African Business 2021
The 2021 edition of African Business is the second issue of this useful guide to business and investment on the continent. The positive reception accorded the inaugural edition in 2020 was encouraging and we are optimistic that this publication and future issues will continue to meet the need for timely and relevant information in an exciting time for African business. African Business 2021 has articles on recent trends plus overviews of the key economic sectors on the continent and regional and country profiles. There is an in-depth analysis of the implications for trade on the continent of the introduction of the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement (AfCFTA) and an article on the growth and importance of exploration for minerals, gas and oil. Namibia and Botswana feature in an article on how cooperation can drive economic growth and an opinion piece focusses on the role that digital technology can play not only in the financial sector, but in the driving progress in a broader sense. Global African Network is a proudly African company which has been producing region-specific business and investment guides since 2004, including South African Business and Nigerian Business, in addition to its online investment promotion platform: https://www.globalafricanetwork.com
The 2021 edition of African Business is the second issue of this useful guide to business and investment on the continent. The positive reception accorded the inaugural edition in 2020 was encouraging and we are optimistic that this publication and future issues will continue to meet the need for timely and relevant information in an exciting time for African business.
African Business 2021 has articles on recent trends plus overviews of the key economic sectors on the continent and regional and country profiles. There is an in-depth analysis of the implications for trade on the continent of the introduction of the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement (AfCFTA) and an article on the growth and importance of exploration for minerals, gas and oil.
Namibia and Botswana feature in an article on how cooperation can drive economic growth and an opinion piece focusses on the role that digital technology can play not only in the financial sector, but in the driving progress in a broader sense.
Global African Network is a proudly African company which has been producing region-specific business and investment guides since 2004, including South African Business and Nigerian Business, in addition to its online investment promotion platform: https://www.globalafricanetwork.com
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Revenues from oil and tourism have dropped markedly.<br />
Climate<br />
The Community of Sahel-<br />
Saharan States (CEN-SAD)<br />
covers many countries,<br />
including most of West<br />
Africa, but includes neither Algeria<br />
nor Liberia, which is a member of<br />
the West <strong>African</strong> Regional Economic<br />
Community, ECOWAS.<br />
An effort began in 1988 to create the Arab<br />
Maghreb Union to strengthen ties between five<br />
states on the northern coast of Africa, but not<br />
including Egypt. It never got off the ground.<br />
The member states of CEN-SAD are: Benin,<br />
Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Central <strong>African</strong><br />
Republic, Chad, the Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt,<br />
Eritrea, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory<br />
Coast, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger,<br />
Nigeria, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra<br />
Leone, Somalia, the Sudan, Togo and Tunisia.<br />
The population of the CEN-SAD area was<br />
estimated at 553-million in 2016 (UNCTAD).<br />
The Sahel-Sahara region experienced<br />
waves of instability after the Libyan revolution<br />
with armed Islamist groups rising in Mali and<br />
northern Nigeria. The G5 Sahel Joint Force was<br />
established in response in 2017. A CEN-SAD<br />
counter-terrorism centre is based in Cairo.<br />
The three outstanding features of North Africa help to define its climate:<br />
the Nile River in the east, the Atlas Mountains in the west and the Sahara<br />
Desert to the south, the largest sand desert on earth. Mediterranean<br />
conditions occur along the coast, bringing rain in winter and relatively<br />
mild temperatures. Crops include onions, figs, olives, oranges, cauliflower<br />
and tomatoes. The hot desert and semi-arid regions further inland<br />
Temperatures range widely and can reach 130°. Desert crops include<br />
cotton and date palms.<br />
Economy<br />
The Arab Spring and falling oil prices had a significant impact on the<br />
economies of North Africa. Libya’s political turmoil had a huge impact<br />
on the region’s GDP. Oil production levels rose after 2016 but are still a<br />
fraction of levels achieved before the revolution.<br />
North Africa contributes disproportionately to <strong>African</strong> GDP growth<br />
figures, up to 40% (<strong>African</strong> Development Bank). Most of the economies<br />
of North Africa have diversified production systems and manufacturing<br />
and industrial capacity.<br />
Morocco used to receive about 11-million tourist arrivals. Egypt experienced<br />
a significant drop in revenue from tourism after the political upheavals of 2011.<br />
The Covid-19 epidemic will hit tourism hard across the region.<br />
Casablanca Finance City has been established in Morocco in an<br />
attempt to attract investors to Africa. Tunisia has plans to privatise large<br />
parts of its economy and Egypt is building a mega-city to ease the<br />
overcrowding in Cairo.<br />
Morocco and Tunisia have integrated supply chains which are linked<br />
to the European market. Other countries in the region have focussed on<br />
the upstream side (AfDB).<br />
Resources<br />
Oil, natural gas, phosphates, iron ore.<br />
57 AFRICAN BUSINESS <strong>2021</strong>
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