This year Africa has more to cheer about than the soccer World Cup taking place in South Africa. In 2009, when the financial crisis cast a chill on the global economy, growth in Africa chugged along at a respectable 2 percent. Only China and India have recovered more quickly.
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SCA IN AFRICA
Around USD 34 million in 2009, which is just 2% of Group sales.
Baby diapers
SCA offers baby diapers in South Africa under the brand Cuddlers* and in Algeria, Tunisia and Libya under the brand Libero-Peaudouce**. Cuddlers has an 18% market share and is a strong number two in the fast growing “value” segment.
Incontinence care
SCA offers TENA incontinence care products for women and men through retailers in South Africa.
Feminine care
SCA sells feminine care products in South Africa under brand Libresse Lifestyle* and in Tunisia and Egypt under the brand Nana (Arabian نانا). Libresse Lifestyle is number one in the panty liner segment with 42% market share.
Away-from-home tissue
SCA offers Tork away-from-home products.
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* Joint venture with Sancella SA.
** Joint venture with Sancella Tunisia. |
It is a tragic reality that the world’s image of Africa is still mainly one of starvation, bloody civil wars and corrupt despots. Yet there is also a general inability to discern the many nuances of a large and multifaceted continent.
“If there is any part of the globe with the potential for record growth over the next few years, it’s Africa,” South African President Jacob Zuma said recently. If visions of an Asian-style growth miracle on the African continent were previously dismissed as the product of national leaders’ enthusiasm for castles in the air, many analysts today are prepared to conclude that Zuma is right. Here are some numbers that might prove him right:
Strong domestic consumption
Over the next few years, the International Monetary Fund predicts a rapid recovery: 4.5 percent this year and 5.5 percent next year. While a recovering Chinese appetite for raw materials is one explanation for the expanding economy, there are also local factors. Two-thirds of Africa’s total economic growth over the last few years has come from domestic consumption.
Large service sector
The service sector’s share of GDP in Africa’s 10 largest countries is 40 percent, not much lower than India’s 53 percent share. Many of Africa’s 1 billion people still live in abject poverty. But the continent also has a middle class of 300 million fairly well-off individuals.
Growing foreign investment
While foreign direct investment fell by 20 percent globally in 2008, it reached a record high in Africa. According to one study, 954 publicly traded African companies had a return on capital between 2000 and 2007 that was 65 percent higher on average compared with similar companies in China, India, Vietnam and Indonesia.
Brightest star South Africa
By far the continent’s brightest star is South Africa, where per capita GDP is significantly higher than in either China or India. Moreover, unlike China, South Africa is a democracy with fairly firm ground rules for international companies. The world’s 18th-largest stock exchange is located in Johannesburg.
The people of South Africa and their leader do not lack for challenges on the road ahead. Unemployment is high, over 30 percent, and widespread crime is a national trauma. Major economic disparities from the apartheid era persist, creating bitterness and a breeding ground for controversial figures like Julius Malema, the leader of the African National Congress Youth League.
Unlike the US and a number of European countries, South Africa has not weathered the crisis by generating enormous and growing deficits. When the kick-off for the first World Cup game takes place on June 11 in front of a global audience of billions, it may well also be the first chapter in a new and brighter story from Africa.
Text Mattias Andersson / Konstantin C Irina Images SCA / Istockphoto Source SHAPE 2/2010