Is the Africa Rising Narrative a Myth.

That Africa is not one country is not in doubt. There are huge differences within and without countries. To this end, it would be imperative that each of the different African countries be looked at differently. However, one of the maxims which has gone mainstream is that six of the ten fastest growing economies in the world are in Africa. This means, that Africa is the next frontier for growth in the world. This has led to the so called 'Africa rising narrative'. What then must we do so that this narrative becomes part and parcel of the global conversation.

First of all, we must acknowledge that 6 percent is such a small growth rate if Africa hopes to lift millions of its people out of poverty. According to the MCKinsey report, there are close to 200 million Africans that are in the middle class category. However, other economists posit that this

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