In the lush, large African plains and savannahs adorned by the heights of the Maluti mountains, stretched north by the Okavango delta and its wildlife inhabitants who roam up to the pride lands of the Masai Mara, up the Serengeti to the Nile, lies a vibrant, youthful, and booming economy that is over 1,4 billion opportunities.
In one of AIMS International’s new webinar series titled eyeAfrica, specialist and expert in logistics and supply chain Mr Sylvain Kluba notes that the continent’s high population growth boasts a swelling middle class, with increased spending power and upgraded lifestyles. It is also encouraging for business that seven of the fastest growing economies are in Africa.
With Africa’s sprawling wildlife of uncultivated and arable land – the most in the world – a sprightly green agricultural market is blossoming, sprouting attractive opportunities for food processing companies and manufacturers to alleviate the world’s future concerns for food insecurity and sustainability programmes. There is much to cultivate in Africa and plans are afoot to modernise Africa’s trade market.
In the initial eyeAfrica webinar series, guest speaker Dr Nath Chinje-Bodoing, lead advisor to the secretary general of the African Development Bank, put in context the continent’s challenges and opportunities considering the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has undoubtedly exposed shortcomings in both developed and emerging economies. According to the World Bank, between 88 million and 125 million more people have been plunged into poverty in 2020 because of the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Given that inequality is an equal opportunity disease – meaning it affects both the rich and the poor – the widening inequalities mean that “the pandemic is not over anywhere until it is over everywhere,” said Dr Nath. She also alluded that to realise “The Africa We Want” as spelled out in the AU’s Agenda 2063, all partners including private sector multinationals, small and medium enterprises must take part in big continental projects.
One of the continent’s big projects, or better yet; the world’s largest single market is the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTFA), comprised 54 countries that collectively account for over 4 trillion US Dollars in spending. AfCTFA’s key objectives are to diversify exports, accelerate growth, and attract foreign direct investment. Reducing trade costs and leveraging technology to exploit new opportunities presented by digital transformations will lead to more success.
Africa’s dynamic geography is certainly much more than a tourist attraction environment, it is a lush, large area of trade, of commerce, upgraded lifestyles, and indeed over 1,4 billion sprouting opportunities. eyeAfrica webinar series explores this large tapestry of opportunity with experts and global leaders, be sure to catch the next one!
As part of our global network and access to markets, AIMS International has introduced a webinar series that will focus on Africa, where global leaders working in Africa and the Middle East share their experiences, advice, best practices and opportunities to do business on the continent. Read more about eyeAfrica
