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$95m

China will provide 600m renminbi ($95m) of free assistance to the African Union over the next three years

CT African iPad users don’t play around »The iPad has created seismic shifts in the way its users access and digest information and it has shown that Africa has its own unique business landscape. A new survey by IDG Connect shows that 47% of the iPads used in Africa were purchased for the worker by the employer, compared to the global average of 24%. Perhaps as a result, African users tend to use their iPad more for business than for for entertainment and personal communication. At 13%, the proportion of Africans surveyed who say they use their iPad for entertainment is the lowest in the world.

f those who own iPads, 83% said they always use their iPad at work, compared to the global average of 51%. The survey revealed that 97% of professionals use the iPad for reading and 66% say their iPad has partially or completely replaced their laptop. African respondents use the iPad’s WiFi connectivity but use mobile networks far more frequently. Given the role that mobile connectivity plays in Africa, this shouldn’t come as a surprise.

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Wealth and poverty in Africa GDP growth (%) 2010 African economies have weathered the global financial crisis better than many expected: the continent’s average growth rate was nearly 5% in 2010, up from 3.1% in 2009.

Snippets Around Africa THIS MONTH

COTE D’IVOIRE Former agriculture minister Lambert Kouassi Konan (right) is to head Côte d’Ivoire’s new cocoa/ coffee body.

SIERRA LEONE Oluniyi Robbin-Coker, former Citibank banker, has been named Minister of Energy and Water Resources in Sierra

Leone. Previously, he was President Koroma’s private sector adviser.

ZIMBABWE Zimbabwe and Equatorial Guinea have signed an MOU for reciprocal oil and mining rights worth $1.5bn. The deal will satisfy Zimbabwe’s increasing oil demand. Equatorial Guinea is the third-largest oil producer in sub-Saharan Africa Its GDP per capita ranks 27th in the world.

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African Business | March 2012 IDEAS Wine to turn into water in Ethiopia Proceeds from sales of a South African wine will be turned into water in Ethiopia. The scheme involves the ‘Bonne Nouvelle 2003’ wine, a Cabernet, Merlot and Pinotage blend produced by world-famous South African winemaker, Michel Rolland from Stellenbosch, South Africa. The name of the wine means ‘good news’ in French. The producer describes it as ‘a wine from the land of Africa, for the people of Africa’. From every $39 bottle sold, $20 will go directly to Wine To Water, a US-based organisation, to dig deep bore wells in the Dale region of Southern Ethiopia, where six out of 10 people lack access to clean water. The project’s initial goal is to raise $40,000 – enough to fund four wells, providing permanent water access for over 8,000 people. ICT Google helps SMEs to go on line Internet giant Google has teamed up with South Africa’s Department of Trade and Industry, Vodacom and the Human Resources Development Council to help South African businesses create a free online presence. South Africa’s Woza Online initiative makes it easy for small, medium- and micro-sized enterprises (SMEs), who lack funds or skills, to set up an online presence quickly and easily. The free service guides users through a few simple steps to create a basic website in less than an hour. SMEs account for between 52% and 57% of South Africa’s GDP, provide about 61% of employment and are responsible for 40% of the country’s income, making them vital for driving growth and development. Over 200,000 companies in South Africa could benefit. Of South African SMEs with a website, 79% were profitable, compared to 59% of those without. It is the 24th country in which Google has run this programme.

NIGERIA Nigeria is in talks with the EU-Africa Infrastructure Trust Fund on N1 trillion worth ($62m) of hydroelectric and pipeline projects. Two projects being considered are the $3bn Mambilla Power Project and the Calabar-Kano section of the Trans Sahara pipeline, at around $2bn.

TANZANIA Honda Japan has partnered with local firm Quality Motors to set up an assembly plant in Dar es Salaam to assemble and sell motorcycles to cater specifically for the African market and climate. To date 50,000 Hondas have been sold in Africa.