Cape Town — Good government policies, better access to finance and more infrastructure are all needed if Africa is to expand its economy. Corruption and lack of skills, energy and transport are the main bottlenecks to improving productivity and making the continent more competitive in global markets.
These are among the main findings of “Africa Competitiveness Report 2007,” a 255-page study released today ahead of the opening of the World Economic Forum on Africa in Cape Town, South Africa. The competitiveness study is the first research on Africa carried out jointly by the World Economic Forum, the World Bank, and the African Development bank.
Speaking at the launch, Senior Forum Economist Jennifer Blanke said the economic outlook for Africa is positive and that Africa's economy has grown in the last five years. The rest of the world, however, is growing at a much faster pace.
The report noted that the continent’s growth rate - at 6.2 percent this year -needs to increase to seven percent to meet the Millennium Development Goal of halving poverty by 2015. High rates of growth are “desperately needed” to raise standards of living in Africa, according to the report.
The report finds that family dynamics play an important role in entrepreneurship in Africa - after women overcome “barriers to entrepreneurship,” their role in businesses is significant and “at least as productive as men’s.”
A study of four African economies – Algeria, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa, which together make up just over half of Africa’s GDP – is included in the report. Nigeria accounts for more than two-thirds of its region’s output, it said. Algeria and Egypt produce more than half the total output of North Africa. South Africa has the largest economy on the continent, which many investors see as key for regional production and trade.
Given proper policies and investment, “there is every reason to expect that Africa can achieve a sustainable growth path,” claims the report.
The theme of this year’s World Economic Forum for Africa is “Raising the Bar on Competitiveness in Africa.” It will also focus on issues such as health and climate change.
