As one door closes, could another open for Africa?

The below is an excerpt from PwC’s recent Africa Business Agenda report.

If we look back over the past 20 years, the surge in global trade has helped to lift millions of people out of poverty, most notably in Asia. Yet, in other parts of the world the benefits have been uneven.

Despite 5% average growth on the back of a huge but now faltering resource boom, the number of Africans living in poverty (less than US$1.25 a day) has continued to rise. In Europe and North America, many voters’ anger over

Nigeria: Finding opportunities where others fear to tread

A few years ago investors were excited about investing in Africa outside of South Africa. People spoke of Africa Rising, the growing middle class, financial deepening and less reliance on commodities. Now the popular refrain from investors is, “How do I get my money out?” However, Allan Gray’s Andrew Lapping questions this mentality, believing there is value is to be found in Nigeria.

The time to buy a share is when earnings are low, those earnings are on a low multiple and the currency the asset is denominated in is weak. This situation usually arises when there are risks aplenty. Nigeria is a case in point: there are plenty of risks, but there is a point when the risks are fully discounted as is the case with many Nigerian companies. Consider:

• Beta Glass, a Nigerian glass bottle business. In May 2015, a bid by GZI, a private equity company, valued the company at US$265m. Today it is valued on the Nigerian stock exchange at $33m.

What Africa can expect from the US in foreign policy

In the wake of controversial picks for Trump’s cabinet, the spotlight turns to his appointed choice for Secretary of State, the highest diplomatic rank in the United States government. After a brief interlude with Mitt Romney, which would certainly be a favourite pick among Republicans, Donald Trump showed that he would continue with his anti-establishment agenda and decided instead to recommend Rex Tillerson for the role.

Rex Tillerson is an experienced executive of the oil and gas industry, with 41 years of tenure in ExxonMobil. Tillerson ascended to become the company’s chairman and CEO in 2006, roles

‘Factory Africa’? Time to get serious about red tape at continent’s borders

International investment remains a critical, and often underappreciated, part of the global economy. Nearly two million jobs were created directly by foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2015, according to a Financial Timesanalysis. These employment gains in turn support many more jobs indirectly and, as a new paper from the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation points out, can lead to productivity improvements throughout the wider economy.

The unbundling of modern production into regional and global value chains provides opportunities for economies to attract investments specialised in specific segments of the manufacturing chain. Morocco, for instance, has attracted over US$3bn in FDI into its

‘Factory Africa’? Time to get serious about red tape at continent’s borders

Drawing on the past to chart the future: How sub-Saharan Africa can return to growth

This article is part of the World Economic Forum on Africa 2017.

After almost two decades of robust growth, there has been a sharp deceleration in economic activity in sub-Saharan Africa. Lower commodity prices,

but also mounting imbalances in some of the region’s largest economies, have taken average growth for the whole region down to about 1.5% in 2016. A slight increase to around 2.5% is expected this year – markedly lower than the 5-6% of earlier years.

Sub-Saharan Africa: Real GDP Growth, 2016. Image: IMF

The full picture is more complex: Since 2014, oil exporters, including Nigeria and Angola, have experienced substantial declines in growth leading to large revenue losses and balance-of-

The Best of 2016 – My Top 12 Articles That Got Your Attention

Looking at 2016 through the lens of my writing career, it was quite an impressive year indeed.
In May, my article on Mark Zuckerberg’s visit to Lagos (Nigeria) for the launch of his controversial free internet program – Free Basics – was published in The Huffington Post.
In June, following my article chronicling my journey in urban agribusiness, I was featured on live TV by CNN Money.
And in November, my article on starting an agribusiness in Africa was featured in the November issue of The Africa Perspective Magazine, a promising publication that’s doing a great job at changing the way the world sees Africa.
2016 also presented an explosive leap in the number of readers who follow my work. On LinkedIn, for example, my followers grew from less than 10,000 people in early 2016 to just over 195,000 by December.
I am humbled by the realization that there are thousands of people out there in the world who share my opinions and convictions about Africa and entrepreneurship, the two main subjects I focus on.
In this article, I have put together a collection of the top 12 articles that got the most attention from my readers and followers in 2016.
Here’s the countdown:

12) Is Africa Still Rising? Yes. Actually, We’re Just Getting Started!

Africa’s economy took quite a beating during 2016.

