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Rera.farm is best start-up in Zimbabwe

Rera, a platform that enables retail consumers to farm their own chickens and save up to 40% from buying poultry produce without having to own the infrastructure of a chicken farm was selected the best startup in Zimbabwe for its innovative sustainable solution

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Rera, a platform that enables retail consumers to farm their own chickens and save up to 40% from buying poultry produce without having to own the infrastructure of a chicken farm was selected the best startup in Zimbabwe for its innovative sustainable solution.

As a part of the prize, Rera will be participating at the Seedstars Summit, taking place in Switzerland, in April 2019. It is a weeklong training program with the opportunity to meet the 65+ winners from other fast growing economies, as well as investors and mentors from around the world. The final day of the Summit is dedicated to pitching in front of an audience of more than 1000 attendees, with the possibility of winning up to USD 1 million in equity investment and other prizes.

Read Also: Egypt’s nuclear power plant to gulp $25 billion

The 9 startups pitched in front of a prestigious jury, including Nhena Nyagura from Dandemutande, Ethel Bangwayo from UNDP, Sharon Wekwete from Omidyar Network and Lilian Mbayiwa from Old Mutual.

Wellnescript, with its wellness and digital health startup in Africa which empowers individuals, families, companies and communities to experience more happiness and enjoy the gift of life, came second. YouFarm, a Zimbabwean company that provides collateral free funding for farmers via the YouFarm Crowd Farming Platform, allowing people to become part of the agriculture value chain by letting them invest in crops and livestock and then share the profits with the Farmer when the produce goes to market. grabbed the last spot in the top 3.

There was also a prize for the best Civic Tech startup and a Best Learner prize. The first was taken by Vote Africa , a mobile application aiming to educate, motivate and empower the electorate to fully own the electoral process and hold governments accountable and the second by Justice Today , a mobile application that protects citizens from crime and uses artificial intelligence to educate citizens on the steps to take when victimized.

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Ghana’s finance minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, hints at external assurance on debt restructuring

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The ministry of finance in Ghana has revealed that after a meeting with the minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, the country is expected to secure financing assurances “very soon”.

A source revealed that the minister met Chinese officials on Wednesday to discuss a proposed restructuring of Ghana’s debt.

According to China’s commerce ministry, the discussion centered on strengthening bilateral economic and trade cooperation.

Ken Ofori-Atta said on Twitter, “So far had very positive and encouraging meetings in China! Looking forward to securing external assurances very soon, even as we pass our outstanding domestic revenue bills back home. Great progress and all fronts.”

Ghana has been struggling with its worst economic crisis in a generation and secured a staff-level agreement with the IMF in December for a $3 billion loan. Still, approval is contingent on it restructuring its debt of 575.7 billion cedis ($47.6 billion).

The West African country agreed on a staff-level agreement through the International Monetary Fund in December for a $3 billion loan but must first ask bilateral lenders to provide financing assurances on existing debts before the IMF board can sign off on the programme.

China is Ghana’s biggest bilateral creditor with about $1.7 billion of debt and the Chinese delegation visited Ghana this month for initial debt talks which the finance ministry said were “cordial and fruitful.”

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South Africa: Consumer confidence falls to lowest level since 1994. Here’s why

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A recent survey released in South Africa shows that consumer confidence plunged to its lowest level since 1994 in the first quarter as the effect of continued power outages.

The survey revealed that the consumer confidence index, sponsored by the First National Bank (FNB) and compiled by the Bureau for Economic Research, slumped to a reading of minus 23 points, from minus 8 points in the fourth quarter of 2022.

FNB chief economist Mamello Matikinca-Ngweny, said “the alarming increase in power outages since December and the concomitant deterioration in South Africa’s economic prospects no doubt rocked consumer sentiment during the first quarter.”

The development is indicative of extreme concerns among consumers about South Africa’s economic prospects and their household finances, according to the survey.

There are concerns that the South African Reserve Bank would hike interest rates by 25 bps at its meeting next week as headline inflation rose slightly in February to 7% from 6.9% in the prior month, data showed on Wednesday,

The country lately has had challenges with its electricity supply which has forced struggling state power company, Eskom to announce the previous series of power rotation arrangements.

Eskom has implemented scheduled electricity outages every day in 2023, with most households and businesses without power for up to 10 hours a day.

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