A New Strategy for Africa: Angel Investing, Impact Investing and SMEs
The first blog in a series entitled "A New Strategy for Africa and other Developing Countries."
Over the coming weeks and months, RENEW will be presenting a series of blogs and articles outlining ideas for a new strategy for how the U.S. and the West can engage Africa and other developing countries. Many people, in the fields of economic development, foreign diplomacy and international business, have begun voicing a need for something new.
Q&A: RENEW in 2012
2012 is going to be a year of investment and growth for the RENEW team. We will continue to work with development partners to facilitate impact investing into small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in frontier markets, and we will be building a permanent presence in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
A Few of My Favorite Things: Some Facts About Africa
As 2011 draws to a close for RENEW and the rest of the world, I wanted to take a few moments to remember some of my favorite things…about Africa:
- Thirty-six out of 46 African governments made things easier for business in in 2011.
- The International Monetary Fund expects Africa to grow by 6% this year and nearly 6% in 2012, about the same as Asia.
- Africa's combined consumer spending in 2008 was $860 billion, and it is expected to grow to $1.4 trillion by 2020.
It takes heart, head...and grit: Why the future 1.3 T Euro impact investment industry should consider SMEs
The Wall Street Journal recently published an excellent article highlighting the trends and growth in the impact investing space. With Eurosif projecting that HNWIs will be investing 1.2 Trillion Euro in impact investments by 2013, wealth managers and financial advisers need to find creative ways to satisfy the blended appetites of their clients.
West Africa: photos and first impressions
As part of consulting project, the RENEW team recently traveled to Niger, Senegal and Ghana. Here are a few photos and first impressions:
Niger
