Cross border e-commerce continues to provide significant growth opportunities for retailers and manufacturers with an international online product offering. According to a 2017 DHL report, cross-border retail volumes are predicted to increase at an annual average rate of 25 percent between 2015 and 2020; from USD 300 Billion to USD 900 Billion– twice the pace of domestic e-commerce growth.
Steve Burd, Vice President of Sales for DHL Express Sub-Saharan Africa, says that this highlights a boundless opportunity for African businesses looking to take a piece of the cross border e-commerce pie.
Burd says that as the market leader in express logistics, DHL Express works with thousands of e-commerce customers around the world, with a lot of them at start-up phase. “We are therefore well aware of the perceived hurdles involved when considering to trade across borders.”
He points to five common areas which domestic e-commerce customers consider to be a challenge when deciding where to trade internationally. This includes, the cost of express shipping, return rates, basket values, the customer’s business is doing well locally and unfamiliarity with customs procedures and processes.
African businesses should embrace cross-border e-commerce, says DHL
Smart Cities Global Summit to take place in Africa gathering international government and industry leaders
Smart Cities Global Technology & Investment Summit 2018 will take place in Algiers, Algeria, on June 27-28, gathering international Government and Industry leaders to assess global and regional Smart City growth strategies with a special focus on Africa and Emerging Markets.
The prestigious international event, which is under the Patronage of Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the President of the Algerian People’s Democratic Republic, and hosted by Smart City Algiers, is produced in partnership with global events business TMT Finance. The event will feature a 2 Day Global Leadership Summit, Business Exhibition and Gala Dinner.
The Mayor of Algiers, Abdelkader Zoukh said: “We are really honored and delighted to be hosting such an important Smart City Global Summit in Algiers this June. As well as giving us the opportunity to welcome other international Government representatives, technology leaders, business executives and investors to our city, we aim to help stimulate new international partnerships, and knowledge exchange on sustainable City development and high tech investment. Technology provides a fantastic opportunity to improve the lives of all our Citizens through smart, connected investment into infrastructure and services. We are committed to harnessing that force to boost growth for our City and others across the region and globally.”
The Summit and Exhibition, which will and take place at CIC Alger (Centre International de Conferences Alger), will feature over 4,000 Delegates including International City Mayors, Government Ministers, Smart City Investment Heads and Industry CEOs and CIOs from Telecoms, Tech, Infrastructure, Finance, Energy, Security and other sectors.
Government’s role in stimulating new technology and Smart cities investment will be a key focus of the event agenda, with eight key Smart City investment themes featured over 50 sessions: IT & Telecoms Infrastructure; Data & Technology; Finance and Economy; Governance and Partnerships; Safety & Security; Mobility; Sustainability and Society.
The Lion Monument goes green for St Patrick’s Day
The Lion of Judah Monument in Addis Ababa is among the over 300 iconic structures around the world which went “green” for Ireland’s national day, St Patrick’s Day. For the first time, it included landmarks around the world including the Sydney Opera House, the Colosseum in Rome, the London Eye, Niagra Falls and many more.
The Global Greening is a unique campaign providing an opportunity to showcase the beautiful and iconic structures and monuments across the world, as well as giving a reminder of St Patrick’s Day and global links to Ireland.
Sonja Hyland, Ambassador of Ireland in Ethiopia, said at the launch of the greening of the Lion, ‘I am delighted that, for the fourth year in a row, we have ‘greened’ an iconic monument that is part of Ethiopia’s cultural heritage. The success of the greening initiative in Ethiopia is a testament to the long-standing and warm relationship between Ireland and Ethiopia. We are very grateful to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Addis Ababa City authorities and the National Theatre for their partnership.
Although a small country with a population of just over 4.5 million, Ireland attracted over nine million tourists last year. Ireland is also one of the world’s most successful countries in attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). With its pro-business environment and young, highly-skilled population, it ranks first in the world for inward investment by quality and value.
In previous years, the Embassy of Ireland and their partners have greened the Axum Stellae, an Ethiopian Airbus and the Addis Ababa Light Railway.
St Patrick’s Day, Ireland’s national day celebration, takes place on March 17. For the last four years the Embassy of Ireland in Ethiopia has supported the greening of iconic structures. Other events for the St Patrick’s Day celebration in Ethiopia include the St Patrick’s Day Ball which took place in the Sheraton Hotel on March 10. Attracting 650 guests, it raised hundreds of thousands of birr for local charities.
The Big Art Sale to show case the largest art collection in Ethiopia
What’s Out Addis in partnership with Hilton Addis Ababa, the Embassy of Spain and the Embassy of Belgium is going to hold “The Big Art Sale”. This event will take place on Saturday March 31 from 10 am to 6pm at the Hilton Hotel, under a large tent within the parking lot. The tent will be filled with over 1,000 works by over 100 artists, making it a record breaking artistic event in Ethiopian contemporary art history.
What’s Out Addis has, over the last 18 years, organized some of the most exciting artistic events in Addis Ababa. Under the leadership of Yasser Bagersh, the organization has helped foster and nurture the artistic community through art exhibitions, art tours and large scale art festivals.
This year, the Big Art Sale, has moved to the Hilton Hotel to accommodate this ambitious goal of presenting the large number of artists under one roof.
The importance of the event is to support the artistic community. Any profit made from the event will support the charity decided by all the partners involved in the project.
The entry fee is 50 birr. The event is not targeting only art lovers but also families who will enjoy it. There will be food stands, entertainment, a children’s corner and other fun activities.
