Sponsored Content | CIB
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Sponsored by CIBOn paper, Francophone Africa’s economic landscape looks conducive to investment and integration. There is the West African Economic and Monetary Union, which comprises eight countries that share a currency - the West African CFA franc - and a central bank. Another six francophone countries are part of the Central African CFA franc zone. 14 countries with only two currencies and two central banks should be favourable to financial coordination - but the reality is quite different. -
Sponsored by CIBThe history of financing for African agriculture has gone through a series of false dawns. State-led credit in the years after independence gave way to market reforms and microfinance in the 1980s. Warehouse receipts and value chain finance aimed to tempt banks into lending with produce as collateral. But these solutions all fell short of being truly transformative. Now, it is agriculture-related financial technology, or agri-fintech shouldering hopes of revolutionising lending in a sector critical to the continent’s future.
Sponsored Content | CIB
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In partnership with Saudi EXIMMiddle East and Africa banking series
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Sponsored by CIBAfrica’s debt problem constrains government spending and investment across the continent. Ample access to electricity is another problem, which constrains growth. Then there are the twin climate and biodiversity crises, to which fragile African states are particularly vulnerable. There is no panacea for these interlocking challenges. But there is a tool that offers the chance to make some progress on all of them — debt-for-nature swaps (DfNS).
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Sponsored by CIBNot that long ago, private equity firms only had to be active in Africa to claim their capital was having an ‘impact’. Such was the investment shortfall that simply being willing to face the array of challenges earned the label. But as the standards for impact investing rise, private equity needs to find a way to meet them while simultaneously delivering higher risk-adjusted returns.
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In partnership with Commercial International Bank (CIB)Middle East and Africa banking series
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Sponsored by CIBAfter coming worryingly close to a full-blown economic crisis, this year saw Egypt turn things around. The authorities are promising new policies, privatisation, a raft of reforms and a thriving private sector. Investors – domestic and international – have been placated. But it will take much more for them to have faith that this time things will truly be different.
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Sponsored by CIBThe most optimistic vision for Egypt’s economic future rests on a private sector that is allowed to grow and thrive. A combination of red tape, restrictions and state-owned monopoly has long prevented private firms from meeting their true potential. Egyptian authorities say they mean business this time – but there are some tough barriers that need breaking.
