The island paradise of Seychelles is suffering from a drug epidemic of huge proportions. Known for its coral reefs, mangroves and white sandy beaches, 360,000 tourists travel to the Indian Ocean archipelago each year for a holiday of a lifetime. But look beyond the private islands, the boutique resorts and high-end restaurants, and the small nation is battling a heroin epidemic of huge proportions. Between 5,000 and 6,000 people out of a population of 94,000 - the equivalent of nearly 10% of...

The Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) is unlikely to stage a recovery, after an 18% year-to-date plunge, before a shift in the political cycle kick-starts economic growth and market activity, say analysts. According to data from the exchange, turnover of trades on the bourse totalled $153.66 million between January and July compared with $252.97 million within the same period last year. “This fate hasn’t just affected Zimbabwe and we are seeing liquidity in bourses across the region fall, given...

Standard Bank is spending ZAR21 billion ($1.65 billion) to roll out new software platforms, as competition between lenders for clients hots up. The African lender is implementing SAP in South Africa, and Finacle throughout its banking network across the rest of the continent. Within a financial services context, enterprise resource planning (ERP) software such as SAP can provide bankers with universal access to customer information and data through a single repository. Finacle can integrate...

The commercialization of Mozambique’s huge natural resource discoveries in oil and liquefied natural gas is being buoyed by a growing banking system and robust investment, says Antonio Correia, CEO of Banco Unico in Mozambique. But the country will do well to heed lessons learnt from other commodity driven countries in Africa, Correia explains, as the repercussions of falling commodity prices are felt throughout the continent. "If a country relies heavily on exporting one commodity, when...

Chief executive admits concerns; equity trading planned for 2016. Angola’s liquidity issues, amid its de-dollarization drive, may limit activity on the country’s fledgling stock exchange, its chief executive admits. “We do have some concerns that this may not be the best time for the stock exchange as liquidity in Angola is tighter than it has been in recent years,” says Pedro Pitta Groz, CEO of Bolsa de Dívida e Valores de Angola (Bodiva). “For instance, when it comes to IPOs, some investors...