Future reimagined for Africa

Lesiba Mothata, Head of Strategic Clients

Craig Bentley, Head of Multinational Consulting

In a rare television broadcast Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, described the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic as “Germany's biggest challenge since the Second World War”.

It has indeed proved to be a crisis of global proportion with material implications for the economies and livelihoods of all. Governments across the globe have locked down cities, towns, villages and townships to curb the spread of the virus. Massive fiscal stimuli have been enacted to cushion the economic and humanitarian impact of the pandemic. The World Bank and International Monetary Fund have set aside a large quantum of emergency financial support for countries to tap into.

African countries have implemented strong containment measures to avoid further spread of COVID-19. For countries in West Africa, lessons learned from the potential health and economic impacts from the Ebola outbreak has resulted in swift responses from governments.

With the world changing at such a rapid pace, companies and investors have asked whether the African continent, which held such promise prior to the crisis, will be able to deal with the financial devastation.

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