Google Invests in Uganda for Growth

Like the growing number of other multinational corporations Google is bullish on the future of Africa -- especially the sub-Saharan region. Recently Google announced plans to invest as much as $14 million in a fibre Metronet that will cover most of Uganda's largest city and capital, Kampala, home to an estimated 2.5 million people.
"The aim is to connect every building or base station ISPs operators want to get to, " says Kai Wulff, Google's Access Field Director.
Click through here to get the full story from AllAfrica.com.

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Marriott CEO: "Africa has significant untapped potential"

Bloomberg reported this week that Marriott International has agreed to buy the three brands and management business of Cape Town-based Protea Hospitality Management,which operates or franchises 116 hotels in South Africa and six other sub-Saharan countries. The deal will increase Marriott's room total on the continent to 23,000.
Follow this link to get the full story from Bloomberg.

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We Know Africa: From Cairo to Cape Town

For more information please call 646-367-2820 

Porsche Aims to Enter Africa

Bloomberg.com reports today that as part of its growth strategy Porsche AG is looking to enter 15 new countries before 2020, mainly in Africa. Porsche's global sales chief Bernhard Maier said, "We're covering new markets where we have not been in yet"  Follow this link to Bloomberg to get the full story. 

Nile Capital Management

We Know Africa: From Cairo to Cape Town

For more information please call 646-367-2820 

Kenya's Economy Seen as Resilient to Mall Attack in Nairobi

(Source: Bloomberg)

Security worries are nothing new in Kenya and so the country is unlikely to see long-term investors pull money out after the deadly attack on a Nairobi shopping mall. Click through this link for more from Reuters.
Several key points to keep in mind:
1) Recent elections were transparent, and cemented Kenya's political stability.
2) Tourism accounts for only 10% of Kenya's total GDP, and at this time no travel advisories have been issued.
3) The Kenyan market's reaction was a slight, approximately 30 basis point pullback.
4) The Kenyan shilling has remained stable (see chart above).

Nile Capital Management

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For more information please call 646-367-2820 

John Deere Focuses on Africa for Growth

"Greater political and economic stability and a push by some nations for food self-sufficiency has made the continent more attractive, says Ganesh Jayaram, Deere vice president of agriculture and turf sales and marketing for Asia and Africa. Follow this link to get the full story from Bloomberg.

Nile Capital Management

We Know Africa: From Cairo to Cape Town

For more information please call 646-367-2820 

More on Egypt

From ThinkAdvisor.com:

The volatile situation in Egypt is headline news and is changing rapidly with very little clarity on what the final outcome will be, and when it will be. And yet despite all that’s going on, the Egyptian stock market has remained almost eerily stable. While there has been some weakness, of course, “the damage hasn’t been that great,” said Larry Seruma, chief investment officer and managing principal of Nile Capital Management in New York, a firm that invests throughout the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region, Egypt included, “and the weakness has been far less than one would have expected.”

Click through to read the entire article - As Investors Wait on Egypt to Settle, Africa Holds Up.

Nile Capital Management

We Know Africa: From Cairo to Cape Town

For more information please call 646-367-2820

Upgrade Nigeria to Emerging Market? Downgrade Egypt to Frontier Market?

No?  (OK, maybe only dropping Egypt out of EM is more likely.) In any event, consider the following...

Nigeria has surpassed Egypt as the second largest stock market in Africa – at least by market capitalization.  The Nigeria Stock Exchange market capitalization now stands at $72 billion compared to $32 billion for Egypt, and the average trading volume is $40 million per day versus $15 million, respectively.  Now this is just the market data – but other metrics are also favorable for Nigeria relative to Egypt, for example, increasing political stability. For more on Egypt's current turmoil click through to read Egypt's Market Regression from BloombergBusinessweek.

Nile Capital Management

We Know Africa: From Cairo to Cape Town

For more information please call 646-367-2820 

Where and How to Invest in Africa?

Again this morning I had the pleasure of speaking about investing in Africa with Bloomberg Radio's always inquisitive Tom Keene. Since I last spoke to Tom in June on his "Bloomberg Surveillance" broadcast, I've visited with corporate managers and toured company facilities in more than a few countries around the African continent, including Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Mozambique, Namibia, and South Africa.

