Africa's economic opportunity; a sleeping giant at a crossroads.

[Dunamisx]

I don't like the kind of mentality with Africans when it comes to development because there is much corruption from within their countries and this is not helping the situation for their growth.

This is not like the time of the colonialism whereby we think what is limiting Africans is because of the slave trade and other colonial Masters that are denying them of advancing independently, but the freedom has been given already and yet there is still much to discover about why the major problem is from the same Africans.

Africans are blessed with a fertile land for agricultural purpose is and this is why they should be the best to deliver to the world when it comes to agriculture but we are not seeing this happening in today's reality, also consider the rich and abundance natural resources deposited in Africa and yet many of the countries are living under developed because of their corrupting leaders and poor man's mentality.

[Rain1620]

This value trap you talked about is where the whole issue is. It’s quite unfortunate that A highly favored continent holding a large portion the worlds fertile uncultivated lands with vital mineral resources but yet, ends up at the mercy of a global supply chain, with the aim of buying back a finished product that was made from it’s exported raw and intermediary materials. Breaking out of this chain requires more than identifying the problem, it’s about building infrastructures for manufacturing and processing for both local processing and higher standards manufacturing to achieve a bottom-up  finished goods products without impurities.

In this situation where we are compassed with soo many barriers like poor infrastructure, poor power supply, and inconsistent policies, achieving more seem impossible that’s why we’ve been in this chain long ago, even now and still counting because that is what the leaders has chosen maybe the transactions were favorable because gone are those days where the survival of average citizens mattered.

So I totally agree that economic power is not all about the resources it holds, it’s actually about the ability to refine and manufacture finished products from it before crossing the borders.  And till the ideology moves from exporting the raw materials to investing in infrastructures and local manufacturing, the continent will continue adding value to foreign wealth when they can actually own the glory.

[Coyster]

You are talking about a continent of 54 countries like it is a single entity, when it is not. Amongst these 54 countries, some are developing very fast, while others are still very much underdeveloped. Some countries are plagued with internal conflicts, while some are safer to live in, etc.

I put these examples here so you can understand that their problems are not always as similar as you think and it is up to individual nations to address what's holding them back.

[WillyAp]

Africans are blessed with a fertile land for agricultural purpose

What stops them working that fertile land?
I put organic waste into the not so fertile land I own, a shovel is all whats needed.

[Fiatless]

The biggest problem Africa faces is from without not within. Granted we are seeing the end of the colonizers as we are establishing a World Order after 300 years of their pillaging and plundering and bloodsheding... but this transitional phase is going to tough. However, the good news is that with a World Order established and colonizers becoming insignificant and obsolete, the world as a whole can breathe once again and many countries including those in Africa can slowly start seeing peace which is the first step for development.

The attempts by African nations to gain true independence from colonizers have been met with stiff resistance. Terrorist attack on nations like Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger increased when they decided to severe ties with France. This shows that there are clear indication of alliance between terrorist groups and these colonizers.

Take Sudan for example. The colonizers still want their resources and are stealing it by creating wars can chaos. Did you know back in March and April when Iran was heavily bombing all the US/NATO military bases across West Asia, the bloodshed in Sudan slowed down to halt? The Western proxies could not receive the munition from the colonizers (through the Zionist bin Zayed proxy) so they could not commit massacres in Sudan any longer and the Sudani forces finally managed to push them back liberating their cities during those months...
In this case it doesn't matter if Sudan has vast resources including one of the largest gold mines in the world. As long as there is foreign intervention by corrupt regimes trying to steal their resources, they won't see peace.

You made a good observation. One of the main rival group in the war is Rapid Support Forces (RSF) which is backed by the United Arab Emirates. Some of the major supplier of weapons to the UAE are South Korea, Israel and France. The RSF receive Western made weapons and drones from UAE which is used to commit atrocious in Sudan in order to have access to cheap raw materials.

Of course there are other important things needed to solve the fundamental issues. Such as a wise leader who can get people moving. Get them off their asses and make them believe in their capabilities and be able to fix years of brainwashing by the colonizers that has convinced them "they can't".

Elections are manipulated to give power to Western puppets. This is why revolutionary leaders are taking power by force. And we have seen considerable progress in countries that have decided to be truly independent.

