The survey, which featured 37 executives drawn from telecoms, beverages, banking, media, private equity and mining businesses, also supports the view that Africa is beginning to heal from the effects of last year's global financial crisis.
Africapractice, a research firm that carried out the survey last November, found that business leaders in Africa are bullish about economic prospects in 2010, after a hemorrhagic downturn precipitated by financial crisis in the US and Europe that resulted in lending cutbacks to Africa.
The downturn triggered disinvestment with potential investors adopting a wait-and-see attitude, as the US reeled from its worst recession since 1934.
The findings show 95 per cent of the respondents expect to expand their businesses over the year, while a further 100 per cent said 'they anticipate levels of foreign direct investment to rise this year, with the majority expecte d to come from China.'
'This represents a much-improved outlook when compared to the 2008 survey, in which 69 per cent of respondents predicted a reduction in FDI flows,' the report said.
The executives were, however, split between access to credit and availability of talent (skills), which received 35 per cent and 30 per cent of votes respectively.
According to the survey, 'This echoes the 2008 survey in which 31 per cent of respondents cited talent as the biggest concern.'
The survey also projects that poor infrastructure and legislative environments were potential encumbrances to rapid growth.
However, the survey pointed out that although the US economic wellbeing is a key determinant in Africa's performance, less than 17 per cent of business leaders expected the Obama Administration to have a positive influence on Africa.
It said, 'The majority of respondents cited advancements in technological infrastructure as being more significant for business opportunity than politics, thus reaffirming the common assertion that information and communication technol ogies are key enablers of productive business.'
Africapractice is a strategic communications consultancy with a network of offices across the African continent.
Nairobi - Pana 18/01/2010
By Juma Kwayera, PANA Correspondent
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|