The Knowledge to Decide

Nigeria’s economy was worth over USD400 billion in 2013 – ahead of South Africa’s GDP of USD355 billion . Nigeria is becoming Africa’s largest oil exporter. But amidst the opportunities, challenges remain – chiefly political instability, theft of natural resources and lack of infrastructure. Will Nigeria’s emergence as the latest frontier market be a smooth one? A growing economy Now being referred as one of the MINT frontier economies in the world (Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey), Nigeria is expected to emerge as an economic powerhouse of the future . It has a good track record over the past ten years, with 7.4% real GDP growth in 2013, up from 6.7% in 2012. Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country and the ninth most populous in the world. Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country and the ninth most populous in the world, with 173.6 million people in 2013. According to recent UN projections, Nigeria will become one of the most populous countries in the world

The global luxury industry is in a slowdown, thanks to China’s weakening economy, instability in the Middle East and decreased tourism in Europe – meaning only 1 percent year-on-year real growth in May 2016. But the face of luxury consumerism is changing as upstart brands show the way in terms of innovation and versatility. Diamond Foundry – a start-up based in San Francisco – creates lab-grown diamonds that are atomically similar to those found in nature. Tech CEOS and actors from Hollywood have invested in the company. This start-up aims to provide an ethical alternative to mining diamonds, an industry that is often associated with negative environmental and social impacts. Will innovation enable the luxury goods industry to adapt to a leaner economy? https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/spirethoughts/the-future-of-luxury-consumerism/

With global warming gradually melting away polar ice caps, new opportunities are slowly, but surprisingly, emerging for trade, tourism and natural resource extraction in the Arctic Circle. But is developing such opportunities at odds with environmental sustainability? Arctic sea ice sank to yet another record annual low in September 2012, at 44% below the 1981-2010 average. The Arctic Ocean is projected to be almost ice-free by the end of this century; with the ice melting at an accelerating rate, quicker than predicted by any climate model. A decade ago, Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” drew world attention to the moral consequences of global warming. These included the destruction of farming, the flooding of coastal land displacing millions of people and the spread of tropical diseases to new parts of the global population. Though the consequences of global warming on the Arctic are inherently detrimental, the shrinking icecaps herald new opportunities for trade, tour