Is the Africa rising narrative real?

Everyone seems to have woken up to the Africa rising narrative, and at least, the continent’s perception to the outside world seems to be changing from one of war, disease and poverty, to one of genuine development for the people. However, is the continent really on an upward trajectory, and is this rising tide lifting all boats on its way, especially the poorest of Africans?

At the moment, multinationals and consumer companies seem to be benefiting the most from this rising tide narrative. For example, the number of phones in Africa is well over 600 million, while the number of smartphones has exceeded the 100 million mark. The financial industry is also experiencing a boom, and

none other than the ex-Barclays CEO, Bob Diamond, sees a growth in this critical segment, and has invested in several African funds through his Atlas investment arm. Unilever, P&G, as well as other fast moving consumer companies are also enjoying this boom in consumerism.

However, what about the common person on the street? Are they experiencing the benefits of this high economic growth? First, the fruits of this economic growth appear to be disproportionately geared towards the elite. There is a very real possibility that this growth is fuelling what is known as ‘jobless growth’, in which higher economic growth does not result in creation of new jobs and dispersal of such benefits to a majority of the population.

Even as the rest of the world is seeing opportunities in Africa, it must not that it is only foreigners who will be benefiting from those opportunities. Otherwise, all the talk about the Africa rising narrative will be a mere statistical illusion for the majority of Africans.