Domestic consumption has been driving Africa’s economic growth to levels at par with Asian countries, progress that could be “easily overlooked,” according to Newsweek.
The report noted that despite major hurdles in development and widespread poverty, the continent registered a 2 percent growth rate last year, faring as well as countries in the Middle East and catching up with Asian giants like India and China.
Africa’s burgeoning consumer markets, a noted rise in entrepreneurship and a reverse diaspora seeing the return of the region’s skilled workers altogether bode well for the region’s economic future. The International Monetary Fund forecasts a 4.8 percent growth rate for the region starting this year, a figure that exceeds estimates for Eastern Europe, Brazil, Russia and Mexico and touted to be the highest outside Asia.
