At the end of March the political chaos in South Africa has made the economic future uncertain. The country’s credit rating has been downgraded to junk status by S&P and Fitch Ratings following Jacob Zuma's cabinet reshuffle. Meanwhile, Moody’s Investors Service has placed the Baa2 long-term issuer and senior unsecured bond ratings of the government of South Africa on review for downgrade. Read on to find the market’s reaction and what the downgrade means for investors (pp. 18-19).

In this month’s issue we also focus on another troubled economy – Mozambique. The country, recently one of the fast growing economy’s in Africa with over 7.3% annual GDP, has been severely affected by a number of global, economic and political aspects. We speak with real estate fund managers about their investment experience and future prospects. Is it a good time to enter the market? And what are the catalysts that are need to re-correct the market moving forward? (pp. 13-15).

In addition, Zaida Kathrada, Director, Norton Rose Fulbright, discusses land rights in Mozambique. She writes that in terms of the legal system, land and its associated resources are the property of the State and cannot be sold, mortgaged or alienated in any way (pp. 16-17).

On the fundraising front, we catch up with Richard Rose, Fund Head at Edge Growth. We learn about the firm, South African SMEs and new fund in the works. He says that in South Africa the private and the public sectors are recognising the need for funding in the early stage space (pp.20-21).

Finally, we learn about Sigma Pensions, the fifth largest pension fund administrator (PFA) in Nigeria. Keep reading to find what Emenike Dave Uduanu, Managing Director and CEO, has to say on the pensions industry in Nigeria and investment opportunities for pension funds (p.26).