AfDB predicts $2.5 trillion consumer spending in Africa by 2030
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has predicted that consumer spending in Africa will hit $2.5 trillion by 2030, while business to business investments will reach over $3.5 trillion in the same year, the Bank has said in a press release copied to ghanabusinessnews.com.
Speaking in Rome at a conference on Africa, the President of the AfDB, Akinwumi Adesina said, Africa is in the process of full transformation due to rapid urbanisation.
“With a growing middle class and rapid urbanisation, consumer demand from a burgeoning middle class will turn the continent into a prime collective investment opportunity that cannot be ignored,” he was quoted to have said in the release.
However, Dr. Adesina expressed worry over the migration crisis in Europe. According to him, the future of the African youth is not in Europe.
“The migration crisis in Europe is one of the biggest current social and political challenges that Italy and Europe have to deal with. I do not believe that the future of Africa’s youth lies in Europe. Neither does it lie at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea. The future of Africa’s youth is in Africa helping to grow its economy and employment opportunities,” he said.
The AfDB has launched a major initiative, the ‘Jobs for Youth in Africa programme’, aimed at creating 25 million jobs over a ten-year period.
Italian Minister of Finance and Economy, Giovanni Tria noted that, only four African countries out of the 54 on the continent will record negative growth compared to eight in previous years, making it home to five of the fastest growing economies in the world, the statement noted.
He said, Africa has a lot of opportunities where Europe’s future lies, however they failed to believe that possibility. “Africa is a continent of great change and opportunities. However, Europe finds it difficult to understand that its future lies in the South and not in the North,” he said.
According to Tria, The current narrative about Africa is all wrong.
He says, “Africa today has five distinctive advantages – a huge land mass of 30 million square kilometers, huge resources, a fast-growing population, fewer conflicts and major developments in education, and an economy that has consistently expanded over the last 15 years, even though it still only accounts for 3 per cent of global GDP.”
By Asabea Akonor