African Economies in Transition: Charting the Growth Story

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Oxford Business Group’s Africa research comes in several different forms, from business confidence surveys and face-to-face interviews, to monthly sector updates and annual country analyses.

Putting all this together takes a lot of behind-the-scenes work. In addition to the time they spend in traffic jams and office lobbies, our field teams in each country spend hours every day speaking with key decision-makers to ensure that our data comes direct from the source – not from a year-old newspaper article or an unverified blog post.  

It is a lot of effort, and all just to flesh out a dozen graphs on industrial investment or a few hundred words on a new mining code.

But it is necessary, and it is at times like this that the need for this sort of due diligence is the greatest. After what has been a difficult two years for African markets, the worst appears to have passed. Nigeria and South Africa, the continent’s two largest economies, are just emerging from recession. Kenya’s shilling, in spite of electoral uncertainty, is relatively stable, while security measures in Tunisia have helped restore confidence for the crucial tourism sector.

But just how sustainable are these recoveries? Is there a risk of backsliding? How is it affecting local consumption? And what does it mean for investors in those economies?

To help work through those questions, we’ve put together a selection of some of our most recent research below, showcasing what specifically African markets are doing to improve security, finance infrastructure spending, boost inbound capital and mitigate downside risk.

Articles:

-Tunisia president interview

-Ghana EU on Chinese investment

-KEPSA interview

-Nigeria EU on investment reforms