This 25-Year Old Found Success When He Started Helping Others Succeed

Scott Oldford

Success is the prime focus of so many people. I did a simple Amazon book search to see and there are 272,519 books about success. Success is often focused inwardly. In fact, the drive for success is a need to go from where you are now to where you want to be. Look at that sentence… it is all about you.
In my opinion, we put too much emphasis on success. In my journey of life and business, I have achieved great success and still asked “is this it?” In other words, I was not fulfilled. I ended up losing it all and making my comeback.

5 Keys to Entrepreneurial Success in 2017

If you are ready to experience entrepreneurial success in 2017, be prepared to work. There aren’t any $37 eBooks or $97/month programs that are going to magically eliminate or reduce the workload that is required to be successful.

The other day I overheard a business owner say, “Hopefully, luck will be on my side next year and business will take a turn for the better.” Sadly, that way of thinking isn’t going to help him one bit -- if I were to make a bet, I would let it ride on him failing again.
If you are banking on luck, you might as well hit the casino and let it all ride on red or black at the roulette wheel. Here are five very simple, yet seemingly overlooked key points you need to address if you want to experience a successful 2017.

1. Put past failures behind you.

There are far more failures than there are success stories when it comes to startups and new businesses. Most fail, and that’s just how it is. It’s very rare that you will find a successful entrepreneur that hit a home run at his or her first at bat.

WELCOME

Dangote, Putin, Trump, Merkel most powerful persons in the world-Forbes

Foremost Entrepreneur and President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, was at the weekend named along other world leaders such as Russian President Vladimir Putin, American President-elect, Donald Trump and German Chancellor, Angela Merkel as the most powerful persons in the world.

These personalities were ranked along with 7o others as the most powerful people with Dangote ranked as the second most powerful in the African continent.

The Nigerian business mogul has constantly featured in the list since 2013 when he was listed as the only black African so rated by the popular Forbes Magazine in the list of 100 most powerful persons.

Listed as number 71 most powerful last year ahead of the American President-elect, Dangote, Africa’s richest man, moved up the ladder of influential people as he was named as the 68^th most powerful in the world weekend, coming only after the Egyptian President, Abdel el-Sisi, who was adjudged the most powerful in Africa and 44th in the world.

The famed American business magazine, Forbes in the latest edition of its 74 World Most Powerful People ranking list released at the weekend showed that the 64 year old Russian President, Vladimir Putin is the most powerful in the world, ahead of Mr. Donald Trump who is second on the list.

While the German Chancellor Angela Merkel is ranked the third most powerful person in the World, out-going American President, Barack Obama placed 48^th on the list.

Meet JR Kanu; Builder Of African Businesses, And Founder Of Reach, A Social Financial Management App

In more ways than one, I can relate to JR’s journey. JR Kanu, that is. 9 years ago, between November 2007 and September 2009, he worked as a journalist at Black Enterprise and Esquire Magazine. 6 years ago? He was a Technical Advisor for the United Nations Millennium Villages Project. 4? He helped launch a cookstove manufacturing facility in Haiti (presumably part of the UN’s after-earthquake resuscitation efforts).
After that, he dabbled in investment, then managed Operations at Zappos (an online fashion store owned by Amazon), after which he found himself teaching human-centred design as a Design Thinking Coach at Stanford University. Fast forward a few months, and he’d picked up an interest in e-commerce and joined Konga in November 2014 as Vice President, Business Development. While there, he led the 32-strong team that built out KongaPay and made it a standalone product. Oh. JR founded The Design Institute, Lagos, he’s got a BSc in Mechanical Engineering from Calvin College, an MA in Journalism from NYU, and a Stanford MBA. Whew.

54 Thrones: Meet the Amazing Entrepreneur Behind This Beauty Brand That’s Made in Africa by Africans

After her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, Christina Tegbe had serious thoughts about the beauty products she was using on her hair and skin. She found many products actually have harsh chemicals and synthetic substances even when they are labelled as ‘natural.’

Christina found she wasn’t the only one concerned with the authenticity, source and content of substances used in beauty products these days. Her friends had the same worries and, as she later found out, more users of beauty products are becoming aware and asking questions.

This experience sent her down a rabbit hole of discovery and testing that unravelled her entrepreneurship abilities. Today, she’s the brain behind 54 Thrones, a remarkable brand of beauty products that are ethically sourced, locally made by African artisans, and curated to the unique needs of the market.
Let’s meet her

Business Challenges Are When Your Team Builds Muscle and Confidence.

