Africa Day Reflections

As I reflect on the past and dream about the future, I feel excited about the era Africa is entering into. Three trends immediately come to mind which excite me the most.

I am encouraged by the renaissance in Pan-African politics and increased cooperation on the continent. The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement sets in motion the first steps towards greater freedom of movement of goods, people and capital. This agreement will be stimulated by the 79 development corridors currently being established across Africa, covering 184 projects on railways, roads, wet and dry ports, pipelines, airports, techno-cities, and industrial parks. I am personally optimistic about the potential transformational impact of the Beira Development Corridor (Zimbabwe and Mozambique); Lobito Development Corridor (Angola, Zambia and Democratic Republic of Congo); Coast to Coast SDI (Namibia, Botswana, SA, Swaziland and Mozambique); Okavango Upper Zambezi SDI (Zimbabwe, Botswana, Angola, Namibia and Zambia) and the Tazara Development Corridor (Zambia and Tanzania).

The 400 kilovolt (kV) Tanzania-Zambia transmission line linking the East African Power Pool (EAPP) and Southern African Power Pool (SAPP), and Google’s Umoja communications cable which will start in Kenya and pass through Uganda, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa, including the Google Cloud region, before crossing the Indian Ocean to Australia, represent two additional transnational transnational projects which offer a great reason for hope. Greater cooperation and economic integration will catalyse development and ensure more economic value is preserved on the African continent.

Whilst an increasingly geo-politically polarised world is seen as a reason for alarm for the existing world order, it presents a unique opportunity for Africa. Heightened global tensions and their associated trade wars have sparked a new “scramble for Africa” with the US, China, Russia and Europe are all currently battling for influence in the region. In this political environment, Africa stands in a favourable position to negotiate trade and infrastructure deals with these global powers more effectively than any other time in living history. Africa should seize this opportunity to carefully evaluate and capture development opportunities offered by the Belt and Road Initiative, the G7 Build Back Better World Partnership, European Union’s Global Gateway and African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) to name a few. In the words of Kenya’s president William Ruto “We’re neither facing West nor East, we’re facing Forward!”

A lot has been written about the economic potential of Africa’s exponentially rising population and rapid urbanisation. While these trends are indeed noteworthy, what personally excites me most within this demographic shift, is the steady increase in incomes and the emergence of a vibrant middle class. This is complemented by an increasingly engaged and equally dynamic African diaspora. These individuals (and I include myself in this number) are well placed to steer development, intimately understand local needs, see the gaps in the market and have a vested interest in the greater wellbeing of Africa beyond simple economic measures.

These three trends, coupled with the growing availability of affordable and reliable energy and the ongoing digital transformation, make me confident that the African Union’s Agenda 2063 could be on the horizon. Are you excited about Africa's future? I'd love to hear your thoughts. Which trends excite you the most?