Africa Finance Corporation and Allianz Global Investors have deployed a loan structure that is drawing institutional investors to fund critical infrastructure in Africa, write Wola Asase, Head of Syndications and Mostafa Abdel Motaal, Associate Vice President in the Syndications team at Africa Finance Corporation.
Africa Global Funds’s Anna Lyudvig speaks with Chris Sickle, CEO of M&G Investments about his background, goals as the new CEO, South Africa as an investment destination and more. Sickle took over from previous CEO Bernard Fick in October, 2021 as Prudential Portfolio Managers rebranded.
Forex trading has long been an immensely popular means for traders and investors around the world to grow their wealth by taking advantage of currency fluctuations and market volatility.
The listed property/Real Estate Investment Trust (REITs) market has been tumultuous these past few years, with the onset of Covid-19 adding to the sector's challenges. For an extended time before that, listed property shares were the best performing asset class on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), paying consistently high dividends and enjoying strong capital appreciation.
In the last ten years there has been a wide variance in investment returns across regions. The US and to a lesser extent other developed markets have delivered strong returns while emerging markets have lagged. Many African markets have fared even significantly worse than other emerging and frontier markets. While US equities rose more than 350% in ten years, the investment return for Ghanaian equities was even negative in USD terms.
Once the COVID-19 pandemic is under control, the resumption of economic activity in Africa could result in a compelling story for investors. According to the IMF, GDP growth in both West Africa and East Africa will start outstripping growth in developed countries from next year, and from 2023 the continent overtake developed countries.
Africa Global Funds (AGF) speaks with Marlene Miller-Bake (MM-B), Regional Manager, Africa & Middle East, Temenos Multifonds, about fintech trends, challenges and more.
There is a strong business case for venture capital (VC) investing in South Africa, not least because of the opportunity it presents for positive social and economic impact. This was discussed extensively by a number of key industry players at the Southern African Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (SAVCA) VC Conference 2021 held in Cape Town last week.
Rob Bergman explores the opportunities Series B and C funding on the continent. Rob is a Corporate Finance Principal at investment banking firm Bravura, which has won the Best Independent Advisory Firm AGF award for the third consecutive year (one overall and two for South Africa.)
Development Partners International (DPI) has raised one of the largest Africa funds at $900m to invest in innovation-led companies. AGF’s Anna Lyudvig speaks with Joanne Yoo, Managing Director, DPI to discuss fundraising environment in Africa, ADP III’s investment strategy and opportunities.
Impact is the main driver of the Soros Economic Development Fund (SEDF), according to Catherine Cax, Director of Investments, Open Society Foundations - Soros Economic Development Fund.
The financial technology (fintech) ecosystem in Africa is entering into a new, exciting and challenging phase with more capital, more competition from incumbents from different quarters and more consolidation (M&A). As key segments grow, the rewards and risks grow for challengers and incumbents.
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