D.A. Barber

  • Pressure Mounts To Renew African Growth and Opportunity Act

    By D.A. Barber, 9:57 am AFKI Original

    U.S. footwear and apparel companies that do business in Africa are clamoring for prompt renewal of the African Growth and Opportunity Act. They say jobs at stake. But AGOA’s detractors argue that the continent’s economic upswing means it no longer needs the special treatment AGOA affords. Exports to Africa support more than 120,000 U.S. jobs and 350,000 jobs in Africa. The fact is, only a handful of the AGOA-eligible countries take full advantage of AGOA’s opportunities.

  • Madagascar On The Rebound With A Blue Economy

    By D.A. Barber, 2:30 am AFKI Original

    Madagascar’s economy is starting to rebound with the help of a “blue economy” strategy and new interest from foreign business and investment. After a peaceful 2013 election, foreign aid began trickling back.

  • Will Electric Power Issues Sway Nigeria’s Election?

    By D.A. Barber, 8:08 am AFKI Original

    With the multitude of challenges facing Nigeria’s power industry, Boko Haram may be the least of Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan’s problems in his bid for re-election. Recent problems facing Nigeria’s power sector include lack of new investors; non-metering of customers that results in “estimated” billing; and technical issues with transmission and distribution. In the months running up to Nigeria’s elections, there’s been a flurry of government-announced deals concerning electric power projects and new foreign investments. But if the sudden interest in energy is an election ploy, it could backfire.

  • High Hopes for President’s Africa Advisory Council

    By D.A. Barber, 9:12 am AFKI Original

    There’s mounting skepticism about whether anything tangible will actually come out of the August U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit. But with names such as Walmart and General Electric on board, there’s much hope for a new U.S. President’s Advisory Council on Doing Business in Africa.

  • Why Are Wind Farm Developers Loving Africa?

    By D.A. Barber, 2:05 am AFKI Original

    This may well become the year of the wind farm in Africa. A flurry of signed deals and groundbreaking for new wind farm projects has taken place during the last few months, including several finished projects that have just gone online. And there is no sign of the pace slowing. “I think the pace of development will only increase from here on out,” Steve Sawyer, Global Wind Energy Council’s Secretary General told AFKInsider.

  • Should U.S. Fund Africa’s Gas-To-Power Projects?

    By D.A. Barber, 9:39 am AFKI Original

    As natural gas-to-power stations increase in Africa, some African governments are hoping to overcome objections by U.S. agencies to fund such projects. Of the six core Power Africa initiative countries, four are already developing natural gas.

  • 2015 Africa Electric Power Conferences

    By D.A. Barber, 4:16 am AFKI Original

    Sub-Sahara African countries continue to pursue development of their electric power sector to combat “energy poverty” and encourage expansion of power-hungry businesses. Much of this energy development centers around renewable energy, such as solar and wind technologies, as well as off-grid strategies for remote regions far from transmission lines.

  • African Business Conferences To Look Out For In 2015

    By D.A. Barber, 1:57 pm AFKI Original

    The year 2015 will be a busy one for African business conferences. We’re highlighting opportunities in sub-Saharan African transportation, infrastructure, investment and banking, healthcare and technology.

  • Africa’s Oil, Gas And Mining Conferences Unfazed By Falling Oil Prices

    By D.A. Barber, 7:07 am AFKI Original

    The coming year looks to be a busy one. New oil and natural gas discoveries in East and West Africa are drawing global attention while the continent’s mining industry has some hard decisions to make concerning low commodity prices and unstable power sources.

  • African Mining Firms Pursuing Renewable Energy Partners

    By D.A. Barber, 3:00 am AFKI Original

    An interesting trend is taking hold within the traditionally conservative and closed African mining industry: They’re discovering renewable energy. While reducing electricity costs has become a major strategic goal for the Africa’s mines, most have not traditionally been considered sympathetic to renewable energy. Since mining operations depend on steady electricity supply – in some cases running 24 hours, some experts see a boom in joining the two industries ahead for 2015. Renewable investment by African mines expected to be between $600 million and $1.1 billion by 2016.