Our Market

The information below provides a profile of a few of the major markets in the Sub-Saharan Africa region, as well as interesting facts, information and issues important to both South Africa and the Sub-Saharan Africa region as well as global organisations represented in the region.

Sub-Saharan Africa is defined as that group of African countries south of the Sahara desert and includes 51 countries south of a line drawn roughly from Senegal in the west to Ethiopia in the east. Traditionally one of the poorest regions in the world, Sub Saharan Africa has become one of the world's fastest growing economies, and South Africa is the biggest economy on the continent.

The entire African continent has enjoyed dramatic increases in gross domestic product, along with decreases in inflation. The most critical growth is coming from natural resources including oil: Angola, the region's second-largest producer, will expand, and Ghana, which began exporting oil for the first time this year, will have the fastest growth on the continent. Other sectors looking at exponential growth are foreign trade, agriculture, investing, banking, and manufacturing.

The challenge will be to develop human resources and provide qualified executives and leaders to guide this economic growth. Boyden, with its nearly two decades of operation in South Africa, has witnessed and been a part of the growth of this region first hand, and has a deep network of professionals who understand the region and its needs.

In addition, foreign investment and trade in Sub Saharan Africa is steadily increasing. Trade between South Africa, China and particularly India is extremely valuable. In fact, Africa receives approximately 13% of India's outward investment, which is about 10 times higher than the global average.

The economic landscape of Africa and Asia is changing and Boyden, with its global resources and local presence, is poised to facilitate what looks like a productive and profitable future.

Particular trends and developments observed by Boyden through the Johannesburg office include the following:

• The use of South Africa as a gateway into the rest of Sub Saharan Africa. Multinational companies, as well as local South African companies have leveraged their South African operations to enter Sub Saharan Africa. The country is well positioned to service the southern part of the region particularly. South African success stories such as MTN and Vodacom (telecoms), Shoprite (retail) and SABMiller (consumer goods) have paved the way for this approach.
• The development of other regional hubs in Sub Saharan Africa. A recent survey of Boyden clients with African strategies has shown that there is a trend toward establishing hub offices in key countries, to better service the region. The perception is that the entire region cannot be serviced out of South Africa as it is too large. Favoured hub countries are South Africa (Southern Africa), Kenya (for East and central Africa) and Nigeria/Ghana for west Africa). These hubs are consistent across industries and we see ICT, mining, pharmaceutical, consumer goods, financial services and other industry players concurring.
• The development of a gateway into Africa through East Africa. With Mombasa (Kenya) as a port, this route has reasonable infrastructure and is easily accessible, particularly to India and China.
• Multinational companies are locating themselves in many African nations: South Africa, Nigeria/Ghana, Kenya and Angola. West Africa is usually perceived to be more difficult to enter due to the language difficulty (French speaking) and also lacks the infrastructure of East and Southern Africa.

Sources:

"World Bank Boosts Sub-Saharan Africa's Economic Growth Forecast to 5.3%." Bloomberg.com, Nasreen Seria and Sarah McGregor, January 13, 2011.

"Africa on brink of economic take-off as reforms attract business magnets." www.businessdailyafrica.com, Tinus de Jager, posted 6/19/2011.