The Singapore-Africa Conversation

Karen Fong of LAC Global says the discerning Nigerian consumer is willing to pay top dollar for a trusted product.

Jean Ng of Enterprise Singapore has served in two of the most dynamic but vastly distinct markets of Africa. She explains why local firms need to adopt different approaches to win business in West and Southern Africa.

Singapore has identified specific sectors in North and East Africa where it believes its firms have a competitive advantage. Liane Ng and Yazeed Yusuf explain how Enterprise Singapore is assisting local firms win business in two of the fastest growing regional markets of Africa.

Trade between Singapore and Africa has grown at 10-15% annually since 2019. Singapore firms have invested over US$23.5 billion in the continent making this small but vibrant Asian financial centre the eighth largest foreign direct investor in Africa. Rahul Ghosh of Enterprise Singapore explains to Terser Adamu how this city-state is expanding its economic footprint in Africa.

Nanyang Business School graduate Gabriel Teo tells Terser Adamu why he gave up his corporate life in Singapore and became a change-making educator in Kenya.

Terser Adamu speaks with Singapore based Swiss entrepreneur Raphael Dana whose super app Gozem facilitates on-demand transportation, delivery, and cashless payment solutions in Togo and Benin.

Terser Adamu speaks with Saikat Chowdhury, Managing Director of the engineering advisory and solutions provider Nivesal. He is plugging the information gap that inhibits domestic manufacturing in Africa from taking off.

Dr Arkebe Oqubay has served as Senior Minister and Special Adviser to the Ethiopian Prime Minister. Under his guidance Ethiopia has carried out a carefully choreographed industrialisation programme. In this episode he tells the story of the economic transformation of Ethiopia since the end of military rule and what lessons have been learnt.

Dr Ibrahim Assane Mayaki has served as the Chief Executive Officer at the African Union Development Agency-NEPAD for more than a decade. Under his watch, the agency has become a spearhead for accelerating regional integration. In this episode he tells Nozipho Tshabalala and Amit Jain what it would take for Africa to achieve the vision of a well-integrated and prosperous continent in the next 40 years.

The NTU-SBF Centre for African Studies has been coming out with insightful articles over the years attracting following and readership all over the world. As the year comes to an end we look at the top three best read papers of 2021. Amit Jain and Nozipho Tshabalala ask Patrick Maluki to explain why the banking sector in Kenya is so formidable and get to grips with what the future holds for cryptocurrency and the creative industry in Africa as they discuss these topics with Rafiq Raji and Ronak Gopaldas. Three researchers in three different parts of the continent talking about three different topics. One good way to end the year.