AfricaSIF [ http://www.africasif.org ] is a non-profit organization that counts on assistance from, and a collaborative relationship with established SRI organizations, including: the USA's Social Investment Forum (SIF), Great Britain's UK Social Investment Forum (UKSIF), the EU's Eurosif as well as Canada's Social Investment Organization (SIO).
AfricaSIF is designed to act as a base of knowledge, networking source and promoter of ESG (environmental, social and governance) aspects.
According to a 2009 CSR report entitled "Disclosure in Emerging Markets," by the Emerging Markets Disclosure Project, South Africa is a leader in CSR reporting practices. Findings from the report indicate that overall transparency practices by South African companies are ahead of China, India, Indonesia and Mexico companies.
Among African-based SRI indexes and funds are the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) SRI index in South Africa; African investor's SRI 50 and SRI 30 indexes. Egypt counts on the MENA ESG index; in Mauritius, it's the Africa Sustainability Fund; and the ARK Mutual Fund is based in Ghana.
Even though ethical investment is still in early stage development with about 1% of all investment portfolio value in the country, which totalled approximately $320 billion, ethical investment is taking a hold there and CSR officers are taking notice. According to Investing for the Soul Founder Ron Robins, the South African corporate community ranks ethics and social justice highly. This should be a particularly attractive proposition to ethical investors with CSR programs.
According to Robins, African's economy is likely at a launch stage not unlike that of Asia 20 years ago. He points out that among developing nations, "South Africa has been a global pioneer in SRI and ethical investing," says Robins. "The JSE was the first stock exchange in the world to launch an SRI index. The JSE further leads as one of the world's stock exchanges to be a signatory to the United Nations Principles of Responsible Investment (UNPRI)."
Heavy investing is taking place in Africa by both China and India, as well as other nations. In the five year period between 2002 and 2007, African growth stood at about 5% yearly. The McKinsey Quarterly report of June 2010 indicates that yearly foreign direct investment (FDI) into Africa went up to $62 million from the 2000 figure of $9 million. So what message can CSR officers take away about this region of the world?
"At this stage Africa potentially represents a great opportunity for investors of all shades," says Robins. "Key areas of interest to investors wanting to both profit and invest ethically include companies and projects related to climate-change issues, water purification and sanitation, and the agriculture and extractive industries," he says. "With twenty stock exchanges and the increasing quality of CSR reporting, investing in Africa will become increasingly more comfortable for ethical investors."
