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A LOT has happened since the time Fin24 ran a piece in these pages early last year, saying a great deal of transformation was taking hold in Africa.
At the time, we juxtaposed the economic progress in the continent with a negative story ran by the Economist 10 years ago, which unfortunately branded Africa The Hopeless Continent.
I am sure even The Economist has now changed its tack on the continent, with more than five African states considered by many to be among the world’s top 10 fastest growing economies.
Many economists agree that Africa will grow by more than 5% this year, and even higher percentages going forward.
The continent has now identified its dollar billionaires. They are 55 in number and set to grow. Their total wealth is $143.88bn, according to Ventures Africa.
In its latest issue, the young bimonthly Pan-African magazine reports that the average net worth of this association is $2.6bn.
Nigeria, South Africa and Egypt have produced more billionaires than other countries on the huge continent. This could largely be attributed to the size of these economies.
The economic revolution in Africa does not end there. It has emerged that some companies have identified strategies that could make small businesses in Africa start to interact.
This is one strategy I think can work wonders for the continent, if the proponents get it right.
This week, we learnt that Barclays Africa Group – which was formed after Absa Bank [JSE:ABSP] acquired the African assets of its parent company Barclays Bank earlier this year – is set to promote intra-Africa trade among small businesses.
Happy Ralinala, the head of Business Banking South Africa, said Barclays Africa is set to create new contacts for small businesses to give them access to markets, information and non-financial support.
He was speaking at the opening of a seminar and intra-Africa trade event hosted by Barclays Africa Business Club in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
The occasion was a stage for South African businesspeople, powered by Absa, to intermingle with 50 SMEs from Barclays Africa Kenya.
Currently, the Business Clubs are active in Ghana, Kenya and Uganda. Plans are afoot to advance similar initiatives into other African countries where Barclays has operations.
"Globally, SMEs are considered the engines of growth in any economy, particularly in developing countries. Statistics have shown that there are an estimated 2.8 million SMEs in South Africa that contribute approximately 52-57% to GDP and provide about 60% of jobs," Ralinala said.
He said as a company they believed Barclays Africa’s footprint in 12 African countries stood it in good stead to advance and help small businesses find new business breaks.
This is an initiative of the private sector, and I am glad it has happened.
The sad thing though is that at home we are still battling corruption, which other countries on the continent have been tackling long before us.
Does this mean we will have to reach the lows that these other African countries hit before they recovered to where they are at present?
That is too ghastly to even contemplate. But reports that outgoing auditor general Terence Nombembe revealed that R30.8bn went down the drain in South Africa could support my fears.
- Fin24
*Mzwandile Jacks is a freelance journalist. Opinions expressed are his own.
At the time, we juxtaposed the economic progress in the continent with a negative story ran by the Economist 10 years ago, which unfortunately branded Africa The Hopeless Continent.
I am sure even The Economist has now changed its tack on the continent, with more than five African states considered by many to be among the world’s top 10 fastest growing economies.
Many economists agree that Africa will grow by more than 5% this year, and even higher percentages going forward.
The continent has now identified its dollar billionaires. They are 55 in number and set to grow. Their total wealth is $143.88bn, according to Ventures Africa.
In its latest issue, the young bimonthly Pan-African magazine reports that the average net worth of this association is $2.6bn.
Nigeria, South Africa and Egypt have produced more billionaires than other countries on the huge continent. This could largely be attributed to the size of these economies.
The economic revolution in Africa does not end there. It has emerged that some companies have identified strategies that could make small businesses in Africa start to interact.
This is one strategy I think can work wonders for the continent, if the proponents get it right.
This week, we learnt that Barclays Africa Group – which was formed after Absa Bank [JSE:ABSP] acquired the African assets of its parent company Barclays Bank earlier this year – is set to promote intra-Africa trade among small businesses.
Happy Ralinala, the head of Business Banking South Africa, said Barclays Africa is set to create new contacts for small businesses to give them access to markets, information and non-financial support.
He was speaking at the opening of a seminar and intra-Africa trade event hosted by Barclays Africa Business Club in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
The occasion was a stage for South African businesspeople, powered by Absa, to intermingle with 50 SMEs from Barclays Africa Kenya.
Currently, the Business Clubs are active in Ghana, Kenya and Uganda. Plans are afoot to advance similar initiatives into other African countries where Barclays has operations.
"Globally, SMEs are considered the engines of growth in any economy, particularly in developing countries. Statistics have shown that there are an estimated 2.8 million SMEs in South Africa that contribute approximately 52-57% to GDP and provide about 60% of jobs," Ralinala said.
He said as a company they believed Barclays Africa’s footprint in 12 African countries stood it in good stead to advance and help small businesses find new business breaks.
This is an initiative of the private sector, and I am glad it has happened.
The sad thing though is that at home we are still battling corruption, which other countries on the continent have been tackling long before us.
Does this mean we will have to reach the lows that these other African countries hit before they recovered to where they are at present?
That is too ghastly to even contemplate. But reports that outgoing auditor general Terence Nombembe revealed that R30.8bn went down the drain in South Africa could support my fears.
- Fin24
*Mzwandile Jacks is a freelance journalist. Opinions expressed are his own.
