Bombou.com Wants To Showcase Your African Business - TechMoran

• By?TechMoran
• February 21, 2013

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Bumbou.com? was created two years ago by a young Senegalese based in the North of France. His site, open to global companies interested in the African market or targeting? the 54 African Countries.

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Martin Diatta told TechMoran he launched the site after graduating with Master 2? degree in Global E-Business at the University of Lille 1 France.

He began the development of bumbou website from his dorm room, but later took an office in a french HUB called ??Ruche du Nord??? to work and develop bumbou.com with his team.

TechMoran caught up with Martin and below are his plans for Africa and global companies interested in Africa.

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What problem do you solve?

Bumbou.com is Pan-African and gives more visibility to African businesses both in the continent and in the world. I noticed that? more and more African are on? Internet as individual person but not many companies. According to internetworldstats.com the Internet Penetration in Africa was about 15.6%? in 2012 . There are some business directories specific to each country, but Pan-African as bumbou.com there very are few. And most of the existing b2b directories are static website.

Bumbou is really in the era of? the Web 2.0. as it gives companies the possibility to manage their own profiles in French, English, Portuguese, Chinese, and soon Spanish.

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How does it work?

Bumbou.com? platform is? a business directory. Companies can register on, create their own page and their presentation form according to their sectors and country. They can post selling or buying products? ads. The website presents another new chapter of jobs and internships destinated to Africa for recruiting companies and job or internship? seekers. The goal is for every member to create its identity through the platform to be visible both in Africa and globally. In this sense Bumbou.com is also a website for sharing experiences and correspondence between the different companies registered on site.

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Take us through your features.

For the directory part, the? basic listing is free and open to everyone registered to have access to the information available on the website. Every member can see the detailed records of other members, and contact them by sending email through a form.

However, after the basic listing we offer a Premium Membership for members to be more visible in advertisements and other services offered are the top list in their countries and their activities.

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The job part allows any registered member to see available job offers on the website and be able to apply directly from the platform. The candidates can also post their CV online. There is also a section that provides information on economic activity and investment facilities in African countries. Through Bumbou, we post news about fairs and exhibitions taking place on the African continent. We have a particular focus on issues like renewable energy, because it is an industry that can and should be a priority for any business that wants to expand in Africa.

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How many merchants using the site so far?

There are currently more than 2,500 companies listed on www.bumbou.com. These companies are both African and global business interested in doing business in Africa.

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What is your business model?

The business model is based on the premium account already mentioned that enables businesses subscribers to be more visible and post free ads. The second business model is based on the ads? purchase. The third is a banner ad that is directly? sold to businesses or organizations that wish to be more visible in Africa.

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Any competition in any of the countries you are in?

Yes there are some b2b online directories in some African countries, but the strength of Bumbou.com is its Pan-africanism. If we combine the following set: functionality, simplicity, the numbers of users and languages, we can say that Bumbou.com is in the Top 3 of B2B online directories for Africa.

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How unique are you from them?

- www.bumbou.com goes? the web 2.0? since the beginning because it allows companies themselves to manage their card, post their ads and make the necessary changes.

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- www.bumbou.com ergonomics is simple, clear and functional in 4 languages: French, English, Portuguese and Chinese, and soon Spanish.

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- www.bumbou.com gained notoriety on the web these last two years, we are very present in the social? professional networks. So, in a few years Bumbou.com? will be the reference in Africa in terms of online b2b.

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- www.bumbou.com is carried by a hard worker and passionate man, Martin Diatta, who designs and defines the strategy and development of the website with his team. It also communicates a lot to promote this tool in Africa and worldwide.

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Bombou founder Martin talks to TechMoran

Any Funding yet? How much? From who?

The first development was funded by Martin Diatta. But Bumbou.com had to move a bank loan and also got some help from French agencies and the Northern France Department. The amount expended during the past two years is about 20,000 euros. We always have a need for funding to develop Bumbou.com and pay future development.

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Challenges?

Yes to become the market leader in Africa in two years! We want to be the number one of African online b2b.

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Any upcoming developments, like this month, next month or in a few months?

Yes, we have a lot of ideas for future development specifically in the adaptation of payment system at the African members. For example, the possibility to pay on Bumbou.com via their mobile phone.

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Source: http://techmoran.com/2013/02/21/bombou-com-wants-to-showcase-your-african-business-to-the-world/

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Bulgarian government resigns amid growing protests

SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria's government resigned on Wednesday after mass protests against high power prices and falling living standards, joining a long list of European administrations felled by austerity during four years of debt crisis.

Prime Minister Boiko Borisov, an ex-bodyguard who took power in 2009 on pledges to root out graft and raise incomes in the European Union's poorest member, faces a tough task of propping up eroding support ahead of an expected early election.

Wage and pension freezes and tax hikes have bitten deep in a country where earnings are less than half the EU average and tens of thousands of Bulgarians have rallied in protests that have turned violent, chanting "Mafia" and "Resign".

Moves by Borisov on Tuesday to blame foreign utility companies for the rise in the cost of heating homes was to no avail and an eleventh day of marches saw 15 people hospitalized and 25 arrested in clashes with police.

