Most businesses forecast growth in Africa in 2009; africapractice survey reveals
Author: AP London
Date: 15/12/2008
Business leaders are still bullish about Africa for 2009. africapractice asked business leaders with interests in Africa about their investment plans for 2009; 62 per cent plan to expand significantly, while 38 per cent said they will expand slightly.
The global economic crisis still dominates the outlook for business in Africa in 2009. When asked what the greatest challenge will be for their business in 2009, the majority of executives cited issues around market volatility, weathering the global downturn, cashflow and credit.
“The key challenges will be in the as yet unknown impact of the global downturn on our economies, with ongoing instability caused by the likes of Zimbabwe and DRC,” said Chris Stephenson, MD of McKinney Rogers, Kenya.
Asif Sheikh, CEO of Africa 24 Media, an online portal for African media content, says talent is the biggest concern for his company, which was re-iterated by 31 per cent of respondents. While opportunities exist in many sectors, particularly energy, finance and telecoms, capacity building will be almost as important as financing.
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is expected to drop in 2009, according to 69 per cent of respondents, while others see levels from China being sustained (23 per cent).
Across most of the Africa region the rise of the middle class, with discretionary spending power, will help support consumer industries.
“It is encouraging to see that so many leading businesses expect their operations in Africa to continue growing at rates above the global average in 2009, albeit slower than in recent years,” said Marcus Courage, managing director of africapractice. “Africa will be the fastest growing region for many multinational companies in 2009, and the region will receive a disproportionate amount of resources to support that growth.’’
Notes To Editors:
Sub-Saharan Africa saw GDP growth of 6,5 percent last year, the highest rate in decades.
The africapractice survey of business leaders was conducted in the first two weeks of December 2008. Executives from telecoms, beverages, banking, media, private equity and mining businesses, all of them invested in Africa, were interviewed.
africapractice is a strategic communications consultancy with its headquarters in the UK and a network of offices across the African continent. www.africapractice.com