African CEOs optimistic about growth despite challenges on the continent - PwC report

CEOs in Africa are optimistic about their company’s prospects for revenue growth over the medium term, according to PwC’s ‘Africa Business Agenda, 2014’ report issued recently. Suresh Kana, Senior Partner for PwC Africa, says: “CEOs in Africa feel more positive about their ability to generate revenue growth and about prospects for the economy now that they are emerging from the global financial recession.”

“It is interesting to note however that CEOs are slightly more anxious about their prospects for growth over the short-term,” adds Kana. Although 84% remain confident overall, only 40% say they are ‘very confident’. “CEOs acknowledge that a lot more needs to be done in terms of transforming the continent’s potential for exponential growth into tangible business opportunities,” he says. “CEOs are looking on multiple fronts for growth opportunities – for many, the search for growth will not be an easy task.”

‘The Agenda’ compiles results from 260 CEOs in Africa and includes insights from business and public sector leaders from 18 countries. The report shows that most CEOs in Africa feel confident about their approach to managing risk, despite some volatility and uncertainty.

The pace of change in the world is speeding up with a series of transitions, known as global megatrends that will transform business and society. African CEOs rank technological advances (69%), urbanisation (67%) and demographic shifts (63%) as the top three defining trends that will transform their businesses over the next five years. They are aware of the implications of these changes for their businesses, as well as the outlook for Africa. Many have recognised the need for change or are making changes to their businesses.


“Every day breakthroughs in frontiers of research and development are opening up new opportunities for businesses. As technologies progress, they will generate more improvements in efficiency and productivity. In turn, these advances are expected to trigger a strong acceleration in economic growth towards the end of the coming decade,” comments Kana.

The growth agenda

Confidence is on the rise among Africa’s CEOs. In general, they are more confident about their own company’s growth than they are about their industry’s prospects. While less than half are ‘very confident’ about their company’s growth prospects in the short term, less than a third (26%) are ‘very confident’ about industry growth. CEOs in Africa say that their desire to create something is what drives their organisation’s strategic planning. They rank products/service innovation (31%), increased share in existing markets (27%), followed by new geographic markets (20%) as opportunities for growth but are equally concerned about shifts in consumer spending and behaviours.

Going forward, African CEOs say that they will be more actively looking for partners, while keeping an eye on costs. Almost half of them plan to initiate a new strategic alliance or joint venture in the next 12 months, and nearly a third are anticipating an acquisition, mainly in their home country or elsewhere in Africa. China is emerging as a key for consideration for growth prospects, followed by the US and South Africa, respectively. This is an indication of overall better economic prospects, higher availability of finance, and the growing presence of potential local and international partners attracted by the continent’s potential.

“We are also seeing more use of technological innovation and products, with no less than 91% of African CEOs either recognising the need to change their investments or in the process of doing so. Similarly, 85% said the same about data analytics,” says Kana. Following a decade of rapid urbanisation, Africa is undergoing a digital revolution. However, there are still many hurdles and obstacles to overcome to the development of digital economy on the continent – and many of these hurdles are related to the development of a stable political and legal environment for companies, citizens and investors.

Main risks to doing business in Africa

Infrastructure is important in driving economic growth and employment on the continent. However, 45% of African CEOs believe that their governments have been ineffective in improving the country’s basic infrastructure, such as electricity, water supply, transport and housing.  CEOs also identified the creation of a skilled workforce (64%), the reduction of poverty and inequality (62%), and creating more jobs for young people (74%) as areas in which governments should be taking more decisive action and creating a business-friendly environment.

“In our view, one of the big challenges is for government to find new ways to form strategic collaborations and partnerships with people from other sectors, such as business. Tomorrow’s public body will need to act differently – governments of the future will need to embrace a lot of private-public partnerships.”

The report shows that for CEOs in Africa, government responses to over-regulation (80%), exchange rate volatility (79%) the fiscal deficit and debt burdens (78%) and adequate infrastructure are key areas of concern, and that governments have their work cut out for them. Other areas of concern are the increasing tax burden, slow or negative growth in developed economies (70%) and the lack of stability in capital markets (65%). But the report does show that 45% of CEOs say that governments have effectively achieved the outcome of ensuring financial sector stability and access to affordable capital.