Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s recent appointment as Nigeria’s economic tsar has led to high expectations that the country can finally start to fulfil its vast potential. But, despite her intellect, boundless energy and standing among investors, the task is a daunting one.
Nobody knows how many billions of dollars have been squandered by Nigerian officials since the country’s independence in 1960. By even the most conservative estimates, however, the scale of graft and bad governance has been staggering, meaning that Nigeria is still far from fulfilling its great economic potential.
Mismanagement and corruption have stifled Nigeria's economy for decades. But this year’s elections have given hope that its leaders will finally embark on the deep reforms needed to modernise the resource-rich country and enable it to finally fulfil its vast potential.
By taking on their non-performing loans, Nigeria’s state-owned bank, Amcon, has played a pivotal role in ensuring that the country’s banks are up and running again just two years after their crisis. However, its chief executive is keen to stress that its work is far from over.
Economically, Africa has been growing apace according to Donald Kaberuka, the president of the African Development Bank. But socially the continent is still struggling. The north African uprisings show that now, more than ever, it is time to focus on what Africans actually want.
Egypt’s banks faced the most trying of conditions early this year with the overthrow of president Hosni Mubarak and the subsequent economic collapse. But Hisham Ezz Al-Arab, head of the Commercial International Bank says that businesses should thrive in a more open political system.
Mozambique’s economy is booming and unlikely to slow down anytime soon. But the majority of the growth is down to its abundant natural resources, which has not trickled down to the bulk of the population. The government is now focusing on boosting the rest of the economy.
Ghana’s banks have benefited from a booming economy over the past 18 months, but they may have to start adapting to lower interest rates by expanding their capital markets services and offering more sophisticated products – or risk being bought out in a wave of consolidation.
The banking landscape in Africa remains a case of potential unrealised, as its financial institutions' share of the Top 1000's overall assets and Tier 1 capital dipped slightly. However, the lowering of the average cost-to-income ration in the continent did provide some good news.
A fall in oil prices brought Angola to its knees two years ago. A deal with the IMF has helped the economy to stabilise and signs of growth can be seen in Luanda, but to avoid a repeat of such economic hardship, more structural reforms are needed to make the country attractive for business.