THIS year will be a challenging one for those who have propped up the idea of Africa’s seamless “rise”. With the world’s eyes now trained more carefully on the continent’s prognosis, various clear risks will damp broader sentiment.
Among these are the effect of lower commodity prices, particularly oil, on many of Africa’s largest economies; the residual perception hit caused by the Ebola epidemic; security threats from the rampant escalation of violence by organisations such as Boko Haram in Nigeria; the slowing of growth, and commodity demand, in China; and political risks spawned by an ever-busy election cycle.
Meanwhile, though the International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects the US economy to expand Read More