IMARA Africa Consulting

17/06/2022

Visit us on www.imaraafrica.com

13/06/2022

https://imaraafrica.com/blog/the-inflection-point-africas-digital-economy-is-poised-to-take-off/

Why Nigeria needs to seize the opportunity to leverage cryptocurrency and blockchain to establish its own International Financial Centre.

25/12/2021

24/10/2021

Our recently revamped website

Using African expertise and global best practices, we promote public policy that draws on local solutions.

24/06/2021

01/07/2020

During these unprecedented times research analysts and policy practitioners alike grapple with how best to balance saving lives and sustaining livelihoods. I took part in a UNU-WIDER webinar yesterday

27/10/2019

Imara Africa Consulting Services in partnership with FSDH Merchant Bank Nigeria to revamp equity research and macroeconomic research products....[email protected]
Or email [email protected] to be added on our mailing list for the daily Market report on Nigeria and other Emerging Markets; company earnings reviews; macroeconomic reports...below is a link to the most recent FSDH Economic note

https://fsdhgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Nigeria-Economic-Note.pdf

02/06/2018

RICS AFRICA SUMMIT 2018
The focus of this year’s Summit is connectivity and smart urbanism. High-level speakers from leading organisations will advance the debate on how built environment professionals can contribute to key issues such as inclusive growth and sustainable development in Africa; they will analyse what role city leaders, innovators and businesses should play in finding sustainable solutions to the continent’s power deficit and how new technologies can impact. Sessions will explore how effective approaches to facilities management can streamline the operation of built assets, save on resource, enhance employee health and wellbeing, mitigate business risk and lower costs.

Building on the successes of the last three Africa Summits, this year’s event continues to be a collaboration of property institutions and associations across Africa, working together to accelerate the professionalism of the land, construction and property sectors throughout the continent. The Summit is designed for Presidents, Chairmen and CEOs, providing a forum where common goals and a shared vision can be created through consensus and discussion.

The event will begin with an analysis of economic growth prospects in Africa. Building a picture of the whole continent by first detailing regional trends, the session will look at the performance of import and export sectors, commodities pricing, domestic demand, fiscal policy and currency valuation. Paying particular attention to the built environment’s key industries, the session will assess the likelihood of Africa’s economy continuing to expand in 2018/19.

Barbara Barungi ,Managing Partner of Imara Africa Consulting gave the keynote on the macroeconomic outlook for Africa.

Visit www.imaraafrica.com blog page for the full presentation.

06/04/2018

Kaduna Infrastructure Master Plan prepared by Imara Africa Consulting in collaboration with Kaduna State Government
www.imaraafrica.com

13/03/2018

In the world of infrastructure finance, equity investors typically help move projects from the planning phase to construction. But in the developing world, projects are too often trampled beneath such investors' cold feet.

04/03/2018

https://www.imaraafrica.com

02/03/2018

AFRICA and the One Belt One Road initiative

The "One Belt One Road" approach by China is aimed at strategically positioning it as one of the World's strongest Economic Powers.

China hopes to lead the world by pushing its comparative advantage in cutting edge technology, Made in China 2025; and Bio-technology.

Infrastructure Development from high tech engineering designs, consultancy, contractors to financing is at the core of this strategy and has taken Africa by storm. Chinese state owned enterprises like CCECC, Power China and others are traversing the continent looking for infrastructure projects.

It is therefore imperative for African governments, private sector, bankers and others to understand the modus operandi of the main Chinese owned companies.

A few things to note include the following:

• EPC exclusivity that means that the Chinese take the lead for project development including principal contractor, feasibility studies (on a selective basis) and financing assistance;

• Governments are required to provide sovereign guarantee and counter part funding of at least 15% of the project cost;

• Chinese financing is both concessional from China EXIM and commercial from financial institutions like the ICBC and the China Construction Bank;

• Different Chinese companies focus on different sectors but most in energy and transport. They also tend to work in joint ventures with smaller Chinese companies normally subsidiaries to the parent company.

Many African governments have focused on infrastructure development as a priority and some are setting up support mechanisms as is the case in Nigeria that announced a stand-alone infrastructure fund of USD 25 billion in 2014. Others like Zimbabwe have taken a more pragmatic approach by including a budget line item for project development within the general budget so as to ensure that the financing of feasibility studies for key projects is sustainable.

Africa must rise to the occasion and seize the opportunity provided by the One Belt One Road initiative by improving its state of readiness. Many of our ministries of transport, energy/power, and aviation are weak and poorly organised. Greater coordination between line
ministries and agencies is critical so as to enable effective negotiation with the Chinese state owned companies.

Africa Rising! This should become a reality...there are enough African engineers, economists, accountants, lawyers and other professionals to call upon to support local project development and get viable and bankable infrastructure developments done. Some argue that it is not the lack of Finance but rather the lack of coordination and good financial and technical proposals that hold back infrastructure development.

Our own institutions like the Africa Finance Corporation and the African Development Bank are making a difference in this area. However stronger partnerships and flexibility with member countries will achieve greater heights.