[Wakate]

You are talking about a continent of 54 countries like it is a single entity, when it is not. Amongst these 54 countries, some are developing very fast, while others are still very much underdeveloped. Some countries are plagued with internal conflicts, while some are safer to live in, etc.

I put these examples here so you can understand that their problems are not always as similar as you think and it is up to individual nations to address what's holding them back.

Africa need to fix their differences and come together as one just like we have the European Union working together like one country. If African can starts doing businesses with each other and working together like families, most of the under developed African countries will become developed as soon as possible rather than taking their investments and money out of Africa to developed countries. Corruption has become the major problem of most African countries and it has been a limitation for growth.

[viljy]

Actually, discussing Africa as a single entity just because it is a continent is not entirely correct. Sub-Saharan Africa is very different from North Africa, including culturally and historically. The western part of the continent differs from the eastern part and even more so from the south. The economic situation of the countries is different, and so is the political situation.

Well, yes, corruption is widespread, and there are Comprador elites selling off countries resources. If this is a unifying feature, then in a sense we can talk about a single continent. But there are corrupt elites all over the world, not just in Africa. The problem is that it is impossible to overcome corruption. It will be reborn over and over again.

[iv4n]

Africa's future will be shaped not by the resources it owns, but by the value it creates from them.

Isn't that true for every continent & country? It's not about the resources you own, it's about the finished product... it's the value you create from them. So having resources is one thing, and that alone is not enough... You need to know what to do with those resources, and just selling them isn't very smart.

Don't get me wrong, having resources can give you an opportunity, but for long-term profitability you need to do more. And we have many examples of countries with fewer resources performing better than countries rich in resources...

[Oluwa-btc]

The independence dream was just sold to most colonies so that the rebellions stop, but they are still under the grip of the West. If you want to prove this, let a country try to move away from the current world order such as stop using the US dollar for trade, and you will see how pissed of the IMF, World Bank, the US and the rest of the west will be.

The only way you can have strong feet to stand and walk is by starting with crawling, and then you progress all the way up. Sure, people will suffer, but they have still been suffering for decades. I sometimes watch some documentaries from different African nations and I can not help but wonder why people in a continent that had’s good climate, favorable soil and a lot of minerals still has people leaving with very bad poverty.

That is their own cup of tea. African nations serious about their sovereignty and interest will go ahead to do things for themselves regardless regardless. We have Mali and Burkina bee chasing out French already and ditching old ways to follow themselves and their traditions. I believe we will come to a time, where Africa develops a currency to trade between themselves, it will most definitely happen. We've had better situations and leaders, but killing them and planting colonial caretakers with the western interest drags us backward.

Not a time to bitch and moan online, we will thrive until we unite just as our heroes past envisioned.

[juttsab@]

Though Africa is full of natural resources and it has huge economic potential but the natural resources are not enough for having the guarantee for the prosperity of the country, the main and the real opportunity is adding value in it through their processing through their local manufacturing and technology instead of exporting the raw material at the same time government is needed to improve their institutions infrastructure and they have to provide reliable electricity and create stable policy that could encourage both foreign investment and the local investment also the young people are needed to be educated and skilled having training population and rich resources could become a very major advantage and it will also help the African continent to achieve economic growth.

[pooya87]

Elections are manipulated to give power to Western puppets. This is why revolutionary leaders are taking power by force. And we have seen considerable progress in countries that have decided to be truly independent.

That's sadly true, and this is why so many of these so called revolutions have failed. In some cases the revolutionaries overthrew the system and then had no idea what to replace it with so the previous guys came back!

This is why a good leader is needed. And whenever I think of revolutions, I think of the Islamic Revolution in Iran from 1979. The only successful case of a revolution that brought about a true independence.
It was carried out perfectly by the people and the power was NOT taken by force. In fact right after the overthrowing of the dictatorship, the people weren't sent home like in other revolutions. Instead all options for replacement was presented and people voted. 98% of the voters selected the Islamic Republic and then that became the new governing system. Then the constitution was rewritten and the new constitution was again put to vote. Then the presidential election, the parliament elections and so on. All in a matter of a year or two.

