kenya). This will cover new regulations, loan products, technologies and social performance tools that would make microfinance institutions (MFIs) more profitable.
Microfinance is financial services aimed at the “bottom of the pyramid”, representing more than 100 million low-income Africans. Services, including financial products, can help them work themselves and their families out of poverty. Effective microfinance can make a huge difference – if done right.
The conference is themed “Transform Your MFI: Comply with Regulation, Strengthen
Governance, Increase Funding, Adopt New Technology” and is the tenth global conference on this topic organized by Hanson Wade. It has a top line-up, including 24 expert speakers, workshops and side events, plus an Investor Fair featuring more than 40 microfinance investors active in Africa, from social investors to banks. Leading MFIs will come from across Africa including Tanzania, Kenya, Malawi, Ghana, Nigeria and Uganda to show participants how to transform their MFIs and their investment strategies.
The meeting is billed as a 3-day intensive learning experience, covering:
• Regulatory update: Recent changes to policy and regulation – Prof Njuguna Ndung’u, Governor, Central Bank of Kenya on enhanced financial inclusion.
• Get ready to become deposit-taking: PRIDE Tanzania and Opportunity Ghana showcase steps they took to keep costs down, maintain client confidence and fulfil the regulator’s expectations. Learn how to strengthen governance, build capacity and infrastructure and commit to social performance measurement to encourage increased funding.
• Who is investing in your country? Hear directly from investors what they are looking for and how you can ensure you benefit from their capital.
• Increase reach through new financial products: Jamii Bora, The Kuyasa Fund, Tujijenge Tanzania and MicroEnergy International showcase how they are increasing access to housing, health, agriculture, education and energy at the “base of the pyramid” (large numbers of poor borrowers and savers).
• Tackle over-indebtedness effectively through credit bureaus, social performance measurement and training. An in-depth working group will confront the challenge of competition and under-cutting and maintain the balance between commercial and social goals.
• Meet the technology providers of the future: From Management Information Systems to mobile, pinpoint which software is most user-friendly and least hassle to implement, and how tomorrow’s biggest service providers help you grow.
Participants at the 2011 conference will be senior directors from MFIs; commercial, social and development banks; local and national governments; non-governmental organizations and foundations; advisory firms; investors; companies which specialize in “base of pyramid” services and products; bankers’ associations; development finance institutions such as the International Finance Corporation (IFC); and bilateral aid agencies including the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID).
The conference is organized by top international organizer, Hanson Wade. Stephanie Cohn Rupp (Principal: Investments at Omidyar Network) commented: “Hanson Wade are fast becoming the deliverers of content and networking in this space”.
The conference already has an excellent website, where you can get full details and make bookings www.microfinance-africa.com. Or call: +44 20 3141 8700 or email: info@hansonwade.com. For a 10% discount for readers of this blog, please quote the booking code: ACMN.
May 25th, 2011 by Tom Minney
Top African private equity seminar in London coming up in the evening of 2 June. It is organized by the team at Private Equity Africa (www.privateequityafrica.com) and features a big line up of top speakers and networking.
The event is titled “Risks, Regulations and Returns” and will be in a great hotel just by Tower Bridge, central London from 6:30pm. The discussions cover : recent regulatory changes, managing political risks, mitigating key legal risks, managing risks in the deal cycle and risks versus returns. Also expect discussions on due diligence and market risks impacting private equity investing in Africa and how investors mitigating risks to achieve targeted returns.
The speaker line up includes Jean-Marc Savi de Tove, Portfolio Director, Africa, CDC; Hal Bosher , Senior Underwriter, World Bank-MIGA; Zin Bekkali, Chief Executive Officer, SilkInvest; Susan Payne, Chief Executive Officer, Emergent Asset Management; Idris Mohammed, Partner, Development Partners International; Douglas Nordlinger, Partner, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom; Bayo Odubeko, Partner, Norton Rose.
There is a VIP bookable Investors Briefing and Networking Session for current and prospective institutional and fund investors.
For bookings and more information on this event, check here.
March 22nd, 2011 by Tom Minney
Leading investors and institutions are to discuss transactions and trends in Africa’s capital markets during the Africa investor 2011 Analysts’ and Fund Managers’ Forum to be held in London this week. The one-day meeting will be held in association with Thomson Reuters, at their headquarters in London on 24 March. Africa investor (www.africainvestor.com) is a leading international investment research and communications group.
Investments into African debt during 2010 rose 7-fold compared to 2009, according to research by Ai, and capital markets in Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Zambia and Zimbabwe are reaching new levels of activity. Ai says its meeting is the European roadshow platform for African companies to meet current and prospective investors, analysts and the financial media.
Hubert Danso, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Ai, said in a press release: “The Africa investor Analysts’ and Fund Managers’ Forum represents a unique business development opportunity for domestic and international investors with an interest to participate in the African growth story.
“We have an exceptional line-up of the leading institutions investing and influencing major capital market transactions on the continent, all of whom will be sharing their insights, predictions and strategies for successful investing on the continent.”
Institutions that have confirmed include Citigroup, HSBC, Goldman Sachs, Fitch Ratings, Deutsche Börse AG, Société Générale, Renaissance Capital, CDC Group, Silk Invest, Towers Watson, The Coca-Cola Company, the Africa Finance Corporation, Scipion Capital, The Stock Exchange of Mauritius, Bourse de Casablanca, along with many others. Partners of the Forum include Reuters, Insparo Asset Management, Preqin, the African Securities Exchanges Association and the Africa Venture Capital Association.
