Africa in 2015: What can the continent look up to?

Africa is a continent that offers contrasting narratives, and making any grand predictions may in fact be counter-intuitive. However, there are broad areas to look forward to for Africa in 2015. Here are some broad predictions for Africa in 2015.

1. Less Military Coups.

For the year 2014, there were instabilities in several African countries. The peace in South Sudan is still fragile, while Central African Republic is just beginning to recover from a humanitarian crisis. Burkina Faso had a military coup in which the long serving President, Blaise Compaore, in power since 1987, was removed from power. In 2015, however, with the African Union getting ever strict in dealing with conflicts in African countries, more African civilian and military rulers will be scared against staging more coups in the continent. Fewer coups will lead to more stability for the continent, which will in turn lead to a more investor friendly continent.

2. Faster Economic Growth.

Already, six of the ten fastest growing economies in the world are in Africa. The continent should consolidate this growth and continue to grow at rates above 5 percent according to the World Bank. However, much of this growth is coming from a low base, and this growth can be deceptive. For African countries to achieve a

reasonable standard of living for its people, the growth rates must be at least 10 percent sustained over many years. This is the way that China managed to lift hundreds of millions out of poverty. If Africa hopes to grow at rates that China did for the last 30 years or so, it will have to ensure that it enhances its political stability, and become investor friendly. Moreover, African leaders will have to ensure that the fruits of the economic growth are spread far and wide, so that the most vulnerable in the villages will become part and parcel of this growth.

3. An expanding Real Estate Sector.

The real estate sector in Africa will continue to grow at a rapid pace, as more Africans move from the rural areas to urban areas. Already, Luanda, the capital of Angola is one of the most expensive cities in the world, thanks to the plenty of oil in the country. Other cities such as Casablanca, Cairo, Lagos, Cape Town and Nairobi will continue to draw in seasoned property investors.

4. More Mobile Commerce.

Already, Africa is a world leader in mobile money transfer. It can leapfrog the rest of the world in mobile commerce if it leverages on the ubiquity of the mobile phones. Credit cards and debit cards have not penetrated much of Africa, therefore hampering the growth of e-commerce. However, mobile money transfer promises to be a game changer, and if Africa entrepreneurs can find ways to solve local problems through the mobile phone, then huge amounts of wealth will be created. This will however require an elaborate ecosystem of talent, creation of products and services that solve local needs, an access to capital, and strong intellectual property laws that protect inventors and innovators. 

5. Expanding Middle Class.

The exact number of middle class Africans cannot be ascertained for sure. Depending on which study you look at, the numbers differ from as low as 20 million to as high as 200 million. This expanding middle class in Africa could power the African economies in 2015, and make the continent leap frog the world in the not too distant future.

While the Ebola epidemic could dampen the prospects for Africa, the truth is that there is much more in store for Africa in 2015, and even if one is not an Afro-optimist, surely, they would do well not to ignore Africa in 2015.