May 2020 - Staying Connected

The AFSIC team hopes that you are healthy and well. We were due to host you in London this month at what would have been a record breaking AFSIC – Investing in Africa event. However circumstances intervened, and it was not to be. Now our thoughts are firmly focused on ensuring that inward investment continues into Africa at an accelerating pace despite the Covid-19 pandemic.

Due to  the current uncertainty regarding international travel and the holding of large events we have rescheduled to AFSIC to 5-7 May 2021 in London. Delegates registered for AFSIC 2020 will receive complimentary tickets to attend the 2021 event and we are delighted with the superb support that we have received from our delegates and our sponsors.

Our Investment Dashboard, focused on institutional investors and companies seeking investment, is attracting record numbers of new investment opportunities, and is becoming an ever increasingly important part of Africa’s investment world. In addition we will soon be introducing a new initiative focused on highlighting the key contacts within Africa’s investment world, and are confident that this will prove useful to your own business development initiatives.

Early indications are that Africa’s investment universe has weathered the storm relatively well, we hope that this continues. We look forward to continuing to work with you in driving increasing amounts of inward investment into Africa.

Absa

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on societies and has disrupted global, regional and domestic economies. At Absa Corporate and Investment Banking we continue to remain close to you, our clients during this difficult time. Our Deep Pan African roots has been the foundation of our insights which include the African Financial Markets Index. These insights and our unique value proposition will help you to navigate through these challenging times. We remain convinced that Africa still has all the fundamentals for economic success and we want to partner with you, our current and prospective clients, to be part of this iconic journey. Our premier sponsorship of AFSIC is testament to our belief in Africa’s potential. We look forward to continuing our productive and collaborative relationship with AFSIC and engaging with you at the next event.

FSD Africa

COVID-19 presents an unprecedented challenge for all of us, including those of us working in developing markets to build a sustainable future for the poor. At FSD Africa we are giving careful thought to how our strategy can be modified to address the profound challenges that this pandemic has revealed. The financial system can be part of a solution, both now and in preventing future disasters.

CDC

Responding to COVID-19 CDC Group is the world’s first impact investor, wholly funded by the UK Government, with over 70 years’ experience of successfully supporting the sustainable, long-term growth of businesses in Africa and South Asia. We aim to help solve the biggest global development challenges by investing patient, flexible capital to support private sector growth and innovation. With investments in over 1,200 businesses, we provide flexible capital in all its forms, including equity, debt, mezzanine and guarantees. CDC invests across all sectors, but prioritizes those that help further development, such as infrastructure, financial institutions, manufacturing, and construction. Our response to the COVID-19 pandemic has three areas of focus: ‘preserve’, ‘strengthen’ and ‘rebuild’. Read more

Saïd Business School

Since the COVID-19 crisis began, one of our partners, Saïd Business School, has switched to delivering its classes and lectures online. They have been running a series of twice-weekly live events discussing the challenges reshaping business and society during the COVID-19 outbreak. ‘Leadership in extraordinary times’ can be viewed on their website. Read more

African Investments Dashboard

Want to invest in Africa? Want to find investment for a company or project in Africa? Our Investor Dashboard allows you to start making great investment connections. Read more

Country Focus: Nigeria

Boasting the largest economy and largest population in Africa, a pro-business government agenda and enviable reputation as a leading hub of entrepreneurship, you can expect Nigerian business leaders to create innovative investment opportunities in this challenging climate…

Ship n Grab to fix Nigeria's Parcel Delivery Network

“Africa is experiencing explosive growth in online shopping but the African parcel delivery infrastructure system is broken”, according to Sven Rosenburg, COO of Ship n Grab. His team of logistics and e-commerce experts is raising capital to build a full end to end delivery network that will be available for every merchant and sole trader. Find out more on the African Investments Dashboard (Opportunity number AIDB – 006783)

Nigeria poised to lead growth in Digital Payments Fintech

Leading Nigerian law firm, Sefton Fross, anticipates an accelerated global shift towards digital payments as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. There is no doubt that Nigeria can lead the growth in non-cash transaction volume in sub-Saharan Africa, backed by the current industry trends in Nigeria and the appropriate policy drive from the Nigerian Central Bank. With the country’s underlying infrastructure challenges being addressed through NCB’s proposed US$39 billion fund the digital payments sector is now ripe with opportunities. Read more

Seeking alpha returns from Nigerian Opportunities

“Like most countries, Nigeria is faced with the task of reworking its growth strategies and policies as the COVID-19 pandemic has caused an economic shock with global effects on funding and supply sources. Although we do not expect negative growth in the GDP for Q1 2020, we predict a significant slowdown compared to Q1 2019 as well as Q4 2019. Nonetheless, we anticipate that some industries will remain resilient and experience positive growth. Read more

The KEEXS Brand

Our range of products are urban and athletic inspired-trainers. Our design inspirations are Afrocentric and so we infuse and celebrate African elements ranging from our environs to socioeconomic issues, art, music, culture, influentialiconic figures in Africa. Full details on the African Investments Dashboard (Opportunity number AIDB – 007205)