The economic weight of Southern actors at the global level over the last two decades has been unprecedented in speed and scale. Whilst growth levels of western economies plummeted following the 2008-2009 financial crisis, developing economies continued to grow at high rates, largely driven by a variety of factors, including sound industrial policies and investments in human, physical and technological capacities.
Africa’s need to aggressively pursue the industrialization path has become more compelling in light of the need to sustain current growth standards. With carefully developed backward and forward linkages, industrialization has the potential to diversify economies and reduce exposure to external shocks. We at ECA are working the case for industrialization and we do not apologise for that. We are convinced it opens doors to address most of Africa’s many challenges, if properly done.
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, which comprises close to 80 islands. For most, these countries trigger vivid images of tourist heavens characterized by tranquil beaches, palm trees, clear turquoise waters or colourful coral reefs.
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 is quite different from common perception. Should Africa’s attainments come as a surprise?
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.
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 the Egyptian army and became President at 38. Frantz Fanon at age 27 wrote his first book to worldwide critical acclaim.