Bother less about borderless expansion 🌎🚀

I am so happy it will be Christmas in a few hours. I can bet that you have a chicken locked up somewhere or a frozen food stacked up for the Christmas celebration. 

Christmas means a lot to many people, especially Christians who use it for thanksgiving and celebrating with loved ones. On the African continent, the religious celebration comes with a different twist - a blend of seasonal traditions and old culture. Some of our stories this week give insight into what traditions shape Christmas in different parts of Africa and the Nigerian tradition of gift-giving. 

Aside from the religious significance of Christmas, it’s also the start of a countdown to a new year. And with the new year comes the plan for many businesses to expand beyond their immediate territory. However, venturing into new markets could be challenging in Africa. Business owners often have to scale through the hurdles of language diversity, policies, and cultural nuances of different regions. 

In the newsletter, is Tola Onayemi's chat with Ventures Africa on how Norebase is helping businesses to start, scale, and operate in 54 African countries seamlessly. Enjoy.

Adekunle Agbetiloye

Staff Writer, Ventures Africa.

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Tola Onayemi's Norebase is helping African business owners with borderless expansion.

Every business seeks to expand beyond its initial market to reach a larger market. However, certain factors must be considered before venturing into new markets. In Africa, language diversity, policies, and cultural nuances across countries and regions have always posed a challenge to businesses hoping to expand beyond their initial market. Tola Onayemi's Norebase is helping to deal with this issue. Read more.

The Nigerian tradition of gift-giving at Christmas.

If you have ever received a plate of Jollof rice and chicken from a Nigerian at Christmas, you have experienced the simplest expression of the Nigerian Christmas gifting tradition. Since its inception in 1842, Nigerians, like the rest of the world, have created and adopted some traditions around Christmas. One of which is gift-giving. Read more about the Nigerian tradition of gift-giving.

Is Africa’s largest creditor worried about its loans?

While several African countries have shown prospects through organic economic growth, others struggle with huge debt loads. Many Africans were worried when several media houses reported that China, Africa’s largest creditor, seized Uganda’s assets for failing to repay its loans. As Africa’s largest creditor, defaults and risk of defaults from African countries are a major risk to China. Learn more.

Some stories we wish we wrote in 2021.

As a media organisation, so much happened in our core areas of interest this year – business, policy, and innovation – and the Ventures Africa team covered some of these events with insightful interviews and analysis. However, while navigating our personal creative spaces this year, we came across other interesting stories, some outside our organisation’s area of interest, that we wish we had written. Hungry for good reads? Read more.

What traditions shape Christmas in different parts of Africa?

December 25th might as well be a regular day. But it isn’t, and we know why. Beyond the religious significance of the day for Christians as the day of Christ’s birth, it’s the start of a countdown to a new year. December 25th marks the beginning of the last week of the year, and typically, people are in relaxation, thanksgiving, or celebratory mode. Click here to understand what traditions shape Christmas in different parts of Africa.

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Remember to stay safe!