A Commentary on African Business & Economic Environment in 2015

Abstract

Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries are re-living the developments of 2014 and the first quarter of 2015. News headlines have been mixed as usual – from Nigeria’s historical election ousting a hitherto dominant party, amidst the government’s efforts in tackling Islamic Militants’ insurgency in Northern Nigeria to the botched coup d’état in Burundi. Sadly South Africa’s xenophobic attacks against fellow African immigrants has painted a very dismal picture for the number #2 economy in SSA. Meanwhile even as Liberia has been declared “Ebola-free” the virus has not yet been contained, but nonetheless disappeared from media headlines. Overall Doing Business in Africa remains a challenge – as labour flight conflates capital flight, and the millennium development goal confirms its place as an own-goal. Perhaps the private sector’s stepping-up to substitute for the State may well be the future of SSA. Overall, this commentary introduces papers in this first issue of 2015, with new entrants from South Africa and Tunisia.

Keywords: Africa Rising, International Migration, Capital Flight, Doing Business in Africa, Economic Growth

JEL Classification: B22, D69, F21, F22, F43