The 2017 version of Ecobank Research’s Fixed Income,
Currency and Commodities (FICC) Guidebook, has identified tripod future for the
African continent, reports NaijaAgroNet.
The Senior Public Relations Director at Ecobank group, Sherelle
Folkes, disclosed in a press statement made available to NaijaAgroNet and
listed these to include that the continent’s economy rebounding after a trying
year, just as gas has been discovered as the next oil in West Africa, whilst
the continent is evolving in Financial Technology (FinTech) leadership.
NaijaAgroNet quoted Folkes as saying that expert knowledge
and analysis on African markets for investors and businesses, was launched at
AfricaFICC, indicated a positive outlook for the continent, with three key
trends forecast to take hold during the next 12 months.
NaijaAgroNet reports that the first indicates an economic
rebound in sub-Saharan Africa driven by a recovery in the region’s economic
heavyweights, such as Nigeria and South Africa, and ongoing growth in the top
performers, Ethiopia, Côte d’Ivoire and (more recently) Ghana.
Growth will be driven by a rise in oil production (notably
in Ghana, Republic of Congo, Nigeria and Angola), strengthening infrastructure
investment across West and East Africa, and improved weather conditions which
bode well for crops.
Strengthening economic activity, plus a moderate improvement
in oil and mineral prices, will help narrow the current account deficit, but
pressure on SSA currencies will remain.
The second emerging trend points to West Africa’s gas sector
becoming a hive of activity in 2018 from Senegal to Angola, with the
development of gas pipelines, floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) platforms
and major gas field projects.
Governments in the Gulf of Guinea and across West Africa
have ramped up efforts to secure gas supply in order to boost domestic power
generation and diversify their revenues away from crude oil.
Deregulating the gas market and allowing market-driven gas
prices will be key to unlocking further gas infrastructure investment across
the region.
The third trend suggests Fintech innovation in Africa
picking up speed in 2018 buoyed by a new generation of Africans who are
‘digital natives’. The proliferation of tech hubs across Africa (notably in
South Africa, Kenya, Rwanda, Nigeria, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire) will nurture the
next wave of African start-ups and help connect them with investors.
Isaac Oyimah/GEE
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