Africa Industrialization Day

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Africa Industrialization Day

6 Dec 2021
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I never imagined I’d be writing about this, yet here I am, writing about a topic that sparked my attention during our second quarter at SOIL studying Managerial Economics: Africa is becoming more industrialised. What’s taking so long? What about in some countries vs. others? Most African countries did not get independence until the 1960s or later, and they had to build their economies around two fiercely antagonistic superpowers who affected their internal policies.

Every year on November 20, Africa Industrialization Day is commemorated. It’s a period when governments and other groups in several African countries consider how to accelerate the continent’s industrialization. It’s also an opportunity to draw international media attention to Africa’s industrialization concerns and challenges.

Industrial development is crucial for African countries to achieve long-term, inclusive economic growth. By adopting new equipment and processes, industry may raise productivity, increase labour capacities, and create jobs. Industrialization, with its strong ties to domestic economies, will assist African countries in achieving high growth rates, diversifying their economies, and reducing their vulnerability to external shocks. This will make a significant contribution to poverty reduction by creating jobs and wealth.

Africa’s manufacturing sector is expanding (Quarter II 2021)

Africa is rich in natural resources, from oil to cocoa, cotton to vanilla, but due to its strong reliance on commodity exports, it has yet to fully exploit the added value that processing raw materials and manufacturing can provide. The African Development Bank is aiming to alter this by promoting successful industrial policies, attracting finance for infrastructure and industry, and supporting the development of capital markets in order to create high-quality jobs that help people escape poverty.

Manufacturing production expanded by almost 17.8% in the second quarter of 2020. In contrast, output plummeted 17.1 percent a year earlier as a result of COVID-19, which compelled many countries to take containment measures. Many African countries, including South Africa (39.3%), Rwanda (30.2%), Senegal (22.6%), and Nigeria (22.6%), saw an increase in manufacturing output in the current quarter (4.6 percent).

However, Africa’s industrialisation is geographically confined, with only five countries accounting for two-thirds of value-added manufacturing: Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, and South Africa. The COVID-19 epidemic, which has upended economic growth, interrupted trade and financial flows, and resulted in the loss of millions of jobs this year, has halted progress.

The pandemic’s economic and social consequences have added urgency to the continent’s drive to industrialise, precisely as the African Continental Free Trade Area is slated to restructure Africa into a single market of 2.5 billion people by 2050. As the African Development Bank joins the international community in commemorating Industrialization Day, these stories of African women and men who are changing the tide on the continent’s industrialization deserve our full attention.

Tech and Other Sectors

Agriculture provides some of the biggest chances for Africa’s industrialization. The Bank’s support for Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZs), which improve African governments’ ability to attract private sector investment by putting policy, investment, and infrastructure together in a rural area with strong agricultural output, is critical to this industry.

Africa’s growing connection, as well as a workforce that is becoming more comfortable with the digital world and new technology, will allow the continent to benefit from the fourth industrial revolution in terms of productivity, job creation, and social welfare.

In conclusion, remarks are made at the headquarters of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in Vienna, Austria. The African Union, the Economic Commission for Africa, and the United Nations have all issued remarks. It is intended that these parties will increase worldwide awareness about the need of African industrialisation and remind the international community that Africa is home to more than 30 of the world’s 50 least developed countries.

Pallavi Panjabi
PGPM, Class of 2022

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