Africa's grey gold
As investors’ appetite for sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is whetted and confidence grows, the region offers a positive scenario in terms of future cement demand. While some international majors appear on the back foot, new entrants are keen to gain a foothold in the market and expand their operations in this increasingly-competitive market. By T Hadley, Baobab Advisory sarl, France.
Figure 1: per capita cement consumption vs per capita GDP, 1995-2014
Africa’s cement consumption has doubled over the last decade from 97.1Mt in 2003 to an estimated 195.9Mt in 2013, reflecting a CAGR of 7.3 per cent. Of this, 90Mt is in SSA, which is growing even faster. While its share of world consumption has remained at five per cent since 2001, it is expected to expand as the growth rate in SSA increases relative to the rest of the world.
