World

Russian Grain Politics And Africa’s Import-Dependency Syndrome

Published

2 years ago

25/07/2023

By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh

Despite its sudden exit from the United Nations-brokered agreement that allowed Ukraine to export grains, Moscow says it will continue to consolidate efforts and deliver its grains uninterruptedly to the world markets. With most African countries in need, Moscow offered its assurances and would further negotiate agreements at the forthcoming summit in St. Petersburg.

At the media briefing, the Russian Foreign Ministry also offered similar assurances on the African leaders’ gathering. African countries will receive Moscow’s assurances concerning food supplies at the Russia-Africa summit, which will be held in St. Petersburg, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin said.

“The countries in need will definitely receive the necessary assurances in their contacts with us and during the upcoming Russia-Africa summit regarding their need for agricultural products, primarily grain,” Vershinin. Russia understands concerns that its African partners might have, he said, “But I’d like to say that these concerns are not only understandable but will also be fully taken into account.”

A group of African countries led by South Africa have put forward a peace initiative to resolve the Ukrainian conflict. Meanwhile, Russia’s influence on the social and economic situation in African countries has increased in line with rising prices for food, fertilizer and energy.

Another source also indicated that the participants of the Russia-Africa Summit do not plan on making a separate statement on the situation in Ukraine, although the ongoing conflict will be discussed on the forum’s sidelines. However, a separate statement on this issue should not be expected, except there will be a general declaration dedicated to the positive bilateral agenda and a document relating to the global geopolitical situation.

At different occasions, Russian President Vladimir Putin has unreservedly stressed that “Russia is reliably fulfilling all its obligations pertaining to the supply of food, fertilisers, fuel and other products that are critically important to the countries of Africa, and ready to ensure their food security.”

On July 17, Russia rejected a further extension of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, or so-called grain deal, an agreement initially concluded in Istanbul in July 2022 to ensure the safe export of Ukrainian grain and foodstuffs through humanitarian corridors in the Black Sea. Moscow said, however, that it may consider returning to the Istanbul initiative if the provisions of the deal allowing for exports of Russian agricultural products to world markets can be duly implemented.

The international community denounced Moscow’s decision, while Turkey, which had brokered the Black Sea Grain Initiative jointly with the United Nations, expressed hope that the deal could be reanimated. Although upbeat statements by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan failed to prevent grain prices from soaring on major commodity exchanges, experts claimed that “the price increase was largely speculative.”

Some media reports have indicated that Putin’s latest economic assault on the West is fueling fears of a global food crisis. Business Insider’s George Glover wrote that Russia has started bombing Ukrainian ports and threatened to attack ships, and these actions have pushed prices soaring and sparked fears of a global food crisis.

When international grain prices rise, it becomes more expensive for poorer countries to import those commodities – so Russia’s withdrawal from the UN’s initiative has fueled policymakers’ fears that there could be a worldwide food crisis. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Putin has tried to squeeze commodity supplies in a bid to disrupt the global economy and hinder Kyiv’s Western allies.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres said the Kremlin’s decision to pull out of the grain deal would end “a lifeline for global food security” and extinguish “a beacon of hope”, while the European Union’s head of foreign policy Josep Borrell told journalists there could be a “big and huge food crisis in the world”.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says Russia’s exit from Ukraine’s grain deal risks adding to global food inflation. An IMF spokesperson said the global lender would continue to carefully monitor ongoing developments in the region and their impact on global food insecurity.

“The discontinuation of the initiative impacts the food supply to countries that rely heavily on shipments from Ukraine, in particular in North Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia,” the fund said. “It worsens the food security outlook and risks adding to global food inflation, especially for low-income countries.”

Several Group of 20 members this week condemned Russia’s move to quit the United Nations-brokered Black Sea grain deal over what it called a failure to meet its demands to implement a parallel agreement easing rules for its own food and fertilizer exports.

Local Russian financial daily newspaper Kommersant reported on July 24 that despite the termination of the grain deal, where there are indications that Kyiv, Ankara and the West remain committed to resuming shipments of Ukrainian agricultural products across the Black Sea.

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has called an emergency meeting of the newly formed NATO-Ukraine Council, which allies have touted as an alternative to admitting the country into the alliance. For now, however, the West seems to be placing more hope in Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ability to find convincing arguments in dialogue with Moscow.

The proposal to engage a third-party country to escort commercial ships across the Black Sea has been raised several times since Russia’s withdrawal from the Istanbul agreements, but no side has taken it up because all stakeholders see such a scenario as entailing a potentially serious risk of escalation.

According to the Financial Times, Washington is attempting to persuade its African partners to condemn Russia’s withdrawal from the grain deal. For its part, Russia is not sitting idle and says that Moscow understands “the concerns that may arise among our African friends” and is proposing to provide free food supplies to the continent, but continues to insist that the initial Russia-related provisions of the Black Sea Grain Initiative must be implemented before there can be any return to the deal, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin noted.

