Africa’s prospects are again being questioned for many reasons: some quite familiar, like commodity prices, debt or conflict; others less so, such as climate change, technology or migration. To link the fortunes of a continent to its natural resources bounty should have been positive. Indeed, Africa has been blessed with mineral wealth, a remarkable blue […]
African development forum 2018: “transitions” Read More »
Political debates in many parts of the world are currently being shaken by unexpected twists and turns. Representational democracy is being challenged in Western countries. New dictators are being elected with large majorities in countries with mixed democratic credentials. Impeachments are becoming acceptable developments in sophisticated societies such as Ukraine, Brazil, South Korea, Pakistan or
Democratic demands are rocking Southern Africa Read More »
Madagascar doit se transformer, vite ! Le 26 juin dernier la fête nationale nous rappelait que le pays a déjà 57 ans, mon âge. Ce point de ralliement m’a interpellé pendant ma récente visite à la Grand Île. Un des pays avec la plus grande biodiversité et une culture extraordinaire, Madagascar avait tout pour réussir après l’indépendance.
Madagascar doit se transformer, vite! Read More »
The news emerging from Hamburg were dominated by the narrative of the emerging 19 +1 on issues such as climate change or trade protectionism. Yvanka Trump replacing her father in the US seat was a particularly juicy bit, with few realizing that happened when the leaders were discussing Africa. Street protests and the 9th Beethoven
For Africa, the G20 Hamburg Summit is a door stopper, not a bookend Read More »
OXFORD – As Britain focuses on what its relationship with the European Union might look like once it leaves the bloc, sometime during 2019, the rest of the world is already girding for the post-Brexit era. For many African countries in particular, preparing for the inevitable divorce is not only prudent; it may be a matter
Africa’s stake in Brexit Read More »
The G20 was established in the aftermath of the 2008-9 financial crisis, as a more robust response to address the challenges of economic global governance. Those challenges having not diminished since it is understandable the group kept its intentions alive and introduced more structure to what was, at the beginning, a rather undefined setting. The
G20 and Africa: The Merkel plan, so far from the Marshall plan Read More »
Conventional wisdom tells us that the Chinese are buying up Africa faster than any other investors. It tells us that African banking lags in terms of innovation and reliability and that no African country is at the forefront of global innovation. But conventional wisdom is often wrong and it is important to recognise that we
Africa poised for greatness – but governments must act fast Read More »
The Green Economy is based on the premise that social and economic progress must be achieved in ways that will not exhaust the earth’s finite natural resources and that will cope with the concerns over lack of natural resources, environmental devastation, and climate change. The concept is a culmination of extensive thinking, discussion and analysis
Greening Africa’s economy Read More »
By YVO DE BOER AND CARLOS LOPES Urbanisation is without doubt one of the most important trends of the 21st century. Seventy percent of the global population is predicted to live in cities by 2050. Much of this growth will be led by the African continent. The population in African cities is forecast to increase
Africa’s green city opportunity Read More »
Poverty reduction has been essentially associated with a profound structural transformation of the economy, a process entailing a reallocation of economic activities from the less productive sectors to the more productive ones. The speed with which this process takes place has been a key factor that differentiates deve-lopment levels across countries. The issue of structural
Defining structural transformation in Africa Read More »