Scherzando Karasu Freelance Writer

“The future belongs to those organisations that can integrate strategic management, risk management, enterprise performance management and integrated reporting. Get them all right and you own the future. No wonder that integrating these disciplines is becoming the essence of true strategic risk management.”—André Bezuidenhout, head of risk management and compliance at the South African Reserve Bank. Managing risk has long distinguished the corporate winners. Yet in today's hazard-strewn landscape, bosses struggle to trust that their strategies will unfold as scripted. Strategic risks—those tied to or spawned by business choices—now ambush with alarming speed, turbocharged by social media, mobility and big data. “Risks are proliferating amid shifting business terrain, novel technologies and ever-tighter global-local ties,” notes Colin Hill, senior solution manager for risk management and financial crimes at SAS South Africa. “Thankfully, the data deluge has spurred tech advances ...

“Mauritius offers investors the advantages of an offshore financial centre in the Indian Ocean, with a substantial network of treaties and double-taxation avoidance agreements, making it the gateway for routing funds into Africa and India”—UNCTAD World Investment Report. Once hailed as the “star and key of the Indian Ocean” for its spice-route perch, Mauritius retains that motto—emblazoned in Latin on its coat of arms, flanked by palms and the extinct dodo. Policymakers still spy a nexus for trade and investment, forged over two decades in cross-border finance. Straddling Asia and Africa, the island styles itself an “international financial centre of excellence and repute”, per Finance Minister Pravind Jugnauth. Its offshore arm dwarfs the rest: the IMF dubs it “enormous”, with $630bn in assets—50 times GDP. Only Luxembourg eclipses it in FDI-to-GDP ratios. “Investors prize Mauritius for commercial savvy, top-notch service, robust legal and regulatory frameworks, and sterling repute...

“There is no miracle. It is due simply to hard work, discipline, and will.”—Sir Anerood Jugnauth, former president of Mauritius. Meagre in size, resources and proximity to markets, Mauritius has nonetheless morphed from sugar-dependent penury into Africa's standout success. Its financial services now anchor the economy. Recent figures peg the sector at 12% of GDP, expanding at 5.3%, per the Financial Services Promotion Agency (FSPA). With such alchemy, the island eyes a bridge for East Africa-India-China flows. Sturdy institutions, political calm, business verve and shrewd trade pacts—with India and Europe—have diversified and turbocharged finance. “Mauritius is ascending as Africa's trade portal. Our international financial centre could host 50 banks in three years; transformation and growth are inevitable,” insists Sridhar Nagarajan, CEO of MauBank, a domestic heavyweight. Business climate and lures explain much: no capital curbs, steady currency, 15% flat corporate tax, m...

Mauritius's Human Capital Challenge "Mauritius's future innovation depends on the answer to the ultimate question: Do we have high-quality human capital and productivity?" asks Seeram Ramakrishna, professor and director of the Centre for Nanofibres and Nanotechnology. In its 44 years as an independent nation, Mauritius has built a credible, globally connected middle-income economy on an unpromising foundation: a craggy, poorly endowed, geographically remote—if eye-wateringly beautiful—island. Mauritians like to describe themselves as "resourceful" and "resilient", and the country has indeed displayed an ability to reinvent itself. Yet the traffic-clogged streets and harbour of Port Louis, whilst outward signs of an economy that has continued to expand and modernise, signal not only dynamism but underlying infrastructural problems. The middle-income trap Mauritius faces uphill battles: insufficient skills, an ageing population, low productivity a...

Trading Places: Britain and Turkey After Brexit When asked about Britain turning its back on the EU, Nihat Zeybekci, Turkey's economy minister, offered an unexpectedly sunny take during a recent visit to London. "I think you would rather say the EU didn't retain the UK as a member," he replied. "From the EU point of view it is a loss, but are we concerned? No—on the contrary, we see it as an opportunity." Turkish officials have already begun drafting a "new generation" free-trade agreement to conclude upon Britain's EU departure. The enthusiasm appears mutual. Both Boris Johnson, then foreign secretary, and Prime Minister Theresa May visited Turkey to discuss post-Brexit trade relations. In January 2017, Mrs May announced a £100m defence deal to develop fighter jets for the Turkish air force. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan pledged to boost bilateral trade from $15bn to $20bn. An emerging powerhouse Turkey's economic credentials warrant a...

su https://www.global-britain.com/doing-business-turkey/  Trading with Turkey: A Post-Brexit Opportunity The international business community faces a transformed Turkey. Three decades of structural reform have yielded an economy now ranked 17th globally and sixth in Europe—a testament to sustained modernisation that makes Turkey increasingly accessible to foreign investors. As a newly industrialised country alongside China and South Africa, Turkey operates one of the world's largest free-market economies, integrated into European markets through a customs union. Its transcontinental position makes it an ideal investment gateway between Asia, Britain and the eurozone. An emerging economic power Turkey's recent performance marks it as an engine of the emerging multipolar global system. The country has invested heavily in technological and financial infrastructure, positioning itself as an increasingly important financial centre. Its economy has grown at 6-7% annually for much...

