Economy
Why Global Businesses are Banking on Africa
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, ever-changing lockdown regulations and travel bans for countries in sub-Saharan Africa, the continent has held firm with a positive outlook for its tourism and hospitality sectors. This has been further cemented by the increase in major global businesses either setting up shop in Africa or expanding further across the continent.
Tech hot spots for an expanding ecosystem
Zoho, the global technology company that offers the most extensive suite of business software in the industry, announced the opening of its South African office at the end of 2021 – the company’s flagship – in Cape Town.
“Zoho strongly believes in its growth being closely tied with the growth and development of the broader community that it serves, a strategy we refer to as ‘transnational localism’. As part of this vision, we’re focused on contributing to the creation of self-sufficient economic clusters across the world,” says Hyther Nizam, President MEA at Zoho Group.
In South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria and Egypt, Zoho offers its products in local currencies. Additionally, Zoho has hired individuals in all of these countries for customer-facing roles. And the company is committed to establishing partnerships that will aid local businesses in their digital transformation efforts.
SweepSouth, SA’s leading on-demand home services brand, recently expanded its Pan-African presence by launching into Egypt. Already operating in Kenya and Nigeria, they acquired Egyptian start-up Filkhedma – Egypt’s leading home services marketplace that operates across three cities and serves tens of thousands of customers with cleaning, maintenance and beauty services.
“Africa has massive growth potential for us as a company,” says Aisha Pandor, CEO and co-founder of SweepSouth. “We already operate in three key markets and the acquisition of Filkhedma means that SweepSouth will be one of a few African start-ups operating in the continent’s four key tech ecosystems of South Africa, Egypt, Kenya and Nigeria.
“Egypt has a strong and growing middle-class that has been underserved in the domestic home services arena, which can be said of many other regions across the continent, too. With a compelling economic growth track record and outlook, and an economy that has been resilient in the face of challenging times, it made sense for us to eye this market for our next big leap. Our presence there now primes us for further expansion into other parts of Africa and the Middle East.
“We are entering a rapid growth phase and executing on a number of other new country launches in 2022,” adds Pandor. “Having the Filkhedma team on board is particularly exciting as it’s an intra-African acquisition by two companies in the same vertical. This acquisition almost doubles our addressable market on the continent and enhances the products and services that we already offer.”
An African expansion plan
Ramsay Rankoussi, Vice President, Development, Africa and Turkey for Radisson Hotel Group, says that while the Radisson Hotel Group will continue to pursue organic growth underpinned by domestic and regional travel, the Group will also be exploring other routes through inorganic growth that may be slightly more unconventional and would include different types of partnerships, joint-ventures, co-branding and potential capitalistic approaches.
One of these – Radisson Individuals, a conversion brand that offers smaller hotel operators the opportunity to be a part of the Radisson family without losing their identity – already came to fruition in 2021.
“Africa holds immense potential across various segments and product types – from resorts and city hotels to serviced apartments and boutique offerings. The lack of funding, be it equity or debt, along with the high cost of capital remains the biggest burden across the continent.
“Inorganic growth will certainly help us to not only mitigate materialisation risks but should also unlock synergies and economies of scale with other local and regional chains to the benefit of local communities,” he says.
As such, the Radisson Hotel Group has set its sights on Africa, boosting its African portfolio with 14 signings and five hotel openings in 2021, setting it on a positive path to reach its ambitious goal of more than 150 hotels by 2025.
A recognised business hub
South African serviced office provider The Business Exchange (TBE) recognised the Mauritian potential and in April 2021, the company launched its second investment opportunity in Mauritius – a sectional-title serviced office space.
Beyond the white beaches and get-away-from-it-all lifestyle, Mauritius is increasingly recognised as one of the hottest business hubs on the continent. In fact, the island paradise is currently the highest-ranked economy in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Index.
“Mauritius presents a sound environment, both politically and economically. Major international brands, including Samsung, Broll, Expedia and NBA (North America’s National Basketball Association), have already based themselves at our serviced office space there, which speaks to the potential of the location as a foremost business hub,” believes David Seineker, TBE founder and CEO.
