Clear insight

Blogs 20 January, 2020

Big business in Uganda

In 1908, Winston Churchill called Uganda “the pearl of Africa” in his book ‘My African Journey’, after visiting the country in 1907. Located in central-east Africa on the shores of Lake Victoria, Uganda is blessed with abundant...

Blogs 7 January, 2020

Angola: tomorrow's #1 diamond producer?

Angola is the fifth largest diamond producer in the world and the third biggest in Africa. With diamond reserves estimated at 180 million carats, Angola could be on track to become the top producer and the government is putting...

Blogs 17 December, 2019

Saudi Aramco: where ambition meets clarity – Diligencia’s year in review

As I write, financial newspapers are leading with the news that Saudi Aramco has on the second day of public trading briefly achieved a valuation of US$2 trillion. This is the culmination of a two-year story since the IPO...

Blogs 11 November, 2019

Technology-driven growth takes centre stage in the GCC

Digital technologies are disrupting economies globally and the GCC is no exception. According to Mergermarket, there were approximately 40 technology-related M&A transactions in the region between 2015 and 2017, focused on...

Blogs 29 October, 2019

Who's who in Nigeria

Each year Forbes ranks the world based on its wealthiest people. In this blog, we take a closer look at the most prosperous people in Nigeria and their business connections....

Blogs 21 October, 2019

In the spotlight: Mubadala and its interests in North Africa

Abu Dhabi-based global investment firm, Mubadala Investment Company, is one of the largest sovereign wealth funds and invests in more than 50 countries. With assets under management of over US$225bn, Mubadala is a shareholder in...

Blogs 1 October, 2019

Running red hot – the global shisha tobacco market

While the global tobacco industry is facing the combined challenges of stricter regulations, new entrants from technologies such as vaping, and rapidly changing consumer behaviour, there is one market segment that is experiencing...

Blogs 19 September, 2019

Mining in the UAE - a clear opportunity

Anyone who has lived or worked in the UAE will know how much of what is consumed inside the country is imported. You might also be surprised to know, in a country that consists largely of desert, that the UAE’s imports also...

Blogs 22 August, 2019

We are all storytellers

OK so it has taken me a while, but I have finally found the time over the summer to read the excellent ‘Sapiens’ by Yuval Noah Hariri – a masterful sweep of human history, mixing anthropology, sociology and good old-fashioned...

Blogs 31 July, 2019

Boom or bust? What is really going on with Egypt’s economy?

“Egypt’s economy isn’t booming…it’s collapsing” says a former minister in Mohammed Morsi’s short-lived administration....

Blogs 2 July, 2019

The very model of a modern Arab diplomat: Prince Khaled bin Bandar bin Sultan

If French is the traditional language of diplomacy, it seems appropriate that Prince Khaled was born in Paris and, we understand, proudly retains his links to the French state. Indeed you might be forgiven for thinking that his...

Blogs, Sport 30 May, 2019

Sheikh Khalid closes in on Newcastle United

The Abu Dhabi ruling family may be set to continue its love affair with the English Premier League, as reports suggest that Sheikh Khalid bin Zayed Al Nahyan is in talks to acquire club side Newcastle United. Although the deal is...

Blogs 7 May, 2019

Home grown in the desert: agri-tech companies in the UAE and Saudi Arabia

The dry, sun-drenched deserts of the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are not the obvious place to think of cultivating crops, yet restaurants and supermarkets in the region are increasingly stocking fruits and vegetables...

Blogs 6 March, 2019

MTN – More than a corruption and bribery accusation

Business and politics are seldom unconnected in emerging markets, particularly in strategic infrastructure sectors such as telecoms. So when relations between nation states ebb and flow, the fate of those countries’ commercial...

Blogs 30 January, 2019

The Dantatas, the Dangotes and a bid to transform Nigeria’s downstream oil industry

Alhaji Aliko Dangote, the founder of Dangote Group of Companies, is easy to write headlines about; not only has he been named as Africa’s richest man for the 7th year in a row, but has also made clear his personal ambition to buy...

Blogs 22 January, 2019

Mozambique: The new Seychelles?

Natural gas might seem the obvious investment story for Mozambique, and there is no doubt that with the discovery offshore of the world’s 14th largest reserves by volume ¹ the country’s economy will in time be transformed. But...

Blogs 14 January, 2019

Silk City, Kuwait: a key staging post on the New Silk Road?

A recent flurry of meetings between officials from Kuwait and China has prompted speculation that Kuwait may be pivoting away from their alliance with the United States, and instead have opted to strengthen their allegiance to...

Blogs 3 January, 2019

Who is behind Dubai Wonderland?

While scanning the news items of the day, I read about an impressive ‘$191m fund launched to finance Dubai Wonderland project’1and while part of me is delighted, I’m also left feeling sceptical. Like many of us who have...

Blogs 15 November, 2018

Sub Saharan Africa | 2017 Fastest Growing SMEs

In our series, looking at the top performers across SSA, we go to the SME-segment of the market and recognise the fastest growing companies....

Blogs 13 November, 2018

Sub Saharan Africa | 2017 Best Performing Companies

In anticipation of what 2018 will prove in the battle of the brands, we take a look at the best performers in 2017. Four key metrics were used: liquidity, solvency, return on assets and profit margin. Last year, South African...