South Africa's Economic Crossroads "After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb." Nelson Mandela's words ring grimly prophetic as South Africa faces its steepest economic ascent in decades. The midnight announcement on March 30th 2017 of the country's fourth finance minister in two years triggered a predictable market rout. The rand plummeted, bonds and stocks sold off, the cost of insuring government debt against default rose, and South Africa's credit rating was downgraded to junk. The ruling African National Congress erupted in revolt. The country now risks being delisted from major international bond indices. Meanwhile, crushing unemployment persists and growth has fallen well behind the rest of sub-Saharan Africa. The IMF projects a meagre 0.1% expansion in 2017, with per capita income falling to 2010 levels. Some 355,000 South Africans lost their jobs in the first quarter of 2016, pushing official unemployment to...

Building Together Namibia's infrastructure needs far exceed what government coffers can supply. Public-private partnerships (PPPs) are meant to fill the gap. Calle Schlettwein, the finance minister, has championed such arrangements as essential to stimulating investment and generating economic benefits that would otherwise remain out of reach. The model has become a global mainstay for infrastructure development, allowing governments to harness private capital and expertise. For most African countries, the state has traditionally been the main provider of public services. But since the 1980s, sweeping social, political and economic reforms have made clear that governments cannot meet growing demand alone. The public sector's role has evolved from direct provision to facilitation of private-led growth. From policy to practice With public funds under severe strain, Namibia has made steady progress on its PPP agenda. In September 2015 the Ministry of Trade and Industry forge...

African Private Equity: Bridging the Missing Middle Africa's venture-capital scene suffers from a peculiar contradiction. On one hand, critics warn that too much money chases too few deals. On the other, the International Finance Corporation estimates that up to 84% of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) remain un-served or underserved. Both views contain truth. African private equity has matured considerably. In the 1990s, roughly a dozen Africa-focused firms managed around $1bn. Today, over 200 firms oversee more than $30bn. Between 2010 and mid-2016, they completed 928 deals worth $22.7bn, investing across every region of the continent. Yet the market remains top-heavy. In 2016, three giants—Abraaj, DPI and Helios—accounted for nearly 70% of new capital raised. Given their size, these funds must pursue large transactions. But Africa has only 400 companies with annual revenues exceeding $1bn. Meanwhile, McKinsey estimates that over 10,000 African firms generate $10m to $...

South Africa’s manufacturing sector continues to confront adverse conditions. Reviving this crucial segment of the economy will require more than nostalgia for its heyday: it will demand hard-headed strategy and forward thinking. A contracting mining sector—long a major client with strong linkages into manufacturing—and surging competition from imports, particularly from China and Germany, are dragging the industry down. New data from Statistics South Africa show that the country has technically slipped into recession. Yet the headline number masks a more nuanced picture: the primary sector, comprising mining and agriculture, expanded by 15% last quarter. Recovering global commodity prices and the easing of a drought that had crippled farms have buoyed growth. Why, then, does South Africa continue to lag behind peer emerging economies, despite boasting sophisticated infrastructure and business capabilities that many others can only envy? The answer lies in its dependence on raw comm...

  Zambia’s freight and logistics industry is battling what many describe as a perfect storm. A slump in global commodity prices, a 60% fall in the kwacha, persistent drought and rolling blackouts lasting up to eight hours a day have combined to produce the country’s worst economic crisis in over a decade, according to the African Development Bank. Mining, the backbone of the economy, has been hit particularly hard. With copper prices depressed and investment curtailed, cargo volumes have shrunk. The country’s reliance on copper leaves it especially vulnerable. Nor does the shift in China’s growth model offer much solace: as the World Bank notes, Zambia is unlikely to benefit from Beijing’s pivot to consumption-led growth. Diversification into agriculture, however, could offer opportunities as demand for food imports into China rises. These headwinds have weighed on competitiveness. Zambia’s ranking in the World Bank’s  Doing Business  index slipped from 91st in 2015 t...

Botswana: Africa's Gateway for Business and Finance Nestled at the heart of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), a region encompassing more than 250m people, Botswana has carved out a reputation as one of Africa's most secure and investor-friendly economies. Good governance and a zero-tolerance approach to corruption underpin its success. Since independence in 1966, Botswana has been one of Africa's most stable democracies. Four presidents have assumed office through peaceful, democratic transitions—a rarity on the continent. The country stands as an exemplar of political stability, adherence to the rule of law and orderly governance. Yet Botswana aspires to be more than a model democracy. It is positioning itself as a world-class hub for financial and business investment into Africa. The spread of liberal democracy, economic liberalisation, privatisation, infrastructure development and growth in consumer and financial services have all strengthened its cre...

Botswana: Beyond the Sparkle The diamond decade draws to a close Botswana's success story owes much to an extraordinary stroke of geological fortune. The discovery of diamonds shortly after independence, followed by the opening of the Orapa mine in 1972 and Jwaneng—the world's richest diamond mine—in 1982, transformed the country's prospects. Unlike most commodity producers, Botswana avoided the boom-bust cycles that typically plague resource-dependent economies, thanks to the peculiar structure of the diamond industry. Until recently, De Beers controlled over 90% of the world's diamond supply, maintaining tight vertical integration from mine to retail counter. This market power allowed the company to sustain rising prices by carefully managing output. For Botswana, the arrangement meant stable revenues and protection from the volatile terms of trade that often stifle growth elsewhere. Botswana's position was uniquely advantageous. Its diamond mines, the largest ...