Only Asia has a greater population than Africa, with inhabitants equalling more than 12% of the world population. However, Africa is much less the global continent. Many socio-political reasons contribute to the lack of foreign interest but now is the time for our eyes to turn to the more challenging, but promising African emerging market.
 

Why this continent has accumulated so many “dramas”?

There are multiple explanations to this question but three have contributed the most to the instability of the African continent:

- Governmental failures (non-competitive, corruption, ethnic servility)
- Regional conflicts (the African World War and its genocide in Rwanda, Darfur and Somalia crisis)
- Health weakness (HIV/aids, tuberculosis and malaria)

But Africa also is plenty of positive aspects. Nowadays, 40% of African nations have governments democratically elected. Socially many nations have experienced radical transformation and in the 21st century women have achieved a very important role in African society. In many countries associations for women are the most organised sectors of the population. They dominate the associations in favour of human rights and religions. Women have also participated in drawing-up new Constitutions, and as a result, South Africa and Namibia have one of the most progressive Constitutions related to the protection of women in the world.

GDP Growth

Africa’s economies are growing. In this decade the real GDP growth was 5% as an average but still there are 25 African countries within the 30 poorest in the world. Otherwise 35% of the 50 countries with the highest growth rate in this decade were African nations.

The expectations for the next years are extremely positive with export increases, and the continual increase of raw material prices and internal consumption.

A continent with such a high level of natural resources has an extremely important place in world development. Private and foreign investors with the complicity of their governments must attract investments in agriculture, banking, consumer goods, infrastructure, mining, oil and gas, and telecommunications. Africa differs not only country by country but also sector by sector. The behaviour of each sector is very different and must be analysed individually. For example, agriculture is the largest economic sector but communications is thriving in voice and data services and has driven Africa’s economic growth over the last five years.

For the citizens of Kenya to receive or send money to a relative or simply to pay for light consumption was extremely hard, having to travel many kilometres using dusty roads. These days it is possible to complete such transactions by using a cell phone, saving time and money, and acting as a catalyst for the Kenyan economy. Today there are more than 450 million subscribers in the Africa cell-phone market. This is close to 300% growth in 5 years.

Future Challenges

After more than 30 years of investment, the economic contribution by western countries has not made Africa a richer continent. This is because the models for investment were not run correctly. However, positive opportunities for development exist and the involvement of China as a new player in Africa is going to be vital in the coming years.

Education, quality and hygiene controls and vaccination for diseases are going to be critical for the political stability in many African countries. In particular, there is a big challenge ahead with HIV prevention and treatment. Antiretroviral therapies and medicines will reduce mortality and the quality of live will improve giving governments a much better possibility to plan work force capacity.

As reported by the BBC, positive signs for a developing future are everywhere: Uganda used to have the highest rate of HIV infection in the world, with more than 20% of the population estimated to be carrying the virus. Now that rate is down to 6.7%.

Africa is politically, economically and religiously diverse so there is no one solution. But at the end there is a big opportunity to participate in the development and building of Africa. Political sustainability, education and rational investments can be the success keys.

After the football world championship, where the continent was in the daily news, we find silence again about their conflicts but this does not give western governments, companies, investors, entrepreneurs the opportunity to forget the compromise.

BlueSteps Executive Guest Writer

Jose-Pedro Martinez
Senior-Level Executive, expert in Automotive, Ceramic and Emerging Economies.

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