A PEEP INTO THE GUINEAN ECONOMY
The Guienean economy is largely an informal setting with 80% of the business volumes in the hands of the private while government is believed to be in control of the remaining 20%. This greatly accounts for the government’s inability to determine the volume of cash in circulation at any point in time. The bulk of the 80% business activities are concentrated in the popular Madina Market which is the convergence of neighbouring African countries for trade and commerce given the size of the market. At some quarters, it is often speculated that the Madina Market is the authentic Central Bank of Guinea. Reason, as jokingly put, the market also supplies the appex bank its local and foreign currency needs. As vague as this theory may appear, but some elements of truths exist especially as seen in the wake of the post-election crisis that marred the declaration of the winner of the much pro-longed presidential election as announced by the nationa’s electoral body.
The market controlled by the Foullahs deliberately shut down on the orders of their leaders in support of their main candidate who lost the bid to clinch the presidential seat. The impact of this was that the appex bank could not mussle cash to meet the demand by banks, this created hardships in the economy while inflation rate rose. The appex bank Governor has explained at various fora that the government is doing everything possible to contain its deficit budget while also controlling the inflation gap.
The country is blessed with avalanche of mineral resources – bauxite (No 1 producer in the world), gold, diamond, iron ore, aluminium etc. This accounts for the large presence of mining giants in the country but whether the revenue accruable to the government from the mining activities get to its coffers and used for the economic development of the country is different issue. The country is also blessed with tourism sites which can make the country a tourist delight with huge foreign currency potentials if properly developed. They have a seaport which is very busy with maritime activities. The seaport plays a significant role to the mining companies operating in the country and also serves as a major revenue soruce for the economy.

The productive /manufacturing sector is low as the country is a major importer of several goods ranging from consumer goods to industrial goods. Hence, productive capacity is largely import dependent. Little wonder why un-employment rate is high in the country. There is so much to be done here to stimulate the economic growth especially in the area of infrastructural development. The country also has good potential in agricultural sector (agro-allied business) given the fertile lands at some parts of the country. If more resources are channeled to these areas, the country can be a major exporter of foods which will boost its foreign currency needs while also strengthening the value of its currency. ________________________________________

BANKS IN GUINEA
As a country colonized by the French, it follows therefore that French banks dominate the economy not because of their efficiency or services, but the direct effect of the colonalization. Presently, 12 banks operate in the country, 11 of which are foreign owned while one - BADAM (African Bank for Agricultural Development and Mining) is the only indigenous bank to date. Of the foreign banks, SGBG being the oldest is the dominant bank followed by BICIGUI – another French bank. These two banks control over 50% of businesses in the economy. Ecobank is clearly No. 3 given its geographical spread across African countries and large branch network in each country they are present. The strength of Ecobank as a popular regional player includes the fact that a customer of Ecobank in one African country can have access to his/her account in another African country without hitches. Two Nigerian banks made their presence in Guinea in year 2010 – UBA Guinea and Skye Bank Guinea. While UBA started with two branches, Skye Bank started with one branch. These two banks have introduced Anglophone banking practice into the market and thus increased competition with customers now having choices. It is expected that in the medium to long term, these two banks would make their impact felt in the market even as more Nigerian Banks are itching to penetrate the market.

Interested in doing business in Republic of Guinea pls call
Babatunde Ayanniran on:
+224-24245506
For inquiries and advises. He's has a good grip in the Francophone environment and has done well in advising my Company.
Trust me. There are many untapped opportunities there.
These guys (Guineans) are behind us in development. But I observed that they are yearning to catch up if only there were businesses available to tap into these opportunities.

Dear Moderator. This is a very interesting post that I believe should be on front page. Or should I attach Tonto Dike's picture as that's about the only thing that gets post on front page

hmmmm