Africa’s economy is projected to continue growing at between 2% and 3% above the global average over the next five years, helping it remain one of the key emerging markets for 2015.
Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) dynamic markets centre director Dr Lyal White cited five “drivers and shapers” of the continent’s future growth.
The GIBS 2015 Dynamic Market Index (DMI) listed these as: elections; commodity prices; terrorism and insurgencies; Ebola; and the end of the Millennium Development Goals and the introduction of Sustainable Development Goals.
“[This year] is a very important year for Africa. . . [as] we are starting to see these countries are developing their own agendas, [which] is very positive,” he said.
Meanwhile, White cited a study by political scientist Ian Bremmer that showed that there were seven emerging countries that had higher growth rates than any other country in the world. These were India, Columbia, Indonesia, Poland, Malaysia, Mexico and “surprisingly” Kenya.
White said these countries did not have extravagant growth rates and were not at the forefront of strategic investments, but they were dynamic, not relying entirely on commodities for economic growth. “These countries, besides others, are going to outperform the BRICS grouping,” he noted.
