When outlining his plans to transform the Rwanda capital market, Mr. Thapelo Tsheole, the new CEO for Rwanda Capital Market Authority (CMA) noted that there is need for aggressive awareness creation about capital markets in Rwanda. He also noted the need for capacity building for various stakeholders in the Rwanda capital market including the regulators,...
Capital markets play a critical role in efficient and arguably effective allocation of scarce financial resources to competing investment opportunities in a given economy. They also provide an alternative source of capital for the private and public sectors in countries where they are well established. Capital markets complement the traditional sources of capital for businesses...
ESG reporting has gained significant importance in recent years as organizations recognize the need to integrate sustainability and responsible practices into their operations. It enables companies to be more transparent about the risks and opportunities they face. The increasing significance of sustainability reports is backed by the demand from investors and other stakeholders for companies...
The need for innovative and bold solutions to implement new technologies on a large scale is evident. Green Banks have been developed with this purpose in mind, raising and blending capital to finance local climate infrastructure while driving a surge in private investment. These institutions can play a significant role in mobilizing finance to support...
Countries must invest in and build clean and resilient infrastructure for the world to address the climate crisis and develop equitably. National goals to transform energy use and deploy low-carbon solutions across sectors require investment in projects at the local level. Governments are struggling to source and subsequently deploy sufficient levels of funding for high-priority,...
Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) are always structured as Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) for reasons outlined in our previous article on the Fundamentals of PPPs. An SPV’s financial performance is analyzed on its own merit, it carries its own risks and it does not affect other investments made by the parties who have invested in it....
In our previous thought leadership, we explored why developing economies in Africa should tap into private sector and sovereign funds to finance their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). Development of climate resilient infrastructure will play a key role in climate risks mitigation and adaptation going into the future; hence there is a need to widen the...
Africa is currently facing a number of economic challenges, including poverty, inequality, and lack of access to basic services such as electricity and clean water. However, there is also a growing recognition that investing in sustainable infrastructure can help to address these challenges and promote economic growth. International investors are looking for opportunities to invest...
The transaction advisory industry is currently undergoing a significant transformation owing to the growing use of chatbot technologies such as ChatGPT. These technologies have the potential to revolutionize the way that transaction advisory firms and professionals operate by automating repetitive tasks, providing 24/7 support, and improving client communication. One of the most promising use cases...
Over the past decade, governments across Africa have been working towards transitioning their countries into developed economic status. This development race is characterized by increased investment in transport and energy infrastructure; as well as other public utilities such as hospitals, schools, waste management systems, and public recreation facilities. However, funding for these mega projects across...
Global VC funding has been cooling off in 2022, following an aggressive rally in the past two years. However, Africa has largely been an outlier in this trend by evading the slowdown; until the month of July. The month of July experienced a 20% drop from the amount raised in the same month in 2021;...
To combat climate change, trillions of dollars in climate investment must be leveraged; as well as climate change transparency and accountability in order to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of climate finance. Transparency and accountability are pivotal due to the fundamental imbalance of power within and across nations. Improvement of both values is required to empower...
Since 2020, investment flows into the startup ecosystem in Africa has been at an all-time high; hitting USD 5.2 billion in 2021; as reported by the African Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (AVCA). Ticket sizes for later-stage investments have consistently crossed the USD 100 million mark; and we are starting to see the capital...
According to the Africa focused startup funding data platform The Big Deal, Kenya bagged more than 90% of all the startup funding that was invested in Eastern Africa from 2019 to May 2022. At USD 1.9 billion, Kenya received more than 10x the amount received by Tanzania over the same period at USD 152 million....
Venture capital funding activity in Africa has been on a steep rise in the past couple of years, with the startup ecosystem raising about USD 4.9 billion in 2021; according to the Africa Investment Report 2021 by Briter Bridges. The figure was about 3x the amount raised in 2020 and 2019 at about USD 1.7...
M&A activity in Kenya for the last three years saw key sectors deal closures and exits. The sectors included but not limited to; Financial services sector; DE La Rue Kenya Ltd (a subsidiary of De La Rue Plc) wholly acquired by American Company, HID Corporation Ltd. Banking sector; Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) acquired National Bank...
