The number of private universities operating in Africa is growing, and the sector is generating a groundswell of interest among investors. In 1960 there were seven private universities in Africa, according to a 2012 statement by Professor Olugbemiro Jegede, secretary-general of the Association of African Universities. By 1990 there were 27, and by 2006 about 22% of student enrolment on the continent was at private institutions, he said. The African Leadership University plans to build a network of 25 universities across Africa in the next 25 to 30 years that will educate 250,000 students at any one time, one of…
Ronak Gopaldas
Ronak Gopaldas
RONAK GOPALDAS is a director at Signal Risk, an exclusively African risk advisory firm. He was previously the head of country risk at Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) for a number of years, where he managed a team who provided the firm with in-depth analysis of economic, political, security and operational dynamics across sub-Saharan Africa. He holds a BCom degree in philosophy, politics and economics (PPE) and a BCom (Hons) from the University of Cape Town (UCT). He also has an MSc in finance (economic policy) through the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London.[
Africa: banking innovation While only 11% of Africans have bank accounts, some 80% have mobile phones: a huge new mobile banking market beckons across the continent By Ronak Gopaldas By the year 2030, two billion people will use their cell phones to save, lend and make payments, according to Bill Gates. Nowhere will this be more prominent than on the African continent which is fast emerging as the world’s leader in mobile banking and payment technology platforms due to the widespread adoption of mobile phones. For banks on the continent, this presents both a significant challenge and opportunity, as the…
Why manufacturing is key to creating jobs and building diversified economies Can the continent make it? By Ronak Gopaldas Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana produce 53% of the world’s cocoa. But the supermarket shelves in Abidjan and Accra, their respective capitals, are stacked with chocolates imported from Switzerland and the UK, countries that do not farm cocoa. This scenario is repeated throughout the continent in different contexts. For example Nigeria, the world’s sixth-largest producer of crude oil, exports more than 80% of its oil but cannot refine enough for local consumption. In 2013 it spent about $6 billion subsidising…
SDGs and global growth Changing political and economic dynamics are set to make achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 a great deal more difficult By Ronak Gopaldas On the 25 September 2015, 193 countries adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the UN, which would come into force on 1 January, 2016. The goals, which seek to eradicate poverty, hunger and inequality, to achieve universal access to health care, clean water and sanitation, education and decent work, and fundamentally make the world a better place for all who inhabit it, were set to be achieved by 2030, representing an…
Governments vs business: the trust deficit By Ronak Gopaldas Africa is experiencing a surge in economic nationalism, with populist and anti-business rhetoric and sentiment on the rise in a number of countries. The two most obvious exhibits of this are the emergence of “Buharism” in Nigeria and “Magunomics” in Tanzania since 2015. In these countries, heavy-handed, often draconian approaches towards the private sector have been adopted for political purposes. High-profile foreign companies, blamed for exploitative business practices, have been on the receiving end of harsh and disproportionate fines and tax bills. Elsewhere, the governments of Zambia and the DRC are…
Africa’s industrialisation Why manufacturing is key to creating jobs and building diversified economies Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana produce 53% of the world’s cocoa. But the supermarket shelves in Abidjan and Accra, their respective capitals, are stacked with chocolates imported from Switzerland and the UK, countries that do not farm cocoa. This scenario is repeated throughout the continent in different contexts. For example Nigeria, the world’s sixth-largest producer of crude oil, exports more than 80% of its oil but cannot refine enough for local consumption. In 2013 it spent about $6 billion subsidising fuel imports, estimated Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala late…
As with football, Africa risks losing its best and brightest to more advanced and monied nations Football and politics have always enjoyed a fascinating relationship. During this year’s World Cup the political subtext was especially elevated, given the geo-political significance of the event being hosted in Russia. But beyond the obvious diplomatic undercurrent, the tournament brought a number of complex political issues to the fore. Polarising debates around talent, migration, identity and patriotism surfaced as a result of specific incidents that occurred during the course of the tournament. These incidents, although microcosmic in nature, were magnified on a global stage…
East Asia investing in Africa could prove the panacea to the regions’ parallel problems
Private higher education institutions are mushrooming around the continent, but are they effective?
Africa’s brain gain by Ronak Gopaldas Femi Badeji left his native Nigeria nearly 20 years ago and moved to the United States. He earned an MBA at Wharton, one of the US’s top business schools, and then worked as an engineer and later as an investment banker on Wall Street. He recently returned home because he says the time is ripe to play a part in Africa’s growth story. “It took me around 17 years to make the move back to Nigeria but I had to position myself in such a way that I could help fix the continent while…
