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We report on how stability in Luanda has brought growth to Angola’s economy, plus the potential of Africa’s untapped property market
BRICKS AND MORTAR
Does Africa’s untapped property market hold the key to its future?
Depending on who you talk to, Africa needs between €20bn and €70bn in aid annually to fund various infrastructure and social welfare initiatives. Yet some, like Kenyan economics expert James Shikwati, argue that development aid floods African markets artificially, distorting the price of agricultural and manufactured goods and making industries globally uncompetitive. The result: fewer exports, less innovation and less potential for sustainable earnings for the country.
Controversial Peruvian economist Professor Hernando de Soto believes the solution lies in Africa’s untapped property potential. He argues that without access to title deeds, poor Africans are effectively locked out of an ideal means to reach their economic potential – an immovable asset that can be used to accumulate wealth and gain access to credit. Not surprisingly, home ownership has been identified by the US Overseas Private Investment Corporation as “the single greatest store of wealth for individuals, and an important source of capital for entrepreneurship at the grass-roots level”. The IFC and World Bank also have programmes that promote property rights.
There has been resistance from people who fear the government will tax their land if they were to own it legally. The upside, however, is that a government that taxes its population is more directly accountable to it and less likely to chase after donor dollars.
A CITY WITH ASPIRATIONS
Luanda shows itself to be the jewel in Angola’s crown
In 1850, Luanda was one of Portugal’s most developed colonial cities, and stellar growth during the 1960s helped the port city earn the moniker “Paris of Africa”. Sadly, most of this grandeur was lost during the 27-year civil war that ended in 2002. But stability in Angola has brought the kind of growth that could both make it one of the richest nations in Africa and re-establish Luanda on the world map. Growth is expected to be 11.8% this year, down from 15.6% in 2008, boosted largely by an enormous reserve of natural resources.
The hope is that stability in Luanda, coupled with infrastructure upgrades in and around the city, will result in stability spreading across Angola, making out-lying areas such as Benguela’s warm beaches, the rich Maiombe forest in Cabinda and even the Namibe desert more attractive to tourists.
ONE TO WATCH
Jammila Wafula Omido is an enterprising entrepreneur based in Kampala, Uganda. Her business, Jays Links International, specialises in the supply and maintenance of power generators and transport and logistic solutions
I’m 32 years old and started my company in November 2007. I used to work as a personal assistant to a director of a similar company. When someone suggested I could go it alone, I thought about it and decided I could.
My company is based in Kampala. But we have clients as far afield as Kenya, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sudan. Being a woman in a male-dominated sector isn’t a challenge for me at all. My biggest challenge is clients who make bookings and don’t follow up on payment, making it tough to keep a business running smoothly.
In September we’ll be branching out into a new sector – horticulture. I’ve noticed simple crops, such as the best carrots, are imported from Kenya to Uganda. I want to grow good quality organic crops locally to be distributed across East Africa.
THE LAST WORD
African hospitality in African hands
Protea Hotels is once again 100% in African hands after being bought back from Australia-based Stella Hospitality Group. With hotels in Kenya and Uganda, Protea has the second largest portfolio in Africa and, although its market is based in South Africa, the plan is to drive business across sub-Saharan Africa.
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