In a time of major global upheavals, African businesses have realised the massive potential on their own doorsteps and are seriously exploring partnerships and evaluating business opportunities across the continent as they draw closer together than ever before.
Today, being able to marshal its own resources and tap its own markets is firmly on Africa’s agenda.
The new Africa is a far cry from the pictures the world is used to seeing: of a continent constantly battered by war, drought and famines; of people living simple lives on the edge of poverty, while foreign companies extract resources.
The reality is a continent alive with possibility. Technology is the key to unlocking this vast potential, with the channel set to play a pivotal role in Africa’s success story.
Kathy Gibson reports
I asked a popular artificial intelligence app to create a mind map of the words people are using to describe Africa.
Not surprisingly, a lot of the themes that came out related to the popular ideas of safaris, game drives, music and culture. There was a smattering of negative trends like conflict, health issues and poverty there as well.
What was encouraging was how much of the mind map focused on the many positive things we are seeing across the continent: young, modern, resilient and diverse societies; entrepreneurship, growing infrastructure and plentiful resources; conflict but also peacekeeping.
The overall conclusion, according to my AI app, pointed to concepts including vast, beautiful, complex, vibrant and full of potential.
All of these concepts are true, but the defining ones point to a continent firmly on the path to taking its rightful place in the global economy.
“There are massive opportunities in Africa,” says Mark Walker, founder and fractional executive at T4i South Africa.
As a veteran of the research and consulting industry, focusing most of his career in Africa, Walker believes that the continent holds huge potential – much of which is already being realised.
But we can’t take a cookie-cutter approach to Africa, he adds. Not only is the continent different to markets in the rest of the world, but each of the 54 countries are different from one another.
He points to companies that have not only been successful but created meaningful change in the countries they serve.
“What did these companies do right?” he asks. “They took the trouble to understand the local people and conditions in each market they entered.”
Once they knew what the market wanted from them, they were able to introduce relevant products and services that resonated with customers.
Particularly when it comes to technology, Walker believes vendors need to ask if their solution is going to make a difference in people’s lives; and if it is going to make their jobs easier and more productive.
Trying to shoe-horn solutions that work in other markets is not the best approach. “Companies need to approach Africa with a degree of humility,” he says.
“Technology must be able to solve Africa’s problems. And we need to empower Africans to create their own solutions using the technology.”
Some of the big African success stories have been in fintech and agritech, Walker says. In the future, we can expect more innovations in these areas, as well as in verticals like medtech, edtech and railtech.
One things is for certain, Walker believes: Africa is on a roll. “There are a lot of motivated young people. We are seeing a lot of energy and innovation.”
Quick stats
Covering one-fifth of the earth’s surface and housing a population approaching 1,6-billion, Africa is the world’s second-largest and second-most populous continent in the world.
Some key statistics from the UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) agency include:
Population and geography
- Total population: Estimated at over 1,57-billion (2026).
- Growth rate: Fastest-growing continent at about 2,35% per year.
- Youth demographic: Approximately 70% of sub-Saharan Africa is under 30.
- Urbanisation: About 45,6% of the population lives in urban areas.
- Land area: 30,37-million square kilometres, with 54 sovereign states.
Economy and trade
- Global output: Accounts for about 2,6% to 2,9% of global economic output.
- Resources: Holds 30% of the world’s known mineral reserves.
- Trade: Intra-African trade has grown to 15,4%.
- Poverty rate: About 43% of the population lives below the extreme poverty line of $1.90 per day.
Key economic challenges and opportunities
- Employment: Up to 12-million youth enter the labour market each year, while only around 3-million formal jobs are created.
- Education: Africa has the lowest education spending per capita globally.