Out of 120 countries, covered by the 2015 Venture Capital & Private Equity Country Attractiveness Index, South Africa and Morocco score highest, coming in at 37th and 50th, whereas Chad, Angola and Burundi are among the least attractive investment destinations in the world.
Nigeria has lost a lot of credibility with the unceremonious removal of ousted central-bank governor Lamido Sanusi, and Nigeria has continued to lose further credibility with a host of poor decisions made by the bank since he left, argues Akin Sawyerr, Founder & CSO of Market Atlas.
The African Agriculture Fund (AAF) is a unique investment vehicle, which provides equity funding to private companies in the African agricultural and food-specific sectors. It strives to make a positive impact on African agriculture and food production. Through its funding, portfolio companies are able to implement strategies that enhance and diversify food production and distribution in Africa, in response to the continent’s food security challenges.
Industry veteran Dr. Mark Mobius, Executive Chairman, Templeton Emerging Markets Group, Franklin Templeton Investments, has been investing in global emerging markets for more than 40 years. He joined Templeton in 1987 and currently directs the Templeton research team, which is based in 18 global emerging markets offices, and manages emerging markets portfolios including Africa. AGF sits down with Dr. Mobius to discuss his career, the Templeton Africa Fund and opportunities that he sees in the “Last Frontier”.
The potential for exceptional returns via the private equity route remains very high, but also poses some significant challenges, says Pieter de Wet, Head of Research at Novare Equity Partners
The Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries (Norfund) is the government’s main instrument for combatting poverty through private sector development. Established by the Norwegian Parliament in 1997, Norfund provides risk capital to companies where businesses lack access to sufficient capital to develop and grow. At the end of 2014, the Fund had NOK9bn ($1.12bn) invested in Africa (72% of total investments). Africa Global Funds’ Anna Lyudvig sits down with Mark Davis, Head of Clean Energy Department at Norfund, to discuss why the renewable energy is of particular focus for Norfund.
Despite high demand for cement in Kenya, profit margins in the sector remain under pressure, as competition ramps up.
West Africa has unprecedented opportunities for agricultural growth, but making the most of them will require more effective regional integration, says a new report by the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
Kyle Smith, analyst at African Alliance Asset Management, explores the investment opportunity of South African listed companies as they become an increasingly viable proxy for African economic exposure.
Hendrik du Toit, Chief Executive Officer at Investec Asset Management, shares his thoughts on Africa, his asset management company and what excites him about African businesses
“Powering Africa” has been a hot topic for the past few years. As the continent experiences increased urbanization and GDP growth it is still constrained by a lack of access to reliable, affordable electricity. Both conventional and renewable technologies offer cost effective complementary power solutions, but building this infrastructure requires a significant amount of capital. Despite the sheer need, many investors find their real obstacles are not financial, but finding the right projects and management teams to deliver these projects.
In the months leading up to January 2015, the price of oil fell by 60% driven down largely by booming shale oil production, the drop in energy demands from emerging markets and the strengthening of the US dollar. By late-January of 2015, Brent Crude traded at around $50, hitting its lowest-levels since the global financial crisis in 2009. Prices however recovered to around $60-65 by the end of the first quarter of 2015 – but this still represents a major adjustment from the $90-110 average price levels we’ve seen over the last five years.
Over the past few months we’ve been busy collecting your votes on who should make our inaugural Africa Global Funds’ list of Top 40 institutional investors in Africa. With your help we have chosen institutions among banks, insurance companies and development finance institutions, as well as SWFs, endowments and foundations. While these investors differ widely in the strategies and philosophies, they have one thing in common – they commit substantial funds to Africa’s development, promoting job creation and supporting economic growth throughout the continent. The AGF Top 40 Institutional Titans is our recognition of these visionary investors who are shaping up the future of Africa.
The diversity of Africa’s 54 unique countries is a fact which African experts and Africa-facing companies have been stressing for years. The varied effect of the global oil price decline on countries across Africa is simply a case in point, writes Paul Clark.
