Africa’s “Super Park”

In this month’s National Geographic, photographer Frans Lanting captures an absolutely stunning shot of camel thorn trees in front of a sun-kissed sand dune in Namibia’s Namib-Naukluft Park.  Namibia, which only gained independence from South Africa in 1990, became one of the first countries to include environmental protection into its constitution and today, more than half of the country has been set aside as a wilderness preserve.  To read more about Africa’s “Super Park” and the story of Namibia’s eco-movement, click here.

Ski Africa

There are many activities that come to mind when one thinks of Morocco: shopping in markets, eating couscous, maybe even riding a camel. But perhaps last on the list would be skiing.

According to Sports Illustrated, which featured an article on skiing in Morocco way back in 1955, the sport was first attempted in the Atlas Mountains by European soldiers serving in World War 2.  Stationed in nearby Marrakech, some 50 miles north, they were drawn to the alpine conditions on peaks that soar over 3,200 meters. Oukaimeden, the larger of Morocco’s two ski resorts, offers a double-chair up and several ways down, including a full-on mogul field and a less rigorous trail that clocks in at over 1,000 meters in vertical drop.

Morocco isn’t the only Northern African nation to offer skiing.  Neighboring Algeria offers two options in Chrea and Tikjda.

In Southern Africa, the tiny, landlocked nation of Lesotho recently opened its first resort, Afri-Ski.  Located 3,300 meters above sea level in the Maloti Mountains, Afri-Ski offers a single 1 kilometer trail for novice and intermediate skiers.

Monocole, which recently featured African skiing in their “Alpino” issue, writes: “Although the pistes are longer in the Atlas Mountains than in Lesotho, the snowfall and the snow-making are better in southern Africa.”

With ski season winding down in the Northern Hemisphere, perhaps it’s time to plan that July trip to Afri-Ski?

Egypt’s Winds of Change

With recent protests spreading across the country, the global news media’s interest in Egypt has skyrocketed.  But one story you won’t hear on CNN’s wall to wall coverage is that of Egyptian firm El Sewedy and their renewable energy projects.

While they’re not quite GE, El Sewedy employs over 10,000 people in 15 countries and reported 2009 revenues of over $1.5B USD.  The Cairo-based company’s two most recent wind projects, valued at between $460 and $500M USD, would bring large-scale wind power solutions to Libya and Ghana by 2014.  Next year, before taking these new contracts into consideration, El Sewedy had already planned to produce over 300 wind towers for domestic use at its Ain Sukhna plant on the Red Sea coast.

The company is not only focusing on wind, but is also a major producer of electricity meters, energy efficient light bulbs and other power efficiency products. In fact, this year El Sewedy will begin supplying Zambia with over 400,000 electric meters and 2 million energy efficient bulbs.

Though they are not currently in solar, a representative for El Sewedy recently said “the firm might also consider investing in solar in the next four to five years if it finds the sector economically viable.”

While the Egyptian people transform the power structure of their country, El Sewedy is transforming the power infrastructure of the continent.

Farming With SMS

In late 2010, the Soros Economic Development Fund led an investment in a small technology company in Accra, Ghana.  The company, Esoko, which codes all of its software locally, is leading the way in distributing mobile crop information to farmers throughout Africa.  By providing farmers with up-to-the-minute pricing information on various commodities, directly to their mobile phones, Esoko helps farmers to more efficiently run their operations and profit from their crops.

This week, Esoko’s Managing Director, Bernard Otabli, blogged about the development of Ghana’s first agricultural commodity index.  Dubbed the Esoko Ghana Commodity Index (EGCI), the index was designed to track both retail and wholesale prices across the country.  By aggregating and distributing the data, Esoko hopes to not only educate the general population but inform Ghana’s policy makers on agricultural pricing trends.

With innovations like these, it’s no wonder Esoko continues to attract investment and accolades from around the world.

Citrus Deserts

When a Westerner thinks of Africa, images of dry desert terrain are far more likely to come to mind than lush citrus groves.  Unless they are thinking of South Africa’s Northern Cape, where these two disparate landscapes collide along the Orange River.

Originating in the mountains of Lesotho, the Orange runs 1,300 miles across South Africa before emptying into the Atlantic Ocean.  Along the way, the river feeds dozens of farms who produce oranges, lemons, grapes and dates.  But it is the grapefruit that is expected to bring new-found notoriety to the region.

Recently approved for export to the US, UK and Canada, South African grapefruit are quickly making a name for themselves.  “The Star Ruby grapefruit grown in the Orange River offers a new eating experience which will change the way American consumers perceive the product,” said USDA inspector Kennith Dial who recently visited the region.  “The South African fruit, with the red flesh, is very sweet and this will fit in well with the palate of US consumers,” continued Mr. Dial.

Beyond the sweet taste and unique oval shape, the grapefruit are certified organic and are already on the shelves at upmarket establishments such as Whole Foods.  A visit to the company’s Union Square location resulted in super sweet win!