Africa GDP growth woes belie private equity optimism

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Private Equity ◽  
Credit Rating ◽  
Cement Industry ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Economic Downturn ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Labour Unions ◽  
Industrial Projects ◽  
Sub Saharan

Subject Outlook for private equity in sub-Saharan Africa. Significance Private equity (PE) firm Actis on June 6 announced that it has raised 500 million dollars for its third African property fund, exceeding its 400-million-dollar target. The fund will invest in office, retail and industrial projects. The region's PE scene is buoyant, despite market jitters caused by the economic downturn. Last year, PE firms raised a record 4.3 billion dollars, up from 2.0 billion dollars in 2014 and 3.5 billion in 2013. Impacts South Africa's share of PE investment will decrease owing to adverse sentiment linked to an expected credit rating downgrade. State-backed UK investor CDC's 140-million-dollar investment in ARM Cement will boost East Africa's regional cement industry. Spurred by low domestic growth, Nigerian and South African investors will seek higher returns in neighbouring states. Efforts to cut costs in PE investors' portfolio firms by dismissing employees will face resistance in states with strong labour unions.

Africa's maturing private equity market set for growth

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Private Equity ◽  
Equity Market ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Shopping Malls ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Property Prices ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Spending Growth ◽  
Association Data

Subject Outlook for private equity in sub-Saharan Africa. Significance Private equity (PE) investments in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) grew to 8.1 billion dollars in 2014 from 1.5 billion dollars in 2009, according to African Private Equity and Venture Capital Association data. Inexperience in relatively risky markets and lack of 'investment ready' prospects has held back major foreign PE firms, but this is beginning to change. Impacts Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote may increase his investments non-SSA ventures to reduce his exposure to slowing regional GDP growth. Disappointing 'middle class' spending growth could dampen investor interest in mainstream retail opportunities such as shopping malls. Rising property prices, particularly in first-tier SSA cities, will attract substantial PE investment, particularly by South African firms.

An econophysics non-monetized theory of value

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 519-535 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wolfgang Baer ◽  
Ahmed Bounfour ◽  
Thomas J. Housel
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Distance Measure ◽  
Banking System ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Vector Model ◽  
Social Implications ◽  
African Countries ◽  
High Stake ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sub Saharan

Purpose Mobile phones are radically transforming micro-finance in Sub-Saharan Africa, and Kenya, in particular. The introduction of the micro-financial transaction mobile phone application, “MPesa,” created a means to facilitate micro-transactions without the need for an intermediary, such as a banking system. The purpose of this paper is to posit an econophysics model to predict the value of Mpesa for Kenyan and South African consumers. The econophysics framework posits several fitness matrices and a distance measure that can account for the concepts of mass, distance, momentum, velocity, action, and force. The authors begin with a table of the match between the physics concepts and the economic concepts followed by the vector model that utilizes these concepts for the MPesa application case. In this paper, the authors will argue that MPesa succeeded in Sub-Saharan African countries, such as Kenya, because the fit between what this group of customers needed and the solutions Safaricom’s MPesa offered was a better fit with a smaller distance to adoption than in the South African case. Design/methodology/approach The research develops an econophysics approach to the assessment of micro-finance development in Sub-Saharan countries. Findings The research shows clearly the reasons of the success of MPesa in Kenya in comparison of its relative failure in South Africa: the distance between customers’ expectations and the system supply. Research limitations/implications The research is limited to two case studies and needs to be extended to other contexts, in order to demonstrate its robustness, especially with regard to the intangible dimension, e.g., the distance between a system potential and what it really offers. Practical implications The research shows the importance of system’s characteristics in its success. Social implications The social implications are very high, especially in this case, where micro-finance is a high stake for developing societies. Originality/value This is one of the first works to develop an econophysics approach for the evaluation of the key characteristics of a system.

Africa's small luxury sector set for growth

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Actual Number ◽  
Wealth Creation ◽  
African Government ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Net Worth ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Global Growth

Subject Outlook for luxury spending in sub-Saharan Africa. Significance The number of high net worth individuals (HNWI) -- those with assets of more than 1 million dollars -- in Africa grew by 143% between 2000 and 2014, around twice global growth. The actual number of HNWI remains small (168,215 individuals), but the set's likely continued growth and conspicuous consumption will create opportunities for firms disappointed by the region's 'middle-class' hype. Impacts Slowing wealth creation in oil exporters could see some luxury developments suffering losses, eg, Luanda's new yacht clubs. South African government plans to prohibit foreign ownership of agricultural land could shift investment to luxury urban beach homes. Western anti-graft investigations against several SSA leaders could encourage them to move assets to Hong Kong and Singapore. Market volatility could encourage regional UHNWI to invest in physical, but movable assets such as high-end art.

scholarly journals Conservation research output in sub-Saharan Africa is increasing, but only in a few countries

Oryx ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
P. Christy Pototsky ◽  
Will Cresswell
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Research Output ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Search Term ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Research Papers ◽  
North American Country ◽  
Conservation Research ◽  
Sub Saharan

