This paper presents a preliminary assessment of the impact of the financial crisis on African economies thus far. The paper first explains the impact on the banking sector and why Africa has not been directly affected by the banking crisis (Section 2). It goes on to discuss the direct impact of the crisis on financial markets, foreign exchange markets and commodity markets (Section 3). Section 4 shows that the negative effects will mainly be felt through trade and capital flows, including foreign direct investment and migrant remittances. Section 5 discusses the prospects for public finance, inflation and growth. A sectoral analysis is also carried out, highlighting the impact on tourism and mining. Section 6 concludes by a discussion on some policies that could mitigate the impact of the crisis.