Marty Fukuda

Contributor

Chief Operating Officer 

of N2 Publishing

When I was younger, I used to read about the wildly successful companies featured in popular business magazines, such as "Entrepreneur," with a great deal of jealousy. I thought, these companies are so successful, every day there must be like paradise. No struggles, stress or challenges on the horizon. These upper echelon organizations must never have software issues, be forced to let someone go, or deal with challenging customers and deadlines. And then a funny thing happened.

4 Tips to Setup a Successful Education Startup

There are many ways to start a business but to start a business that turns into a successful model and generates income is what matters in the end. India’s educational market is huge and the avenues it is opening up for young entrepreneurs are enormous.

Having sharp business acumen and a burning desire to flourish is what drives an entrepreneur to making a success in this competitive world.

A lot has been said about starting a venture in the educational sector however none have really guided aspirants on the right track and how to truly make a success out of this domain.

Starting a venture in educational learning domain permits one to get engaged with a business trend that are currently ruling the charts of top businesses to invest in. This business not only brings in financial growth but is also an assets for one to begin building a nation with imparting learning and adding a bright future to many young lives.
Here are 4 essential tips to that are bound to prove fruitful for setting up a good educational center:

7 Africa thriving cities

Buzz about Africa being the next hub for new, thriving economies is hard to miss.

The African continent is deemed the world’s fastest growing economy with 5 to 6 percent growth rate over several years. With a steadily growing population (it is predicted that a quarter of the world’s population will be African in 2050), this renewed attraction to Africa is rather well-needed.

Financiers and business people across the globe are constantly looking to invest in Africa, but the continent is large and full of variety, making a “one rule fits all” almost impossible to apply. A research by hotel booking platform Jovago, revealed these top seven business destinations. They particularly stand out in their regions in terms of their strategic locations, economic sectors and peculiar cultures.

WHY MOST PEOPLE DON'T DO WELL IN THE OFFICE OR WORK ENVIRONMENT...

(A) Working in any office setting or environment requires more than just certificate in our complex world today. The best that the certificate can do for you is just to open doors. 

 

Working life is not easy any more. There are more threats, as well as opportunity too.

In today's complex world of work, the rules of working had changed. We can all counts number of people that get promoted that do not deserve to be. Come to think of it, we also know a lot that deserve to get promoted, but haven't been. But however, there is a good news. The good news is on the need for all working people to embrace the principles and applications of emotional intelligence, if they want to move ahead.

Emotional intelligence is the single highest contributor to making success out of oneself.

There are plenty of educated people who never make it. Some of them have great ideas but don't have the motivation. And then there are the ones who have not succeeded because they lack social skills.

Ecommerce the epicenter of Africa’s thriving economy

E-commerce is at the epicenter of Africa’s thriving economy. With INTERNET penetration rapidly spreading across the region, this represents huge potential which has hitherto been untapped. Africa Internet Group, one of the continent’s leading e-businesses, ranks Africa’s top seven e-commerce friendly countries.

Ecommerce the epicenter of Africa’s thriving economy

E-commerce is at the epicenter of Africa’s thriving economy. With INTERNET penetration rapidly spreading across the region, this represents huge potential which has hitherto been untapped. Africa Internet Group, one of the continent’s leading e-businesses, ranks Africa’s top seven e-commerce friendly countries.

Africa is a burgeoning and largely unexplored consumer market. According to McKinsey and Co. consumer facing industries in Africa are predicted to grow by over US$400-million in 2020. This includes e-commerce, which is gaining momentum throughout the region.

AIG, an internet platform with nine companies active in over 25 countries across Africa, evaluated the top seven countries for technology and e-commerce growth in the region, with the help of independent studies, field surveys and research. McKinsey offers a new and insightful way to estimate the importance of ecommerce — known as iGDP, it measures the percentage that ecommerce contributes to the GDP of a country. iGDP presents a realistic picture of how e-commerce shapes the economy of a country.

Below is a list of the top seven countries in Africa where iGDP is significant and why it is in the spotlight for AIG’s ventures, investors and venture capitalists.

Senegal:
This country leads the pack in Africa with an iGDP of 3.3%. Initiatives like the Jjiguene Tech Hub – Jjiguene means ‘woman’ in Wolof – are designed by women for women in Senegal, it aims to help women enter the world of IT driven businesses. The potential for this initiative has been recognized by a number of investors including IT giant Microsoft.

Kenya:
Close on the heels of Senegal is Kenya, with an iGDP of 2.9%. The previous president of Kenya launched a $14.5bn project earlier this year to build a city to shape African tech businesses –

The 7th Month