African pension asset allocation
In most OECD and many non OECD countries, bonds and equities remain the two predominant asset classes for pension funds. While globally there is a larger allocation to equities (42.3%), the picture in Africa is more disparate. Broad asset allocation in sub-Saharan Africa has favoured equities that have shown a steady increase alongside the development...
Africa’s Pension Fund Assets
Pension funds globally have become significant investors, both as fiduciaries in global capital markets and in their capacity as investors in local and international development projects. At the end of 2014, global pension fund assets were estimated at USD 36,119bn, representing a 6.1% rise from the 2013 year-end value. On average, these assets account...
Social security in Africa
Countries across Africa are at different stages of creating comprehensive and inclusive social security systems. Although some are further along this journey than others, most have introduced some form of arrangement for pension provision or have social security as a strategic goal. Similar to global trends, the vast majority of retirement income in...
How do Africa’s regions compare?
What makes a region attractive to investors? RisCura has analysed Africa’s regions from a number of perspectives to determine their relative attractiveness. The table below shows the regional comparison of the aggregated sizes of the economies, their GDP growth, the amount of external investment they receive in the form of FDI, the sizes of the...
Segmenting Africa into meaningful markets
It is important to recognise that Africa is not a single investment destination with a single set of standardised risk factors and homogenous potential for reward. Segmenting Africa into meaningful market is an important exercise. Although some high-level similarities are evident, as one digs down into the specifics of certain regions and countries,...
M&A Activity in Africa
African Merger Acquisitions (M&A) activity across the continent has continued to trend upward both in value and number of transactions. The Maghreb region has seen a decline in activity as a percentage of the continent over the past few years, as political unrest and slow growth relative to the rest of the continent characterise these...
Bridging the African Infrastucture Gap: Politics or PPPs
Estimates are that traffic jams in Nairobi waste around USD600 000 per day through lost productivity, fuel consumption and pollution. The problem is also exacerbated by a deficit in infrastructure supply. According to the World Bank, in Africa as a whole this ‘infrastructure gap’ needs around USD 75bn a year to close. Governments use infrastructure-spend...