The recent news out of Africa offers a mix of optimism and gloom, defying
simple theories that the continent is either rising or hopeless. What is missing
in either of these narratives is the admission that development involves a
process of ebb and flow, full of progress and setbacks.
On that gray scale, economic growth can lead to increased levels of
inequality, and even co-exist with political instability and conflict. When this
reality is taken into account, the question becomes not whether a country is
growing, but how to make the transition from economic growth to a situation of
shared prosperity and stability.
Lately, headlines have been dominated by the alarming rise of Boko Haram,
on-going insecurity in Mali, the Ebola epidemic in west Africa and the conflicts
in South Sudan and the Central African Republic. If one judged by these trends
alone, Africa would appear to be desperately poor, vulnerable and prone to
conflict.
There is another side of this story that is often less heralded in the
headlines. Africa continues to be the world’s second-fastest growing region
behind Asia - growing by more than 5 percent over the last decade - and is
likely to stay in those top ranks for years to come. The continent’s booming
middle class now includes 350 million people, representing a third of its
population, and its vast natural resources will continue to attract foreign
investors from around the world. Africa is also young, technology-savvy and home
to a new generations of entrepreneurs.
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