Africa may attain first world status by 2048

Africa’s economy could grow and attain “first world status” if it sustains a two per cent annual growth rate over the next three decades.

In a new book titled: The fastest billion – The Story Behind Africa’s Economic Revolution, the Renaissance Group outlines the continent’s growth trajectory over 30 years.

Projections in the book indicate that Africa is already attracting more foreign investments than India and Bangladesh owing to a faster growth rate.

“We are going to see industries such as aviation and automobile grow more than ten-fold and even automobile manufacturing plants being set up in this continent because it is the fastest growing,” Mr Charles Robertson, author of the book and a member of the Renaissance Group, said.

The continent, he says, has the unique advantage of “leapfrogging” through various stages of economic development, which the more developed western states had to go through in growing their economies.

“This is in a continent where, only a few years ago, everyone thought it was too poor for people to have mobile phones.

"Whatever has happened in the technology world is enough proof that Africa will skip several stages and become an economic engine, competing with countries like Germany and the United States by the year 2048,” Mr Robertson said.

Kenya’s economy is expected to be larger than the current one of Switzerland, Turkey, Indonesia, Korea and Mexico. At the moment, Mexico is the tenth largest economy.

The World Bank said in October that sub-Saharan Africa economies are expected to grow at 4.8 per cent overall in 2012, cutting its forecast from 5.2 per cent projected earlier in the year.

As investor interest in the continent increases, foreign direct investment is projected to reach Sh4 trillion by 2014 from Sh2.6 trillion in 2012.

Dr David Ndii, the managing director of Africa Economics, said Africa was held back by independence leaders focusing only on economic development instead of political development.