Late and insufficient rains in parts of Southern Africa at the end of 2011 have raised concerns that the region could face a period of drought, lean harvests and food shortages after several years of bumper crops. Although we do not believe that a crisis is imminent, we assess the risks posed by poor rains… [Read more]
In light of current unrest in Egypt, we turn our attention southwards to Sub-Saharan Africa, where political risk is rising in Cote d’Ivoire following last year’s disputed election, and in Uganda and Nigeria ahead of elections in February and April, respectively. Meanwhile, higher inflation threatens to bring instability to other countries in the region. BMI’s… [Read more]
At first glance, the link between rising wheat prices and the state of telecoms infrastructure is hard to see, to the casual observer. However, Mozambique provides an opportunity to look at these two – usually unrelated – industries. Protests against a hike in bread prices in Mozambique were organised via SMS messaging on mobile phones…. [Read more]
For decades, oil and gas investors in Africa have focused on exploiting the riches of the continent’s established producers Nigeria, Angola, Libya and Algeria. In recent years, however, spurred on by large discoveries offshore Ghana and in the Lake Albert region in Uganda, the industry has been looking beyond the traditional oil markets to a… [Read more]
