AFRICAN CEOS LESS OPTIMISTIC ABOUT GLOBAL GROWTH PROSPECTS

Pessimism about the growth of the global economy
was rife among African chief executive officers, but they were still more
optimistic than their global counterparts, a survey released at the World
Economic Forum on Africa in Cape Town on Wednesday found.

“We saw globally that there has been a record
rise in pessimism by CEOs when asked their views on what would happen with
global GDP over the next 12 months,” said Dion Shango, CEO for PwC Africa, while releasing the 7th edition
of PwC’s Africa Business Agenda 2019.

“Africa-based CEOs tend to agree with that
view, however the rise in pessimism is not so pronounced among Africa-based
CEOs as for their global counterparts.”

The African CEOs were also less optimistic about
the ability of their own businesses to grow in the next year.

While many company bosses felt positive about the
impact of technological advancements like artificial intelligence on their
businesses, they decried the lack of skills among the continent’s people.

“We have what is widely acknowledged as the largest young population of the world…yet all of these young people that we have don’t appear to have the right or appropriate skills CEOs are looking for.”  https://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/african-ceos-less-optimistic-about-global-growth-prospects-2019-09-04/rep_id:4136