Rwanda Among Top 15 Retail Investment Destinations in sub-Saharan Africa Filed in: africa, east africa, rwanda, retail, investment
Consulting group A.T. Kearney's 2015 African Retail Development Index ranks the leading current and potential retail expansion destinations in sub-Saharan Africa. Leading the pack is Gabon because of its high rate of urbanization (86%) and high GDP per capita. For its part, Rwanda ranks seventh on the index -- down...
Rwanda Among Leading Investment Destinations in Africa Filed in: east africa, rwanda, investment
From CNBC: According to Rand Merchant Bank's 2014/2015 report Rwanda is the most attractive destination in East Africa and the ninth most attractive in Africa as a whole. The report looks at three criteria: growth rate, market size, and the ease of doing business. In addition to its favorable...
Companies Expanding in Africa Filed in: fdi, investment, economic growth, boston consulting group, africa, kenya, facebook, airbnb, ibm, starbucks
Consulting firms from McKinsey & Company to the Boston Consulting Group have touted sub-Saharan's investment opportunities, and now large companies from the West are following suit. Recent investment announcements are highlighted below. Airbnb: The number of people staying in Airbnb homes in Africa has increased 257 percent, with Johannesburg and...
Sub-Saharan Africa Most Optimistic in the World Filed in: africa, economic growth, economy, growth
Bloomberg reports that residents across Africa tend to be more optimistic about their domestic economies than in other regions. Nigeria is the most optimistic with people in Burkina Faso and Ethiopia also perceiving economic progress in their countries. In contrast, individuals in the developed world tend to be pessimistic...
Rwanda Pursues Foreign Investment Increase Filed in: rwanda, east africa, kenya, fdi, investment
According to The Africa Report, Rwanda is seeking to increase foreign direct investment this year to $1.2 billion. The increase will be helped along by new investment tax incentives, which include a seven-year tax holiday for firms investing over $50 million. Rwanda has become an attractive investment destination due to its strong,...
Local African Companies Produce Outsized Success Filed in: boston consulting group, medium-sized enterprise, economic growth
From Financial Times’ This is Africa Magazine: Six local African companies are giving their globalized competitors a run for their money in their home markets, according to a new report by the US-based Boston Consulting Group. This is the first time that so many countries from the African region...
HBR on Doing Business in Africa Filed in: investment
With the rising interest in adding sub-Saharan Africa to emerging market portfolios, Harvard Business Review recently covered some of the myths of doing business in sub-Saharan Africa. These misconceptions include: There is no competitive urgency to build a presence in sub-Saharan Africa. Sub-Saharan Africa's growth is all about natural...
Facebook in Africa Filed in: africa, tech
Recognizing the massive untapped market opportunity in Africa’s 1 billion people, Facebook has decided to establish an office in South Africa. According to Bloomberg, there are only 120 million or just .12% of the African continent’s population on Facebook. The tech giant will face challenges as it looks to...
Africa’s Jobs Gap Filed in: smes, job creation, middle class
This Forbes article points out that a major challenge for Africa’s growing economies will be to overcome the skills (read: jobs) gap. While there may be a significant population of skilled, educated workers in Africa, they are hard-pressed to find jobs that match their skill set. With...
African leaders create world’s largest free trade zone Filed in: economic communities, economic growth, trade, regional integration
African leaders have decided to create a free-trade zone running from Cape Town to Cairo and covering 26 countries. With Africa’s relatively small economies, regional integration is crucial for the countries to compete at a global scale. The zone will promote intra-African trade by reducing trade barriers and easing...