Africa No Longer Just A Continent In Need, Now Stage Set For Deals !

Despite the adverse effects of the pandemic on the economy, Asia and Africa have been showing a very strong presence in the global market in recent years, promising a bright future for the generations to follow.

The region is flooded with summits and deals to deepen it’s economic ties. Be it G20, AU, EU or USA, everyone is trying to explore and grab the historic opportunity and broad relationship-building. And most importantly, the world is realising the potential of the “Dark Continent”- Africa- as a key priority for investment, assistance.

Africa is no longer just a continent in need—indeed, it has become a place of opportunity and is being seen as a major and emerging economic hub of the world.

By 2035, the is set to have the largest working-age population in the world, larger than those of China and India, meaning that, for the foreseeable future, Africa will not face the potential drag on growth from shortages of labor that may be in prospect for other economies whose populations are aging.

But formidable challenges await African leaders, including bolstering education, creating jobs, and lifting more people out of poverty.

Still, the continent holds significant economic potential. African economies offer a higher rate of return on foreign direct investment than most emerging economies.

Since 2000, the continent has been the second-fastest-growing region in the world; in 2012, the continent was home to six of the world’s 10 fastest-growing economies. The continent’s real GDP, at $2 trillion in 2013, was larger than India’s and Russia’s, and on par with that of Brazil.

But, at the same time one can not ignore India- the world’s fifth-largest economy with a nominal GDP over $3 trillion, overtaking France and the UK.

Amidst world’s economic whirlwind, India’s micro, small and medium scale enterprises (MSMEs) have recovered and now poised to drive robust growth in India.

India is transitioning as a country and there is  good amount of mechanisation taking place. MSMEs have benefitted from the introduction of the PLI scheme and eventually, MSMEs will help the growth of larger companies. In the country,  MSMEs are becoming the backbone of the economy. There are 63 million enterprises some 6,000 have shut down during the pandemic, so the numbers are still good.

If India is poised to grow into a $5 trillion economy and keep its growth high while generating employment, the answer is MSME.

But at the same time, America has largely missed out on the economic opportunities Africa offers. Over the last decade, American foreign direct investment into Africa amounts to less than one-third that coming from Europe, and it also lags investment from the BRIC quartet of Brazil, Russia, India, and China.

Meanwhile, U.S. trade with Africa is less than one-fifth the volume of its trade with Europe, and only 60 percent the level of China’s trade with Africa.

Moreover, Africa’s rising middle class offers U.S. businesses a huge, untapped new export market for their goods and services. Today, Africa’s undoubted wealth in natural resources such as oil, gas, and minerals only accounts for one-third of the continent’s GDP growth.

But, its always better late than never. As Africa’s trade ties with the world deepen, now is the time for the United States to get in the game. In 2012, the continent’s flows of goods, services, and finance were worth $1.5 trillion, or 76 percent of GDP.

The historic Washington summits are an opportunity to address the relative lack of engagement with Africa on the part of the USA and the unevenness of economic development in Africa—despite its enormous potential.

Recently, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s U.S.-Africa Business Center and the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) applaud the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to host the U.S.-Africa Leaders’ Summit and Business Forum on December 13-15, 2022 in Washington, D.C.

“The summit will demonstrate the United States enduring commitment to Africa, and will underscore the importance of US Africa relations and increased cooperation on shared global priorities”, Biden said in a statement.

While, marking it’s 75th years of Independence celebration, India has already hosted multiple summits with African delegates. The recently-held CII-EXIM Bank Conclave in India indicates the keenness to enhance the Indo-Africa ties via trade and entrepreneurial initiatives.

The 17^th CII-EXIM Bank Conclave on India Africa Growth Partnership held in New Delhi on the 19 and 20 July 2022 was attended by the Vice Presidents of Gambia, Zambia and Mauritius. Besides,  The Vice President, Venkaiah Naidu, Minister of External Affairs, S. Jaishankar, and Minister of Trade, Piyush Goyal were joined by 40 ministers from 17 countries in Africa. The conclave offered an opportunity to policymakers, bureaucrats, and captains of business and industry to review Indo-African Growth Partnership in perspective.

Beside, these government initiatives to boost economy, there are many other private forums as well, who has been regularly conducting business summits, diplomatic meets and plenary sessions.

Asia-Africa Business & Social Forum 2022 Awards & Business Summit, Diplomats’ Meet and Business Summit by Asian African Chamber of Commerce & Industry (AACCI) in Delhi (India) was recently organised to break the barriers between the countries of Asia and Africa region and create an atmosphere of mutual growth through business.  The 8th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) in Tunisia (held on 27-28 August, 2022),  to discuss ways and mechanisms to raise the level of the African-Japanese partnership. The Japanese government created and hosted the first TICAD summit in 1993. The conferences was co-organized with the United Nations, the African Union and the World Bank. The summits generated 26 development projects in 20 African countries.

But, after all these summits of opportunity can too often be mere talking shops and photo opportunities. The importance of this gathering will only materialize with concrete action. Each and every one have to work to make the deal done and get implemented.

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