"My decision to resign will not be changed under any circumstances. I do not build roads so that blood is shed on them," said Borisov, who began his career guarding the Black Sea state's communist dictator Todor Zhivkov.

A karate black belt, Borisov has cultivated a Putin-like "can-do" image since he entered politics as Sofia mayor in 2005 and would connect with voters by showing up on the capital's rutted streets to oversee the repair of pot-holes.

But critics say he has often skirted due process, sometimes to the benefit of those close to him, and his swift policy U-turns have wounded the public's trust.

The spark for the protests was high electricity bills, after the government raised prices by 13 percent last July. But it quickly spilled over into wider frustration with Borisov and political elites with perceived links to shadowy businesses.

"He made my day," said student Borislav Hadzhiev in central Sofia, commenting on Borisov's resignation. "The truth is that we're living in an extremely poor country."

POLLS, PRICES

The prime minister's final desperate moves on Tuesday included cutting power prices and risking a diplomatic row with the Czech Republic by punishing companies including CEZ, moves which conflicted with EU norms on protection of investors and due process.

CEZ officials were hopeful on Wednesday that it would be able to avoid losing its distribution license after all and officials from the Bulgarian regulator said the company would not be punished if it dealt with breaches of procedure.

But shares in what is central Europe's largest publicly-listed company fell another 1 percent on Wednesday.

If pushed through, the fines for CEZ and two other foreign-owned firms will not encourage other investors in Bulgaria, who already have to navigate complicated bureaucracy and widespread corruption and organized crime to take advantage of Bulgaria's 10-percent flat tax rate.

Financial markets reacted negatively to the turbulence on Wednesday. The cost of insuring Bulgaria's debt rose to a three-month high and debt yields rose some 15 basis points, though the country's low deficit of 0.5 percent of gross domestic product means there is little risk to the lev currency's peg against the euro.

Borisov's interior minister indicated that elections originally planned for July would probably be pulled forward by saying that his rightist GERB party would not take part in talks to form a new government.

MILLIONS GONE

GERB's woes have echoes in another ex-communist EU member, Slovenia, where demonstrators have taken to the streets and added pressure to a crumbling conservative government.

A small crowd gathered in support of Borisov outside Sofia's parliament, which is expected to approve his resignation on Thursday, while bigger demonstrations against the premier were expected in the evening.

Unemployment in the country of 7.3 million is far from the highs hit in the decade after the end of communism but remains at 11.9 percent. Average salaries are stuck at around 800 levs ($550) a month and millions have emigrated, leaving swathes of the country depopulated and little hope for those who remain.

GERB's popularity has held up well and it still led in the latest polls before protests grew in size last weekend, but analysts say the opposition Socialists should draw strength from the demonstrations.

The leftists, successors to Bulgaria's communist party, have proposed tax cuts and wage hikes and are likely to raise questions about public finances if elected.

(Additional reporting by Angel Krasimirov; editing by Patrick Graham)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bulgaria-government-resigns-national-protests-073220738.html

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When It's OK to ?Sell Low?

If there?s one tidbit of investing advice that everybody has heard, it?s that you want to buy low and sell high.

But I can?t count the number of times I?ve heard from people who are making poor investment decisions because of a misunderstanding of how and when to apply the ?buy low, sell high? maxim. In reality, there are a number of times when it makes perfect sense to ?sell low.?

Tax-Loss Harvesting

As a reminder, tax-loss harvesting is when you sell an investment in a taxable account for a loss (which you can then use, subject to a $3,000 annual limit, to offset your other taxable income) and simultaneously purchase another investment that can perform a similar role in your portfolio. (You?ll want to make sure, however, that the replacement investment is not ?substantially identical? to the first investment, so as to steer clear of the wash sale rule.)

When you tax-loss harvest, you are ?selling low.? But that?s not a problem, because, with regard to your replacement investment, you?re also ?buying low? at the same time. And you achieve some tax savings in the process.

Rebalancing Between Accounts

Imagine that you recently realized you could achieve substantial cost savings by:

• Selling your bond and international stock holdings within your 401(k) in order to switch to a less-expensive U.S. stock fund, while simultaneously
• Selling your U.S. stock fund in your IRA and buying more of your bond and international stock holdings in order to keep your overall asset allocation the same.

As with tax-loss harvesting, it would be perfectly OK to ?sell low? to implement the above plan, because no matter what it is you?re selling low, you?re going to be ?buying low? at the same time, in another account.

And, as with tax-loss harvesting, you achieve some savings in the process.

The Investment Doesn?t Belong In Your Portfolio In the First Place

If you have an investment that you?ve decided no longer deserves a place in your allocation (e.g., an individual stock or a mutual fund with unnecessarily high costs), the price of that investment being less than the price you purchased it for is not a reason to keep the investment while you wait for it to ?come back.?

The only reason that you would want to keep the investment in your portfolio is if you have a reason to think it will outperform whatever you plan to (eventually) replace it with. And in most cases, if you have already decided the investment is likely to underperform over the long haul, there?s little reason to think it will outperform over the short haul.

"A wonderful book that tells its readers, with simple logical explanations, our Boglehead Philosophy for successful investing." - Taylor Larimore, author of

Source: http://www.obliviousinvestor.com/when-its-ok-to-sell-low/

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