Cashless Society: Zimbabwe Football Association ‘Having Whip Round’ For Next World Cup Qualifier!

#ZIFA – indebted by c. US$4m – now trying to raise US$150,000.00 to cover expenses of next away game in #Egypt #skint tinyurl.com/beaxxtb—
Asad Yawar (@Mediolana) February 09, 2013

The Lion Shrieks Tonight: Jungle Book Star in Numerical Shrinkage!

Africa's lion population slashed by c.70% in last 50 years; humans 'encroaching' on iconic species' natural habitat tinyurl.com/b7swxey—
Asad Yawar (@Mediolana) December 04, 2012

Resource Curse: Is Africa the New Middle East?

50/55 (c.91%) of states in #Africa now producing or prospecting for oil; commercial secrecy + corruption 'the rule' tinyurl.com/92u3yln—
Asad Yawar (@Mediolana) September 02, 2012

Epic Fail: Africa Dominates ‘Index of Shame’ Despite (Or Because Of) Incredible Natural Resources

#Somalia, #CongoDR + #Sudan top #ForeignPolicy #FailedStateIndex; African nations make up 75% of the 20 'most troubled' tinyurl.com/cll99zk—
Asad Yawar (@Mediolana) June 18, 2012

Awakening Giant? Africa’s Economy Set to Boom Amidst Global Depression

#Africa's US$1.7trn GDP bigger than those of #India, #Russia; annual 6% growth expected in next few years tinyurl.com/bmdml58 #BRICS #AU—
Asad Yawar (@Mediolana) April 26, 2012

Chaos Theory: Nigerian Population Projections Off the Scale!

Population of #Nigeria to hit 300m by 2037 as high birth rates + crash urbanisation arrest economic growth tinyurl.com/d4uuxnm #Africa—
Asad Yawar (@Mediolana) April 14, 2012

Changer! Life Co-Opts Art as Youssou N’Dour Enters Senegalese Government

Youssou N'Dour dances into #Senegal cabinet as minister of culture and tourism; President #Sall makes 'inspired' choice tinyurl.com/7tlbe26—
Asad Yawar (@Mediolana) April 05, 2012

I Want My EAC: Frontier Capitalism in the East African Community

As seasoned readers of this blog will undoubtedly be aware, we at Mediolana firmly believe that in an era when vast swathes of the developed world are, at least from an economic perspective, having great difficulty finding a reason to get out of bed in the morning, the time has arguably never been more apposite for companies and individuals located in Western Europe and North America to ask themselves where exactly their core markets are. The BRICI countries in particular seem to offer incredible opportunities for manufacturers and service providers at every level; reading the China Daily, one would think that there is an inexhaustible supply of previously unheard of cities with populations of over five million people, while the fact that Indonesia has the fourth largest population of any nation on the face of the Earth still causes Mediolana’s CSO to stop typing and look around every time he recollects this.

Yet for the even more adventurous and daring entrepreneur, there are yet more lucrative opportunities than the aforementioned engines of growth. We are thinking in particular of Sub-Saharan Africa, a region which is internationally more famous for famine than finery; in particular, the region of East Africa, which was the subject of an excellent recent (November 2011) supplement published in the Financial Times. Perhaps largely because almost no one from the developed world conceptualises the states of the East African Community or EAC (Tanzania, Kenya, Burundi, Uganda and Rwanda) as anything other than economically insignificant, they ignore the fact that there is a phenomenal consumer boom underway in this region. Consider the following:

• The Sub-Saharan Africa GDP growth rate in 2011 was 5.2%, with all EAC countries bar Burundi (4.2%) exceeding this rate;
• A global consumer culture applies to this part of Africa, too: Tanzania opened its first formal retail outlet in 1999, and shopping malls – like in China and India – are mushrooming region-wide;
• The Rwanda Development Board‘s One Stop Centre enables registration of a new corporation in just 24 hours.

Of course, it is not easy for most East Africans to do business in this part of Africa, let alone outsiders: transport, logistics, entrenched and relatively widespread corruption and other infrastructural issues are only just beginning to be addressed, while purchasing power for most people in this region is still quite limited. That said, relatively low competition and inchoate formal markets signifies that there is almost everything to play for in one of the world’s most underrated economic zones.

Drill, Drill Africa?! 2012 Africa Cup of Nations Fuelled By Changing World Energy Market

Both co-hosts and 5/16 teams @ #ACN2012 are oil-rich nations: emerging forces #Angola, #ACN2017 hosts #Libya and #Sudan tinyurl.com/32chll9—
Asad Yawar (@Mediolana) January 21, 2012

Sub-Saharan Africa: Pay Television’s Newest Frontier?

CANAL+ AFRIQUE wins the #Francophone broadcasting rights to UEFA Champions League and Europa League matches 2012-2015 tinyurl.com/cd2g4cl—
Asad Yawar (@Mediolana) December 14, 2011