This morning's discussion was in part an update as well as a continuation of our earlier discussion, albeit with more pointed questions about where and how to invest in Africa, and asset allocation guidance. Follow this link to the podcast to listen to the discussion in its entirety.

Nile Capital Management

We Know Africa: From Cairo to Cape Town

For more information please call 646-367-2820 

Nairobi Airport Damaged by Fire

Kenyan President Kenyatta visits the Nairobi airport on August 7 to check out the damage.

CNN update says some flights have now resumed at Nairobi's Kenyatta International Airport. Earlier today the airport suffered extensive damage and had been completely closed as a result of a massive fire that had engulfed the airport's international terminal.

At this point, there are no reports of injuries, and the extent to which the damage will negatively impact the tourism trade and the flow of imports and exports, even if minimal, is yet to be determined. 

For more details, click through to CNN, and the BBC.

Nile Capital Management

We Know Africa: From Cairo to Cape Town

For more information please call 646-367-2820 

Questions about Investing in Africa from Bloomberg Radio's Tom Keene and Ken Prewitt

This morning I had the pleasure of visiting with Tom Keene and Ken Prewitt at Bloomberg Radio's New York Studios. I had been invited on their show, "Bloomberg Surveillance," to talk with them about investing in Africa. Not surprisingly, they had done their homework and had some great questions. Click through to listen to the podcast, and then post a comment below to tell me what you think, or ask a follow-up question.

Nile Capital Management

We Know Africa: From Cairo to Cape Town

For more information please call 646-367-2820 

Chart of the Day

                                                                 (Source: Bloomberg)

South African Rand (Spot)

The Race for Africa Heats Up

In a recent speech at the Tokyo International Conference on African Development, Japanese Prime Minister Sinzo Abe announced a five-year commitment of public and private support pledging $3.2 trillion yen ($32 billion) to Africa.

Bloomberg reports that Africa's economic growth is luring Japanese exporters, while the government wants to tap the natural gas and oil there after the Fukushima disaster led to the closing of Japan's nuclear plants. In his speech Abe outlined policies to encourage investment by Japanese companies and support advances in health, education and agriculture. Today's pledge compares with publicly funded assistance of approximately $9.2 billion from 2008-2012. Follow this link to read the full article: Abe Offers $32 Billion to Africa as Japan Seeks Resources Access.

Nile Capital Management

We Know Africa: From Cairo to Cape Town

For more information please call 646-367-2820 

"As big as China, no doubt."

Bloomberg reports that SAP, the world's largest maker of business-management software, plans to accelerate its investment in Africa. Jim Hagemann Snabe, SAP's co-CEO, said recently, "If I look long term, probably Africa becomes the main driver...it's as big as China, no doubt." Follow this link to read the article in its entirety: SAP to Accelerate Africa Investment on China-Sized Opportunity.

Nile Capital Management

We Know Africa: From Cairo to Cape Town

For more information please call 646-367-2820

The New Lions of Africa

Rwanda's President Paul Kagame recently penned an op-ed piece for the Wall Street Journal to share his views on the trends in economic growth and improved governance that are changing the lives of Africans in many countries throughout the continent. Click through this link to read for yourself about Rwanda and the New Lions of Africa.

Nile Capital Management

We Know Africa: From Cairo to Cape Town

For more information please call 646-367-2820

Boom Time for African Bonds

“Risk premia across the world are getting repriced,” says Larry Seruma, chief investment officer of Nile Capital Management, which invests in Africa. “You have too much money searching for yield, and as safe assets become scarce in the developed world the money has ultimately started to flow to Africa.”

For more on the improving economics and capital markets in Africa, follow this link to read the entire Bloomberg Businessweek article, In Africa, It's Boom Time for Bonds.

Nile Capital Management

We Know Africa: From Cairo to Cape Town

For more information please call 646-367-2820

Investment in Africa Heating Up

Robust economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa has not been lost on graduates of The University of Chicago's Booth School of Business, many of whom are pursuing careers or investments on the continent. A Chicago Conversations panel discussion -- Investing in Africa --  held on the London campus of the school's Executive MBA Program last fall drew 200 attendees. For more on the Africa-focused ambitions and achievements of Booth grads, click through to read Investment in Africa Heating Up.

Nile Capital Management

We Know Africa: From Cairo to Cape Town

For more information please call 646-367-2820.

