AFRICABIZ VOL 2 - ISSUE: 123
July 15 - October 14, 2011
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Editor: Dr. Bienvenu-Magloire Quenum
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A WORD FROM THE EDITOR

Dear visitor and international investor,

We warmly welcome you, if this is your first visit to Africabiz Online - The ultimate newsletter on trading and investing in 49 sub-Saharan African countries. If you are a regular and faithful reader, welcome back.

- TO IMPOSE DEMOCRACY AT GUN POINT? OR HIDDEN AGENDA?

On March 17, 2011 UN's Security Council voted for a no-flight zone resolution, “to take all necessary measures to protect civilians and civilian populated areas (on Libya territory) under threat of attack... while excluding an occupation force.”

Resolution to be enforced to protect civilians against Colonel Gaddafi's regime repressive actions against rebels, mainly from the Cyrenaica/Benghazi region - whose people are demanding the instauration of democracy in Libya.

As always, the ambiguous verbiage of the resolution - that is mainly the astutely worded "all necessary measures" proviso, opened door to all kinds of interpretation by the sponsors of the resolution, France, United Kingdom and the United States of America. Not to forget the cleverly worded, "while excluding an occupation force" that assisted lowering the guard of non-permanent UN Council's state members, such as Gabon and South Africa, to voting the resolution.

Indeed, as soon as UN Resolution 1973 voted, the military arm of the countries that sponsored the resolution, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization - NATO, scrambled war planes and started a bombing campaign to neutralize Libya's airspace, destroying Libya air-forces bases, army barracks, army's supporting logistics, universities's compounds at Tripoli the Libya's capital city, banks buildings, and also targeting Commander in Chief (Colonel Gaddafi) residential area - or any place, private or public, in which his presence might be detected by intelligence screening devices.

Obviously, the UN's No Flight Resolution had been cleverly written and coined to be interpreted by Nato's nations, France, United Kingdom and the United States of America in particular, as a regime change mandate to physically get rid of Colonel Gaddafi, to topple his regime - established in 1969, after a coup against the ruling king.

So, since 4 months - starting from March 21, 2011 Libya's territory is submitted to daily heavy bombardments, to assist the rebels establish democracy.

A sober observer is rightly entitled to question the move taken by NATO to destroy infrastructure, roads, ports, government buildings, banks offices and universities's compounds - built over decades, in the pretence to establishing democracy. Is that really the main reason? Establishing democracy?

What is really the number of rebels compared to the entire Libya's population? Do they represent the majority of people of Libya? Do they outnumber the supporters of the regime in the Tripolitania and Fezzan regions?

Or is this pretence to protect rebels against Gaddafi repressive forces and impose democracy at gun point just a curtain for a hidden agenda?

One is entitled to raise above short listed questions. Indeed, common sense knows that Democracy is not a commodity that one could export and sell to other people around the world. Each country in the world at large has its history and traditional practices that forcibly taint the practice of Democracy.

Can one compare Democracy practice in the flourishing city-state of Singapore to the practice of Democracy in any other western developed country? Are Taiwan, South Korea and the tiger nations of Asia undemocratic nations? [1]

This space is too small to discourse about democracy, but one can briefly ask about what Democracy is really about? Consulting an English dictionary one reads the following:

Democracy, the political orientation of those who favor government by the people or by their elected representatives. Or, a political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them. And again: the doctrine that the numerical majority of an organized group can make decisions binding on the whole group.

Above definitions are simplification of a matter which is hot debate since the world exists. And in modern time, the concept of representative democracy arose largely from ideas and institutions that developed during the European Middle Age, the Age of Enlightenment/Renaissance, and in the American and French Revolutions.

Nowadays, the right to vote is strongly related to Democracy as promoted by western nations. Any regime in the world, that does not follow the pattern of staging transparent elections on regular schedule, to elect the rulers and representatives of the country; or a regime which rulers stay "too long" in power, is considered - in the view of western nations' elites and rulers, a non-democratic regime, and branded a dictatorship, no matter the economic realizations achieved by said "undemocratic" regime to creating and distributing riches for all in said country.

As stated 10 years ago, about the invasion of Iraq by the United States of America, Africabiz Online believes that it is more constructive to build on existing assets instead of bombing and destroying everything to start again from scratch.

