Posts by Shahrain Coovadia

In last month’s Newsletter I promised to give a report on the 1st 4IR Summit which was attended by President Ramaphosa, the Minister for the  Dept of Communications and Digital Technologies,…

There has been a marked rise in recorded Internet shutdowns globally, but the increase in officially sanctioned disruptions in Africa so far this year are noteworthy. Take the 2 shutdowns…

According to Mary Meeker’s annual Internet Trends Report for 2019, just over half the world’s population (3.8bn people) were internet users last year – up from 3.6 billion in 2017.…

One deliverable from the annual Ecommerce Weeks held by UNCTAD each year is that countries should provide stats on ecommerce activities in their countries. This is still not happening and…

Standard Bank has introduced SimplyBlu this month, a digital solution that aims to help SMEs set up and manage an online store and accept card payments securely. SAPO has also announced that…

In South Africa MyBroadband’s recent ecommerce survey revealed that 80% of online shoppers do not trust the SA Post Office (SAPO) to deliver online shopping parcels. The survey was completed…

Rand Merchant Bank has released the eighth edition of its “Where to invest in Africa” report, which analyzes 53 African economies according to their investment attractiveness. The theme of this…

One of the key issues which will need to be tackled very soon by the African Union and its 55 Member States are rules of origin. This is also key…

President Buhari resolved to sign in the agreement establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) last weekend. He will sign the agreement at the 12th Extraordinary Summit of African…

Last month this Newsletter celebrated that the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) was launched on 30 May with 52 signatories – only Nigeria, Benin and Eritrea had not signed.…