These past several days, the current questions discussed most by both the Russian and foreign media were related to Russia’s threats to block Black Sea shipping, no Putin at the BRICS summit in Johannesburg, and that the Western and European sanctions were insufficient.

The European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, the United States, and Canada simultaneously expanded sanctions against Russian individuals and legal entities. But as Russia continues to attack Ukraine with missiles and drones, the existing sanctions are clearly not enough to hinder its weapons production, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his evening address on July 18.

Russia has started blocking Ukraine’s seaports. The recent Russian missile strike targeting Chornomorsk, Odesa Oblast’s port infrastructure, has destroyed 60,000 tons of grains. Russia’s Defense Ministry has designated all ships bound for Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea as “potential carriers of military cargo,” Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported on July 19.

Russia’s air attack against Odesa highlights the country’s attitude towards food security, African nations, the UN and global hunger, Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, tweeted on July 19.

The termination of the deal would affect a number of countries in the Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Asia. Due to the limited transport capacity and infrastructure in Central and Eastern Europe, a significant part of the land export of grain from Ukraine may get stuck in transit countries, which have local producers of this agricultural product.

The Black Sea agreement has helped keep benchmark foodstuff prices under control by boosting supply to world markets. On July 17, Russia officially withdrew from the grain agreement after an attack at the Crimean Bridge. In addition, Moscow withdrew guarantees of navigation safety in the Black Sea. The UN-brokered Black Sea grain deal expired on July 18.

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Irvine, Dreaminfluence Accelerate Growth of Africa’s $3bn Creator Economy

Published

7 days ago

21/02/2025

Business Post Contributor

Irvine Dreaminfluence $3bn creator economy

Irvine Partners, a leading creative communications agency with offices in Africa and Europe, has signed an exclusive licence with Dreaminfluence as their Africa partner. Dreaminfluence, an all-in-one platform that empowers brands to build and scale influencer marketing has executed 1,000s of influencer campaigns and worked with over 20,000 influencers.

This innovative platform’s digital capabilities will support the content creators who are driving Africa’s rapidly expanding $3.08 billion creator economy. Despite creators on the continent taking advantage of platforms like TikTok, African creators still earn significantly less than their counterparts in other regions, despite producing high-quality content. Furthermore, infrastructure limitations and a digital skills gap hinder the progress of the creator ecosystem.

Monetization should not be out of reach for African creators says Rachel Irvine, CEO of Irvine Partners. She adds that “Dreaminfluence provides digital infrastructure and connects creators to brands, backing their work so they too can unlock opportunities while brands can grow their reach with authentic content that resonates with audiences.”

Dreaminfluence CEO, Mads Wedderkopp, explains “We have worked with many leading brands in the Nordics and are excited to finally bring our platform to Africa through this exclusive partnership with Irvine Partners.”

“The decision to work with Irvine Partners as our Africa partner was a no-brainer, given the roster of clients they serve, and their continental and European footprint.”

Some of the leading brands that use Dreaminfluence for their influencer campaigns are Nivea, L’Occitane, and Estee Lauder Group.

How it works

Dreaminfluence was founded in 2018, to transform influencer marketing from being about affiliate links and discount codes to focusing on actual brand ambassadorship. This vision is translated into the features that Dreaminfluence offers, for both brands and influencers.

These brand features include:

Discovery of influencers: Brands can find the right influencers for their campaigns, without wasting time on influencer outreach
Campaign analytics: Track campaign performance, report the value and identify the best-performing influencers
Building relationships: Influencers move from short-term brand campaigns to long-term brand ambassadorship
Campaign management: Manage influencer payments, product shipping and secure content usage rights
Paying multiple influencers at a time with one click

For influencers, the features are:

Apply to join a brand team or campaign through the app
Be selected as part of the ambassador team
Join new campaigns when they are published
Run all campaign admin including payments, content ideas, and approvals through the app

The Dreaminfluence difference

Irvine Partners is constantly working with influencers across Africa on different campaigns for its clients and Dreaminfluence provides an innovative way to streamline agency relations with leading and emerging content creators on the continent.

Mohale Moloi, Content Director at Irvine Partners explains that “creator marketing studies tell us that more than 50% of brands plan to increase their spending on influencer marketing in 2025. But making sure these campaigns deliver results across the whole marketing funnel requires an in-depth understanding of market nuances, which is what we bring to the table.”

By working with a dynamic platform like Dreaminfluence, Irvine Partners will take influencer campaigns to the next level by combining local insights with a platform that makes everything from campaign selection to payments more efficient.

“We are most excited about the actionable campaign data and high ROI that Dreaminfluence offers,” says Moloi.

World

Cameroonian Diaspora Congress: An Essential Vector for Cameroon’s Influence in Russia

Published

1 week ago

18/02/2025

Business Post Contributor

By Louis Gouend

The Cameroonian diaspora in the Russian Federation, although relatively recent, constitutes an essential vector for Cameroon’s influence and the maintenance of strong ties with the nation. In this perspective, and following a fruitful video conference on January 27, 2024, with the Minister of Youth and Civic Education, it was decided to organize, on February 8 and 11, 2025, the first celebration of Youth Day within the Russian diaspora.

