Doraleh Multipurpose Port (DMP) and SDTV Bulk Terminal will begin serving dry bulk importers.
The newly built and ultra-modern Doraleh Multipurpose Port and SDTV Dry Bulk Terminal, an experienced private concessionaire with a concession agreement of 30 years, with 18 years remaining, are offering their expertise and infrastructure to uphold Djibouti Ports’ competitiveness towards the growing competitiveness of regional ports.
Both terminals (DMP and SDTV) are handling dry bulk cargos and recording increasing volumes at an unparalleled performance level in the region. This upward trend is meant to further increase in the upcoming years.
A total volume of 3, 371, 196.38 tons of dry bulk cargo, has been handled by the two ports since January to date. This represents an increase of 7% compared to the same period last year and a 44% increase compared to 2017. This steady growth will continue with an estimated total volume expected to reach 3.7 million tons at the end of this year.
Tadjourah Port, another new dedicated port with a depth of -14.5 meters, will offer a third viable option for dry bulk importers and exporters. With the connecting road completed, this new facility is well positioned to serve hinterland and could accommodate vessel of up to 80,000 DWT.
To achieve higher performances and seamless movement of cargo transiting to the hinterland, these ports will target excellence through the advantage of a positive, fair and free competition, in order to serve the country’s vision to consolidate its geostrategic location.
Doraleh Port starts dry bulk service
Oromia Insurance rise continues
Oromia Insurance Company (OIC) has secured over 92-million-birr gross profit for the 2018/19 financial year, while its asset surpassed one billion birr.
The profit registered for the year has increased over 13 percent compared with the 2017/18 year.
A year ago the gross profit before tax of the insurance company was 81.5 million birr. According to the annual financial report of OIC in the 2018/19 financial year it has amassed 87.3 million birr net profit after tax with increment of 20 percent compared with a year ago.
The total gross claims paid as at June 30, 2019, which is the end of the financial year, was 181.8 million birr while that of the last year’s corresponding period was 178.1 million birr. The annual report indicated that the net claims paid for the period under consideration was 158.5 million birr out of which claims paid for motor class of business constitutes 92.7 percent. High claim settlement for motor class is common on the sector.
At the same time the report indicated that the Company’s net claims incurred during the period under review were 206.7 million birr that is lifted by 12 percent or 22.2 million birr compared with the previous year.
For the stated period OIC has collected over 434 million birr gross written premium with 12.4 percent increment compared with the 2017/18 financial year. A year ago the gross written premium was 386 million birr.
Gross written premium income of life insurance business as at June 30 this year has reached 8.3 million birr, with the growth of 32.2 percent as compared with a year ago.
As of June 30 the company gross written premium that includes all classes of insurance like life an micro reached 452.4 million birr.
The paid up capital of the company has reached at quarter a billion birr with the increment of 53.6 million birr or over 27 percent compared with the preceding year.
As investment is one of the business directions for the insurance business OIC has been also expanded its investment on non insurance businesses. For the closed budget year the company investment has reached at 117.4 million birr with the increment of 24 million birr.
The total asset of OIC has reached at 1.14 billion birr that has increased by almost quarter a billion birr or 30 percent compared with a year ago performance. The company that expanded its capital to 250 million birr has registered the earning per share of 390 birr per a single share that is 1,000 birr. Despite the net profit registered increment and at the same time it has boosted its capital the earning per share has showed slight decrement compared with 410 birr of a year ago that it 4.9 percent higher than the reported period.
The company has totally 47 outlets including 6 contact offices throughout the country.
Indian, Ethiopian tech investors team up
Ethiopian and Indian technology entrepreneurs showcased their innovative work at the Ministry of Innovation and Technology in a bid to commercialize their groundbreaking work.
There were 31 validated Indian and 62 Ethiopian technological and innovative projects in agriculture, food processing, green energy, waste management, education, information technology, and health were displayed during a week-long exhibition and side line conference which remained open from December 9-14, 2019.
“Partnership in validated innovation work is pertinent to foster our move to digitize our economy,” said Getahun Mekuria, Minister of Innovation and Technology. Adding that Ethiopia is undertaking major economic reforms which will enable Indian and other companies to participate in the move towards privatization.
The exhibition is part of the agreement between the two countries to deploy over 50 Indian innovation and technology entrepreneurs with Ethiopian counterparts over a period of five years in order to stimulate economic impact development in the country.
