In order to significantly transform the economies of Africa from the current low-income level to middle-income status, value must be added to Africa’s large reservoir of natural and agricultural resources through processing and manufacturing activities – implicit in the transition process from predominantly agrarian to industrial economies. It is a fact that Africa’s recent relatively […]
Global value chains. Africa factory floor world Read More »
Cape Verde is a real African success story. In the space of 30 years, from 1982 to 2012, per capita income in Cape Verde has increased by a factor of 3.5 in real terms. This gives an idea of the formidable achievements of this small nation, which have been eloquently mentioned by other authors. Instead
Cape Verde development trajectory; a lesson for Africa Read More »
The rationale for much of the current discourse of the “African Moment” and “Africa Rising” is clear. Some of the fastest growing economies in the world are African. Africa has shown relative buoyancy in an era of economic crisis. While global growth declined by 2.7% last year, Africa bucked the trend and grew at 5%.
Africa needs structural transformation not structural adjustment Read More »
Africa over the past 20 year has moved from a position of Afro pessimism through Afro optimism to a state of Afro enthusiasm. In Africa, we all like it but we should also ask why the narrative has changed so drastically? Is the new narrative coming from Africa? Partly yes. However most of what we
Counting matters! Statistics are the backbone of proper planning for Africa’s future Read More »
Development planning has a long and chequered history in Africa, and the continent’s development trajectory has been influenced by various approaches to development planning since the early stages of independence. The first phase of development planning in Africa spanned the 1960s and was characterized by centralized planning with three to five year planning phases. During
50 years of Development Planning in Africa – lessons and challenges Read More »
African countries are growing but have not been able to fulfil their industrial potential. This is due to a number of internal, external and historical reasons but mainly because of failure of policies, often imposed on Africa. Of particular note are the legacies of Africa’s colonialism which left institutions and infrastructure designed to enhance extraction