Between 2000 and 2009, eleven African countries grew at an annual rate of 7 percent or more, which is considered sufficient to double their economies in ten years. Africa’s collective GDP at over US$2 trillion today is roughly equal to Brazil’s or Russia’s, and larger than India’s. On the economic front, Africa is now seen […]
A Renewed Global Partnership for a Post-2015 Era Read More »
By Carlos Lopes and Tony Elumelu The economic performance of Africa in the last few years has been remarkable. The continent has consistently defied the global trend. Five years after the global financial system came perilously close to collapse, the global economic outlook is still uncertain. In Europe, GDP is still below pre-crisis levels and
Africa’s natural resources can drive industrial revolution Read More »
In every century there are a few names and events that mark history. When I attended the first public speech by Nelson Mandela after he was released from prison I could not have imagined that this man was going to be the absolute rallying personality of the century. The reason why, in that square in
Mandela : New African Read More »
Of the world’s fifty-two Small Island Developing States (SIDS), six are in Africa. They include; Cape Verde, Comoros, Guinea Bissau, Mauritius, São Tomé and Príncipe and Seychelles. These countries range in size from the smallest, Seychelles, which is composed of 115 small islands representing the largest number among African SIDS, to the largest, Guinea Bissau,
Small beautiful African: Small island development states climate change Read More »
This year Africa celebrates fifty years since the founding of the Organization of African Unity (OAU); never before has the continent been so poised to reap the benefit of its enormous resources. Sweeping political and economic changes over half a century have reformed global power structures, reconfigured international relations and led to serious rethinking of
How can African countries capitalize on the current geopolitical changes? Read More »
Africa’s political economy is deeply ingrained with its history of the exploitation and (mis)management of its mineral and natural resources. More than 500 years after commercial exploitation of Africa’s resources, Africa continues to host many of the large and unexploited deposits of minerals globally. For example, Africa accounts for three-quarters of the world’s platinum supply,
Africa must benefit from its mineral resources Read More »
History has shown the tenacity of African youth. Some of the most renowned figures of Africa’s independence struggle started their political engagements as young adults. By the time he turned 37, Kwame Nkrumah was deeply involved in the planning of the 1945 Pan-African Congress in Manchester. Abdul Gamel Nasser, at 35, was a colonel in
African Youth: the custodians of a new social contract Read More »
One only needs to pick up a magazine or leading newspaper to read about innovations that are sweeping across Africa. From M-Pesa, a mobile money transfer service invented in Kenya that has revolutionized African banking practices, to South Africa hosting the Square Kilometer Array, the world’s largest and most powerful radio telescope ever constructed. This
Africa can invent, leapfrogging unsuspected areas Read More »
The celebration of fifty years of Pan-African institutional history is a time for reflection. Like the famous mythical Sankofa bird symbol, Africans must look into their past to create their future; acknowledging our previous mistakes and learning from them but also celebrating our successes and building on them. This is aptly captured in the theme
Moving from early Pan-Africanism towards an African Renaissance Read More »
It is unquestionable that Africa is on a major ascendance path, a trend shared by the rest of the rising ‘South’. Despite the global economic downturn of recent years, the continent has experienced unprecedented growth. While erratic at times, there has been progress in the reduction of poverty, and the improved quality of life has
Can trade make a difference in Africa ? Read More »