Author: Evelyn Shumba

The East African country is in a booming phase. Innovations in the financial sector have played a significant role in catapulting Rwanda’s economy. Economic growth has ballooned at an average of 7.2% per year. 

Mobile banking, communication networks development and growth-oriented policies have seen the country’s financial sector fostering growth in the economy. Rwanda is one of the fastest-growing nations in Africa. Significant progress has been made, considering the political landscape the country was coming from, post the horrific 1994 genocide. …

For the longest time, Africa took a back seat in the world economy. Albeit for various reasons, some beyond the continent’s control, Africa was not recognized as an active economic participant by developed countries. However, there has been a paradigm shift in the past few decades as Africa has begun to forge its destiny and implement policies that benefit its economic status in the world. Africa has been recognized as the world’s second-fastest-growing regional economy with anticipated annual growth of about 3.9% by 2022. …

During the mid-1990s, the internet revolution gained momentum, with many businesses recognizing that they needed to adopt internet solutions if they were to stay relevant. New companies offering services that were outside what had been the conventional norm became leaders in the global economy. With young tech enthusiasts adopting disruptive ideas, the supply of goods and services was no longer limited to locality. This led to the popularity of online stores, and the birth of companies such as Amazon.

Amazon birthed

From the humble beginnings of his rented home garage, Jeff Bezos started his online book store, eventually adding more products to the catalogue. To date, Amazon can arguably be said to be one of the leading e-commerce companies in the world, with a recorded market share of over 35% in the United States of America alone.

Africa on the move

Although Africa was viewed as lagging in development for …

Former President of Senegal Abdoulaye Wade said this in 2002 during his reign; “I’ve never seen a country develop itself through aid or credit”. These words remain true to date, where we see different countries in Europe, Asia and America which achieved success through capitalist reforms and free markets. The fact that Africa remains the poorest continent despite receiving the most aid is a testament to the inadequacy of aid in achieving economic development.

Africa has utilised aid in financing development projects, importing some critical commodities and for technical assistance. Aid is inevitable, but it is the complete reliance on it that cripples the economy as it leads to complacency on the part of Africans. Not all aid is bad, it is the long-term financial transfers or loans aimed at improving the economic development that hurt the economy. Grants that are aimed at famine and disaster relief are of great …

Technological advancements have seen a positive growth trend on the African continent. Various big tech companies such as Google, Microsoft, Facebook among others, have taken steps to invest in the African market. Much consideration and hype have taken centre stage for Africa as a fast-growing market and ideal for investments in information technology services. 

Advanced IT innovations such as fast communication networks and efficient cloud computing services are coming on board. These tech developments in Africa, have also attracted social giants like Twitter, which is set to set up its African headquarters in Ghana. Great economic potential is expected from the move. Insights as to why the social media giant opted for Ghana for this endeavour act as positive indicators to the entire African region on long -term goals to attract foreign direct investments.

Employment creation and capacity development

The presence of global tech giants in Africa is a positive …

African economies thrive on an abundance of natural resources. However, the financial resources needed to exploit these resources remain a major constraint in Africa. Foreign direct investments are playing a critical role in filling the capital gap in Africa as most governments run on budget deficits. 

Mozambique, a new investment hub, is booming with capital inflows in its energy sector. With its abundant natural gas resources, the country has positioned itself as a dominant energy investment hub in Southern Africa.

The Prospects

Massive natural gas reserves

Mozambique has a lot of proven natural gas reserves. It ranks 14th in the world in terms of its reserves. However, production for this energy resource is still very low as well as local consumption. This is a result of poor infrastructure development to extract the resource and also proving that the sector is still in its infancy stages. There is increasing interest …

Zimbabwe’s food security levels are quite low, but there is a promise of a better outcome from the previously anticipated situation. This is mainly because the country has received above-average levels of rainfall during the current rain season. There is hope that the expected bumper harvest will help bring resolution to the challenges of food insecurity.

However, there is still a need for food aid due to the deficit emanating from the two previous consecutive poor rainfall seasons experienced in most districts of Zimbabwe. The droughts resulted in poor harvests, which caused inadequate household food stock from personal production.…

Africa has experienced marginalisation and social exclusion since gaining independence from its colonisers. Among the policies developed during the colonisation era was the exclusion of Africans from any level of government, or if they were allowed to join, they joined without authority. This kind of racial discrimination is still being experienced in global workspaces to date. Africa has remained stagnant and regressed in terms of foreign trade, investment, per capita income, and other economic growth measures to date due to the effects of colonisation.

Poor governance and corruption, amongst other factors, have continued to repress Africa’s growth; however, more governments are taking the initiative to improve policies that promote education and health outcomes for their people, thereby reducing social exclusion and marginalisation.…

March 8th marked the celebrations of International Women’s day under the theme ‘choose to challenge’. As women across the world choose to challenge societal norms and the traditional disregard of women, African women are steering the growth of the continent as pivotal players.

A commonly shared African proverb says, ‘when you educate a boy, you train a man; if you educate a girl, you train a village.’ This proverb simply highlights the impact women have on the community when given a chance and a voice. In the economic history of the African community, women were sidelined and viewed as lesser than their male counterparts.…

The AfCFTA gives Africa an opportunity to confront its trade and economic development challenges such as market fragmentation, small-scale national economies, a narrow export base, caused by shallow manufacturing capacity, and underdeveloped industrial regional value chains.

AfCFTA is one of the tools for making a fundamental structural transformation for Africa’s economy and placing it on the path of long-term industrial development. AfCFTA will also strengthen the continent’s bargaining position when engaging in trade negotiations with economic powers such as China and the European Union. This implies that trade will become more favourable for African products, and now when Africa partners with the likes of China and other countries, focus should be on capital supply as well as industrialisation.…