Ghana is producing more female entrepreneurs than any other country on the continent and ranks near the top globally, according to the second edition of the Mastercard Index of Women’s Entrepreneurship.
The index examined 57 different economies around the world, including Botswana, Ethiopia, South Africa and Uganda. Ghana came out on top, with 46.4 percent of businesses in the country being owned by women, while Uganda was third with 33.8 percent.
According to the index, although Ghana and Uganda have high proportions of women business owners, the opposite is true in countries such as Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Iran, Algeria, Ethiopia, Malawi and Tunisia, where less than 10 percent of businesses are female-owned, with Saudi Arabia posting the lowest at 1.4 percent.
However, the index did also show that some women’s inclination towards business ownership may be undermined by limited access to education, finance and entrepreneurial opportunities.
South Africa Faces National Drought
After a crippling drought in Cape Town and other parts of South Africa, the country has declared the situation a national disaster.
The government made the announcement Tuesday, with Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Zweli Mkhize taking the reins on the issue.
“It is important at this point to indicate that the declaration of a state of disaster at any level is not primarily aimed at requesting funding,” Mkhize told reporters, the African News Agency reported. “It is aimed at activating extraordinary measures which might include funding, based on the need and other relevant conditions to address the impact of such a disaster. Resources, of both technical and financial, should be mobilized by all spheres of government, private sector, non-governmental organizations and communities to implement intervention measures and consider recovery in the long term.”
Cape Town warned about the threat of “Day Zero,” the date when the city would have to close most water taps because of the drought. However, the opposition party running the city said last week that “Day Zero” might not happen at all this year because of water conservation efforts.
Zee TV Africa Holds Court at Conference
Harish Goyal, CEO of Zee TV Africa, served as the main feature at this year’s international SATELLITE 2018 conference in D.C.
During a panel discussion on March 14, titled “Africa: Next-Gen Pay-TV and the role of Sports in OTT Adoption,” Goyal focused on topics surrounding the new middle class emerging in Africa and how the demand for pay-TV services is increasing.
“It is a great honor to be asked to represent the business once again at this level and to share the platform with noted experts like Amazon Inc’s CEO Jeff Bezos,” Goyal said prior to the event. “The focus on Africa is welcome and Zee is at the forefront of this space having spent 25 years on the continent.
“We have done in depth research into the African markets and understand the diverse cultures, languages and geography of the continent to know that what works well in America may not translate or be effective here in Africa,” he said.
In addition, the panel also discussed mobile penetration and its increase in many countries across Africa.