Opinion

  • To vastly increase the number of gazelles—and by extension, the likelihood of unicorns—stakeholders must work together to overcome existing barriers.
  • Under ideal circumstances, gazelles—fast-growing companies essential for economic growth and employment—can mature into unicorns.
  • To get unicorns, however, the key lies in cultivating gazelles first. Across Africa, there is a clear need to focus on the imperatives that can drive this transformation.

Gazelles. Camels. Elephants. In the language of venture capital, we have a full menagerie to describe a startup’s growth progression. However, in the past decade, the ultimate aspiration remains the unicorn: privately held companies valued at over $1 billion.

Globally, there are approximately 1,200 unicorns across various industries, and while Africa’s list is smaller, it is growing. As of February 2023, the seven identified African unicorns predominantly operate in the fintech and digital sectors, addressing payment challenges across the continent.

For many startups in Africa, achieving unicorn status …

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  • Majority of 2024’s capex was driven by established producers like Angola and Nigeria.
  • Senegal is an example of how operator-friendly policies, political stability, and vast reserves can attract foreign investment.
  • Africa holds nearly 18 trillion cubic meters of natural gas reserves, which will prove essential for a just energy transition.

I’ve said for years that African energy is a vital investment. Backers clearly agree — to the tune of $47 billion. That’s how much capital expenditure (capex) 2024 saw in African oil and gas, showing a 23 per cent increase from last year. Better yet, we expect growth to continue through the end of the decade.

This capex activity is a welcome sign that energy majors are deepening their long-term interests in Africa. And as our 2025 State of African Energy report details, their momentum has created unique opportunities for local communities, indigenous companies, and national oil companies (NOCs) from …

  • Transition finance is funding dedicated to decarbonizing hard-to-abate and emissions-intensive sectors, such as steel and cement manufacturing.
  • Companies in these sectors must prepare for an orderly transition, as failure to act will bring immense risk in a decarbonizing world economy.
  • Nurturing a thriving transition finance market is critical to mitigating systemic economic and financial risks.

The transition finance market provides a unique opportunity for Africa to leapfrog to low-carbon technologies and business models, which will address climate risks and enhance the continent’s global competitiveness.

Though lacking a universal definition, transition finance refers to funding dedicated to decarbonizing hard-to-abate and emissions-intensive sectors, such as steel and cement manufacturing.

It is key to overcoming financial barriers to sustainability in the industries essential for economic development yet major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. Companies in these sectors must prepare for an orderly transition, as failure to act will bring immense risk in a …

Sahera Sumar is the epitome of what a global citizen represents. Having travelled to over 25 countries and delivered programs to diverse industries, sectors and cultures, Sumar has become a beacon of strength, knowledge and hope for women all over the world.

Equipped with her passion for capacity building and her expertise in leadership, talent and organisational development, Sumar is set to embark on her next big project.

IMG 1780 1The project; Worldwide SHEroes, will see successful global leaders engage, empower, enable and mentor women leaders; sculpting them into women who are admired or idealised for their courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.

Worldwide SHEroes will provide women around the world with a global network of mentors and leaders who will share their collective wisdom. The goal of the platform is to accelerate the journey of women into positions of leadership and influence while at the same time improving their economic equity …

On 1 January 2021, trade began within the African Continental Free Trade Area (‘AfCFTA’). After years of preparation, and being postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, AfCFTA becomes the largest free trade area in the world based on the number of participating countries since the World Trade Organization (‘WTO’) was formed and connects some 1.3 billion people across the African continent.

Among many other key developments under the AfCFTA, member states have agreed to remove 90 per cent of tariff lines on non–sensitive products within five years for developing countries and within ten years for least developed countries.

The AfCFTA seeks to provide member states a comprehensive and mutually beneficial trade agreement that aims to boost intra-African trade. As noted by the World Bank, “[a]s the global economy is in turmoil due to the COVID-19 pandemic, creation of the vast AfCFTA regional market serves as a major opportunity to

The first quarter of 2021 ended on a great note as two African fintech businesses gained unicorn status, a rare fit amidst a ragging global pandemic that is finally being aggressively tackled by the speedy supply of much-needed vaccines. Such is the African story – a trail of surprises in the midst of uncertainty. On 18th March 2021, Airtel Africa announced it had received a $200M investment from TPG’s Rise Fund at a valuation of $2.65B making it the latest African unicorn[1]. Exactly a week before, March 10th, 2021, Flutterwave from Nigeria also announced a $170M investment from Avenir Growth Capital, Tiger Global Management and others at a billion-dollar valuation[2]. In the tech world hitting a billion-dollar valuation is a big deal – you earn the name Unicorn, a mythical animal that represents the statistical rarity of successful ventures coined in 2013 by …

 Economic prospects are predicting that 2021 will be a happier year for Pension Schemes. The devasting impact of Covid-19 had far reaching implications on the pension sector, especially in 2020 caused by several factors.

Also Read: Covid Economics: Kenya’s navigation of debt relief

  • We had massive payouts, especially in the hospitality sector as companies closed down and retrenched. Pension scheme members made early access to pension benefits to cushion their financial well-being.
  • A number of employers could not afford contributions funding to pension scheme and So they adapted to this challenge by obtaining a reprieve from the Retirement Benefits Authority to have temporal suspension of contributions deduction and remittance.
  • The stock market also had a significant dip in valuations occasioned decline in earnings from a number of counters especially banking sector.
  • In 2020 the GDP growth dropped to 1% growth compared to the projected growth of about 5%.

Despite the …

As the largest economy in Africa, with huge gas reserves and high solar energy potential, Nigeria has all the natural resources necessary to meet the growing demand for electricity. However, the inadequate energy infrastructure still leaves a significant part of the population without power or relying on oil-fired back-up generators. If Nigeria can improve its energy infrastructure and unlock its gas-to-power generation potential, it paves the way to integrating low-cost renewable energy, bringing electricity and development opportunities to rural villages, driving industrial growth and employment, and increasing prosperity across the country.

There is no doubt that gas has an important role to play in meeting Nigeria’s electricity demand, but to achieve this, there is an urgent need to reform the gas and electricity sectors. The poor condition of the gas transmission and distribution system is a major constraint as domestic supply shortages and insufficient pressure severely affect the reliability of …

The coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic gripped the world with shock and overwhelmed the health care systems of most nations. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the novel human coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, which began in Wuhan, China on December 8, 2019, a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on January 30, 2020, with over seven million cases globally as of June 7, 20201. 

In July 2020, over 663,000 confirmed Covid-19 cases were recorded in Africa with more than 343,000 recoveries and 14,000 deaths. 324,211 cases were recorded in South Africa with 4,699 deaths, followed by 34,854 confirmed cases in Nigeria and 769 deaths, 26,125 confirmed cases and 139 deaths in Ghana. Countries currently with the lowest cases in the region are Gambia, Seychelles and Eritrea. Southern Africa is the most affected area across the continent in terms of positive Covid-19 cases and Northern Africa closely

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