Mother Africa is Pregnant with Greatness

With China being predicted as the next Super Power, I cannot help but divert attention to Mama Africa’s vast land mass, high growth potential, large workforce, natural resources and increasing consumer bases.

Here are statistically proven reasons to prove that Mama Africa is pregnant with greatness:

• While the growth of the world economy slowed to 3.2 %, the African aggregate GDP growth rose to 4.7% in 2010, 5.3% in 2011 and this is estimated to grow to 5.7 % by 2013.
• Foreign direct investment to the continent have risen nearly 9 fold from a mere $ 10 billion in 2000 to $ 88 billion in 2008.
• 7 out of the top ten growers for the year, 2011 to the year 2015, as predicted by  Economist, are African countries.
• Africa is a key trader and source of resources for upcoming countries such as China and India. In 2010, China traded $ 114.81 billion with Africa.
• Compared to the current powerhouse, Asia, Africa is among the low wage region with an enormous coastline with closer proximity to both European and Northern America Markets.
• Mama Africa has close to a third of the world’s economically viable mineral reserves.
• The enormous manufacturing potential created by low cost labor and a great pool of bright and talented people, whose native language are mostly French or English.
• Increased donor support promotes increased regional integration and cross border projects in the infrastructure, agriculture, energy and transport sectors. In East Africa, the proposed railway construction between Kenya and Uganda will ease transportation between Ethiopia, Rwanda and Burundi.
• Doing business has also become easier. In 2010, among the 10 economies in the world that highly improved the ease of doing business were Cape Verde, Rwanda and Zambia.
• Multinational corporations are increasing market presence in Africa. In 2011, Walmart invested 44.8 billion in the acquisition of 51 % of Massmart (a South African company). The Cosmetics giant L’Oreal has operations in South Africa, Ghana and Morocco and has opened new subsidiaries in Nigeria and Kenya. The growth in the ICT sector has attracted investors, for example, IBM now operates more than 20 new African offices.
• The expanding middle class and a consumer base is projected to reach 1.4 billion by mid 2025 and 2.2 billion by 2050.
• Communications technology has caught up in Africa as well. Africans are among the world’s top users of the internet on their mobile phones.
• Advanced technologies are helping to drive a wave of innovation across African financial services sector. For example, banks create new and accessible banking channels and take banking services such as MPESA to previously un-banked parts of society.

 

Coca Cola has seen that Mama Africa is on its way to becoming an economic powerhouse shown by its “A billion reasons to believe” in Africa advert.  Africa’s population was estimated at 1 billion in 2010 and estimated to reach 1.4 billion by mid 2025. The Coca Cola “A billion Reasons to Believe” advert: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpvsLk00zIw

 

Mama Africa is clearly on its way to becoming an economic powerhouse.

Naomi Njeri Mwaura

 

Naomi Njeri Mwaura is a young 26 year old Kenyan that currently resides in her home country of Kenya, near the capital of Nairobi. She is the founder of FloNe Initiatives and is passionate about social entrepreneurship. Naomi is proud to live on a continent that has so much diversity and potential.