France, UK and the United States of America actions to bombing Libya to democracy, trying to topple the regime of Colonel Gaddafi, is simply the destruction of a nation in the making.

The alternative would have been to promote dialogue between the rebels and the ruling regime, (as advised by the African Union) and take coercive actions, diplomatic and financial, excluding bombing of infrastructure, to engage rival parties to discuss and find solutions that preserve economic assets.

Unless, the establishment of democracy at gun point in emerging countries, is just a false argument to put in place puppet regimes economically dependent upon and politically obedient to the international powers of the day.

Click here to read about Tribute to Gaddafi Panafricanism In Spite of Everything Else.

- SERVICES AND PRODUCTS FROM Dr. QUENUM & ASSOCIATES / BUSINESSAFRICA (TM)

List of Products and Solutions to trading and investing in and out emerging nations - and particularly in sub-Saharan African nations - is here to review.

We draw your attention to the Jobs & Projects' platform that assists first, project-owners to tender for the best experts to carry out projects at very competitive costs, and, second, job-seekers to publish for free Résumés/CV to attract project-owners attention.

The Free and Pay-Per-Click advertisement platform is also the cheapest way to advertise for your business and drive traffic to your website.

- Contributor's Guidelines are here to review. Your contribution on "How emerging nations and particularly African countries / entrepreneurs could bridge the developing gap" is welcome.

Your feedback / objection / contribution is welcome. Visit WorldWide BizCenter, and choose General Information (as topic) to create a thread for discussion. On the top of the WorldWide BizCenter page, there is a HELP link to assist you making an efficient use of the discussion board. This link also is useful

Many thanks for dropping by and see you here on October 15, 2011

Dr. B.M. Quenum
Editor of AFRICABIZ

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES IN AFRICA

-Several business opportunities with high profit making potential, which are economic catalysts and components to the Strategy for African Countries are listed in following table.

1-SHEA BUTTER (5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 13) 2- BLUE GOLD (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19) 3- FREEZE-DRIED PAPAIN (20, 21, 22 and here) 4- KENAF (23, 24) 5- VEGETABLE OIL (25, 26, 27, 28) 6- CEREALS (30, 31, 32, 33) 7- FRUITS (34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46) 8- ESSENTIAL OILS (47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52) 9- ROOTS & TUBERS (54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64)	10- FOWL BREEDING (66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76) 11- FISH FARMING (78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87) 12- BIOMASS ENERGY (89, 90, 91, 92) 13- SUGAR CANE & PRODUCTS (93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99/100, 101, 102) 14- LIVESTOCK (103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112 15- MISCELLANEOUS (113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124

- MISCELLANEOUS SERIES:ECONOMICS OF A MINI-SCALE FACILITY TO PRODUCING LIQUID GLUCOSE FROM CASSAVA STARCH

A previous delivery started this series about starch industry, and the YouTube video at this link highlights the importance of starch industry.

Sub-Saharan African countries's national productions, except in Nigeria and South Africa are confidential in the range of up to 500 metric tons a year, and currently most African countries are net importer of Starch.

It is good noticing that market opportunity for native cassava starch will exist to some extent in any African country that is becoming more industrialized as Starch is an important raw material for a large string of industries, textiles, paper, adhesives, pharmaceuticals, and food.

One of the by-product deriving from cassava/ cassava starch is glucose. In brief, Glucose in free or combined form is not only the most common of the sugars but is probably the most abundant organic compound in nature. Glucose is the primary fuel for the brain and muscles, and because the brain is very sensitive to shortages, there are a number of control mechanisms in the body which tend to keep blood glucose level constant. Excess glucose is either converted by the liver and muscle cells into glycogen, or turned into body fat.

The image at the left of this paragraph represents glucose tablets. Industrial glucose - also called dextrose, was first manufactured in France during World war II, to replace sucrose that become a scarcity. Glucose syrup extracted from dried cassava pellets or starch, is colorless. It is a raw material to producing vitamin C in the Reichstein process, to make citric acid, gluconic acid, bio-ethanol, polylactic acid, sorbitol.

The string of above listed industrial products deriving from glucose, once again shows why an efficient developing scheme should have a starch industry component, to catering for a wide range of industrial consumers's products.

Following previous deliveries [1, 2, 3, 4] briefly dealt with the production of glucose from other raw materials such as cereals and sugar cane.

