A study of Riscura, a market analysis and monitoring company, has revealed that 13 of the 15 listed companies - outside of South Africa - had profits that exceeded their expectations during the first half of 2021.

The best performance was achieved by Coronation Africa Frontier which generated a profitability of 29.1%.

Allan Gray Africa ex South Africa Fund, a company monitored by Riscura, had the best investment return with earnings of 33% in the period under review, up from Standard Bank's 11.6%.

Analysts at Allan Gray Africa admit that their success stems from the understanding that Africa is not as gloomy for investment as public opinion tends to show, and their managers take as an example, the Nigerian banking sector, where the Fund is present.

"Zenith Bank in Nigeria, for example, has seen its profits grow 9% a year in US dollars over the last decade, with an average return on equity of 20%," despite Nigeria being sanctioned by investors for macroeconomic considerations.

The country is facing a currency crisis and this makes it difficult to repatriate profits and does not encourage investment, despite low prices per share on the Lagos Stock Exchange, and strong performance in Naira (Nigeria's currency) for companies listed there.

On the other hand, since the beginning of the year the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange is up 152% and the Ghana All Share Index has gained 44%, and this, despite the fact that African markets are suffering from a lack of liquidity.