Abstract We tested if peer-reviewed conservation research output has increased in sub-Saharan African countries over the last 30 years in response to increased development. We carried out a bibliometric analysis to identify the number of conservation research papers published by national authors of 41 sub-Saharan African countries during 1987–2017, to provide an index of national conservation research output. We identified country-specific development factors influencing these totals, using general linear modelling. There were positive relationships between conservation research output and population size, GDP, literacy rate, international tourism receipts and population growth rate, and negative relationships with urban population and agricultural land cover, in total explaining 77% of variation. Thirty-eight per cent of countries contributed < 30 conservation research papers (of 12,701) in 30 years. Analysis of trends in primary authorship in a random subsample of 2,374 of these papers showed that primary authorship by sub-Saharan African authors has increased significantly over time but is now at a lower rate than primary authorship for authors from countries outside the country associated with the search term, usually a European or North American country. Overall, 46% of papers had national primary authors, but 67% of these were South African. The results show that conservation research output in sub-Saharan Africa overall is increasing but only significantly in a few countries, and is still dominated by non-national scientists, probably as a result of a lack of socio-economic development.

scholarly journals Estimating the burden of cardiovascular risk in community dwellers over 40 years old in South Africa, Kenya, Burkina Faso and Ghana

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. e003499
Author(s):  
Ryan G Wagner ◽  
Nigel J Crowther ◽  
Lisa K Micklesfield ◽  
Palwende Romauld Boua ◽  
Engelbert A Nonterah ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Risk Factor ◽  
South African ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Cvd Risk ◽  
Genomic Studies ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Context Specific ◽  
The Impact

IntroductionCardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors are increasing in sub-Saharan Africa. The impact of these risk factors on future CVD outcomes and burden is poorly understood. We examined the magnitude of modifiable risk factors, estimated future CVD risk and compared results between three commonly used 10-year CVD risk factor algorithms and their variants in four African countries.MethodsIn the Africa-Wits-INDEPTH partnership for Genomic studies (the AWI-Gen Study), 10 349 randomly sampled individuals aged 40–60 years from six sites participated in a survey, with blood pressure, blood glucose and lipid levels measured. Using these data, 10-year CVD risk estimates using Framingham, Globorisk and WHO-CVD and their office-based variants were generated. Differences in future CVD risk and results by algorithm are described using kappa and coefficients to examine agreement and correlations, respectively.ResultsThe 10-year CVD risk across all participants in all sites varied from 2.6% (95% CI: 1.6% to 4.1%) using the WHO-CVD lab algorithm to 6.5% (95% CI: 3.7% to 11.4%) using the Framingham office algorithm, with substantial differences in risk between sites. The highest risk was in South African settings (in urban Soweto: 8.9% (IQR: 5.3–15.3)). Agreement between algorithms was low to moderate (kappa from 0.03 to 0.55) and correlations ranged between 0.28 and 0.70. Depending on the algorithm used, those at high risk (defined as risk of 10-year CVD event >20%) who were under treatment for a modifiable risk factor ranged from 19.2% to 33.9%, with substantial variation by both sex and site.ConclusionThe African sites in this study are at different stages of an ongoing epidemiological transition as evidenced by both risk factor levels and estimated 10-year CVD risk. There is low correlation and disparate levels of population risk, predicted by different risk algorithms, within sites. Validating existing risk algorithms or designing context-specific 10-year CVD risk algorithms is essential for accurately defining population risk and targeting national policies and individual CVD treatment on the African continent.

Cross-cultural communication imperatives

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (2/3) ◽  
pp. 170-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Baba Abugre
Keyword(s):  
Business Environment ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Work Outcomes ◽  
Cultural Communication ◽  
Global Business ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Local Staff ◽  
Cross Cultural Communication ◽  
Sub Saharan

Purpose Given the rising expansion of Western multinational companies (MNCs) to the African contexts, the development of expatriates and local employees has become increasingly important to the human resource management of these MNCs. This paper aims to provide critical lessons on cross-cultural communication competences for Western expatriates working in the sub-Saharan Africa business environment. Design/methodology/approach This paper is a qualitative phenomenology that makes use of lived experiences of senior expatriate staff working in Ghana in the form of direct interviews. Findings Results showed that cross-cultural communication competence is very important for Western expatriates’ functioning in sub-Saharan Africa. The findings also established a plethora of cross-cultural communication skills that are essential for Western expatriates’ successful adaptation and work outcomes in Africa. Practical implications This research argues that there is the need for the appreciations of the differing cultural patterns of expatriates and local staff, and this provides the underlying assumptions of intercultural and cross-cultural communication in global business. Originality/value A critical perspective of international business that has scarcely been studied offers lessons for Western expatriates working in sub-Saharan Africa.

