Africa home to world’s five fastest growing economies

December 12, 2018 in Business, Finance, Infrastructure, Investment by Editor

December 12, 2018—Africa is currently home to five of the world’s fastest growing economies, and only four African countries out of 54 will record negative growth in 2018, compared to eight in previous years.

“Africa is a continent of great change and opportunities. However, Europe finds it difficult to understand that its future lies in the South and not in the North,” Giovanni Tria the, Italian Minister of Finance and Economy said recently in Rome. He was a speaking at a conference on Africa’s prospects, ‘Challenges and opportunities: Italy and the African Development Bank’.

Tria said the current narrative about Africa is all wrong. “Africa today has five distinctive advantages – a huge land mass of 30 million square kilometres, huge resources, a fast-growing population, fewer conflicts and major developments in education, and an economy that has consistently expanded over the last 15 years, even though it still only accounts for 3 percent of global GDP,” he said.

According to latest figures, there is clear evidence of sustained demand growth across the continent. Consumer spending will reach $2.5 trillion by 2030, while business-to-business investments will reach over $3.5 trillion in the same period.

AfDB president, Akinwumi Adesina said, “With a growing middle class and rapid urbanisation, consumer demand from a burgeoning middle class will turn the continent into a prime collective investment opportunity that cannot be ignored. This is proof positive of an Africa in the process of full transformation. Africa is the new international investment frontier.”

With $11.6 billion, Italy was the largest European investor on the continent in 2017, and the third largest after China and the United Arab Emirates. Tria commended the AfDB for its unique role in fostering a favourable investment environment and addressing Africa’s development challenges.

Adesina said,  “The migration crisis in Europe is one of the biggest current social and political challenges that Italy and Europe have to deal with. I do not believe that the future of Africa’s youth lies in Europe. Neither does it lie at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea. The future of Africa’s youth is in Africa helping to grow its economy and employment opportunities.”

The bank has launched a major initiative, the Jobs for Youth in Africa Programme, aimed at creating 25 million jobs over a ten-year period. The Bank has also launched the Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) to encourage banks and finance institutions in Africa to lend to female entrepreneurs and businesses run by women.