South Africa is the world’s 25th largest economy in PPP terms and Sub-Saharan Africa’s largest. Its consumers are amongst the highest spending in the region and one-in-three dollars spent in Sub-Saharan Africa are spent in South Africa. Unsurprisingly, many multinationals use South Africa as their starting point for a Sub-Saharan market entry strategy. However, the economy is growing only sluggishly and unemployment remains stubbornly high. Income is distributed unequally and poverty is high – with almost 40% of households earning disposable incomes of less than US$5,000 in 2013. Download the full presentation by Sarah Boumphrey here.
