Executives around the world are concerned about cybersecurity and data security as employees continue to work remotely, reports Mercer in its Global Talent Trends 2022 study. Forty-one percent of HR leaders say that employees’ relaxed attitude toward data security at home and hackers breaching company systems (40%) are top-of-mind risks. 

Other leaders are concerned about ethical data practices. Thirty-five percent say that the lack of policies addressing ethical data collection and handling is a risk, while around 32% say that misuse of employee monitoring data and over-reliance on AI are concerns.

While cyber risk and data security remain the top concern in North America, executives also expect to grapple with inflation, the economy, and new work models. Latin American leaders see new work models as their primary challenge. Business resilience is the top concern for business leaders in Asia, while digital acceleration is the top concern in Europe.

Global foreign direct investment (FDI) has rebounded to nearly its pre-pandemic levels, reports Investment Monitor. The number of greenfield FDI projects rose 18% last year, as economies reopened and vaccinations became more widespread. But FDI will very likely fall in 2022, as the Ukraine conflict, supply chain disruptions, and inflation impact investment levels.

Twenty-six of 34 global FDI sectors experienced yearly growth in 2021. Software and computer services remained the leading sector, with 2,886 projects. Communications and media also grew quickly, almost doubling its number of projects in 2021 compared to 2020. 5G, points of presence and edge locations, and continued data center construction made it the third-largest FDI sector.

Renewable energy was one of the largest growth sectors with 36% more projects than 2020, a breakthrough that’s been on the horizon for several years. Investment in all sectors related to sustainable development goals rose by 39% in 2021, as governments and stakeholders prioritize sustainability.

With U.S. President Joe Biden signing the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) into law last week, the U.S. will soon reach parity with other developed nations’ climate budgets, reports the Atlantic Council. The IRA makes $368 billion in funding available for climate and energy reform over the next decade — making it the largest clean energy investment in U.S. history.

In the shorter term, the new legislation allocates $130 billion through 2025. That increases domestic spending on climate adaptation from 0.6% of the U.S. total gross domestic product to 1.2%. This places the U.S. between  the U.K. and the EU in climate mitigation funding, which spend 0.97% and 1.38% of their GDP, respectively. (These calculations are based on budget commitments to energy spending between 2022-2025.)

The bill could reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 31 to 44% from 2005 levels by 2030, though that falls short of President Biden’s original goal to cut emissions by 50%.

African startups raised over $5 billion in funding last year, as global venture capitalists increasingly consider the continent’s business sector a good investment. In 2021, 604 African startups brought in more funding than the previous seven years combined. American investors were in the majority, participating in 357 deals, with investors including billionaires Jeff Bezos and Jack Dorsey. Fintech dominated 54% of venture funding last year and represented some of the biggest deals of 2022. Investment was overwhelmingly concentrated in Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, and Egypt in the first quarter of 2022.

In Q1 2022, African VC funding was up 150%, defying global trends. In the same period, Europe and Latin America grew by 33% and 35%, while the U.S. and Asia had 1% year-on-year declines. Part of the reason is that Africa is starting for a much lower base — funding in African startups was only 1% of the global VC funding in Q1 2022.

Some experts forecast that venture capital investment in Africa will slow down this year, but others believe fundraising will remain stable. African startups raised more in the first half of this year than the same period last year, in part because there is a growing number of deals from African-based funds.

Deputy President William Ruto won Kenya’s presidential election on Aug 9, 2022, after a close race between him and rival candidate Raila Odinga. After a week of tallying votes, Kenya’s electoral commission ruled that Ruto had won with 50.5% of the vote vs. former Prime Minister Odinga’s 48.8%. Ruto served as deputy president for nearly 10 years under President Uhuru Kenyatta.

The official announcement was delayed as Odinga’s campaign alleged that Ruto’s campaign had tampered with the ballot count, and four of the seven members of the electoral commission refused to endorse the result. Kenya has a history of disputed elections, with sometimes violent results — after the 2007 election, around 1,200 people were killed and 600,000 displaced.

After the contested 2007 elections, the International Criminal Court charged Ruto with crimes against humanity. The case was closed after he was elected Kenyatta’s vice president in 2016. However, he subsequently fell out with the president and positioned himself in the election as an outsider fighting the political dynasties of Odinga and Kenyatta.