Investing in Africa
Simon Munton - Tue 20 Jun, 2006
...Not just in footballing terms, but in a socio-economic sense, there is a palpable feeling that Africa is about to emerge from the shadows. Certainly, the IT revolution indicates that many African nations have taken the first steps to becoming modern market economies. And that could present trend spotters with an opportunity to enter a market some experts are predicting will be the biggest of the next 25 years...
I watched Ghana’s fantastic performance
against the Czech Republic on Saturday and it brought
to mind something the great Pele said back in 1977.
Quoth the legend: “An African nation will win the
World Cup by the end of 20th century.”
Okay, the God-like Brazillian was out by a few years. But I
dare say he’s onto something.
Not just in footballing terms, but in a socio-economic
sense, there is a palpable feeling that Africa is
about to emerge from the shadows.
Certainly, the IT revolution indicates that many African nations have taken the first steps to becoming modern market economies.
And that could present trend spotters with an
opportunity to enter a market some experts are
predicting will be the biggest of the next 25 years.
Investing in Africa: The future’s bright, the future’s African...
Forget London Fashion Week – or Paris and Milan...soon, major catwalk shows could be hosted in Nairobi,
Dakar and Kinshasa...
One brand is seeking to become Africa’s first bona
fide fashion house. ‘Aziza’ (Swahili for “gorgeous”)
launches its first ready to-wear collection in July.
Dubbed “Afro-Gucci” – the young textile and design
company already have customers lining up!
To begin with, Aziza is using South Africa as a test
market for their striking fashions. In the long term,
the brand plans to attack the pan-African and global
export markets
“The whole concept is about radiant beauty,” said
Aziza interim manager Rutger-Jan van Spaandonk. “We
want to clothe confident, outgoing people,”
“This is not Armani, which has a million different
shades of grey, brown and black. We are not about
understatement. We are about bold.”
Van Spaandonk is convinced that there is a huge desire
for contemporary African fashion, and that Aziza could
be right at the beginning of a massive trend.
“We are looking at a five to 10 times increase in
turnover,” he says...
You may be interested to know that Aziza’s parent
company, Gamma Holding NV, (NL: 35582) is listed on
the Amsterdam Stock Exchange. Could be worth keeping
an eye on...
Investing in Africa: Are we at the beginning of a truly massive trend?
Of course, there’s way more to Africa than a few fancythreads. The continent also reportedly has:
** 12% of the world’s oil reserves
** A third of the planet’s gold
** The third biggest store of natural gas
** Some of the richest copper reserves on Earth
All of this is sitting a few hundred meters under
Africa’s surface. And yet - it’s virtually untapped.
Not, I fear, for much longer...
With commodity prices rising on world exchanges, many
African nations have issued a “come-and-get-it” appeal
to the world’s major oil and energy companies.
And they’re falling over themselves to answer the
call. High prices mean that it’s now economically
viable to explore these former ‘no-go’ areas.
Regards,
Simon Munton
for The Daily Reckoning
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