How to turn Africa from a “borrowed continent” to a global powerhouse

Although it’s problematic to generalise about

a

a large, diverse place it’s fair to say that Africa is fast emerging as a consumer continent. It is populated by “Afropolitans”, who are sometimes also referred to as Pan-Africanists. These are young, urban, well educated people. They are willing to spend money on luxury goods.

However, these people are a relatively small middle class in a sea of poverty. They are unlikely to drive a classical “trickle down” improvement to Africa’s general economic picture.

It’s also worth noting that not much of what these young consumers covet is actually being produced on the continent. I would argue that Africa should be called the “borrowed continent” rather than a consumer continent. Its raw materials are exported, refined elsewhere and generate big profits for other countries. Researchers come, conduct their work and run their experiments. Then they leave again to write it all up.

https://theconversation.com/how-to-turn-africa-from-a-borrowed-continent-to-a-global-powerhouse-58312