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Madagascar

Madagascar is endowed with a wealth of natural resources. These include semi-precious stones, graphite, chromite, coal, bauxite, rare earth elements, salt, quartz, tar sand and mica. The country supplies around 80% of the world’s vanilla. Other main agricultural products include coffee, sugarcane, palm oil, cloves, cocoa, rice, cassava, beans, bananas and peanuts. The island nation also derives revenue from fishing, forestry and hydropower. Renowned for its biodiversity and its unique flora and fauna, Madagascar is often described the ‘Galapagos of the African continent’.

Ethiopia

The winds of change are sweeping through Ethiopia since Abiy Ahmed became prime minister in April. Ethiopia is sub-Saharan Africa’s fastest growing economy, with average growth of around 10% a year for over a decade. GDP was US$8.2bn in 2000, $80bn by 2017, and will reach US$129bn by 2023, according to the IMF. The IMF’s World Economic Outlook expects 8.5% GDP growth in 2019 – while the World Bank expects 8% – outstripping advanced economies and global growth, which is expected at 3.9%.

Covid19Other service activities

In the light of the president’s commitment to a social compact on July 23rd we have examined the economic strategy documents recently published by Business for SA, the ANC’s Economic Transformation Committee and re-visited the sadly neglected National Development Plan and identified (with some assumptions) the twenty one sectors targeted for growth which are common to these documents.

Eswatini

Eswatini is a landlocked country bordering South Africa and Mozambique, with a population of approximately 1.4 million. The country was renamed in 2018 by King Mswati III, who rules it as an absolute monarch. Eswatini has close economic ties to South Africa, which it depends on for about 85% of its imports and about 60% of exports. It is a member of the Common Monetary Area with Lesotho, Namibia, and South Africa, and its currency, the lilangeni is pegged at the rand, which is also used as legal tender.

Burundi

The Burundi economy ranks 41st on the continent with a GDP of US$3bn and a population of 11 million, and is classified as a ‘fragile’ economy which has been ravaged by a protracted civil war. According to the African Development Bank, economic growth is constrained by its unstable macroeconomic framework and security concerns, among other factors. Burundi, which is one of the world’s poorest nations, has been embroiled in a civil war for over a decade.

Accommodation and food service activitiesArts entertainment and recreationSouth Africa

One of South Africa’s best kept secrets is the big and small five game reserve of Mapungubwe which, 1,000 years ago, was the home to a sophisticated African kingdom which traded with Arabia, China and India and where the ancient golden rhino was uncovered. On an early morning game drive, we had the extraordinary experience of seeing a bush buck giving birth and witnessed a bask of crocodiles at a waterhole, seemingly oblivious to the ready-made meals all around them.

Other service activitiesSouth Africa

These are trying times, but hopefully, once the pandemic has exhausted itself, we will be living in a wiser world. The lockdown presents an opportunity to research new business and new markets to pursue when it lifts.  To assist South African businesses in these difficult times, Who Owns Whom is offering a 50% discount on all industry reports purchased during this period

Other service activitiesSouth Africa

Who Owns Whom MD, Andrew McGregor reveals that the South African business community has the edge over their international peers in supporting sustainable development goals, which generate broad-based value, contrary...