In 2021, MarketForce made a 100% strategic acquisition of Digiduka in order to enhance their value propositions to their target customers; and achieve quicker scale for their merged operations. The deal was announced in June 2021; a month before MarketForce closed their pre-series A funding round of USD 2 million from a group of venture...
In 2021, the total value of merger and acquisitions (M&A) deals in Africa was about USD 58 billion. This fades in comparison with the global M&A deals value of USD 5.9 trillion the same year. With a GDP of USD 3.4 trillion, Africa has not yet attracted super huge M&A deal sizes. However, as specific...
A continental funding challenge Insufficient funding is flowing into the renewable energy sector in Africa. Commercial and development financiers agree that there are sufficient funds to finance the energy transition in Africa; however the continent faces challenges that are slowing down the rate of capital deployment into the clean energy sector. According to a report...
Smart Green Infrastructure (SGI) presents a huge investment opportunity globally, with an estimated USD100 trillion worth of climate action infrastructure required by 2030; in order to meet the Paris Agreement emissions reduction targets. However, there is a shortage of finance as well as a shortage of identifiable, investment-ready, and bankable projects. There is also lack...
The Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement is an important instrument in helping Africa realize its economic integration and development goals. It builds up on the progress realized by the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) to establish a USD 3.4 trillion market of goods and services with over 1.3 billion people. The scope of the...
In African traditional culture, people lived in communities and they looked after each other’s affairs communally. When one person had a misfortune, the community led by the village elders mobilized resources from the community and people came together to support one of their own. Fast forward to post-colonial Kenya, the spirit of Harambee continued the...
Under the mission of the Glasgow Finance Alliance for Net Zero, every company, bank, insurer, and the investor will need to adjust their business models, develop credible plans for the transition to a low-carbon, climate-resilient future, and then implement those plans. Private finance can help fund private sector initiatives and turn billions committed to climate...
According to World Bank, there is great interest globally on the role of small and medium size (SME) enterprises in employment creation, income generation and economic development. They represent about 90% of businesses and more than 50% of employment worldwide. Formal SMEs contribute up to 40% of national income (GDP) in emerging economies. In Kenya,...
A decade ago, the narrative about startup investing in Africa was centered around grants funding tempered with a few impact investments. The two later morphed into what we now know as venture philanthropy that seeks to invest in social enterprises that are pursuing the triple bottom line model of economic, social and environmental impact. Except...
A proper transport network is a major catalyst to economic development and growth for any developing or developed country. Transport and logistics enables movement of economic commodities through different economic zones. In Africa, transport plays a critical role in not only facilitating growth but also in the integration of the region. It provides vital links...
The aspirations of the founding fathers of the African continent post-independence converged on a united Africa under the spirit of Pan Africanism and Ubuntu. Fast forward about six decades later, trading under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) was launched in January 2021; marking the beginning of trade liberalization across the continent. As Africa...
That Africa is shifting its economic growth model from being commodity based to entrepreneurship driven is a no brainer to policy makers across the continent. Following the fall in commodity prices in 2015 that led to many oil dependent countries slowing down in terms of economic growth policy makers in most African countries are now...
The impact investing space is growing in Africa and could be the trigger this developing continent needs for faster sustainable development. As the MDGs are being replaced by the SDGs in 2015, new development concepts and policies are being floated for Africa to adopt. Impact investing could be one of the best strategies if embraced...
Coming from a premise of factor-driven economies, Africa has not in the past explored extensively the relationship that exists around entrepreneurship, economic growth & structural transformation. However, as we highlighted in our article on Fusing Innovation & Entrepreneurship for Economic Growth in Africa; the tide is quickly changing, and now it’s the right time for...
From Foraging to Domestication A trip down history lane reveals that all humanity was once engaged in similar activities of hunting and gathering. Yes, some many years ago depending on which history book you read, we were all hunters and gathers doing what is commonly referred to as foraging. However, due to climatic changes and...