Considered the poorest continent for decades, Africa is finally becoming a fertile field for business investments. Of course, due to the image of Africa as the continent of malnourished, poor people, the governments of African countries and foreign investors are trying to change its reputation on the global level. So, what are the reasons for this new approach to Africa and how is this continent supposed to grow in the years ahead?
A Rapidly Growing Continent
As a combination of increased health standards and more stable political conditions, some African nations are experiencing unparalleled economic growth. For instance, Nigeria, with its population of almost 180 million people, has already been included in the MINT group (the other three countries being Mexico, Indonesia and Turkey) and it is expected to grow at the rate of about 7% in 2015. Basically, most countries south of Sahara are supposed to constantly grow in the next few decades, with the growth rate of about 5% only in 2015. To compare, economists estimate that the US economy will produce growth of about 3% and the EU of only 1.3%. It is clear that the drowsy African lion is waking up, to stand shoulder to shoulder with the four Asian tigers.
As a result of undeveloped infrastructure and a low level of education, investments in Africa in the 20th century were usually limited to mining and oil production. However, the advent of broadband Internet and its expansion to and throughout Africa in the last ten years have contributed to the improvements in the fields of education and information sharing across the continent. New generations of African students use smartphones and computers in their private lives, as well as for their education So, today foreign investors can and should invest in founding small and midsized IT businesses. The decades before us will make them even more educated in this field, which will give them more opportunities on the global IT market. Read more about Africa and its Internet perspectives in this article, brought to you by The Guardian.
New Roads of Success
One of the scorching issues when it comes to the African infrastructure are African roads. After the African countries became independent in the 1950s and 1960s, their economies were mostly based on the primary sector of economy. However, nowadays, as the purchasing power parity (PPP) of African peoples is growing, they will have higher purchasing power in the next decades, which is why the road infrastructure will have to be upgraded and/or built from scratch. There are already serious plans for new highways in Africa, which is why road-building companies are more than welcome to invest their assets in the future projects for expanding the net of African roads.
Housing Industry Potential
Since the population of Africa is the youngest one in the world and it is expected to double by 2050, those people will need more place to live. This means that companies and investors working in the housing industry should consider investing in African cities and towns, to provide new apartment buildings and condos for the growing African middle-class population. Some countries are already working hard on ensuring encouraging conditions for construction companies. For instance, Ghana represents one of the most promising housing markets in Africa. What is more, it has already given birth to successful housing agencies that give the back wind to its blossoming economy. One of the most promising ones is meQasa.
The overall potential of Africa is enormous, mainly thanks to their young population, who are craving better living conditions. They are investing more time and energy in their own education, which is why investing money in Africa is a win-win move – foreign investors will get competitive workforce and Africans will get a chance to improve their living conditions and make the whole continent start developing the way it should have started sixty years ago.
