Africa to become the second-fastest growing region after Asia

Highlights

• Africa is set to be the second-fastest growing region in the world after Asia in 2023-24, demonstrating the resilience of its economy despite dealing with multiple global shocks.
• But the projected growth will depend on global conditions and the continent’s ability to bolster its economic resilience, the African Development Bank’s 2023 African Economic Outlook report has found.
• The report forecasts that Africa will consolidate its post-Covid-19 pandemic recovery to 4.3% GDP growth in 2024 from 3.8% in 2022. Some 22 countries will record growth rates above 5%.

Source: ABC

Our Takeaway

Monetary tightening in the United States and Europe has led to rising interest rates that have compounded debt service payments for African countries and other emerging and frontier markets. While the general outlook for the African economy remains largely positive, governments in the region will need to do more to steer their respective economies successfully through the ongoing storm, taking a raft of measures that include mobilizing more domestic resources and restructuring debt to withstand global headwinds.

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GoGlobal expands presence to help multinationals find African talent

Highlights

• GoGlobal, a leading Employer of Record (EOR) is expanding its global footprint with the launch of on-the-ground offices in 18 African countries. 
• The company provides end-to-end recruitment solutions to multinational companies (MNCs), enabling them to build their teams in Africa.
• The expansion now allows GoGlobal to offer local coverage in one-third of the continent, positioning the company as a key player in supporting global companies expanding into Africa.

Source: ABC

Our Takeaway

For companies looking to expand globally in industries such as technology, agribusiness, NGOs, financial services, construction, and engineering, Africa offers immediate opportunities, with an impressive mix of a growing population, a pool of talented professionals, promising economies, robust infrastructure development, and investor-friendly policies. But finding the talent to match their needs can be difficult, and that’s what GoGlobal aims to solve. By tapping into Africa’s vast talent pool, MNCs benefit from a dynamic workforce, gaining access to localized insights and cost-effective operations.

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ARM Labs, Techstars open applications for Africa accelerator

Highlights

• Applications have opened for the 2023 ARM Labs Lagos Techstars accelerator program, which will invest up to $120,000 in early-stage startups based in Africa.
• The program is organized by Techstars, the most active pre-seed investor in the world that provides access to capital, programming, and connections to early-stage entrepreneurs, in partnership with ARM Labs, a Lagos-based innovation program.
• Following the success of the inaugural program in 2022, the program plans to support startups building innovative companies across FinTech, Mobility, E-commerce, and TalentTech.

Source: BenjaminDada

Our Takeaway

One of the defining trends of Africa’s venture capital landscape in 2022, per a Briter Bridges report, was a notable growth in the early-stage support framework available to startups on the continent, involving angel networks, seed funds, and accelerator programs. Accelerators, incubators, and pitch competitions provide crucial access to capital and mentorship to startups, and the benefits of this in the African startup landscape—which is playing catchup to ecosystems in advanced economies—can’t be overstated, especially in times of economic uncertainty.