Africa Profile
A gradual recovery in some commodity prices and continued reform efforts are part of the new Africa narrative, but risks remain.
The North African region’s economic prospects for 2021 have improved, with resilience in Egypt offsetting a weaker outlook for a recovery in Morocco, Sudan and Tunisia. In East Africa, we expect to see a broad-based recovery following a relatively robust economic performance last year. Elsewhere, the ongoing rebound in commodity prices paints a relatively bright picture for the franc zone. In the Central & West Africa region, Ghana and the DRC look set to enjoy solid performances this year, but the regional outlook remains challenging as policy uncertainty deters investment in Nigeria and foreign exchange imbalances persist. In Southern Africa, deep fiscal scars see countries embarking on divergent paths to bridge the funding gap. (Source: Africa Quarterly Update, March 2021.)