Joe Nellis

Professor of International Management Economics

Cranfield University School of Management

United Kingdom

This is a unique and  impressive compendium of key business environmental indicators covering 48 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. The information will be invaluable to a wide audience including economists, investment analysts, government departments, foreign investors etc. DBWA is up to date and presented in a user-friendly and non-technical manner, representing a new and refreshing approach to country analyses.

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Jonathan Story

Emeritus Professor of International Political Economy

INSEAD, France

Tony Okoromadu has compiled an indispensable tool for anyone interested in doing business in Africa. The target audience is foreign investors, government and development agencies, and the volume is priced accordingly. But the format is easy-to-use, making the content readily comprehensible to a wider public.

The value added here is that you have all key indicators of performance between the covers of one book, and the promise of a new Africa-index [called Dba] for country comparisons and evaluation.

The information, culled from the multilateral development agencies, is presented in the form of indicators, tables and charts for 48 countries, with a particular emphasis on West Africa. A particularly welcome feature is that the data presented is not for one year, but for the period since 1999, thereby making it easier to track progress or the lack of it.

Doing Business in West Africa deserves to become a standard reference for many years to come.

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Lynda, Baroness Chalker

(From the foreword)

Drawing on verified sources of information covering the past ten years, Tony Okoromadu has added value to these with a lively, colourful and insightful interpretation. His novel approach both sets today’s statistics in a recognisable context and clearly improves the landscape for decision-making. International investors and African governments alike should welcome this as an important contribution to the economic growth of the continent.

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Martin Wolf

Chief Economics Commentator

Financial Times

London

Good information is always important. When one is looking to do business in unfamiliar places, it is essential. Tony Okoromadu has done a remarkable job of putting together the background information on West Africa. The information is also beautifully and imaginatively displayed. This is a remarkable piece of work.

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David White

Former Africa Editor

Financial Times

London

Intelligible information of this kind has up to now been almost impossible to find in Africa. Not only does this study bring all the essential data together in one place, but it makes sense of the statistics, pointing out the trends, strengths and weaknesses that lie behind the figures.  Here at last is reliable factual material, superbly presented and interpreted in a way that makes it immediately understandable. Anyone with a serious interest in the region will need and value this rare commodity.

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Michael Hay

Professor of Strategic and International Management and Entrepreneurship

London Business School

Tony Okoromadu has done a great deal of work and an extraordinary job in assembling this vast amount of interesting material and data. And he presents these in an imaginative and innovative way. The book is reminiscent of the style of The Economist’s World in Figures and would sit well in that class.

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Richard Dowden

Director

The Royal African Society

Former Africa Editor

The Economist

Despite the global recession, Africa is still a very attractive destination for investment and trade. Doing Business in West Africa 2009-2010 is an invaluable tool for anyone heading into the African markets. Tony Okoromadu has created a well-researched and clearly presented encyclopaedia of economic and commercial information about Africa and West Africa in particular. It is an excellent contribution to a better understanding of African countries and their economic potential.

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