Africa in Focus
First edition

Africa in Focus explores a range of legal and regulatory developments shaping investment trends across Africa. In this first edition, we focus on a collection of topics connected by the themes of natural resources, geopolitics, regulatory reform and the rapid growth of digital markets.

Drawing on our team's experience across approximately 1,000 ongoing matters in Africa, we distil key insights gained from that breadth of engagement in an accessible format.

We open with competition and antitrust, drawing practical lessons from the first year of the ECOWAS Regional Competition Authority's merger control regime for dealmakers active in West Africa. Staying on the regulatory theme, we explore how competition authorities across several African jurisdictions are shaping digital markets by extending existing frameworks to large technology platforms, a development with immediate implications for the sector's growth trajectory on the continent.

We also assess the rising volume of investor-state disputes, driven by regulatory change, resource nationalism and intensifying global competition for critical minerals, identifying how effective dispute resolution strategies are key to preserve and deliver value over time.

In the resources sector, we consider the growing use of tax and customs enforcement as a policy lever and what this means for investors managing fiscal exposure across multiple jurisdictions.

Lastly, we also examine structural reform in Southern Africa's electricity markets, where Independent Transmission Provider models are creating new entry points for private capital. The insights presented throughout this edition are the result of the work of our lawyers across the firm's network, advising clients on complex matters across the continent every day.

Key contacts for each of the topics addressed have been included at the end of the edition, should you wish to explore any of these themes further.

We hope you find this edition useful and look forward to your feedback.