Africa Business Group's global connections and engagement in Africa

We, at Addleshaw Goddard's Africa Business Group, are natural collaborators, and, in addition to our offices in the UK, the GCC and Asia, our model is built on strong relationships with law firms across Africa and around the world. We share expertise, know-how, precedents and market knowledge with other firms and develop strong personal relationships to make sure that we are aligned in providing a joined up service for our clients.

We have a wealth of experience in Africa

Deals - We regularly advise clients on mergers and acquisitions in the region: recently acted for clients on corporate and commercial deals in Angola, Cameroon, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe and across the whole SADC territory. We work closely with our clients on assessing risks (and impact), not least through our sector-tailored due diligence process and corresponding warranty protections.

Disputes - We have acted for a wide range of clients in disputes across the continent in international arbitration and actions in the local courts. Our recent experience includes acting on litigious and regulatory matters (including three major ICC arbitrations) in Algeria, Libya, Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, Equatorial Guinea and the Republic of Benin.

Risk and Compliance - Compliance is one of the major challenges to doing business with Africa. We provide our clients across the region with tailored advice which allows them to do business whilst managing the risks. We also regularly assist our clients in putting in place and implementing policies and procedures that help reduce the risk of compliance related issues such as bribery and corruption. Intellectual Property and Reputation Management – as with all emerging markets, protecting intellectual property and reputation management can be challenging. We regularly act for clients in registering, protecting and enforcing intellectual property rights in the region.

Infrastructure and PPP - We advise on innovative, timely and robust solutions for a wide variety of project finance transactions across a range of sectors including oil and gas, renewables (such as solar and waste-to-energy), mining, processing plants, roads, ports and rail as well as social infrastructure PPPs. The team has experience across the region in leading high value and strategic projects advising funders (including DFIs), sponsors/investors, developers, contractors and suppliers. Examples of jurisdictions in which our lawyers have closed deals include Nigeria, Sierra Leone, DRC, Ghana, Botswana, Mozambique, Zambia and Uganda.

In market expertise - We enjoy non-exclusive relationships with our preferred law firms across Africa. We invest heavily in those relationships and our clients benefit from integrated, collaborative relationships and a “one firm” approach to providing legal services. This means that we provide a joined up service and a “risk filter” for our clients to help them make informed decisions and to mitigate proactively risk. We also have a significant amount of “on the ground” experience from time spent in-market and through secondment programmes. This gives us a unique insight into local operations in the continent and also gives us a greater understanding of business practices across Africa.

Finance - We have substantial experience in the representation of lenders, sponsors and borrowers on various types of finance and project development transactions across Africa. Our Africa team also includes experts in Islamic finance who have been involved in first of their kind deals in Africa.

If you would like to hear more about what we do in Africa or how we may be able to help you, please email our team.