PwC Shuts Down Offices in Nine African Countries Amid Strategic Overhaul

In a major shake-up across its African operations, global accounting giant PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has announced the closure of its offices in nine Sub-Saharan African countries as part of a broader strategic review.

According to a statement published on the firm’s website, PwC is exiting Ivory Coast, Gabon, Cameroon, Madagascar, Senegal, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Republic of Guinea, and Equatorial Guinea.

This move marks one of the most significant contractions by a major global professional services firm in the region in recent years.

PwC stated that the decision followed a detailed evaluation of its network structure and long-term growth strategy, with a focus on optimizing operations across higher-performing and more strategic markets.

The closures come amid growing reports of internal tensions between PwC’s global leadership and local partners, particularly around a firm-wide push to de-risk client portfolios and drop high-risk accounts.

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According to a Financial Times report, some local offices had seen their revenues fall by over one-third in recent years—largely due to global directives to sever ties with certain clients.

Although PwC did not provide granular details about the rationale behind its exits, it emphasized that these decisions were aligned with efforts to maintain a sustainable, high-integrity network across the continent.

Despite these closures, PwC reassured clients and stakeholders of its ongoing presence in Africa. The firm will continue to operate in key regional hubs, including Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa—countries viewed as critical to its long-term investment strategy. “We remain confident in the long-term growth potential of the continent,” PwC said in its statement.

This suggests that while the firm is tightening its footprint, it is not abandoning the African market altogether. Instead, the strategy appears to be about consolidation, efficiency, and mitigating risk in an increasingly complex global operating environment.

PwC’s retreat from parts of Africa isn’t happening in isolation. The firm has been under intensifying global scrutiny over its audit practices and governance frameworks. Recent examples include:

• In China, PwC was fined $62 million and suspended from taking on new business for six months over audit failures tied to real estate giant Evergrande, which is at the center of a $78 billion accounting scandal.
• In the UK, regulators slapped the firm with a £5 million fine over its 2019 audit of Wyelands Bank, citing a lack of sufficient audit evidence and professional scepticism.
• The firm is also reportedly working to repair its relationship with Saudi Arabia’s $925 billion Public Investment Fund, which suspended dealings with PwC’s local affiliate late last year.

Additionally, documents and local sources cited by Financial Times suggest PwC may have quietly severed ties with member firms in Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Fiji—though the company declined to comment on these claims.

PwC’s retreat could open space for regional firms or competitors like Deloitte, KPMG, or EY to expand their presence in the affected countries. However, it also raises broader questions about risk tolerance, client vetting, and sustainability in global business operations—particularly in emerging markets with complex regulatory environments.

While PwC remains one of the “Big Four” firms globally, this development is a reminder that even the largest players are not immune to market pressures, compliance demands, and strategic recalibration.