The annual Analysts’ and Fund Managers’ Forum is a unique, high-level networking venue for analysts, fund managers, pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, investor relations officers and the financial media to engage in valuable and stimulating discussions, together with CEOs from Africa’s leading listed companies and stock exchanges. The Ai Financial Reporting Awards will take place during the evening of the Forum.
Ai says the Forum and Awards are acknowledged as being “must-attend events for all those in the capital markets industry”. For further information please check the conference website or email to Emma Sayers (ESayers@africainvestor.com)
April 9th, 2010 by Tom Minney
Top of this month’s conference agenda is the Africa investor’s Analysts’ and Fund Managers Forum & Financial Reporting Awards, organized in association with NYSE Euronext and Bloomberg. This prestigious event will be next Monday and Tuesday, 12-13 April, at Bloomberg’s London headquarters, and your editor will be day chairing the whole of the first day. Sorry, this will mean that updates and news disseminated via this blog will be late.
Ai (www.africa-investor.com) is a leading African provider of benchmarks and indices and their opening speaker is editor Hubert Danso. Bloomberg (www.bloomberg.com) is a top rated supplier of market data, news and other information services and will be represented for the opening by Ian Yeulett, Chief Executive, Europe and Africa. It is part of Ai’s series of road shows profiling African capital markets to the international investment community.
It offers high-level networking to analysts, fund managers, pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, investor relations officers and the financial media to meet CEOs from Africa’s leading listed companies and stock exchanges.
The theme is “capital introduction” and the organizers are also putting together one-on-one meetings for institutions currently raising capital and seeking investors.
The event also includes the annual Africa investor Analysts’ & Fund Managers Forum and the Financial Reporting Awards as well as a full day (13 April) Investor Relations Training Workshop for IR professionals from African listed companies, CEOs, Finance Directors, Compliance Professionals, IR and communication consultants and other advisory professionals from listed companies.
Monday, 12 May
Session 1(10:10am): The Value Proposition – overview of African capital markets (equity and bonds) including their size, how do capital flows compare with other regions, direct vs portfolio investment, how do its exchanges compare to global leaders, and why did it lag the recovery of other emerging markets after the crisis? Chair: Anton Hobbs (Africa Sales, Bloomberg), panel: Matthew Pearson (Head of African Equity Products, Standard Bank), David Cowan (Economist Africa, CitiGroup), Luca del Conte (Executive Director, MediCapital Bank) and Veronica Kalema (Director, Fitch).
Session 2 (10:50am): Hidden value? Valuation and Accounting in African Companies including leading investment researchers, credit rating analysts and financial journalists reviewing some special factors behind the valuation of companies and sectors in our resource-rich but under-developed continent. Chair: Joseph Wambia (CEO, Wambia Capital LLC), Neil Shah (Research, Edison Investment Research), Daniel Broby (CIO, Silk Invest), Gregory Kronsten (Chief Economist, First City Monument Bank UK), Maciek Szymanski (Investment Strategist, African Alliance Securities)
Session 3 (12:00 noon): Capital Introduction – Trends and Prospects. Leading pension funds and fund managers will analyse global capital raising market for Africa-focused listed, bond, Shariah, hedge and private equity funds, including the views of international pension funds, new directions for sovereign wealth funds and family funds and sector-focused funds. Chair: Rafael Stone (Foster Pepper LLC), Christopher Grune (State Street Global Advisors), Martin Poulsen (Chief Private Equity Officer, African Development Bank), Craig Mercer (Senior Investment Consultant, Towers Watson), Hela Dammak (MD, Global Markets Societe Generale) anf Zain Latif (Partner, TLG Capital).
Session 4 (12:40): Global emerging markets investors and African pension funds and CEOs will debate: disclosure compared with other global markets; can companies identify and talk to their owners, do African companies take investor needs seriously and what could they do to reduce their cost of capital? Chair: Sunil Benimadhu (CEO, Mauritius Stock Exchange), Tim Goodman (Hermes Fund Managers), Nicolas Clavel (CIO, Scipion), Richard Veringa (Executive Director/COO, Sigma Pension Funds), Stephen Swanson (Senior Legal Counsel, Abu Dhabi Investment Company).
Session 5 (14:30): CEO Roundtable: Success stories and strategies from leading African capital markets personalities, including investment strategies and other experiences. Chair: Ekow Afedzie (CEO, Ghana Stock Exchange), Arnold Ekpe (CEO EcoBank), Geoffrey White (CEO, Lonrho), Euan Worthington (Chairman, African Eagle Resources), Dr James Mwangi (CEO, Equity Bank) and Ismail Douiri (Directeur, Attijariwaffa Bank)
Session 6 (15:10): Fund Managers’ Analysis of Market Trends and Forecasts for 2010. Sharing and analysing research, profiling countries, sectors, funds and companies they believe will do well, with predictions and forecasts. Chair: Tom Minney (Editor, African Capital Markets News), Andrew Lister (Senior Investment Manager, Advance Emerging Capital), Ian Morley (CEO, Corazon Capital). Marc Sullivan (Portfolio Manager, Cadiz), Jamie Allsopp (Fund Manager, Insparo Asset Management), Renaissance Capital.
The Africa investor Financial Reporting Awards: The winners will be announced at the end of the forum followed by a cocktail reception in recognition of the award winners. Africa investor will recognise the best listed companies and media houses as well as the leading financial analysts with an outlook on Africa.
Tue 13 May
Industrial Relations workshop sponsored by supported by the IR Global League (www.irgl.info).
For bookings for this and for the industrial relations workshop contact Africa investor click here.