This is why the system is so solid that even the mass murdering of lots of the Iranian officials (including the leader of Iran) by the US regime could not even weaken Iran or even disrupt the governance. 💪

[Cryptomultiplier]

Africa's future will be shaped not by the resources it owns, but by the value it creates from them.

Isn't that true for every continent & country? It's not about the resources you own, it's about the finished product... it's the value you create from them. So having resources is one thing, and that alone is not enough... You need to know what to do with those resources, and just selling them isn't very smart.

Don't get me wrong, having resources can give you an opportunity, but for long-term profitability you need to do more. And we have many examples of countries with fewer resources performing better than countries rich in resources...

The problem with Africa has more to do with the regulatory and institutional framework that's lagging despite the availability of natural resources,  the corrupt practices of its leaders and preference of foreign goods and imports over home made goods and availability of quality goods that meet export standards contribute also.
 Otherwise, there are so many local enterprises that are existing even in this imperfect situation and are hoping to meet global standards.

[Fiatless]

Elections are manipulated to give power to Western puppets. This is why revolutionary leaders are taking power by force. And we have seen considerable progress in countries that have decided to be truly independent.

That's sadly true, and this is why so many of these so called revolutions have failed. In some cases the revolutionaries overthrew the system and then had no idea what to replace it with so the previous guys came back!

This is why a good leader is needed. And whenever I think of revolutions, I think of the Islamic Revolution in Iran from 1979. The only successful case of a revolution that brought about a true independence.
It was carried out perfectly by the people and the power was NOT taken by force. In fact right after the overthrowing of the dictatorship, the people weren't sent home like in other revolutions. Instead all options for replacement was presented and people voted. 98% of the voters selected the Islamic Republic and then that became the new governing system. Then the constitution was rewritten and the new constitution was again put to vote. Then the presidential election, the parliament elections and so on. All in a matter of a year or two.

This is why the system is so solid that even the mass murdering of lots of the Iranian officials (including the leader of Iran) by the US regime could not even weaken Iran or even disrupt the governance. 💪

Most of the youths in Africa see Burkina Faso as a case study of how a nation can thrive without Western influence. From what we have been seeing from the media, Ibrahim Traoré commands massive support from the people. The young leader has survived about 15 to 19 assassination attempts. But we don't know how many more he can survive because these neocolonialists are doing everything they can to recapture that rich African state. I don't know if the country has established a strong succession plan or system like Iran. I am afraid that if this is not the case, the death of this young charismatic leader will lead to the recapture of Burkina Faso by these imperialists.

[Opiate32]

Africa's future will be shaped not by the resources it owns, but by the value it creates from them.

Isn't that true for every continent & country? It's not about the resources you own, it's about the finished product... it's the value you create from them. So having resources is one thing, and that alone is not enough... You need to know what to do with those resources, and just selling them isn't very smart.

Don't get me wrong, having resources can give you an opportunity, but for long-term profitability you need to do more. And we have many examples of countries with fewer resources performing better than countries rich in resources...

I also think timing matters a lot. The global economy is gradually shifting as supply chain diversify and countries now look for other alternative sources of critical minerals and manufacturing. Africa has a window of opportunity that may not even open forever. If many countries continue exporting raw materials while others build the industry around them, they will definitely remain price takers instead of price makers.

In my view, the challenge is not about simply having resources, it is by building infrastructures and skilled workforce needed to process them completely. So it’s not that Africa lack potential, it’s just that other regions may move faster while Africa keeps debating reform.

[YOSHIE]

Africa's future will be shaped not by the resources it owns, but by the value it creates from them.

Yes, if calling Africa one of the "sleeping giant" continents is very acceptable in common sense and in the global economic sector, the facts on the ground are that we can see that Africa in general is a continent that has minerals, such as cobalt, manganese and lithium which never run out, plus millions of hectares of empty fertile land, this is the most optimal sector for human life.

In my opinion, there are several things that Africa must do and develop to rise from its slumber, in order to become a world economic giant.
1. Africa stops exporting raw materials.
2. Africa has modern integration with existing international integration.
3. Africa should not get caught up in making small profits and convert raw materials into finished materials.

Africa has a young population and a workforce that is much more reliable for the next decade, remember that Africa has a giant global economic power for the future, where other continents are in chaos.