A comparison of global suicide terrorism by region before and after 9/11 terrorist attacks

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmet Guler ◽  
Mustafa Demir
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Interrupted Time Series ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Terrorist Attacks ◽  
Suicide Terrorism ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The World ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Global Terrorism Database

Purpose This study aims to examine the effect of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on suicide terrorism in different regions of the world and changes in the trends in suicide terrorism according to regions before and after 9/11. Design/methodology/approach Using the data obtained from the Global Terrorism Database from 1981 to 2019, the descriptive statistics were computed first and then, independent samples t-tests were run to compare the monthly mean percentage of suicide-terrorism incidents that occurred in each region between the pre-9/11 and the post-9/11 periods. Finally, to statistically assess the effect of the 9/11 attacks and changes in the trends for the dependent variables over time, monthly interrupted time-series analyzes were conducted. Findings The results of monthly interrupted time series analyzes showed that after the 9/11 attacks, the trends for suicide-terrorism rates decreased significantly in three regions including South Asia, the Middle East and North Africa and Europe, while the trend for suicide-terrorism rates increased significantly in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, no statistically significant changes in the trends in suicide-terrorism rates occurred in three regions including North America, East Asia and Central Asia and Southeast Asia before 9/11, during November 2001 or after 9/11. Originality/value This study indicates the critical importance of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in suicide terrorism and its impact on these events in different regions of the world. The research also provides some recommendations concerning the effectiveness of defensive and offensive counterterrorism policies against suicide terrorism.

Factors limiting the adoption of hemp as an alternative sustainable material for green building delivery in Ghana

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kofi Agyekum ◽  
Emmanuel Adinyira ◽  
James Anthony Oppon
Keyword(s):  
Building Materials ◽  
Green Building ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sustainable Material ◽  
Environmental Threats ◽  
Additional Information ◽  
Comparative Review ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Government

PurposeThe increased awareness of global environmental threats like climate change has created an upsurge of interest in low embodied carbon building materials for green building delivery. Though the literature advocates for the use of hemp-based building materials, there is no evidence of studies to explore its potential use in Ghana. Therefore, this study explores the potential factors that limit the adoption of hemp as an alternative sustainable material for green building delivery in Ghana.Design/methodology/approachA structured questionnaire was used to solicit the views of built environment professionals operating in construction, consulting and developer firms. The questions were developed through a comparative review of the related literature and complemented with a pilot review. Data were analysed via descriptive and inferential statistics.FindingsOn the average, the majority of the respondents showed a moderate level of awareness of hemp and its related uses in the construction industry. Also, certain key factors like the perceived association of hemp with marijuana, lack of expertise in the production of hemp-related building materials, farmers not getting the needed clearance for the cultivation of hemp, lack of legislation by the government in the legalisation of hemp and the inadequate knowledge of consumers on the benefits of hemp-based building materials were identified as potential limitations to the adoption of hemp as an alternative sustainable material for green building delivery.Originality/valueThe findings from this study provide insights into a less investigated area in sub-Saharan Africa and further provide new and additional information to the current state-of-the-art on the potential for the use of hemp in the building construction sector.

Shadow economy in Africa: how relevant is financial inclusion?

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Folorunsho M. Ajide
Keyword(s):  
Shadow Economy ◽  
Financial Inclusion ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Development Indicators ◽  
Panel Data Estimation ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Data Estimation ◽  
Toda And Yamamoto

Purpose This study aims to investigate the possible relationship between financial inclusion and shadow economy in selected African countries. Design/methodology/approach The study uses panel data estimation technique and Toda and Yamamoto causality approach. The data of selected African counties over a period of 2005–2015 are sourced from World Bank Development Indicators, International Monetary Fund International Financial statistics database and International Country Risk Guide. Findings The results show that financial inclusion reduces the size of shadow economy. The causality results show that there is a unidirectional causality moving from financial inclusion to shadow economy. The results demonstrate that a country with lower level of corruption and higher level of growth can benefit more in reducing the size of shadow economy through financial inclusion. Originality/value This study provides the first evidence of the link between financial inclusion and shadow economy from the Sub-Saharan Africa perspective. The study suggests that financial inclusion may be useful in affecting the size of shadow economy in Africa.

Information technologies and seaport operational efficiency

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Adabere ◽  
Kwame Owusu Kwateng ◽  
Esther Dzidzah ◽  
Francis Tetteh Kamewor
Keyword(s):  
Structural Equation ◽  
Information Technologies ◽  
Operational Efficiency ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Positive Direct

PurposeThe introduction of information technology (IT) in port operations has been a tremendous contributor to transformation in world trade. This study was carried out to examine the influence of IT on the efficiency of seaport operations.Design/methodology/approachThe study is quantitative in nature, and it relied on a closed-ended self-administered questionnaire to collect primary data. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the theoretical model and hypothesis.FindingsThe results indicate that IT has a positive direct effect on port operational efficiency (OE) and an indirect effect on port OE through organizational culture (OC). The mediating role of OC is statistically insignificant.Originality/valueThis is among the first few attempts in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) that provides researchers with a contemporary view of IT and seaport operations.

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