Nairobi sixth wealthiest city in Africa – African wealth report for 2019
The Kenyan market has been touted to be the most resilient in the midst of all the gloom in other African markets. Kenya was ranked as the fifth richest country in Africa after South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, and Morocco besides having dropped 10 percent on the bear run at the Nairobi Securities Exchange, its cumulative wealth has increased by 64 percent since 2008.
“However, if one looks over the longer term, the trend there is still quite positive with wealth growth of 64% over the past 10 years. This shows that Kenya is still probably the most resilient market in Africa, among the traditional `big 5`” read the report.
According to the African wealth report for 2019 published by Mauritius based AfrAsia Bank, provides a comprehensive review of the wealth sector in Africa, including High Net Worth Individuals (HNWI) trends, luxury trends and wealth management trends in 17 countries and 20 cities across the continent.
The report said Nairobi, Kenya’s capital is the sixth wealthiest city in Africa. South Africa topped the list, with four of its cities: Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, and Pretoria making to the top ten list. Other cities in the list are Lagos at position three, Cairo, Luanda, Casablanca and Accra at number 10.
“Nairobi is the economic hub of East Africa and one of the fastest-growing cities in the world. We expect it to break into the top five cities in Africa soon, possibly replacing Lagos which has been slipping down the list,’’ the report said.
The drivers for this growth include financial services, real estate, tourism, media, clothing, textiles, processed foods, beverages, and cigarettes.
It also identified Runda Estate, Lavington, Kitisuru, Karen and Muthaiga as the affluent parts of Nairobi.
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Africa Major Cities by Total Wealth 2018.
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Nielsen Africa Prospect Indicator (APi) also ranked Kenya the highest in economic, consumer and business prospects in African markets for the second year in a row.
The survey findings from the New York-based data analytics firm shows that despite remaining as Africa’s lead prospect, Kenya’s business and retail prospects have weakened relative to other markets. “ But is offset by a stronger macro-economic position, however, GDP growth rates are lower and indications are that the economy lost steam in Quarter 1’2019.”
In the report, African markets showed stability amidst times of ongoing and relentless change in Quarter 1’2019, with only two markets changing position on the latest ranking update.
“Kenya remains in top position, followed by Cote d’Ivoire and Tanzania. Ghana and Nigeria hold on to their stronger fourth and fifth places, respectively, while Uganda slips to sixth place, South Africa weakens to seventh and Cameroon remains in eighth place.”
The African wealth report for 2019 collaborates with The Brookings Institution which in April had said, Ultra-high net worth individuals (whose net assets exceed $30 million) reside throughout the continent—in South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Morocco.
The Brookings Institution identifies Nigeria, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Tanzania, Kenya, and South Africa as countries that will soon hold half of the continent’s population, and 43 percent of Africans across the continent will belong to the middle or upper classes.
It identified three opportunities for investors and entrepreneurs to become competitive in Africa’s consumer markets: Fast-moving consumer goods, luxury goods, and e-commerce.
“Countries such as Nigeria, South Africa, Ethiopia, Angola, Sudan, Morocco, Algeria, and Kenya are ready for increased production and distribution, and business leaders and investors should be encouraged to fulfill growing demand and household consumption while managing the challenges to create high returns,” writes Landry Signé, David M. Rubenstein Fellow – Global Economy and Development, Africa Growth Initiative.
