Tag Archives: investing in Africa

The most valuable ‘white spaces’ today in African investing

Africa’s recent growth surge has created a large group of companies already scaling successfully, while the current market environment has reduced the capital available.
This untapped potential between high quality investment demand and reduced capital supply extends to various commercial sectors, including logistics, HR, and insurance, all presenting significant high value “white spaces” waiting to be filled.
In the article, Victor Basta, CEO of DAI Magister, discusses how investors can capitalise on these ‘white spaces’, by prioritising developed digital sectors and taking advantage of the $10-25 million funding gap.

Ken Sharpe Gives 10 Things to Expect in 2023 in the Property Development Sector in Africa | Expert Forecast

Operating a property development business has always been associated with some sort of risk and the mood among most real estate investors since the COVID19 era is cautious optimism with the global economy recovery being slowed down by the Russia-Ukraine war as well as the growing number of middle-class consumers caused by rapid urbanisation; all […]

The right time to bet on Angola

António Henriques da Silva Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Luanda-Bengo Special Economic Zone and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Angola’s Agency for Private Investment and Export Promotion (AIPEX)  The Republic of Angola has always generated enormous interest from investors in all sectors all over the world. However, recently the economic […]

Ten reasons to consider African trade and investment opportunities in 2022

By Lerisha Naidu,  Partner, Competition & Antitrust;  Lodewyk Meyer, Partner, Banking and Finance;  Mike van Rensburg, Partner, M&A; and Virusha Subban, Partner, Customs and Trade, Baker McKenzie Johannesburg 1. Visible green shoots – rising commodity prices The pandemic closed borders and stopped trade, other than for essentials, across the continent and was the principal reason […]

Failing To Win

A new book from Burnet Media, Cape Town will inspire and guide the next generation of African entrepreneurs. Failing To Win by Mike Quinn is the authentic story of a uniquely African startup at the forefront of the continent’s fintech revolution. Inspired to become the “M-Pesa of southern Africa” after Kenya’s pioneering mobile money innovation, […]

2021 sees surge in fundraising by African infrastructure funds with $2.14bn USD targeted

Africa-focussed infra investment funds have set a record fundraising target in 2021 Majority of deals by infra funds are of ‘green’ assets, as climate rises up the agenda for asset managers Dry powder and assets under management by infra funds at an all-time high, signalling investment boom to come Africa-focussed infrastructure investment funds have set […]

Invest in DR Congo Forum held at Expo 2020 Dubai

The Invest in the Democratic Republic of Congo Forum addressed major investment opportunities within the country, and brought together stakeholders to discuss policies and ideas, in order to bring in FDI towards DR Congo, at the Expo 2020, Dubai, UAE. The Invest in the Democratic Republic of Congo Forum was held on the 17th of […]

TLcom Announces 3rd Africa Tech Female Founder Summit

Julia Gillard, Former Prime Minister of Australia & Chair of Andela, announced as keynote speaker  TLcom Capital, the Africa-focussed venture capital firm, has officially announced the launch of the 2021 Africa Tech Female Founder Summit, which will be held virtually on Wednesday 13th October 2021. The keynote session is headlined by Julia Gillard, former Prime […]

DPI raises one of the largest Africa funds at US$900m to invest in innovation-led companies

Development Partners International (DPI), a premier investment firm focused on Africa, announced on 4th October that African Development Partners III Fund (ADP III), has exceeded its US$800 million target, and is set to hold a final close at US$900 million, with an additional US$250m of dedicated co-investment capital. This brings a total of US$1.15 billion […]

Massive increase in M&A deal value in Sub-Saharan Africa in the first half of 2021

There were 333 M&A deals announced in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in the first six months of 2021 (H1 2021), valued at USD 57.7 billion, according to Baker McKenzie’s analysis of Refinitiv data. When compared to the same period last year (H1 2020) this amounted to a 14% increase in deal volume and an astounding 576% […]

H.B. Fuller to Build New Facility in Egypt

The new plant will become a regional production hub for the company’s adhesives business growth in the Middle East and Africa Cairo, Egypt – H.B. Fuller (NYSE: FUL), a leading global adhesive manufacturer, announced on 4 August a strategic investment to build a new facility in Cairo to support customers’ increased demand in the fast-growing […]

