Development finance institutions in Africa
Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) are government-funded institutions that make investments in sectors and countries that would not otherwise attract significant capital. DFIs generally aim to have a developmental impact in the markets in which they invest, alongside the requirement for sustainable returns. Over and above the primary impact of...
Insurance AUM in Africa
RisCura estimates that African insurance AUM totals approximately USD 273bn, with the vast majority of these assets coming from South African insurance companies. This is the result of an insurance penetration rate of more than 14% in South Africa, far higher than any other region on the continent, and one of the highest penetration rates...
Demographic trends and labour market
The state of social security frameworks is typically a function of a country’s environment as much as a response to it. While Africa proves no exception to trends of universally ageing populations, the continent still has a young population compared to the rest of the world. Uganda for example has a median age of 15...
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...
