Africa Newsletter, September 2019

We start by taking a look at M&A activity in South Africa and elsewhere on the continent. After this, the focus moves to Nigeria for the second part of an article that appeared in our last newsletter, looking at regimes for the enforcement of foreign arbitral awards.

Some new developments and topics for discussion are then covered in the three articles which follow.

Firstly, we look at AfCFTA and, in the light of the official launch and Nigeria’s signing, we discuss what this could mean for the continent. Next, we take a look at how data protection law has been gaining ground in many African countries. And finally we try to answer the question about whether or not African capitalism exists. It is always a pleasure to feature our friends from relationship firms on the continent, and this edition’s View from the Secondee is a conversation with Primah Kyambadde of MMAKS Advocates in Uganda and Nania Owusu-Ankomah from Bentsi- Enchill, Letsa & Ankomah in Ghana, both of whom spent three months with us at the end of 2018.

We round up this edition with a section highlighting some of our recent activities. This starts with an article showcasing recent pro bono work in Africa. We then take a look at our growing Africa practice in Germany, before finally telling you about our recent Africa Forum and GFT Symposium events in London and our Africa LLM Vacation Scheme 2019. You will also find information about some of our recent work on the continent and details of our upcoming events.

We hope you enjoy this edition of the newsletter. As always, please get in touch if you have any questions or comments.

Authored by Andrew Skipper and Alison Diarra.