Business Archives – Sky News Africa

sky news africa “Wages are now useless because of inflation,” he said. “Everyone is crying.” Selling from cars is also prevalent in other parts of Africa. Joseph Chege used to be an electronics dealer on the outskirts of Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, but anti-COVID-19 restrictions forced him to close his business. Faced with payments for loans he had taken to expand his now-shut business, Chege says he had to come up with a quick alternative to meet his financial obligations. He realized that demand for food had remained the same but there was a shortfall in supply in Nairobi because of movement restrictions. He also realized that the farmers in his community were not able to sell their produce because the local market had been closed by a ban on crowded places. Chege went around farms and bought the best produce at the cheapest price and then drove to the populated neighborhoods in Nairobi, parked his car, and opened the trunk to display the fresh produce. “It did not take long and before lunch-time I was out of stock, so I drove back and got more produce,” he said. Chege says that the profit from selling vegetables and fruits is significantly less than what he used to make but he is grateful to be able to meet some of his financial obligations when many people are losing their livelihoods. Although Kenya has now lifted travel restrictions, Chege says the economic downturn will prevent him from returning to his electronics business for a while yet. In Zimbabwe, selling items from the back of car trunks to beat economic hardships is not completely new, but it was mainly limited to those selling second-hand clothes. Now, newly unemployed people clog roadsides and street corners in both rich and poor suburbs in Harare to sell from their cars. Many said the items for sale are smuggled from neighboring South Africa, which has closed its border posts with Zimbabwe as part of lockdown measures. Zimbabwe’s economy had already shifted from full-time, salaried jobs to self-employed trading due to a steady trend of de-industrialization over the past two decades, and the coronavirus has just worsened the situation, said some economists. “We have seen the closure of companies, the closure of industries. We have seen more and more people actually eking out a living in the informal sector,” said Prosper Chitambara, a Harare-based economist. For Marshall Chinyani, who abandoned work as a schoolteacher three years ago to focus on a small import business that closed due to the coronavirus, selling from his car is the new normal. “I am here because of the coronavirus pandemic that forced some of us to leave our jobs (and go) into the streets to sell these,” he said, standing next to his car packed with vegetables on the side of a busy road in Belgravia, a Harare suburb with many embassies, U.N agencies and international aid organizations. “We were never used to this,” he said. “But we were forced to leave our offices and our shops.”

Many Zimbabweans sell goods from their cars in hard times

Mumbere Peter - July 15, 2020

ZIMBABWE Cars have become mobile markets in Zimbabwe where enterprising residents are selling goods from their vehicles to cope with economic hardships caused by the coronavirus. With their car doors and...

sky news africa African air travel at near-standstill in recent months Relatively few confirmed COVID-19 cases have been reported in Africa. Less air travel might be a factor after most countries closed their borders. But more are starting to resume passenger flights. Flight departures from international airports on May 20 by global region West and Central Africa 1 East and South Africa 21 South America 71 Middle East 113 Asia Pacific 633 Europe and N. Atlantic 673 N. America and Caribbean

Africa starts opening airspace even as COVID-19 cases climb

Andrew Mbeki - July 6, 2020

SOUTH AFRICA As COVID-19 cases surged in many parts of the world, the island nation of the Seychelles was looking good: 70-plus straight days without a single infection. Then the planes arrived.

sky news africa Emirates resumes on-ground services for premium customers from July 1

Photos: Emirates resumes services for premium customers July 1

Kolariah Ksathra - June 30, 2020

DUBAI Emirates will open one lounge in Terminal 3 Concourse B, Dubai International Airport (DXB) to serve First Class, Business Class and eligible Emirates Skywards members on 1st July. Lounge...

skynewsafrica Electricity coy JED, in Nigeria says consumers will pay more decry subsidy

Electricity coy JED, in Nigeria says consumers ‘ll pay more decry subsidy

Uzo Kingsley - June 29, 2020

NIGERIA An energy company in Nigeria, known as the Jos Electricity Distribution Company (JED), has said consumers of electricity will pay more starting from 1st July 2020. The company gave reason...

sky news africa Coronavirus: Bank of England expands crisis QE programme to £300bn

COVID-19: Bank of England expands crisis QE programme to £300bn

Middleton Prince - June 18, 2020

UNITED KINGDOM The Bank of England has expanded its coronavirus crisis quantitative easing (QE) programme of bond-buying by £100bn - taking the total since March to £300bn. The move - designed...

Tunisia plans to resume commercial flights late June

Samia Gazala - June 4, 2020

TUNISIA Tunisia moves to resume commercial flights as it plans to reopen its airspace, land and sea borders on June 27, 2020 as part of full de-confinement scheduled for June 14.

ECOWAS countries seek solutions to Nigeria’s border closure

Shegun Tolulope - February 15, 2020

NIGERIA Members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) are determined to find solutions to the ongoing unilateral border closure by Nigeria. ECOWAS’ fifteen member countries met on Saturday...

More jobs on the line because of electricity costs in South Africa

Andrew Mbeki - January 23, 2020

SOUTH AFRICA Thousands more people stand to lose their jobs because of unstable electricity supply in SA, as Samancor Chrome Limited has become the latest employer to issue retrenchment notices. In...

New CEO stands by 737 MAX, eyeing reset at troubled Boeing

Middleton Prince - January 23, 2020

BOEING Boeing Chief Executive David Calhoun sought to pivot from a bruising period of crisis and scandal on Wednesday, pledging a renewed commitment to safety and transparency and endorsing the long-term viability of the...

Davos 2020: securing Africa’s interests at World Economic Forum

Middleton Prince - January 21, 2020

SWITZERLAND Several political and business leaders will join their counterparts at the annual World Economic Forum that kicked off on Tuesday in the Swiss city of Davos. Ghana’s president Nana Akufo-Addo...