Africa Economy

While Mauritania has been hard hit by the Covid-19 crisis, it is charting a course to economic recovery and resilience.

Bernardo Bruzzone, Africa Regional Editor at Oxford Business Group (OBG), recently held a discussion with Alexis John Ahyee, Executive Director for West and Central Africa of HEC Paris, and with Nadia Kouassi Coulibaly, Head of Research of African Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (AVCA).

The long-term vision of the Dakhla-Oued Eddahab region of Morocco is anchored in its advantageous geographic position as a commercial and logistical hub for North and West Africa, and an entry point for regional and continental investment.

Although Benin is known as a cotton producer and is actively working to boost value-added activities in the textiles and garments sector, the country has also been looking to increase its industrial footprint more broadly, leveraging large-scale projects to expand its energy and transport infrastructure and develop special economic zones (SEZs).

In a year in which significant political efforts have been made to speed up the energy transition, 2021 has also been record-breaking for green finance, as governments, international institutions and lenders alike seek to support the shift towards renewables.

Following on from a year in which supply chains and international travel were severely disrupted, 2021 saw an increase in global cooperation, as institutions, businesses and governments alike sought to work together to find solutions to some of the world’s major challenges.