South Africa is the home for Microsoft’s first data centers in Africa. The two data centers are located in Cape Town and Johannesburg. The new data centers are serving Azure, with Dynamics 365 and Office 365 scheduled to be added by end of 2019.

The company had, in 2017, announced that it plans to have data centers in South Africa. Overall, the multinational technology company has 54 cloud regions announced around the world.

Data Centers and Digital Transformation

Map showing the location of the new data centers in South Africa

The new data centers in South Africa make Microsoft the first global provider to offer cloud services from data centers in Africa. The company aims to help in promoting digital transformation in Africa.

The location of the data centers in Africa means regional users are guaranteed of resilient cloud services, enhanced security, compliance needs, and data residency. Furthermore, the new data centers will help promote global investment, improve access to the Internet and cloud services in Africa, and increase business opportunities in the region.

Projections from IDC–International Data Corporation–indicate that adoption of the cloud services will generate around 112,000 jobs in South Africa—by end of 2022. The data centers will facilitate improved environment for building digital businesses. Nedbank for instance, plans to utilize Microsoft Azure to increase its agility, customer focus, and competitiveness.

Furthermore, Azure provides companies with data privacy and security. This makes it a suitable service for banks like Nedbank. The Peace Parks Foundation and eThekwini Water have also signed up with Microsoft for computing services.

Microsoft Azure

Microsoft Azure is a cloud computing service. It can be used for building, testing, managing, and deploying services and applications through Microsoft data centers. The service supports different tools, frameworks, and programming languages.

Users of Azure can enjoy instant computing resources on demand. In addition, businesses or individuals using the service do not have to build on-site data centers or have server cooling environments. Also Azure users do not endure maintenance costs, electricity costs, and use of floor space. As such, Azure brings down the costs of computing.

Microsoft’s Investment in Africa

Microsoft has a 30-year history of operations in Africa. With over 10,000 local partners on the continent, the new data centers in South Africa add to the company’s long list of investments in Africa. The expansive investments in Africa took a new direction with Microsoft’s launch of 4Africa Initiative in 2013.

The initiative seeks to facilitate the company’s engagement with startups, partners, and governments. The aim of these engagements is to help the youth develop locally relevant technology, 21st-century skills, and affordable access to the Internet.

Other global tech giants with plans to open data centers in Africa include Huawei and Amazon. Facebook announced it will set up a content review center in Nairobi, Kenya.

Africans are taking the plunge into the automobile industry, positioning themselves to compete against more established car brand. To succeed, they have to do a little more for their demographic and be a little better than their counterparts. Cars made in Africa, and by Africans, are changing the narrative about Africa’s ability to produce state-of-the-art machinery.

These cars produced in Africa. The end products is evidence of Africa’s automotive industry positioning itself to compete with seasoned and established foreign brands.

Africa Owned Car Brands Manufactured In Africa

Mobius Bus-Kenya

Joel Jackson, a British entrepreneur, started Mobius Motors, a car factory in Kenya. Mobius motors released Mobius bus, a low cost designed for common African road terrains. Mobius bus is an eight-seater vehicle with large cargo space. The vehicle can reach a maximum speed of 160km/h on its manually transmitted gearbox.

The company later manufactured Mobius II which is an advanced version of the pioneer model—Mobius one. The new version has a better interior, higher ground clearance, power steering, and sealed side windows.

Mobius 2

The Kantaka-Ghana

A shift in focus from agriculture to industry in Ghana has yielded great results. The Kantaka is a proudly made in Ghana car. The car is available in various models, shapes, and colors—the Kantaka pickup, the Kantaka SUV etc.

The Kantaka Group of Companies manufactures the Kantaka. Apostle Kwadwo Safo owns the company which is located in Gomoa Mpota. The Kantaka is probably one of the most promising cars made in Africa. This is a unique feature that distinguishes its style from Chinese and Japanese cars. Specifically, the Kantaka is designed for local conditions in Ghana.

The Kantaka

Innoson-Nigeria

The brain behind Innoson, a Nigerian car, is Chief Dr. Ifediaso Chukwuma. Dr. Chukwuma is the founder of The Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company.

The company manufactures luxury, trucks, and minibusses. Some of the advantages that set Innoson car apart include: its affordable price; three years warranty on gears, axle, and engine, and; the ability of the car to correspond with needs of an average car user in Nigeria. In addition, Innoson is a modern and comfortable car.

Innoson luxury SUV G80

Bailey Edwards-South Africa

This is a replica sports car made in South Africa. Brothers Peter and Greg Bailey started the manufacturing company in 2003, creating the brand name of Bailey cars.

The company builds and customizes performance cars—such as the Ferrari P4 and the Porsche 917. In addition to its South African base, the company has a factory in New York. The New York factory caters for the North American market.

Bailey Edwards

Birkin Cars Ltd

This is another South African car manufactured by Birkin Ltd. John Watson owns Birkin Ltd. The company specializes in making the S3 Roadster. the company has manufactured more than 8,000 S3s  since 1988. The S3 bears resemblance to the original Lotus.

Birkin S3 Roadster

Wallyscar-Tunisia

Wallyscar is a small but powerful car made in Tunisia. Brothers Zied Guiga and Omar Guiga founded the company in 2006. The car is designed for off-road driving with its largest market being in Africa and the Middle East. In addition, the car has a market in Europe. The manufacturer plans to make the car more colorful, sporty, and more environment-friendly.

The Kiira EV Smack—Uganda

The Kiira EV Smack is an invention by engineering students at Makerere University in Uganda. It is an electric hybrid car by Kiira Motors Corporation. Kiira EV Smack is an advancement of the original prototype by the students. The car is cost-effective. Both diesel and electricity can provide power to the car. The car is expected to become available to consumers before the end of 2022.

