Africa's Growth Opportunity

In March 2000, The Economist featured what we consider to be one of the most shocking covers of our times. It had a child soldier framed in a map of Africa, with the headline “The Hopeless Continent.” A decade on, in January 2011, The Economist has revised its dark vision, calling Africa’s countries “The Lion Kings.”

This volte face reflects a remarkable transformation in Africa’s business landscape. Fueled by Asia’s resource needs, Africa has seen rapid compounded real growth — rates exceeding 5% a year (per IMF data) — over the past decade. But the interesting point here is that this growth is not confined to the natural resource sector; the increased economic activity has led to the development of complementary sectors.