The New Africa': the Report published by the Financial Times

The Financial Times has published early October a series of articles exploring the diverse aspects of Africa’s significant economic growth, that many call ‘Africa Rising’’. As stated in the introduction, “from Senegal to Kenya and from Morocco to Mozambique, Africa is enjoying an era of economic promise that has survived war and famine, dictatorship and corruption”.

 Read the Fulll Report Here

 Download the Report 

Here are some highlights of the report:

• The African Development Bank estimates that Africa will attract a record of nearly $85bn in foreign inflows, surpassing the 2013 peak. This includes investments from state-owned funds, large banks and multinationals
• A growing – yet still fragile – middle class is emerging, reaching more than 325m people according to the AfDB.
• That being said,‘Fast economic growth is not translating into improved livelihoods for the majority’: the economic growth is highly unequal and has been accompanied by few new jobs, especially for young people. The proportion of so-called vulnerable employment (i.e. informal sector, self-employment, family employment) is particularly high in Africa and account for 77,4% of the total labor force according to the ILO. As reported by Mo Ibrahim (p.7): “insufficient care was taken to ensure that Africa’s economic growth was inclusive, equitable and job-creating, particularly for young people’
• Although the past decade has been, politically speaking, ‘relatively peaceful’, ‘the failure of the political systems represents the greatest threat to the renaissance currently under way”. As expressed by Samia Nkrumah, “there is deep distrust of politicians but equally there is a feeling that democracy has not delivered better conditions and opportunities for many people”
• African countries, despite their great diversity, must achieve real regional economic integration, through the building of appropriate infrastructures (road, air and and air linkages) and by eliminating “needless ‘soft’ regulatory standards hindering trade”

Some Articles are directly related to investment issues: 

• Investors discover routes to riches beyond commodities
• Private Equity Remains a rarity in pension portfolios
• Expanding financial sector draws increasing interest from investors