PIMCO's El-Erian: Africa's Rise is Real

In the recent May/June issue of Foreign Policy, Mohamed A. El-Erian, CEO and co-chief investment officer of global investment management firm PIMCO, writes about Africa's economy saying "Count me among the growing number of people excited and hopeful about what's happening on the ground in Africa. Markets are booming, and this time it's not just gold mines and oil rigs; it's a new generation of workers and entrepreneurs." "Still a cynic?," El-Erian asks, "Don't take my word for it -- just follow the money."

Follow this link to read the full article: Into Africa: Believe the Hype. Africa's rise is real.

For more information please call 646-367-2820.

Nile Capital Management

We Know Africa: From Cairo to Cape Town

P&G and the African Consumer

In a recent interview with CNN's Robyn Curnow, P&G VP Dimitri Panayotopoulos said, " We have businesses in Nigeria, in Kenya, Uganda Tanzania -- we are going to go to Angola and Ethiopa. We want to be in every country...Obviously there is a huge upside."

We couldn't agree more.

For more information please contact Nile Capital Management or call 646-367-2820.

Nile Capital Management - We Know Africa: From Cairo to Cape Town

Talking about Africa with Kathleen Hays

Yesterday I stopped by Bloomberg Radio's New York studios and had the pleasure of talking with Kathleen Hays on her Bloomberg Radio program "The Hays Advantage." Recognized as one of the top economic reporters in the country, Kathleen asked me, among other things, to talk about 1) why the investment climate in Africa is better now than ever before, 2) how our mutual fund achieved its performance in 2012, and 3) my outlook for Africa and our fund for 2013. We covered a lot of ground in a short period of time.
Good questions. Good discussion. Click through to listen to the podcast, and then post a comment (below) to tell me what you think, or ask a follow-up question. Let's talk...

FT coverage: Ascendant Africa

"There have been false dawns before but sub-Saharan Africa appears to be at a genuine turning point, with the business landscape being transformed by pan-African multinationals, the spread of mobile and foreign investment." - The Financial Times

Today marks Day 4 of The Financial Time's six-part series, Africa, Inc. So far, they have covered mobile money, cheaper cleaner energy, GE's ambitions in Africa, China's intentions, foreign investor interest, the sales of luxury goods in Lagos, and developments in Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Uganda, and more. The breadth, depth, and critical balance of the reporting is exemplary.
For anyone interested in the investment potential of the Pan-African markets, this series should prove to be most informative. Be sure to read Zambian economist Dambisa Moyo's contribution: Hunt for Alpha Leads to Africa.
('sounds a lot like our whitepaper The Hunt for Alpha in the Frontier, doesn't it? If you'd like a copy, send us an email at info@nilecapital.com, we would be happy to hear from you.) 

Africa is Essential to GE's Future



In his recent annual letter to shareholders, General Electric's Chairman & CEO, Jeffrey Immelt writes: "I recently returned from Sub-Saharan Africa, a region that was “off the radar” when I became CEO. Today, we are at a $3 billion annual run rate, and that could double in the next few years. GE could have “$1 billion Franchises” in Nigeria, South Africa, Mozambique and Angola. We are investing in capability and people. There are very few American companies in the region. But we could sell more gas turbines in Africa than in the U.S. in the next few years."
Immelt goes on to state that Africa is "essential" to GE's future.
Click through to read Immelt's letter for yourself and learn more about GE's commitment to be a leader in Africa.

This Ernst and Young infographic tells the story...

Zambian Economist Dambisa Moyo: China Can Transform Africa

In this recent CNN interview Zambian economist Dambisa Moyo talks about the important role China plays in the future of Africa. We can't disagree with those who have said of Dambisa, "She makes a compelling case for a new approach to Africa." 'Definitely worth watching this short video:

Special Report: Emerging Africa

The March 2, 2013 issue of The Economist features a Special Report: Emerging Africa, offering analysis and commentary on topics of interest to many investors including banking in Africa, the upcoming Kenyan election, Africa's bond market, Egyptian politics, and more. All 55 countries on the continent  -- some of the highest-growth economies on the planet -- are covered. For any investor interested in the potential of the Pan-African frontier markets, this issue should prove to be most informative. Follow this link to the lead story: Africa Rising, a hopeful continent.

For more information please contact Nile Capital Management at info@nilecapital.com or 646-367-2820.

Nile Capital Management - We Know Africa: From Cairo to Capetown.