Power outages, costly credit, and poor logistics are weighing on African manufacturers’ competitiveness.
According to the PAMA Industry Pulse Survey, which surveyed over 100 manufacturers, these three factors were consistently ranked as the primary barriers to competitiveness.
Despite that, the survey shows that manufacturers remain cautiously optimistic for the third quarter. They pointed to improving supply chains, expanding trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA) and moderating global energy prices as support.
However, they stressed that stronger industrial performance will require stable policies, better infrastructure and cheaper funding.
From agro-processors to brewers to banks and pharmaceuticals, operating costs have more than doubled for businesses across the continent owing to poor power supply.
