Can Africa claim the 21st Century?

The US-Africa Summit just concluded, and many declarations were made. Still, opinion is divided on the real potential of Africa. One school of thought is that there are ever more conflicts and instabilities in Africa, and the poverty levels in Africa have gone up, rather than down. For instance, according to the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics report in 2012, the absolute poverty numbers had in fact gone up, even while the country was growing at a rate of 7 percent per year. Even with the huge mineral resources in Nigeria, the country has not yet been able to lift millions of its people out of poverty. And yet, Nigeria’s situation, so often referred to as the paradox of plenty, in which a country has high poverty levels despite huge resources, is so widespread across Africa.

Still, a second school of thought is that African economies are growing at a rate faster than before. The World Bank cites that six of the ten fastest growing economies in the world are in Africa. The increased optimism in the continent is further fuelled by the increasing number of African middle class. The African

middle class is however not the same as middle class elsewhere in the world, and there exact numbers vary. Accordingly, the number of middle class is anywhere between 20 to 200 million Africans. According to a widely cited McKinsey report, this number is set to continue growing, and consumer brands in Africa are set to benefit largely from this growth.

So, which of these two narratives presents the correct situation for Africa. The truth is that while there are growth in many countries around Africa, other countries are experiencing turmoil. Currently, there are instabilities in South Sudan, Central African Republic, Mali, Northern Nigeria, and Somalia to name just but a few.  In the same vein, there are tremendous growth in countries as Ethiopia, Mozambique, and Angola. Still, there are a number of issues that African countries must sort out in order to claim the 21^st century.

The first thing that the African countries must do is to sort out the leadership and governance issues. No investor will be willing to invest in a country where the business operations may be closed down anytime due to political instabilities. Too often in Africa, the time of elections presents the most challenge for instability, as various groups of people fight for access to presidential power. Once politics and governance issues are fixed, we might start to witness a resurgence in the foreign direct investment in the continent. Still, African countries must make it easier for people to open up businesses. In Rwanda, it takes just a few days to open a business, and Rwanda, alongside Mauritius and Botswana, has been listed as one of the best places to do business in Africa.  

The second issue that African countries must fix is their education systems. Too often, African education systems stress on rote learning, rather than on innovation and creativity, which are the traits that are so desirable to be competitive in the world today. While the number of graduates across Africa continues to increase year on year, employers still lament that there is a lack of skills to fill crucial jobs. In a report by the well respected audit firm PWC, the CEOs of African businesses most important concern was the lack of talent in critical areas of operation.

While many African countries are discovering oil resources, it is a pity that power continues to be an issue. The number of homes and businesses connected to the national electric grids is pitifully low, and in the recent US-Africa summit, one of the promises of the Obama administration was that his administration would provide more funds for power generation. This would make it easier for African businesses to be able to operate, and lower the cost of doing business in the continent.  

While these measures are not encompassing, they will no doubt help to make Africa prosper in the 21^st century.