For years now, business leaders and investors from
around the world have waited for the Africa Rising narrative to shift from
promise to reality. The continent has understandably been the focus of
increasing investment and attention since the turn of this century. With a
young, urbanizing population; abundant natural resources; and a growing middle
class, Africa seems to have all the ingredients necessary for breakaway
growth—perhaps even outstripping the so-called tiger economies of East Asia a
generation ago.
Indeed, a 2010 report by the McKinsey Global Institute titled
“Lions on the Move” expressly made this comparison, forecasting that consumer
spending on the continent would grow by 40%, and GDP by $1 trillion, from 2008
to 2020.
And yet this tantalizing vision has
remained just that—a dream perpetually around the next corner. A number of
major business enterprises have recently departed from the continent, their
leaders discouraged by the same obstacles that have confronted would-be investors
for years: widespread corruption, a lack of infrastructure and ready talent,
and an underdeveloped consumer market.
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