Despite a small dip in business confidence in Africa in the first quarter of 2013, business confidence in the continent is the highest in the world, according to the annual YPO Global Pulse Confidence Index for Africa.

An emerging consumer class across Africa is credited with raising confidence in  business on the continent, according to Khutso Mampeule, chairman of South African-based Lefa Group Holdings, in an article in Venture Africa.

The index for Africa stayed mostly flat during the first quarter of 2013, moving down a third of a point to 67.3, according to the article.

Mampeule said in the article this new African consumer class “is creating many exciting opportunities in the region, despite the unavoidable challenges that come from doing business in frontier markets.”

The YPO Global Pulse is the only CEO economic sentiment survey to span the globe on a quarterly basis, capturing answers from nearly 1,700 CEOs representing companies of all sizes around the world, according to an article in PRWeb.com.  

Business confidence in Africa, measured by surveying African business leaders about business conditions on the continent, jumped more than six points in the fourth quarter of 2012, according to the article in Ventures Africa.

Lefa Group is a member of the YPO Johannesburg Chapter.

By comparison, the YPO Global Pulse Confidence Index for the U.S. was essentially unchanged for the third straight quarter, declining  a tenth of a percent to 60.9 in the latest U.S. poll, according to PRWeb.com.

“Given the continuing inflows of foreign direct investment and the sub-Saharan GDP growth rates, it’s no surprise that Africa tops the list of the world’s most confident regions,” Mampeule said in an article on Moneyweb.

Africa has led the world in all but one quarter since the launch of the YPO survey in July 2009, according to Ventures Africa.

South Africa led the confidence index in Africa, with development there helping boost the positive business outlook in Africa.

Despite the small overall decline in the first quarter, CEO confidence in South Africa rose by a third of a point in the first quarter to 68.3, considered to be its highest level since January 2010.

The second highest-ranked country was Nigeria, where business confidence  dropped more than four points to the low 60s, according to the article.