ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AREA

According to the World Bank’s Global Economic Prospects report, Africa’s economic growth is accelerating, with an expected growth rate of 3.4% in 2019 and 3.7% in 2020-2021. However, this moderate growth is still uneven, with significant differences between countries.

In the latest edition of the Doing Business study drawn up by the World Bank, which analyzes the business regulations in the world’s economies, out of the ten economies that had seen the greatest headway, five were African. The International Monetary Fund predicts that in the coming years, seven of the ten economies with the most growth in the world will be in this region.

This economic growth is largely sustained by mineral and hydrocarbon wealth and high prices for raw materials, fueled by demand from China and other emerging powers. On the other hand, those countries that have grown faster thanks to hydrocarbons and minerals have worse poverty reduction ratios than those that do not hold such large amount of these resources. This is due to massive currency evasion and income derived to tax havens by multinationals.

The African Development Bank also warns that growth is excessively concentrated in raw materials and extractive industries, without generating employment opportunities for most of the population, especially for young people (70% of the population is under 30 years of age), on top of which we must consider the growing urbanization process.

The path of economic growth measured by GDP will not generate sustainable growth and generalized well-being for the population without inclusive measures, equitable policies, substantial improvements in basic social services and job creation, as well as industrial development and infrastructure measures. In 2030, it is estimated that 50% of the population will live in urban agglomerations (expected to triple in size by 2040). This is linked to the fact that 70% of the current population are young people aged 30 and under, with a very high unemployment rate.

In this context, women make up 70% of the people who implement transnational trade activities, generating close to $18 billion annually in the economies of Sub-Saharan Africa. However, the women who carry out these tasks operate with little or no institutional support.

More than half of women employees work in agriculture, particularly subsistence agriculture on small plots of land. In the formal economy of Sub-Saharan Africa, women tend to be found in export industries (textiles and garments) as well as in food production. In addition, women often do not own property which would satisfy the lending requirements of financial institutions.

Women’s contributions to economic development in Sub-Saharan Africa cannot be maximized unless government policies and their instruments (fiscal, monetary, etc.) take these activities into account and address them in a gender-sensitive manner. Moreover, there are already economic reasons for companies and administrations to put African markets that offer clear business opportunities on their radar.

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