As economies across Africa look to recover from the economic devastation wrought by COVID-19 and the global supply chain issues that followed it, investment will be more important than ever. But it’s also becoming increasingly obvious that if the continent is to achieve its true potential, a different kind of investment strategy is needed.
South Africa faces possible grey listing by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). This warning was set in October last year when we were to pull up our socks and improve on shortcomings in identifying, reporting on, and prosecuting illegal cash flows and crime. We were given a year (to October 2022) to prove we are making improvements, with February 2023 as the deadline to demonstrate progress on these improvements.
Russia launched a full assault on Ukraine, its southwest neighbour, on February 24, 2022, marking a significant escalation in the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
Globally, responsible investment is still in its early stages, and South Africa has the potential to play an important role in elevating it to the next level.
Interpreting the changes that take place in private equity (PE) prices over time isn’t straightforward as many of the drivers are unobservable. But there are some noticeable shifts in the marketplace that prove how PE is performing.
For years, Africa’s financial potential has been recognised by many global investors. As Africa is home to eight of the 15 fastest growing economies in the world, its economic prosperity matters globally. However, the pandemic has hit the Continent hard, with significant recovery set to take several years. Now more than ever, Africa requires investment, and that investment offers great opportunity, both to global investors and the future of the continent.
In today's world, funds and other financial institutions play a vital role in encouraging better corporate governance practices (CGPs) in companies. Funds recognise that good CGPs in their portfolio companies are not only important from a risk management perspective but can lead to greater investment returns in the long-run. Hence, investors are increasingly focussed on the adoption, implementation and ongoing effectiveness of CGPs in their portfolio companies. In this article, we explore exactly why good CGPs in portfolio companies (regardless of their size) are a growing priority for funds:
National Treasury released its second draft amendments to Regulation 28 of the Pension Funds Act on 2 November 2021. The purpose of the second draft is to respond to comments from the market, following the release of the first draft amendments in February 2021.
When most people think of investing, the first thing to come to mind is usually your traditional asset classes like stocks and bonds or even interest on cash savings. After all, these make up the bulk of virtually every investment portfolio domestically.
A South African private equity firm is using environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors as a critical deal filter, applying the ESG lens from the very start of the transaction through to ongoing management practices and eventual sale.
In July 2018, I published an article entitled, “Now might be the time to invest in African agtech”. It’s a good feeling to see my own optimism reflected in the market. At the time of writing, there was a surge in agtech (agriculture technology) ventures in Africa, which still tallied at a humble 82 start-ups. Funding in agtech had also increased 121% in the period between 2016 and 2017 (these figures were taken from a 2018 Disrupt Africa Report).
Innovation is a life force, catalyzing economies and accelerating humanity. However, the single most important challenge facing humanity today is how one understands and harnesses this disruptive innovation.
To avert catastrophic food insecurity and other major climate change impacts, the African continent must work towards reaching the United Nation's Sustainability Development Goals. However, this is currently a challenge for emerging markets. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTD), there is a $2.5trn funding gap across the developing world to reach the goals.
Agriculture is known to be a large contributor to the African economy, employing half of its population. That is why it is one of the key focus areas of the African Development Bank. Agriculture also ignites the imagination of financial institutions around the world. Very importantly, in this neo-SFDR world, farmers also have “green fingers”, and to twist this analogy, much of the industry falls into the remit of impact investing and/or green financing.
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