Africa SIG What does Africa mean to you?
IoD Berkshire has set up a Special Interest Group focused on Africa (IoD Africa SIG). So why Africa? I will share some key perspectives on Africa.
Wikipedia and Africa no Filter report that Africa is the world’s 2ND largest and 2nd most populous continent. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7m square miles), it covers 6% of Earth’s total surface area and 20% of its land area. The Africa continent has a land area enough to fit US, China, India, Japan, Mexico and many European nations combined. With 1.3 billion people (2018), almost 1 in 5 people in the world is African and the youngest amongst all the continents; the median age in 2012 was 19.7, when the worldwide median age was 30.4.
Africa has 54 countries and is home to the largest free trade area in the world – The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) – as measured by the number of participating countries with a combined gross domestic product (GDP) valued at US$3.4 trillion.
Africa is the minerals resource capital of the world. About 30% of all global mineral reserves are found in Africa. With oil, gas, timber, diamonds, gold, coltan and bauxite, Africa is home to some of the largest deposits of natural resources in the world.
Statista mobile use in Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to reach 623m subscribers by 2025. According to GSMA, “With more than 40% of the region’s population under the age of 15, young consumers owning a mobile phone for the first time will remain the primary source of growth for the foreseeable future.” World Economic Forum (WEF) reports that Africa leapfrogged the communications gap using technology to rethink and redesign the landscape
According to Mckinsey. “Africa may be the only pharmaceutical market where genuinely high growth is still achievable. The value of Africa’s pharmaceutical industry jumped to $20.8 billion in 2013 from just $4.7 billion a decade earlier and predicted to be worth $40 billion to $65 billion by 2020”
Joel Popoola who chairs the Special Interest Group recently said “One UK parliamentary report recently noted that UK-Africa trade has ‘flat-lined’ –accounting for just 2.5% of all UK trade. But before Covid-19 the world’s five fastest-growing economies were all African, and regional leaders like South Africa and Nigeria are likely to become superpowers of the global economy as we move towards the second half of this century”
As someone said, Africa is a bargain, you just need to know where to buy! If you are Interested in more details on Africa SIG, please contact me either by Email or LinkedIn. You can follow IoD Berkshire LinkedIn and the IoD Africa SIG LinkedIn group.
Please look out for our next IoD Africa SIG event to hold on 6th September (12.30 -1.30pm). It will focus on Opportunities on Infrastructure in Africa and features the Rail and Power sector.
Biyi Oloko FCA, FCCA, AssocRINA. [email protected]
IoD Berkshire Ambassador – Africa Special Interest Group