This unprecedented initiative, benefiting from the Minister’s valuable support, aimed to consolidate patriotism and the spirit of initiative among Cameroonian youth residing in Russia, by offering a framework for exchange and promotion of Cameroonian cultural wealth. It mobilized Cameroonian students, young professionals, and entrepreneurs established in Russian territory.

The commemoration of the 59th anniversary of Cameroon’s Youth Day took the form of a dual celebration: a physical meeting at the Cameroonian Embassy in Moscow on February 8, 2025, and a virtual meeting on Zoom on February 11, 2025. These events brought together a total of more than 150 participants from over 50 cities in Russia, representing diverse backgrounds, including presidents of Cameroonian associations, members of the Diaspocam executive council, deans, honorary guests, and embassy officials.

The diaspora had the honour of welcoming, via video conference, Mr Mounouna Foutsou, Minister of Youth and Civic Education, whose encouragement and vision were a source of inspiration. The Minister outlined the productive initiatives implemented by the Cameroonian government in favour of its youth in the diaspora in Russia, emphasizing the willingness to support projects led by young entrepreneurs through a specific support mechanism and the operationalization of the guarantee fund.

During his address, the Minister recalled the commitments made during the video conference of January 27, 2024, emphasizing the need for increased collaboration between the government and the youth of the diaspora. He stressed the immense potential represented by this youth and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to addressing their concerns.

Among the initiatives put in place to support the youth of the diaspora, he mentioned:

The Guarantee Fund for Young Entrepreneurs (FOGAJEUNE), which finances projects in four key sectors (agriculture, digital economy, industry/crafts and technological innovation).
The special DIALYJ window, designed to promote co-ventures between young people from Cameroon and the diaspora.
The Program to Aid the Return and Integration of Young People from the Diaspora (PARIJEDI), which facilitates the return and integration of young people in Cameroon.

“We express our deep gratitude to the Cameroonian government and personally to Minister Mounouna Foutsou for their support of our initiative,” said the President of Diaspocam, Louis Gouend. “Thanks to their assistance and the support of the Cameroonian Embassy in Russia, we were able to organize this important event, which has strengthened ties between the diaspora and Cameroon.”

Aware of the positive impact of this first celebration, we hope that this innovative initiative will be included in the calendar of activities of the Ministry of Youth and Civic Education for the years to come.

Diaspocam establishes a legal platform to come together, helps each other, interacts and establishes viable strategic networks and partnerships; presents, shares and expands proven diaspora business models; promotes and assists businesses and investments in Cameroon.

It strengthens a good image of Cameroon in Russia while maintaining close liaison with the Cameroonian and Russian governments and any other representative body pursuing objectives similar to those of the Association. Cameroonian Diaspora in the Russian Federation is a public organization which encourages participation, representation, diversity and cooperation between Cameroon, African diaspora and Russian society.

World

African Union Launches Credit Rating Agency to Rival Fitch, Others

Published

2 weeks ago

14/02/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The African Union has announced the launch of its rating agency, the African Credit Rating Agency (AfCRA) to provide accurate ratings for countries on the continent.

According to Kenya’s President, Mr William Ruto, while unveiling the new agency at an AU event held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Friday, AfCRA will address biases by global rating firms.

Global firms like Moody’s, Fitch and Standard & Poor (S&P) are some of the ratings agency which provide insights into African countries to aid investors and stakeholders.

There have been criticisms that these ratings lead to higher borrowing costs for African countries and make it harder for them to access international financial markets.

“Global credit rating agencies have not only dealt us a bad hand, they have also deliberately failed Africa,” Mr Ruto stated during the launch.

“They rely on flawed models, outdated assumptions, and systemic bias, painting an unfair picture of our economies and leading to distorted ratings, exaggerated risks, and unjustifiably high borrowing costs.”

According to President Ruto, improving Africa’s rating by one notch could unlock $15.5 billion in additional funding for the continent, which could help replace a significant portion of official development assistance or be invested in Africa’s infrastructure needs.

Despite Africa’s abundant natural wealth, only two African nations are currently ranked as investment grade.

“It is time for Africa to use the right scale, one that reflects its true weight,” Mr Ruto added.

The African Union has previously criticized global rating agencies’ characterization of African economies. In January, the AU pointed out that Moody’s Ratings’ fluctuating assessment of Kenya’s outlook was flawed.

“As the continent continues its march towards economic integration and resilience, the establishment of the African Credit Rating Agency (AfCRA) represents a pivotal step in asserting Africa’s position on global financial governance.”

The agency aims to provide fair, transparent, and development-focused credit ratings that reflect the realities and potential of African economies.

The idea comes more than a year since the AU officially announced its plans to move forward with the project since September 2023.

The push for an African credit rating agency became viable in 2022 when Senegal’s former president Macky Sall, then the chairman of the AU, called for a new system to “end the injustices” faced by African countries.