Mauritius’s proximity to South Africa – it’s a mere four-hour flight from Johannesburg – is a further advantage, as the City of Gold remains the continent’s foremost business hub. Mauritius is also perfectly positioned en route from Asia and the Middle East to the tip of Africa, making it ideal for expansion into Africa as well as from Africa to the rest of the world. While the strategic relevance of the location was key to TBE’s expansion plans, others look for opportunities in regions that face the same challenges as in the business’s key operational area.
Remote working made easy
Cheapflights, a global travel search site that compares flights, hotels and rental cars, reports that searches from South Africa to the rest of the continent were up 67% on average between September and December last year compared to the same period in 2019. Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Mauritius, Namibia and Mozambique were the most searched countries within the region.
Additionally, the site recently also launched its Work from Wherever Index, which provides travellers looking to work away from home or while on vacation a definitive list of the best countries that are easiest to work from while enjoying a new country.
The results of the Index are based on popular searches made on the Cheapflights site as well as on how well each country scored across six categories. Nigeria ranks 95th globally and 14th amongst countries in the Middle East and Africa region, with its highest scores in the categories of price, travel and weather.
Mauritius, which ranked fourth globally, beating out many European heavyweights, topped the ranking for the Middle East and Africa. The island nation offers great weather, low crime rates and a fairly low cost of living in addition to a remote work visa (also called a digital nomad visa), which is a travel authorisation for on-the-go workers, allowing them to work independently during their stay in a country.
Other African countries that made the list include Seychelles at number 26 globally and number 2 in the region; Réunion (at number 69); Kenya and Tanzania (ranked 80th and 81st, respectively); and Tunisia (ranked 84th); amongst others.
The Work from Wherever Index, as well as the increase in flight searches to the continent, might be additional indicators of renewed business and growing confidence among travellers.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil prices settled higher amid lingering worries about a possible US military strike against Iran, a decision that may still occur over the weekend.
Brent crude settled at $64.13 a barrel after going up by 37 cents or 0.58 per cent and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude finished at $59.44 a barrel after it gained 25 cents or 0.42 per cent.
The US Navy’s aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln was expected to arrive in the Persian Gulf next week after operating in the South China Sea.
Market analysts noted that it doesn’t seem likely anything will happen soon. However, the weekends have become the perfect time for actions so as not offset the markets.
The market had risen after protests flared up in Iran and US President Donald Trump signalled the potential for military strikes, but lost over 4 per cent on Thursday as the American president said Iran’s crackdown on the protesters was easing, allaying concerns of possible military action that could disrupt oil supplies.
Iran produces approximately 3.2 million barrels per day, accounting for roughly 4 per cent of global crude production, so it was not a coincidence that markets rallied sharply through Tuesday and Wednesday as President Trump canceled meetings with Iranian officials and posted that “help is on its way” to Iranian protesters, raising fears of potential US military strikes that sent prices surging toward multi-month highs.
Weighing against those fears are potential supply increases from Venezuela.
The Trump administration is exploring plans to swap heavy Venezuelan crude for US medium sour barrels that can actually go straight into Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) caverns, since not all all oil belongs in the reserve.
According to Reuters, the Department of Energy is considering moving Venezuelan heavy crude into commercial storage at the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, while US producers deliver medium sour crude into the SPR in exchange.
Analysts expect higher supply this year, potentially creating a ceiling for the geopolitical risk premium on prices.
Some investors covered short positions ahead of the three-day Martin Luther King holiday weekend in the US.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The domestic supply of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, from the Dangote Refinery increased by 64.4 percent in December 2025, contributing to an enhancement in Nigeria’s overall petrol availability.
This is according to the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) in its December 2025 Factsheet Report released on Thursday.
The downstream regulatory agency revealed that the private refinery raised its domestic petrol supply from 19.47 million litres per day in November 2025 to an average of 32.012 million litres per day in December, as it quelled any probable fuel scarcity associated with the festive month.
