Long-only commodities funds suffered poor returns in 2012 and investment banks saw their revenues squeezed, but there are still growth opportunities.

The withdrawal of some banking groups from commodities trading has created opportunities for independent brokers, but regulation, automation and competition still make it a challenging business.

Africa’s agricultural sector may still be underdeveloped, but it is growing as investors increasingly seek to exploit local and regional sources of demand and develop the continent’s processing capacity. A greater provision of banking services is also helping.

Mobile money, including banking and payments, is encroaching into the everyday life of the consumer. Monetising the business is still proving difficult, but thanks to the abundance of products available already, tangible business models are slowly emerging.

Life for Angola’s banks is getting harder, thanks in no small part to falling interest rates and new taxes. But, as the country's economy continues to perform impressively, growth opportunities will remain. The challenge will be to make sure that this growth is sustainable. 

As more and more stakeholders specialise in tools for the mobile payments space, e-commerce and mobile payments are converging, connecting the digital supply chain. So, while the mobile payments space is not an integrated web yet, headway is being made.

Angola’s government has won plaudits for its macroeconomic reforms since the 2009 crisis, but plenty more are needed to lure foreign investment and modernise what is still one of the world’s toughest business environments.

As consumer spending increasingly moves to online, so too do payments, with digital wallets becoming embedded in the payments culture with the aim of making online transactions both convenient and secure. 

Angola has recovered quickly from its slump four years ago and regained its position as one of the world’s most buoyant economies. But despite that, the country's ruling party will have to adapt to the changing expectations of Angolans, for many of whom peace is no longer enough. 

Near-field-communication technology for mobile payments has seen huge investment and been much feted, but is yet to take off in the mainstream. What will it take for consumers to take to this new way of paying for their purchases?