Investors update: Francophone West African region forecasts 7% growth in 2023.

Francophone West African region forecasts 7% growth in 2023

Highlights

• Economic expansion in the eight-member West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) will accelerate to 7% this year as many of the countries recover from the shock of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 
• Gross domestic product (GDP) growth will quicken from 5.9% in 2022, according to Mohamed Bazoum, president of Niger who doubles as the head of WAEMU heads of state conference. 
• The members of the union are Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo.

Source: Bloomberg

Our Takeaway

The WAEMU area—created in 1994 as a trade and currency union and consistently described by the IMF and some global bodies as a successful regional bloc with a high level of economic integration—has in recent times been one of the most dynamic economic zones in sub-Saharan Africa when it comes to economic performance and resilience, although the Covid-19 pandemic contributed to a slowdown in activity in 2020.  In addition to its potential economic growth, the region’s stable currency (CFA franc) and regional integration offer opportunities for diverse sectors and long-term investment prospects.

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Propel raises $2.7m seed to power the open talent economy

Highlights

• Propel, a Lagos- and Berlin-based startup aiming to build sustainable talent pipelines for communities and help global companies derisk the process of hiring remote talent from emerging markets, has secured $2.74 million in seed investment.
• The round was led by Amsterdam-based No Such Ventures, with participation from APX (an accelerator by Axel Springer Digital Ventures and Porsche Digital), Golden Egg Check, and Future of Learning Fund. 
• The startup, founded in 2020, intends to use the investment to drive the roll-out and adoption of its community-as-a-service platform and drive $1.3 million in revenue generated for communities by Q4 next year.

Source: Techpoint Africa

Our Takeaway

Africa’s tech ecosystem’s remarkable growth can be attributed not only to the influx of billions of dollars from local and foreign investors but also to its flourishing talent pool. The continent’s homegrown talents, such as software developers (whose numbers have increased by nearly 4% to 716,000, as per Google’s Africa Developer Report), UI/UX designers, engineers, and other tech professionals, are highly sought after both locally and internationally. Consequently, numerous talent-matching platforms have emerged across Africa, including notable ones like Propel, Andela, GOMYCODE, AltSchool, Decagon, and more looking to tap into this market opportunity.

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Afreximbank partners Fiducia to boost supply chain finance

Highlights

• The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the supply chain financing company, Fiducia, have entered into a deal to promote factoring across the continent and help reduce the supply chain finance gap.
• Afreximbank will provide Fiducia with additional liquidity for trade facilitation through factoring on the latter’s marketplace while also exploring collaboration opportunities with Fiducia and Access Corporation for payables financing across African markets.
• SMEs contribute the majority of economic output and employment generation in Africa. Greater access to bank financing will, therefore, enhance the growth of this vital segment.

Source: TechCabal

Our Takeaway

Across Africa, there is a clear supply chain finance gap for SMEs that is not being met by traditional banking institutions and other lending services companies. As such, businesses miss out on significant business opportunities without the requisite capital to support their transactions. Fiducia’s business is yet another example in Africa’s alternative lending market focused on SMEs, which is gathering momentum thanks to the emergence of financial technology (fintech) on the continent.