On Wednesday, the 27th of July, 2022, the United States (US) Fed hiked its benchmark lending rates by 0.75 per cent to control inflation. The move triggered a depreciation of currencies in several African economies like Nigeria and within hours, the price of goods and services surged. 

Experts project less flow of investment due to currency volatility, growth in unpaid dollar debts and weakened export sector in emerging markets like Africa.

Below is the Weekly Economic Index from Ventures Africa for the week ending the 29th of July, 2022. This economic index gives you a glimpse into recent activities in Africa’s economy as well as changes in prices that could affect it:

Stock markets

Here is how stocks performed in key African markets (Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa, and Kenya) at the end of the week:

• Nigeria

The NGX All-Share Index rose by 1.42 per cent to close the week at 50,370.25, representing a 1-week loss of 3.1 per cent from 51,979.92 recorded the previous week.

 Top 5 gainers

Union Bank of Nigeria – +10.00%

Multiverse – +9.94%

United Capital – +9.90%

Transcorp – +9.80%

Nigerian Exchange Group – +9.75%

Top 5 Decliners

PZ Cussons Nigeria – -9.57%

Caverton Offshore Support – -9.09%

Wema Bank –  -8.36%

Academy Press –  -7.50%

Courteville Business Solutions – -6.98%

• Egypt

The EGX 30 Index rose by +0.88 per cent to close the week at 9,369.32 compared to the 9,289.81 recorded the previous week. 

Top 5 gainers

Raya Contact Center  – +7.66%

International Agricultural Products – +7.48%

Development & Engineering Consultants – +7.42%

Beltone Capital Holding for Financial Investments – +6.11%

Egyptian Gulf Bank – +5.71%

Top 5 decliners

Naeem Holding – -5.00%

Aspire Capital Holding – -4.17% 

Zahraa Maadi Investment & Development – -2.54%

Misr Beni Suef Cement – -2.35%

Delta Sugar – -2.34%

• South Africa

The FTSE/JSE Africa All Share Index rose by +0.47 per cent to close the week at 68,934.01 compared to the 68,069.58 recorded the previous week. 

Top 5 gainers

4Sight Holdings Ltd – +20.00%

Premier Fishing Brands Ltd – +12.63%

Oando Plc – +8.33%

Advanced Health Ltd – +8.33%

Luxe Holdings Ltd – +7.69%

Top 5 decliners

Sable Exploration & Mining Ltd – -34.90%

Cloud Atlas AMI Big50 ex-SA ETF – -23.13%

Nictus Ltd – -20.00%

MC Mining Limited – -10.00%

Capitec Bank Preference Shares – -9.43%

• Kenya

The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) All-Share Index leapt by +0.41 per cent to 141.05 compared to the 136.57 recorded the previous week.

Top 5 gainers

East African Cables – +8.57% 

Home Afrika – +5.88%

TPS Eastern Africa – +5.59%

Britam Holdings – +5.56% 

Olympia Capital Holdings – +5.50%

Top 5 decliners

Trans-Century – -6.67%

Eveready East Africa – -3.85%

Liberty Kenya Holdings – -3.11%

Standard Group – -3.10% 

HF Group – -2.35%

Currency markets

Here is how Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya, and South Africa’s currencies performed against the US Dollar at the official markets.

• The Nigerian naira started the week at 421.48 NGN/$1  to closed at 415.87 NGN/$1.
• The Egyptian pound started the week at 18.9552 EGP/$1 and closed at 1 18.92 EGP/$1.
• The South African Rand started the week at 16.7938 ZAR/$1 and closed at 16.61 ZAR/$1.
• The Kenyan shilling started the week at 118.67 KES/$1 and closed at 118.95 KES/$1.

Oil prices 

Brent oil started the week at $104.39 per barrel and closed at $104.34 per barrel on Friday 29th of July.

Crypto markets

The global cryptocurrency market cap stood at $1.04T as of 2 pm WAT on the 24th of July. Here is how the top three cryptocurrencies performed:

• Bitcoin (BTC) gained 0.45 per cent on July 30 to $23,926.28 compared to $22,655.46 the previous week.
• Ethereum (ETH) dropped by 0.17 per cent on July 30 to $39.58 compared to $1,602.05  the previous week.
• Binance Coin (BNB) rose by 1.86 per cent on July 30 to $288.97 compared to $262.69 the previous week.

Tech funding

• Egypt-based Cartona, a B2B eCommerce platform for Egypt’s traditional trade market including mom-and-pop stores, FMCG producers, wholesalers, and distributors, has raised $12 million in Series A Round led by Silicon Badia.
•  The Fashion Kingdom (TFK), an Egypt-based fashion marketplace, raised a $2.6 million seed funding round, co-led by CVentures and A15.
• Hashgreed, a Nigeria-based NFT marketplace, multipurpose NFT, and super dapp platform under the Krosscoin Ecosystem, raised over $1 million in funding to expand across and beyond Nigeria.
• Qwili, a South Africa-based hybrid hardware-software company, raised $1.2 million in an oversubscribed seed funding round to help launch its low-cost NFC-enabled smartphone.

Expert opinion 

In a statement to Ventures Africa, economic expert Yannick Lefang, B.Eng PRM, Founder & CEO of Kasi Insight explained what a hike in the value of the dollar would mean for African economies. “On a macro front, Fed hiking rates mean investors are now looking to park more money in the US for better returns, translating to less flow to emerging markets. It also means that African countries that borrow in US dollars must pay higher interest on these loans putting more pressure on their economies like Ghana – which is currently seeking IMF’s assistance,” he said. “More so, depreciating African currencies vs the dollar means that exports from Africa are now cheaper.”