Kiira Ev smack

African Ingenuity

Several cars made in Africa show the creativity and ingenuity of the African motor industry. For example, some of these cars, when fully developed, can run on solar power. Others are electric hybrid cars.

The Turtle-Ghana

Another car made in Ghana is the Turtle, which is designed to meet local needs. However, the Turtle is not as sophisticated as the Kantaka. the ingenuity in this car comes from the fact that it is a 100 percent recycled car.

The Wind and Solar Powered Car-Nigeria

Segun Oyeyiola produced this wind and solar powered car as a student at Obafemi Awolowo University. The car was Segun’s final year project at the institution. This car is a product of a Volkswagen Beetle and other materials.

The car was to function on both solar and wind power. During the day, the car uses solar energy. At night, the car uses a wind turbine. This car, however, is still a work in progress.

Cars that Never Survived to Mass Production

Laraki Epitome-Morocco

A product of Morocco, Laraki Epitome is manufactured by Laraki. Moroccan yatch designer Abdeslam Laraki owns the manufacturing company. In addition to Laraki Epitome, the company manufactured the Borac and the Fulgura—supercar and luxury car. Laraki Epitome is a perfect combination of luxury and speed.

Compared to large scale manufacturers, Laraki makes its cars based on a concept. As such, cars at Laraki are custom-made for each customer. In 2015, Laraki cars were ranked as some of the most expensive in the world—priced at over $2 million. This fete definitely makes Laraki the most expensive cars made in Africa.

Saroukh el-Jamahiriya-Libya

The Saroukh el-Jamahiriya was originally designed for former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. As you would expect, this is a luxury and safe car.

The car had an inbuilt electronic defense system. In addition, the interiors had airbags to increase safety of the vehicle. Furthermore, the car could run over hundreds of miles on flat tires. Definitely one of the best cars made in Africa.

Although the car competed with other luxury cars from Germany, it never went into full-time production.

Saroukh el-Jamihiriya

Perana Z-One

The Perana Z-one is a product of the Perana Performance Group. Perana Performance Group is based in South Africa. produced as a limited edition car, the Z-One is a highly desirable sports car–there are only around 10 of them in the world.

Perana Z-One

Non-African Players

Although African countries continue to produce cars, cars from Japan, China, Germany, and other foreign countries still dominate the African market.

A common concept is an assembling industry, where foreign companies such as Nissan, Volkswagen, and Toyota fully assemble their cars in Africa. In 2018, Volkswagen opened a car assembly plant in Kigali, Rwanda. In Kenya, Volkswagen has an assembly plant in Thika.

Nigeria Seeks $20 Billion In Back Taxes From Major Oil Firms

The government of Nigeria is asking some foreign oil firms to pay nearly $20 billion backlog tax and royalties. According to Reuters, the affected oil firms include Chevron, Eni, Equinor, ExxonMobil, Shell, and Total. The letter from the debt-collection arm of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is asking the defaulting companies to pay between $2.5 and $5 billion. In confirmation and response to the letter, spokesman for Norwegian Equinor said,

“Several operators have received similar claims in a case between the authorities in Nigeria and local authorities in parts of the country. [However] Equinor sees no merit to the case.”

A spokeswoman for ExxonMobil said the U.S. Company “is reviewing the matter”. Chevron, Eni, Shell, and Total have remained silent. Likewise, the NNPC declined requests to comment on the issue.

The source of Nigeria $20 billion tax crisis

The source of the tax crisis remains unclear. This is partly because of the silence from the presidency and the NNPC. However, reliable sources claim the federal government and host states recently reached an agreement on the distribution of proceeds from oil and gas. Consequently, the federal government agreed to pay billions of US dollars to host states. A source at an oil and gas company believes the tax is an attempt by the government to shift its responsibility to the oil companies.

“This looks like an internal dispute between the federal and local governments. The central government is simply trying to shift to the IOCs (International Oil Companies) money it owes.”

How the tax dispute can affect Nigeria’s economy

Oil contributes to about ninety-five percent of Nigeria’s export earning according to the International Monetary Fund. Production sharing and the establishment of joint ventures are the most popular partnerships between the federal government and oil firms. In addition to providing the state with oil and gas, the companies also pay royalties and taxes to the government.

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The Royal Dutch Shell company said the tax claims can delay the Bonga South West’s Final Investment Decision (FID) from 2019 to 2020. The oil field at the Bonga Southwest deepwater is one of the nation’s largest with a production capacity expected to reach 180,000 barrels per day (bpd).

Dr. Emmanuel Kachikwu, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources said defaulting companies may lose their license. Shell is the largest oil investor in Nigeria. According to OPEC, Nigeria’s crude oil production reached 1.792 million bpd in January 2019 from 52,000 bpd in December 2018. Accounting for the bulk of the country’s foreign exchange earnings, a drop in crude oil will definitely have a huge impact on the nation’s economy.

How revoking of licenses will affect oil firms

Accompanying the threat of revocation of license by Dr. Kachikwu is the revelation of the huge amount of recovered royalties. Dr. Kachikwu revealed that earlier in February 2019, the Federal Government recovered 1.2 trillion unpaid royalties from the sale of crude oil. According to the NNPC, Nigeria has a production capacity of 2.5 million bpd which ranks the country as the largest producer in Africa and sixth in the world. The loss of license would be a loss of production capacity for the impacted IOCs.

In December 2018, a prosecuting witness for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Emefun Etudo alleged that Trafigura PTE Ltd and Trafigura Beheer BV owed the Federal Government unpaid taxes amounting to $1.6 billion. IOCs have been guilty of breaching Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) signed with host communities. This is often the cause of conflict between the IOCs and their host communities.