For this program, qualified and validated Indian innovations & technological work was selected through a unique and rigorous evaluation process to create sustainable joint ventures in Ethiopia to build an ecosystem wherein Indian innovations and technology enterprises drive B2B/B2G business ventures with Ethiopia, propelling growth in India and Ethiopia.
According to Getahun, Ethiopia is aspiring to follow the footsteps of India in science, innovation and technology and Ethiopia has a lot to learn from India’s entrepreneurship.
India is one of the big Asian digital economies in terms of science and technology mobilization as well as incubation for the creation of wealth and employment.
Indian Ambassador to Ethiopia, Anurag Srivastava said the expo and conference on science, innovation and technology create interaction and engagement between Indian and Ethiopian companies and stressed India’s commitment to further deepen its partnership with Ethiopia to support its development in innovation and technology.
From the showcase the Ministry of Innovation will select close to 100 innovative projects to team up with Indian technological innovators. On top of this the exhibition will capacitated Ethiopian innovators to add values in the local products and create more jobs in the field.
“That means that the best way to really create wealth in the world is through technology-based and knowledge-based industries,” Getahun adds.
The contribution of technolo0gy to GDP is insignificant though Ethiopia has an advantage as the large number of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) educated graduates who are beginning to enter the job market following the government’s investments in higher education. However the ministry’s plan to raise the Ethiopian tech sector to 2 percent of GDP or 2billion USD in the next two years – up from what he calls its “insignificant” contribution today.
‘Africa’s future depends on solidarity’ Leaders and development partners rally around climate change goals
There was standing room only as ministers, diplomats, activists and journalists gathered at the IFEMA conference centre in Madrid to mark Africa Day at the COP 25 climate meeting.
Speakers called for a united front to tackle the challenges of climate change in Africa.
In the opening statement for Africa Day on Tuesday, Yasmin Fouad, Egypt’s Minister of Environmental Affairs, on behalf of the African Union, said: “We have, and will continue to engage and to seek landing grounds on the outstanding issues. But we must flag our concern at the apparent reluctance by our interlocutors to engage on issues of priority to developing countries, as evidenced by the large number of such issues which have simply been pushed from session to session without any progress.”
Africa contributes the least to global warming emissions yet is the continent most vulnerable to climate change, as witnessed by devastating natural disasters recently. Africa Day has been held at the conference every year since COP 17 in 2011 to rally support for the continent’s cause.
“The climate disaster issues confronting the continent demand a predictable and unified response,” said UN ASG Mohamed Beavogui, Director General of African Risk Capacity, an agency of the African Union that helps governments respond to natural disasters.
“Africa needs to move towards market-based innovative financing models to achieve a strong, united, resilient and globally influential continent. The future of Africa depends on solidarity.”
Vera Songwe, Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), said the ECA would support African countries to revise their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to attract private sector investments in clean energy.
“The lack of concerted and meaningful global ambition and action to tackle climate change poses an existential threat to African populations,” Songwe said.
The Paris Agreement is the guiding force of current climate negotiations. It calls on nations to curb temperature increases at 2°C by the end of this century, while attempting to contain rises within 1.5°C. The next step is to implement NDCs, which set out national targets under the Paris Agreement.
While African countries outlined bold aspirations to build climate resilient and low-carbon economies in their NDCs, the continent’s position is that it should not be treated the same as developed nations as its carbon emissions constitute a fraction of the world’s big economies.
“The African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) remains committed to partnering with other institutions in providing the requisite support to AU member states in reviewing and updating their NDCs,” said Estherine Fotabong, Director of Programmes at AUDA-NEPAD.
Barbara Creecy, South Africa’s Environment Minister and current chair of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment, said the Africa Day event should come up with new ideas to enhance the implementation of NDCs in Africa.
Africa is already responding positively to the challenge of climate change, said Anthony Nyong, Director for Climate Change and Green Growth at the African Development Bank, citing huge investment interest in renewables at the Bank’s Africa Investment Forum in Johannesburg.
“Clearly, we are a continent that has what it takes to create the Africa that we want to see happen. I believe what has been the missing link is the ability to brand right and to act on the market signals,” Nyong said. “We continue to present Africa as a vulnerable case and not as a business case with opportunities. In fact, where we have attempted the latter, the results have been spot-on.”
