This month we celebrate, among others, a high-achieving member making her mark at the heart of government in Nigeria. The first woman, and only the second person from the country’s northern region, to make partner at a Big Four Firm, Rukaiya el-Rufai FCCA gained valuable experience in sustainability, climate change and public sector risk assurance at PwC, and is now bringing her expertise to bear as special adviser to the country’s president on National Economic Council and Climate Change.
As demand for low-carbon solutions and climate resilience increases around the world, we take a look at the potential for Africa’s blue economy, its attractiveness for financial institutions looking to invest, and the skills CFOs need to make the most of the opportunities.
There has never been any doubt about the entrepreneurial ingenuity and ability to scale of Africa’s unicorns – think Nigeria’s Interswitch and Flutterwave, South Africa’s TymeBank and Senegal’s Wave, for example – but attracting long-term capital from public markets has always eluded them. Now, with the launch of the Africa Tech Index (AT50) on the London Stock Exchange, this could be set to change. Find out more in our article.
Elsewhere, we look at technology adoption among Africa’s small and medium-sized practices. While the extent and speed of takeup varies, it’s clear that technology is steadily reshaping how firms operate. As one practitioner puts it: ‘If you don’t invest, you fall behind.’
Finally, we find out from one finance professional how building an AI-powered mini-game for her son became a transformative learning journey. Without any coding skills or IT background, she adopted AI tools to create a simple game from scratch, which in turn challenged her thinking on how finance experts can harness emerging tech.
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