Exchange Data International (EDI), a provider of global securities data, has launched the African Economic Data Service (AFED), a source of macroeconomic and financial data for all 54 countries in Africa.
For the first time, this new service provides AFED’s clients and subscribers – anyone who has an interest in Africa – with direct access to a suite of Africa centric economic and financial data.
AFED combines EDI‘s 20 years’ experience in data aggregation and delivery with the expertise of analysts specialising in African political and economic sovereign risk.
The macroeconomic database currently covers more than 15,000 key economic and financial data indicators captured from 89 multilateral sources. These include Investment Real GDP by sector, domestic and external debt, grants, Consumer Prices, employment figures and industry related indicators such as gold and car production. AFED reports these figures as published by the source leaving clients the choice to adjust if required.
AFED is the only database that enables clients to efficiently compare sources on the same indicator; all data collected is normalised and classed into 13 main groups (e.g. National Accounts, Inflation, Prices & Wages, Politics, Government & Society etc…). Subscribers can retrieve any and all data points of interest, whether directly from the online platform or via MS Excel using AFED’s integrated plug-in.
In addition to the macroeconomic data, EDI has grouped a number of its established datasets under a Capital Market module, providing subscribers with detailed African market data in one dedicated place. This module comprises equity and listed bond prices, credit ratings, fixed income reference data, stock exchange indices and FX and interest rates.
“In recent years, EDI has seen a growing interest in its African coverage of equities and bonds and noticed a gap in the market for a consolidated source of macroeconomic data to support investment decisions,” says Jonathan Bloch, CEO at EDI. “This project required a lot of in-depth research to ensure the final product not only delivers in terms of coverage but also ease of use.”
