An Inventory of Allegations of Anti-Competitive Practices in Sub-Saharan Africa

This paper summarises our efforts to date to assemble a comprehensive database of allegations of anti-competitive practices made in Sub-Saharan Africa publications, principally in newspapers and other periodicals. Although the findings from this approach must be interpreted with care, we believe this paper represents the first comprehensive attempt to assess the prevalence of different types of anti-competitive practices in Sub-Saharan Africa. So far we have located 120 distinct allegations of anti-competitive practices in 68 lines of business in 12 African nations since 1995. By a large margin the most frequent allegation concerns cartels, especially outside of South Africa. Allegations against foreign firms, some of which are African, range between a quarter and two-fifths of the total number of allegations, suggesting that plenty of domestic firms are the subject of allegations too. There are 12 lines of business where allegations are made in more than one Sub-Saharan African country. Many of those lines of business directly affect the well-being of the poor, those employed in the agricultural sector, and small business.