New research conducted by Africa No Filter and strategic advisory firm Africa Practice reveals that African nations pay 4.2 billion dollars on debt servicing alone.
The study, titled The Cost of Media Stereotypes to Africaemploys a combination of quantitative analysis and qualitative insights to explore the financial repercussions of media bias. The research focuses on electoral processes in four African nations: Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Egypt, comparing media coverage with that of Malaysia, Denmark, and Thailand – nations with similar country risk profiles.
To estimate the economic cost of biased media coverage, researchers calculated potential savings in debt servicing costs for Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, and South Africa. The study used academic estimates indicating that media sentiment can influence borrowing interest rates by up to 10%, with a 10% improvement leading to a 1% decrease in rates.
By comparing actual debt servicing costs with those adjusted for improved media sentiment, the researchers estimated potential savings of up to 0.14% of GDP per year. Extrapolating this to the entire continent, Africa loses up to $4.2 billion annually due to unrepresentative negative media narratives.
