Sixty-three per cent of sub-Saharan African CEOs surveyed in PwC’s twenty-eighth ‘Annual Global CEO Survey: Sub-Saharan Africa perspective’ report say they are increasingly optimistic about the future of the global economy, with improved global economic growth expected over the next 12 months.

“This figure not only surpasses the global average of 55% but also represents a dramatic increase from the previous year’s 40%. This surge in confidence suggests that sub-Saharan African business leaders are not merely acknowledging challenges, but actively embracing transformation as a pathway to future success,” highlights PwC Nigeria Consulting and risk services leader Olufemi Osinubi.

PwC surveyed 4 701 CEOs in 109 countries and territories from October 1, 2024, to November 8, 2024. A total of 245 weighted responses were used for the sub-Saharan Africa analysis.

PwC South Africa chief economist and Africa sustainability leader Lullu Krugel avers that the region’s optimism about global economic growth is driven by business leaders perceiving clear opportunities ahead, as well several key factors such as declining interest rates, a downward trend in inflation, improved energy security and fuel exports.

Fifty per cent of the sub-Saharan African business leaders have entered new sectors in the past five years in an effort to embrace reinvention more, underscoring the appetite for transformation and strategic diversification.

CEOs surveyed are increasingly focusing on the factors that will drive their economic viability in the coming years.

Sixty-four per cent identified making the correct strategic choices and enhancing organisational efficiency as the factors that would most influence their businesses' economic viability.

This is higher than their global counterparts, where 55% and 48%, respectively, shared this view.

Factors driving sub-Saharan African business leaders to reinvent their business models include ensuring business viability, adaptation to disruption and key megatrends, and navigating key business and risk challenges.

A significant concern for 57% of these CEOs is potential changes in the regulatory environment – higher than the global average of 42%.

Business leaders in the region are said to face a distinct set of challenges compared with their global counterparts.

According to the survey, they believe they are at a higher exposure to certain critical risks, with inflation emerging as a paramount concern.

Forty-two per cent of CEOs report feeling vulnerable to inflationary pressures, higher than the global average of 27%.

Business leaders also feel elevated exposure to other critical risks: one in four CEOs in sub-Saharan Africa feel vulnerable to cyberthreats, workforce skill gaps and geopolitical conflicts, with each of these being higher than the global average.

The report also shows that businesses in sub-Saharan Africa are showing slightly lower AI adoption rates compared with their global counterparts, at 75%, compared with 83% globally.

However, the impact data highlights gains in effective implementation. Fifty-six per cent of business leaders report increased employee productivity and 53% note improvements in executive time management.

Also, 72% plan to adopt or expand their AI initiatives in the next 12 months (compared with 80% globally), and 45% expect AI to increase profitability in the coming year.

Meanwhile, sub-Saharan African CEOs and their global counterparts show distinct patterns in how they approach climate initiatives, particularly in compensation structures and investment decisions.

While 32% of global CEOs have no sustainability metrics tied to their compensation, this figure was significantly lower (23%) for CEOs in sub-Saharan Africa.

Also, 9% of business leaders in the region have more than 50% of their compensation linked to sustainability metrics, compared with 4% globally.

“This suggests a stronger structural emphasis on sustainability goals for sub-Saharan African businesses. Beyond this, companies in the region also appear to lag slightly behind in climate-friendly investments, with 78% initiating such investments over the past five years compared to 85% globally,” Krugel notes.

She says this conservative approach could be owing to the fact that only about a third of regional CEOs (32%) reported seeing increased revenue from climate-friendly initiatives.

“Government incentives have remained largely unchanged, with 69% of companies reporting minimal impact in this area,” Krugel points out.