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EDUCATION

otswana graduates from St George’s

»Batswana graduates from St George’s University, in the Caribbean island of Grenada, celebrate the awarding of their degrees in Gaborone at the first graduation ceremony to be held by the University outside Grenada or the US in its 35-year history.

arking 21 years of relationship between St George’s University and the government of Botswana, which has helped to sponsor Batswana students, more than two dozen students from the schools of medicine, veterinary medicine and the graduate studies programme received their degrees.

t George’s University is putting a growing footprint on the African continent – an ambition of the University’s founder and Chancellor, Charles Modica, who sees the process as reversing the damaging medical brain drain.

here have been 359 St George’s graduates from 27 African countries – of whom 108 are from Botswana, 99 from Nigeria and 37 from Kenya. These numbers are set to increase rapidly with 181 students currently studying at the University from 15 African countries. Of 76 students from Botswana, 71 are taking medical degrees.

Commonwealth African countries are also set to benefit from a scholarship programme expected to be announced by Chancellor Modica later this year. The scholarships will commemorate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee – and 60 years as head of the Commonwealth.

$21bnAfricangovernmentsare investing an estimated $72bn a year in new infrastructure across the continent, out of which telecom-related infrastructure accounts for $21bn South Africa’s Transnet

$1bnEastAfrica’sadvertising market is worth around $1bn. Kenya accounts for more than half of this. Kenyan company Scangroup is the regional leader with 80%

market share is to invest $1.6bn to expand coal line capacity to 81m tons a year iROKOtv, Africa’s first legal online source of Nollywood films has reached 500,000 subscribers in under 6 months Access Bank has raised more than $380,000 for UNICEF projects to help underprivileged children in Northern Nigeria through its partnership with Fifth Chukker Club and UNICEF. The Bank donated $1m to the Global Fund Gift from Africa Project to support the fight against HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. Nigeria’s Access Bank is the single largest African private sector donor to the Global Fund

Arsenal Football Club has made a three-year deal with mobile phone operator Airtel Nigeria to boost the club’s merchandising and content rights in Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda, Zambia and Rwanda. Fans will get exclusive content on their mobile phones and aid from Airtel’s Rising Stars programme. TOURISM Top hotel group launches in Côte d’Ivoire The foundation stone has been laid for the first Radisson Blu Hotel in Côte d’Ivoire. The 252-room, first-class Radisson Blue Abidjan Airport will open at in 2014.

Radisson Blu is operated by Carlson Rezidor, along with Park Inn by Radisson and Hotel Missoni and is a member of the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group,

the10th largest hotel group worldwide. It has the largest pipeline of hotels in sub-Saharan Africa, with a presence in 20 countries across the African continent, 46 hotels and more than 11,000 rooms in operation and under development. The African continent is one of its key focus areas for future business development, the company said.

In addition to 252 modern guest rooms, the new hotel will offer a business class lounge, an air crew lounge, retail stores, a bar, an all day dining restaurant, a private dining area, an outdoor terrace, an outdoor swimming pool, a business centre, seven conference and meeting rooms, and a ballroom. REAL ESTATE Huge makeover for Dar es Salaam A new $300m urban development project will completely transform the cityscape of Dar es Salaam, the commercial capital of Tanzania. According to the country’s Ministry of Home Affairs and Mara Capital, part of the pan-African conglomerate Mara Group, the project will involve the creation of a 3.5m sq ft commercial hub and will include the largest retail mall in East Africa, two internationally branded hotels, a convention centre, a medical tourism hospital, a business park, residential compound, a police station, and 300 residential units for the police.

WOMEN African women fight for inclusive growth The Second African Women’s Economic Summit in Lagos ended with a unanimous commitment by hundreds of entrepreneurs and professional women to campaign vigorously for women’s economic empowerment to banish poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth. High-f lying businesswomen including chief executive officers, bankers, industrialists and entrepreneurs, gender activists and top government officials, urged policy makers, corporate organisations and political leaders to step up measures to promote

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African Business | August/September 2012