- NAIROBI, Kenya: Virgin Atlantic billionaire Richard Branson sat in a car for two hours on Thursday, snarled in Nairobi’s maddening traffic while trying to reach a conference where business leaders discussed the barriers to commercial success in Africa.
The continent’s roadways — not surprisingly — were near the top of the complaints from participants in the daylong event.
Africa appears poised on the edge of a business boom. A half dozen African economies are seeing growth rates at 6.5 percent and above, and African leaders believe the continent holds high potential for international investors.
But hurdles remain, including corruption, access to reliable high-speed Internet, unreliable electricity and the continent’s poor highways.
