African Alpha: Blog
The African Alpha is a blog dedicated to opening up discussion on African related news and topics of interest. Viewers have the opportunity to comment on the articles and discussions below.
Carlyle to launch fund for Africa
Financial Times | March 2, 2011 | By Henny Sender Carlyle plans to launch a $750m fund to invest in Africa, a continent long neglected by the large international buy-out firms, people familiar with the US private equity group said.David Rubenstein, the group’s co-founder, has a reputation for being a pioneer in raising and investing money in frontier economies.Mr Rubenstein was among the first buy-out executives to raise money in Libya and has oil money going into Carlyle funds from resource-rich African nations such as Angola.The soon-to-be-launched Carlyle fund...know more
Bank: China’s Africa Investment to Jump 70% by 2015
WSJ Blog | February 25, 2011 | By Dinny McMahon Think China’s pumping a lot of investment into Africa? You ain’t seen nothing yet.Chinese President Hu Jintao, right, shakes hands with Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo at China’s Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in 2006.According to a forecast statement from South Africa’s Standard Bank, Africa’s largest bank, investment from China into Africa is likely to hit $50 billion by 2015, up 70% from 2009.Outward investment by Chinese businesses has only started to ramp up...know more
Africa’s Expanding Middle Class Drives New Freedom Fight
iol.co.za | February 27, 2011 | By John Matisonn This year’s Arab revolutions could bring higher oil prices, and greater instability in African countries, but also greater economic opportunities with Africa’s economic outlook better than it has been at any time since the end of colonialism. It will be some time before the effects of the recent turmoil become clear, and analysts are struggling to find relevant pointers to the future. Some have seen similar risks in South Africa’s economic policies.Oil prices are already rising, as...know more
Africa Seen As Investment Hub For Renewable Energies
engineeringnews.co.za | February 18, 2011 | By Chanel de Bruyn As developing economies, South Africa and other African countries have the potential to attract strong international investor interest for the renewable-energy sector.Africa and South Africa fall within the target zone of international investors and South Africa consistently scores high in terms of providing a conducive business and legal environment. South Africa’s energy sector is significant to the economy, as it constitutes 15% of the gross domestic product and relies heavily on the energy-intensive mining industry, says international lawyer...know more
NextThought Monday: Why Africa is Open for Business
NextBillion | January 24, 2011 | By Michel Bézy Link to Africa Infographic: Wall Street Journal Recently, I was asked to present the business perspectives in Africa to students of one of the top business schools in the US. When I asked the students at the beginning of my presentation if they would be interested in doing business in Africa, the great majority didn´t raise their hands. When I asked the few who raised their hands what type of business they would engage in...know more
Top 10 risks South African businesses will face in 2011
ITWeb | Dec 14th 2010 A tough economic year has seen the risk profile of most South African businesses sharply increasing. Unfortunately, 2011 will be no different and no less dangerous. In this article, Hedley Hurwitz, MD of Magix Integration, identifies the top 10 risks corporate South Africa will face in 2011.1. Ineffective security posture: Businesses have not yet aligned their business and IT strategies, and all too often they function as separate entities. Any enterprise needs to define a holistic security posture that identifies and mitigates the vulnerabilities specific...know more