How Secure are Africa’s Middle Class Consumers? -Africa Business News Roundup

Bank confidence improves despite weak profits

A survey released by EY on Thursday indicates that the indicates that banking profits shrunk in 2015, with South Africa’s banks showing stronger resilience to the economic downturn.

The analysis focuses on the drivers of earnings across the key markets. Amongst the high level findings are:

• Nigeria’s weaker earnings were attributable to significantly slower asset growth, coupled with sharply rising impairments.
• Kenya’s profits slowed to low single digit territory, despite asset growth remaining well in double digits ( 14.1 percent).
• South Africa’s higher profits were somewhat obscured by a rebound at one bank, rather than being broad based. Whilst overall profits rose 16.6 percent, most banks reported growth of high single digits or at best, low double digits.

More…

Africa’s Insurance Market Prospects Threatened by Low Commodity Prices and Political Uncertainty

For almost two decades, growths in the insurance markets of Sub-Saharan Africa have been buoyed by the continent’s economic boom. With average growth in gross domestic product (GDP) across the region far outpacing much of the developed world, the African continent has presented an extremely attractive environment for domestic, regional and international investors seeking to enhance returns.

More…

How secure are Africa’s middle class consumers?

Ade Adebajo of UBS talks to This is Africa about whether the emerging market downturn has impacted the rise of Africa’s middle class consumers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_WmdXeU2H4

5 things Africa’s future leaders should know

Patrick Awuah Jr, Founder, Ashesi University,” Over the years, I’ve spoken with hundreds of young African students and graduates who are eager to create change. They want to be entrepreneurial – to earn money through hard work and innovation, rather than connections and corruption. They want to be more ethical than the world they grew up in. But they often have a hard time seeing themselves as “leaders”, and they are uncertain as to where to begin. Here are five lessons I’ve learned that I’d love to share with Africa’s future leaders.

More…

The Current State of Manufacturing in Africa

The current downturn in commodity price has impacted couple of economies in Sub-saharan Africa; Mining and manufacturing have their fair share of this as well. We had joining us on the show, Xolisile Bhuda, a Business Analyst, former leader of Mining Shared Value(MSV) and member Engineers without Border in Africa, she speak about Mining beneficiation and how that has affected the manufacturing industry in Africa. Listen to the Mid-Morning Show with Nomhle Mncube about  the Current State of Manufacturing in Africa here.