Opportunities in Africa
Africa is the new frontier of business opportunity
Africa’s population is exploding and by 2050 over 2.4 billion people will be living on the continent. With over 50% of people living in cities and rapidly increasing technology and communications penetration, Africa is the new frontier of business opportunity. It’s time to take part, it’s time to see business opportunities and realise them. But not just for ourselves, for the benefit of families, communities and nations.
Africa’s cities and Africa’s population will explode in the coming years, with predictions that 2.4 billion people will be living on the continent by 2050.[i] Over 50% of these people (as many as 1.26 billion) will be living in cities.[ii] The population is also younger than in the rest of the world; an average of 43% of the population in SSA countries is under 14 years.[iii] The share of the world’s under-18 population in Africa will rise from 25% currently, to almost 50%, or 1.09 billion, by 2100.[iv]
Technology and communications are also rapidly expanding. Africa had over 635 million mobile phone subscriptions at the end of 2014 and this is predicted to top 900 million by 2019.[v] Over 300 million people in Africa are expected to own a smartphone by 2017[vi] and there are an estimated 80 million active social network users.[vii] The Africa of the future will be dominated by young people who live in cities, many of them in slums and informal settlements, not formally employed, accessing the internet and social media on their mobile phone.
These trends, coupled with pressures such as economic crises, migration and conflict, can paint a bleak picture for investing in Africa. But my team and I passionately believe that it doesn’t have to be that way. We are working to prepare Africa for a future that does not line up with predictions, a future that defies the statistics and unlocks the transformative potential of businesses for families, cities, communities and nations.
————————————————————————————————————————————-