May 31, 2016
Good Corporate Governance Equals Investment
Without increased economic activity across all industry sectors, Africa will need to focus on softer issues such as good corporate and political governance to retain investors in the short to medium term. The global economic environment is changing and investors are hard pressed to find profitable and stable investment harbours for their funds. The end of the commodity super cycle, the slowing Chinese economy and volatile international markets are affecting Africa’s ability to maintain projected growth targets for 2016. The African Corporate Governance Network (ACGN), a NEPAD Business Foundation (NBF) programme developed to improve the institutional capacity of Institute of Director (IoD) organisations across the continent, recently launched a report titled ‘The State of Corporate Governance in Africa: An Overview of 13 African Countries’ during a summit in Maputo, Mozambique. The report, which was released in South Africa at the Nedbank-NBF Networking Forum, offers an insightful look into the corporate governance frameworks and the systems in place in 13 African countries that are key economic development role-players for the continent.During the Nedbank-NBF Networking Forum, Thabang Chiloane, head of public affairs for Nedbank Group, expressed confidence in the findings of the ACGN report, which not only demonstrate Africa’s commitment to strengthening its governance foundation, but also establishes a solid baseline in terms of what corporate governance in Africa looks like.The report which was done on 13 countries, namely, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe, shows where the continent needs to focus its attention, and how to accurately measure governance improvements in the years to come.“Africa has an unfortunate reputation of being a very difficult place to do business, and while the continent has made exceptional progress in addressing the fears and concerns of international investors in this regard, much work remains to be done.
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