This current delivery considers a small-scale glucose production from cassava starch. It is a continuation of the previous one here available. Following link exposes production flow chart of glucose from cassava

-BASICS ECONOMICS OF A SMALL SCALE PRODUCING UNIT

The basic economics about a small-scale cassava-starch producing unit available at following link, show that a small-scale cassava starch production unit delivers 444 metric tons of starch (from 1,950 metric tons of fresh cassava).

The small-scale glucose producing unit here exposed would be producing at capacity 2,500 metric tons of glucose syrup, from 1,870 metric tons of cassava starch (that is 4.21 times the production of the cassava starch unit described at above outlined link). The economics of a small-scale producing unit reads as follows:

Items	Amount US)
INVESTMENT
Processing Equipment: A power generating system. Steam production unit (600 kg per hour). Global production facility, building (400 sqm); 20 tons storage tanks, 2 truck with 10 tons tanks. Etc.	850,000
OPERATING COSTS
Operating Expenses: 1- Raw material purchasing: 1,870 metric tons of cassava starch (purchased from producing units here described), 8 tons of hydrochloric acid, 2,750 tons of sodium carbonate. 2- Production costs - insurance - utilities (water, gas, fuel) - staff and hands / management salaries - amortization - interests on loan, and maintenance (lubricants, hand tools, cutting tools, abrasives, 300 kg packaging drums. Etc.	1,300,000
PRODUCTION COST PER METRIC TON OF GLUCOSE SYRUP SCROLL DOWN TO SEE REMARK BELOW
2,500 metric tons of glucose syrup=	520
GENERATED REVENUES
Glucose : 2,500 x 600 US$ =	1,500,000
Wastes (animal feed) = 750 metric tons x 2 US$ (click here for more)	1,500
TOTAL REVENUES	1,501,500
GROSS PROFIT
GROSS PROFIT	201,500

One can see that the production of Glucose syrup from cassava starch, compares well against the production of dried cassava ship from fresh cassava root. The gross profit level increases twenty times from US$11,212 to US$201,500. Another proof that further transformation of raw materials increases added value and profits.

Hence the importance for emerging countries to initiate developing policies that transform agricultural products into more elaborate consumers' produces - and stop selling bulk agriculture productions on the international market place.

REMARK: Glucose have half of sweetening power of sugar from sugar cane stick. However, the low producing price off-factory, above outlined (USD520 per metric ton), compared well with the producing cost of brown sugar sugar cane (USD598) as here exposed.

One can foresee the impact that the setup of several production units would have on the developing growth of a country, catering for sugar national demand and providing a valuable raw material to establishing numerous industrial units, including textiles, paper, adhesives, pharmaceuticals, beverages and a long string of food stuffs.

MORE ON THE STARCH INDUSTRY

1- A Practical Treatise on the Manufacture of Starch Glucose, Starch-Sugar, and Dextrine. Illustrated by 58 Engravings (1881) by Julius Frankel - Paperback (Aug 10, 2009) 2- The Principal Starches Used as Food by W. Griffiths - Paperback (Oct 21, 2009) 3- The World Market for Residues Resulting from the Manufacture of Starch by Icon Group - Paperback (Sep 30, 2008) 4- Chemistry and Technology of Starch by James N. BeMiller and Roy L. Whistler - Hardcover (Mar 23, 2009) 5- Starches: Characterization, Properties, and Applications by Andrea Bertolini - Hardcover (Dec 7. 2009) 6- Industrial uses of Starch and its Derivatives by R. W. Radley - Hardcover (Spt. 30, 1976)

7- Starch Madness by Richard L. Heinrich - Paperback (Nov. 1998) 8- Handbook of Starch Hydrolysis Products And Their Derivatives by S. Z. Dziedzic and M.W. Kearsley - Hardcover (Dec 31, 1995) 9- Starches handbook by David J., Thomas and Williams A. Atwell - Paperback (Feb 1, 1998) 10- Starch: Basic Science to Technology Advance in Food and Nutrition Research by Mirta Noemi Sivak, Jack Preiss, and Steve Taylor - Hardcover (Aug 3, 1998) 11- The 2009-2014 World Outlook For Modified Corn and Sorghum Starch, and Dextrine by Icon Group - Paperback (Sep 26, 2008) 12- Starch in Food Structure, Function and Applications by Ann-Charlotte Eliasson- Hardcover (Sep 20, 2004)

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