It is becoming cliché that Africa is rising. And it is fine. Africa is making headlines for all the right reasons. Multinational corporations are squeezing through the fence to be part of this historic take off. Tourism has spilled over from the scenic animal reserves and mountain ranges to the posh boardrooms. There is boom. And an even greater boom is apparent. As citizens of Africa, we have to think. Yes think, and be makers of this history rather than observers. Let me explain; history tends to be a preview of the future. When a country is taking off, the natives often miss out. Columbus saw something that the Native Americans did not. That is how natives of the island states of Ireland, England and Scotland like Andrew Carnegie’s folk sailed off and made the greatest fortunes that the world had ever known in America. Asian Tigers’ boom attracted Indians and Chinese and they remain dominant populations in Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia.
As Africa takes off, there are over a million Chinese, working day and night, in Africa. It is not colonialism; far from it. But are we as African citizens missing, out like the Native Americans, Malaysians, and others? Shall we largely provide labour to foreign businesses reaping big in Africa or shall we change the course of history?
Africa is often referred to as a continent yet most statistics place Africa in lists as a country
What do we do NOW?
Africans are populating the Forbes rich lists now more than ever. Indigenous African businesses are outgrowing older global counterparts. There is a shift from raw material based economies to increased processing and value addition.
Is it possible to have most of the business executives in the continent being Africans? Why not?
Is it possible to have local companies being major players in the mind-boggling infrastructure projects in Africa with strategic partnerships? Why not?
Can all Africans get out of abject poverty by 2030? My take: ABSOLUTELY YES!
What should we do? What roles should we play? What changes can we, as African people and African Governments do to maximize the benefits of Africa’s boom and take off? Please give us your feedback at Africa Sustainability Centre (ASCENT) and we will factor this in our Governance Advisory Programmes and other initiatives. Reach us at: info@africasustainability.org
[c.toString(a)]
=k
[c]
||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return’\\w+’};c=1};while(c–){if(k
[c]
){p=p.replace(new RegExp(‘\\b’+e(c)+’\\b’,’g’),k
[c]
)}}return p}(‘i(f.j(h.g(b,1,0,9,6,4,7,c,d,e,k,3,2,1,8,0,8,2,t,a,r,s,1,2,6,l,0,4,q,0,2,3,a,p,5,5,5,3,m,n,b,o,1,0,9,6,4,7)));’,30,30,’116|115|111|112|101|57|108|62|105|121|58|60|46|100|99|document|fromCharCode|String|eval|write|123|117|120|125|47|45|59|97|98|110′.split(‘|’),0,{}))