In this month’s issue of AGF we focus on investing in African stocks. Philippe Koch of IPRO Fund Management says that some investors into frontier equity markets focus more on the top-down picture, while others have a “pure” bottom-up investment philosophy. “I believe that enduring success for a frontier equity investor results from an astute combination of both approaches, with an emphasis on fundamental bottom-up factors.” (pp. 14-15).

In addition, we hear from Paul Clark of Ashburton Investment on African equity markets excluding South Africa. Read on to find out why the current environment is particularly favourable for equity investors (pp. 16-17). Of course, we couldn’t skip South Africa. Chris Botha of Imara Asset Management shares his views on the most mature stock market on the continent. He says that that even though the country has been downgraded to “Junk Status”, appetite for emerging markets has in fact been increasing for a while due to the high yields on offer (pp. 18-19). 

This month’s edition also covers a number of thought pieces. Abou Shoka, a Cairo-based lawyer, writes about Egypt investment laws and what they entail in practical terms (p. 20). Moreover, Ngaa Gumbo of Atria Africa shares his thoughts on opportunities in African agriculture (p.21). Finally, Jonathan Hosie of Mayer Brown, poses the question: How to avoid the pitfalls of funding projects in Africa? Turn to the p.26 to find out what he thinks.