The 15 Most Miserable Economies in the World
May 23, 2015 Inflation is a disease that can wreck a society, Milton Friedman, the late Nobel laureate economist, once said. Add rising unemployment to the diagnosis, and his profession ascribes a rather non-technical term to the debilitating effect on people: misery. That affliction this year will be most acute in Venezuela, Argentina, South Africa, Ukraine
Nigeria: Fuel Shortages Paralyze Africa’s Largest Oil Producer
May 22, 2015 Watch video HERE Nigeria is Africa’s largest oil producer, but fuel shortages have paralyzed the country that just a year ago was declared Africa’s largest economy. At one gas station in Lagos, crowds push at the gates waving empty jerry cans. Cars queue for a kilometre down the road creating gridlock. Similar
How Long Before Transactional Banking Is Dead In Africa?
May 21, 2015 The mobile money revolution that has encapsulated sub-Saharan Africa over the last decade is expected to disrupt the region’s financial sector further by totally wiping out brick and mortar transactional banking. In an interview with This Is Africa, Econet Wireless Group founder and chairman Strive Masiyiwa, Zimbabwean, said traditional transactional banking is
Why Some Nigerian Banks May Go Bust By 2016
May 21, 2015 Africa’s largest privately-owned investment management company, Allan Gray Group, has raised fears over the liquidity of some Nigerian banks and said it expects the next one year to be tough for the lenders unless they shore up their capital. In a March report named ‘Gray Issue: The Sentiment Pendulum’, the Group said
Buhari meets petrol marketers over fuel scarcity
May 21, 2015 Nigeria’s president-elect, Muhammadu Buhari may have been holding discrete talks with petrol importers on how to resolve the lingering scarcity confronting the nation. News of the meeting was broken today by Tokunbo Korodo, the south west chairman of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG). He said he had
Nigeria: Back on track for economic development?
May 20, 2015 After the successful elections in Nigeria, the country is set to get back on track with economic growth and increased investment. But the road ahead will not be without challenges, but the overall outlook for Nigeria is positive. The large consumer segment, with growing access to credit, will continue to drive retail
Are African statistics a tragedy?
May 20, 2015 Africa’s growth resurgence during the past decade and its persistence have taken many watchers of the continent by surprise. The international media have been busy coining labels to match this unexpected turn of fortune – “Africa rising” being the commonest and most misleading label to date. Interestingly, Africa’s recent high growth has
How companies can mitigate their African supply chain risks
Africa’s agricultural resources are the backbone of multi-billion dollar industries and support the businesses of many global companies. The continent is a large producer of crops such as tea, coffee, chocolate, cotton and leather. But sourcing these raw materials is a challenge due to poor infrastructure, erratic weather conditions and limited use of technology that
How do African countries stack up against other emerging markets?
May 19, 2015 Emerging markets have been at the top of multinationals’ agenda over the past few years. China and India are growing around three times faster than developed economies, while many African countries offer unexploited opportunities for long-term investments . But when compared with other emerging markets, how does continental Africa match up to
Investment Firms Funding Retail Developments In East Africa
May 18, 2015 East Africa’s shopping landscape is slowly changing with the construction of multi-million dollar centres in prominent cities. Many projects are being developed by investment firms and private equity funds eager to cash in on the region’s burgeoning consumer markets. In Nairobi, London-based private equity firm Actis is set to open its $250m Garden