It’s the start of a new year and the perfect opportunity to reflect on personal finances during 2021 and map out aspirations for 2022. We know that environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing has been a hot topic for some time. Indeed, our own Sustainable Investing Review 2021 reveals that 81% of those surveyed have an interest in sustainable investing.

Environmental, Social, and Governance criteria, nowadays commonly referred to as ESGs, are based on the concept of “conscious or responsible” investment which was first introduced during the 1960s.

As the spread of the Omicron variant threatens Africa’s recovery, regional solidarity is more important than ever. Invest Africa CEO, Karen Taylor, shares her thoughts on my regional trade is key to the continent’s recovery and offers her view of the progress made at the Intra-African Trade Fair in Durban, South Africa.

In 2020, Invest Africa launched a business mentoring programme with the University of Oxford/Saïd Business School, pairing MBA students from the Oxford Africa Business Alliance with senior executives from within the Invest Africa membership.

Mediterrania Capital Partners, the Private Equity firm focused on growth investments for SMEs and mid-cap companies in North and Sub-Saharan Africa, is pleased to announce the promotion of Rajaa Berrkia and Mohamed Ali Abdelhak to its Partnership team.

The latest Responsible Business Report from Invest Africa member Charles Russell Speechlys looks at the work the law firm is doing to achieve a positive social and environmental impact, including how it works with clients on ESG matters.

With global attention focusing on climate change and the clean energy transition, Africa is an important continent to watch in the drive for decarbonisation alongside rapid economic development.

His Excellency Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera, President

of the Republic of Malawi, has presided over an inauguration ceremony to mark the addition of

60MWac of additional clean energy to Malawi’s national grid. As Malawi’s first utility-scale solar

photovoltaic plant, Salima Solar is contributing to the country’s ambition to minimise its carbon

emissions whilst promoting economic growth through access to reliable energy access

The last decade was hotter than any other period in the previous 125,000 years, attributable to rising greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions — principally carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide — primarily released from the combustion of coal, oil and gas.

Free zones – special economic jurisdictions which promote trade by suspending customs duties – are like Tolstoy’s description of families: while all functional free zones are alike, each dysfunctional free zone is dysfunctional in its own way.

As COP26 drew to a close this weekend, African negotiators left Glasgow to a mixed response. The explicit mention of fossil fuels for the first time in any COP agreement was a significant step but one watered down by interventions from China and India. Despite Alok Sharma’s promised that as President of COP he would champion developing countries, a loss and damage facility to support poorer nations in paying recovery from climate related disasters was scrapped.

InfraCo Africa, part of the Private Infrastructure Development Group

(PIDG) and Helios Investment Partners (Helios) are working together to establish a pan-African

investment vehicle: Climate, Energy Access and Resilience (CLEAR). CLEAR will fund climate-aligned

infrastructure and growth businesses whilst also working towards achievement of the UN Sustainable

Development Goals

As global leaders gather in Glasgow for COP26 next week, it is important that Africa’s interests are placed at the heart of the global climate agenda. The landmark talks, which the US’s Special Presidential Envoy for Climate has described as the “last best chance” to keep global heating under control, come at a critical time for the Continent. Covid-19 has profoundly affected lives and livelihoods across Africa, with the region now predicted to recover more slowly than any other. Meeting the twin goals of returning to a strong growth trajectory and achieving net-zero emissions will be the defining challenge of Africa’s next decade.

At the dawning of the post-pandemic era, South African companies are facing unprecedented technological disruptions, rapidly outdating business models and the exposure of socio-economic fault lines. C-Suites are confronted with a concoction of risks that are exacerbated by the rising of unemployment, ongoing corruption, financial criminality, cybersecurity threats and concerns around the new vaccine-resistant COVID-19 variants. How companies emerge into the light of day will depend on their resilience and ability to successfully mitigate the risks and threats through informed insights and solid preparation.

Verto, a global B2B payments platform that provides a fast, simple, and reliable way for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to

make payments to their suppliers in over 200 countries across 39 currencies, has raised $10

million in a Series A round of funding led by leading fintech investor Quona Capital, alongside

Treasury, Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP), TMT Investments, Unicorn Growth Capital,

Zrosk Investment Management and P1 Ventures. Previous investors include Y Combinator,

Accelerated Digital Ventures, and Ace & Company.

There has long been a traditional way of thinking in the education sector that one-curriculum-fits-all, and every student learns at the same pace in the same place. The curriculum of today has not significantly changed from the curriculum of 20 years ago. The same content is being taught but, because of the speed at which the world is advancing, we need to know and learn things today that were unheard of 20 years ago.

A Festival focused on the Global South, featuring Deepak Chopra, Baratunde Thurston, Mustafa Shakir, and more

The FATF has taken the decision, at its Plenary session held this week, to remove Mauritius

from the list of “Jurisdictions Under Increased Monitoring”, commonly referred to as the Grey

List.