Browsing: investing in Africa

Looking for growth opportunities? Africa is a continent with huge economic potential.

It has been gradually transformed in the past 20 years and we are on the cusp of significant growth, with blossoming entrepreneurship and plenty of opportunities for smart and simple business solutions.

Africa is on the rise

Africa is a 1.2bn-person market, a number expected to double over the next 30 years. Generally, business leaders tend to overestimate the challenges of doing business in Africa and underestimate the size and potential on the African continent. Thereby not stating that the African markets are easy to do business in, but emphasising that they are worth the effort, and companies not engaged in African markets risk losing out on one of the 21st century’s great growth opportunities.

One of the fastest growing economies in Africa

Mozambique is one of the poorest countries in the world but it will see large-scale …

African Development Bank Vice President Mateus Magala told Lusa that Mozambique faces the challenge of putting natural resource gains at the service of inclusive and sustainable development.

“The big challenge for the next decade is how to put these huge natural resources at the service of the accelerated, inclusive and sustainable growth of Mozambique’s economy,” head of AfDB’s Corporate Services and Human Resources, Mateus Magala, said.

Magala is in Mozambique to witness the signing of financing agreements for the Temane – Maputo power transmission line on Wednesday.

Also Read: AfDB joins private equity firm AfricInvest for Africa equity kitty

The AfDB vice president described the current phase in Mozambique as “historic”, marked as it is by announcements of major investments in natural resources and electricity.

“Today, it is a certainty that Mozambique will, in the coming years, be among the largest gas producing countries in the world, opening the doors …

This summer has seen a huge amount of interest, and investment, in Africa from private capital outfits.

From fund raising – such as the African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM) reaching final close of its US$320 million African Infrastructure Investment Fund 3 and new funds for Centum, the Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed investors – to acquisitions and disposals, interest has been high across the continent. The Exchange even reported in April that Africa is eying US$1 trillion in private equity deals in the near future.

It also appears that returns are good. East African exits by private equity investors currently stand at 25 per cent, according to a recent I&M Burbidge Capital/EAVCA report, while start-ups in Nigeria have attracted more than US$110.9m of investment in H1 2019. The listing of Jumia, the largest e-commerce operator in Africa which floated on the New York Stock Exchange on a US$1bn ticket earlier this year, …

Ahead of the Baker McKenzie African Transactional Summit taking place in Johannesburg in May 2019, Baker McKenzie lawyers based in Africa, alongside the Firm’s global Africa specialists, as well as lawyers from our African Relationship Firms from across the continent, share their knowledge about what investors should consider when transacting in Africa.

Accept the uncertainty and gather knowledge

Investors in Africa must consider geo-political and economic uncertainty on the continent as well as a plethora of country and region-specific governance, compliance and regulatory challenges when investing in the region. They must also contend with a critical lack of infrastructure and poor integration when transacting across borders in Africa.

In order to close deals on the continent, investors need access to the right information and data. The success of a transaction depends on having real knowledge instead of relying on market perception. For markets where there is a lack of …