Many foreign firms view South Africa as a springboard to the wider African continent, in the hope that they can establish a foothold and tap into large and rapidly expanding sectors such as banking, manufacturing, retailing, telecoms, transport and utilities. South Africa itself is amongst the largest investors in the African continent and the main driver behind intra-African investment in recent years. The country has clearly benefitted from...

The security situation has improved markedly in Cote D’Ivoire since the political crisis in 2010, which caused the economy to slump into recession in 2011. Greater political stability and an improved security situation have been welcomed by the African Development Bank which is on track to return its regional headquarters to Abidjan in 2014. The government is hopeful that it can maintain stability and reassert the country as a strategic staging...

The football World Cup is coming to Qatar and bringing with it an even greater demographic imbalance. Only around 15% of the roughly 2 million population in Qatar are nationals and the bulk of the rest are foreign males aged between 20-49 years. The build up to the World Cup in 2022 will see major development projects intensify and exacerbate the demographic imbalance, already something of a sore spot for locals. The authorities are not too...

The Democratic Republic of Congo is clearly a risky place to do business but companies continue to be attracted by its vast and varied natural resources and are increasingly drawn to growth opportunities beyond the mining sector. The government has ambitious development plans, which would receive a boost if on-going discussions with neighbouring countries can find a way to bring peace to the conflict ridden eastern...