The report attributed the improvement to more substantial capacity utilisation at the Lagos-based oil facility, which reached a peak of 71 per cent in December.
The increased output from Dangote Refinery contributed to a rise in Nigeria’s total daily domestic PMS supply to 74.2 million litres in December, up from 71.5 million litres per day recorded in November.
The authority also reported a sharp increase in petrol consumption, rising to 63.7 million litres per day in December 2025, up from 52.9 million litres per day in the previous month.
In contrast, the domestic supply of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) known as diesel declined to 17.9 million litres per day in December from 20.4 million litres per day in November, even as daily diesel consumption increased to 16.4 million litres per day from 15.4 million litres per day.
Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) supply recorded modest growth during the period, rising to 5.2 metric tonnes per day in December from 5.0 metric tonnes per day in November.
Despite the gains recorded by Dangote Refinery and modular refineries, the NMDPRA disclosed that Nigeria’s four state-owned refineries recorded zero production in December.
It said the Port Harcourt Refinery remained shut down, though evacuation of diesel produced before May 24, 2025, averaged 0.247 million litres per day. The Warri and Kaduna refineries also remained shut down throughout the period.
On modular refineries, the report said Waltersmith Refinery (Train 2 with 5,000 barrels per day) completed pre-commissioning in December, with hydrocarbon introduction expected in January 2026. The refinery recorded an average capacity utilisation of 63.24 per cent and an average AGO supply of 0.051 million litres per day
Edo Refinery posted an average capacity utilisation of 85.43 per cent with AGO supply of 0.052 million litres per day, while Aradel recorded 53.89 per cent utilisation and supplied an average of 0.289 million litres per day of AGO.
Total AGO supply from the three modular refineries averaged 0.392 million litres per day, with other products including naphtha, heavy hydrocarbon kerosene (HHK), fuel oil, and marine diesel oil (MDO).
The report listed Nigeria’s 2025 daily consumption benchmarks as 50 million litres per day for petrol, 14 million litres per day for diesel, 3 million litres per day for aviation fuel (ATK), and 3,900 metric tonnes per day for cooking gas.
Actual daily truck-out consumption in December stood at 63.7 million litres per day for petrol, 16.4 million litres per day for diesel, 2.7 million litres per day for ATK and 4,380 metric tonnes per day for cooking gas.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has introduced a comprehensive revision of minimum capital requirements for nearly all capital market operators, marking the most significant overhaul since 2015.
The changes, outlined in a circular issued on January 16, 2026, obtained from its website on Friday, replace the previous regime. Operators have been given until June 30, 2027, to comply.
The SEC stated that the reforms aim to strengthen market resilience, enhance investor protection, discourage undercapitalised operators, and align capital adequacy with the evolving risk profile of market activities.
According to the circular, “The revised framework applies to brokers, dealers, fund managers, issuing houses, fintech firms, digital asset operators, and market infrastructure providers.”
Some of the key highlights of the new reforms include increment of minimum capital for brokers from N200 million to N600 million while for dealers, it was raised to N1 billion from N100 million.
For broker-dealers, they are to get N2 billion instead of the previous N300 million, reflecting multi-role exposure across trading, execution, and margin lending.
The agency said fund and portfolio managers with assets above N20 billion must hold N5 billion, while mid-tier managers must maintain N2 billion with private equity and venture capital firms to have N500 million and N200 million, respectively.
There was also dynamic rule as firms managing assets above N100 billion must hold at least 10 per cent of assets under management as capital.
“Digital asset firms, previously in a regulatory grey area, are now fully covered: digital exchanges and custodians must maintain N2 billion each, while tokenisation platforms and intermediaries face thresholds of N500 million to N1 billion. Robo-advisers must hold N100 million.
“Other segments are also affected: issuing houses offering full underwriting services must hold N7 billion, advisory-only firms N2 billion, registrars N2.5 billion, trustees N2 billion, underwriters N5 billion, and individual investment advisers N10 million. Market infrastructure providers carry some of the highest obligations, with composite exchanges and central counterparties required to maintain N10 billion each, and clearinghouses N5 billion,” the SEC added.
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