Africa

By: Folakunmi Pinheiro*   I. Introduction Many countries have faced record inflation levels in recent years, driven by pandemic-induced economic responses and the war in Ukraine. Nigeria has been no...

By: John Oxenham, Andreas Stargard, Stephany Torres & Megan Friday* I. Introduction South Africa is a pioneer among African jurisdictions employing a consideration of the “public interest” in antitrust merger...

By George Naphambo1   Background According to the United Nations Conference for Trade and Development (“UNCTAD”), the goal of both competition and consumer policies is to enhance consumer well-being2 by...

By Sha’ista Goga1   I. Introduction Enforcement agencies have amended laws and guidelines in recent years to deal with mergers that do not affect competition individually, but do on a...

By Helen Kean Redpath & Phil Alves1   I. Introduction The new draft merger guidelines (“DMGs”) are proposing major changes to merger policy in the United States and bringing underlying...

By Folakunmi Pinheiro1 I. Introduction Earlier this year, the African Union passed the Protocol on Competition Policy to the Agreement establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (“AfCFTA”) (hereinafter, the “Protocol”).2 The Protocol creates, for the first time, an integrated and unified competition regime for the continent together with an AfCFTA Competition Authority (hereinafter, the […]

By Mariem Saad1   I. Background With the recent increase in investments across the African continent, it is vital that we view competition policy as a key driver of economic growth and to highlight the indispensable role competition authorities play as enforcers of competition policy within relevant economies. Over the past couple of years, African […]

By Dr. Amir Nabil1   I. Introduction Almost 17 years after the enactment of the Egyptian Competition Law (“ECL”), pre-merger control was finally introduced through the Law No. 175/2022. In the past few years, the Egyptian Competition Authority (“ECA”) had expressed concerns about the anticompetitive impact of some  transactions taking place in the market. It […]

By Thula Kaira1   Introduction The purpose of competition law is aimed at ensuring that enterprises effect their market-based decisions in an independent manner (i.e., without the overt knowledge of what other enterprises may be considering). The general theory of harm posits that sitting on competitors’ boards is a recipe for receiving inside information and, […]

By Eleanor M. Fox1   Negotiations are on a fast track for a competition protocol for the African continent. What should be the design?  This is a moment of opportunity.  Most African nations have a competition law, but with competition authorities at various stages of functionality.  Africa has eight Regional Economic Communities recognized by the […]

By Willem H. Boshoff1   Abstract: Barriers to entry are now a core concern of South African competition policy. Conventionally, entry barriers represent one factor relevant to assessing the sustainability and effects of market power and its abuse. South African competition policy now looks beyond conventional concerns, focusing on barriers to the participation and expansion […]

By Oluwatobi Ogundele1   Introduction When we consider international collaboration on competition issues, as well as comparative assessments of the performance of competition authorities globally, it should be noted that competition authorities in developed countries have had a head start in antitrust law enforcement compared to newer regimes in Africa. Only 13 countries in Africa […]