Top African regions set to become leading startup and investment hubs

Ian Lessem, Managing Partner at HAVAÍC

On the back of Cape Town being recognised as the tech capital of Africa, topping international rankings for foreign direct investment strategy, Ian Lessem, Managing Partner at HAVAÍC – investors in early-stage, high-growth technology businesses – says several other African cities are quickly emerging as leading startup and investment hubs to watch. “Startups in Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt and South Africa […]

Deal value increases in South Africa and Nigeria in the first half of this year

Baker McKenzie’s latest analysis of Refinitiv data shows that the value of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the first half 2021 (H1 2021) soared in South Africa, and that deal value also increased in Nigeria in the first six months of 2021, but Kenya experienced a slight decrease in both deal value and volume in […]

Decentralised finance may be the panacea for filling Africa’s Investment Gap

by Pomy Ketema, Counsel, Baker McKenzie, New York African countries continue to face substantial financing gaps as they take on projects of all sizes in pursuit of development. To tackle the slowdown in foreign direct investment since the onset of the pandemic, some African countries are actively courting their diaspora and looking for pockets of […]

Unlocking Sustainable Investment in AFRICA through AIM-AFRICA

AIM AFRICA will be a powerful impetus in strengthening AFRICA’s economic stability, sustainability, and growth. The African continent has immense untapped economic potential that presents innumerable opportunities for investors. The continent is also emerging as one of the preferred destinations for investments. According to data released in 2020 by the United Nations Population Division, 56.2% […]

African Energy Chamber calls for more US-Africa Energy investments with series about unjustified risk perceptions on Africa

Following President Biden’s Interim National Security Strategic Guidance signalling for continued growth in partnerships with African economies, at the African Energy Chamber (“AEC”), we believe it is vital to engage U.S. companies and investors to counter the often-wrong preconceptions about investing in the continent, as Africa has some of the fastest-growing economies globally and possesses […]

Successful Development In Africa

Economic Trends 2000-2020 by Dirk Bol March 2021 Introduction In this paper I intend to review Africa’s economic progress since the year 2000, so two decades. When I say Africa I mean  Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), 47 to 49 countries excluding the five North African ones (but including Somalia without data and South Sudan with little […]

HAVAÍC expects bumper year for African tech startups

As one of South Africa’s most active Venture Capital investors, HAVAÍC says 2020 saw the commercial adoption of technology increase at unprecedented rates, as illustrated by the performance of HAVAÍC and its portfolio companies. 2020 saw HAVAÍC’s portfolio companies grow their revenue by a staggering 93%, and in the coming months, Ian Lessem, Managing Partner at HAVAÍC, believes the economic, […]

AfCFTA is Now Operational: What to Expect in the First Few Months

by Pomy Ketema, Counsel, Baker McKenzie, New York The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is one of the largest trading blocs in the world with the majority of African countries now operating under its preferential trade framework. Trading under AfCFTA commenced on January 1, 2021 under a liberalized trade regime that would gradually lead […]

Janus Continental Group (JCG) Invests $13 Million in Highview Power as part of African renewable energy storage drive

JCG’s investment arm Janus Capital takes stake in Highview Enterprise Limited. The deal will bring Highview Power’s cutting edge CRYOBattery™ energy storage technology to JCG’s core markets in sub-Saharan Africa. The investment will unleash the potential of renewable energy storage across Africa, supporting JCG’s wider growth and business goals in this sector.  Janus Continental Group (JCG), […]

Commitment to sustainability opening doors to post-pandemic capital in Africa

City centre of Cape Town in South Africa. View from the nearby mountain Lion’s Head. Photo Credit Wikipedia

By Wildu du Plessis, Head of Africa, Baker McKenzie The industrials, manufacturing and transport (IMT) sector is being hit hard by COVID-19 disruption, but commitment to sustainability could very well lead the sector to recovery. This is according to Baker McKenzie’s report “Sustainable Success: Exploring environmental, social and governance priorities for industrials through COVID-19 and beyond” which […]

Investing in Africa: An Outlook on Nigeria and Ethiopia

Africa-regions. Source: Wikipedia

Itumeleng Mukhovha, an associate in the Corporate/M&A practice at Baker McKenzie in Johannesburg One can easily assume that international investors are deterred from investing in Africa given the growing need to weather a global financial crisis, which has been distorted by Brexit, rising geopolitical tensions, tightened global liquidity conditions, leveraged loans and sketchy debts that […]