The Sleeping Tiger

One of the things that every single woman needs to face is the fact of her financial well-being and the effect that it is going to have on her future. While we all – well, most of us – would like to ride off into the sunset with a loving partner with whom we can share the considerable expenses associated with our increasing age and decreasing income, we must all entertain the notion that perhaps, in the worst-case scenario, we will end up alone.

Even if we don’t, there’s no guarantee that our finances will be secure. Husbands die early, become alcoholics, develop life-threatening diseases that eat up every penny of your hard-earned savings. Perhaps a truer statement should be that every woman, regardless of her single status, should have a financial plan that is stable for the long haul and for many different types of scenarios. It’s definitely something to consider.

In most of the Western world, the markets are tanking and GDP is plunging. The West is a very bad place to invest right now; returns on investments are sluggish. There is no telling if or when Western economies will recover. However, a sleeper market, one whose significance most Westerners have no clue of, is the sub-Saharan African economy. Sub-Saharan Africa is the only market which has demonstrated double-digit GDP growth over the past few years, exceeding the market potential even of China and India, long believed to be the world’s most anticipated tiger regions.

Investment banks and multinationals are pouring into the sub-Saharan African markets right now, blinded by the golden brilliance of the region’s potential. Sources as venerable as the Harvard Business Review are now touting sub-Saharan Africa as a new world player. Nigeria just became the first sub-Saharan African country to be formally listed in Standard and Poor’s as an “emerging market,” along with China, India and Brazil.

If or when the U.S. economy tanks, as it almost inevitably will, the rest of the world will undoubtedly feel the pain. Since most countries trade primarily with the U.S. either firsthand or secondarily, economies everywhere will plummet. But who will be in a position to rebound best from that? Do your research, ladies. Sub-Saharan Africa may be the most lucrative place to invest your retirement funds.