fbpx
  • The Project
  • Advertise
  • Flights
  • Hotels
  • Tours
  • Donate
  • E-Store
Monday, March 1, 2021
No Result
View All Result
Nomad Africa Magazine | Celebrating the world's richest continent
SUBSCRIBE
  • Home
  • Tourism News
  • Features
  • Top Destinations
  • Culture & Existence
  • Showcase
  • Spotlight
  • Watch
  • COVID19 Updates
  • Login
  • Home
  • Tourism News
  • Features
  • Top Destinations
  • Culture & Existence
  • Showcase
  • Spotlight
  • Watch
  • COVID19 Updates
  • Login
No Result
View All Result
Nomad Africa Magazine | Celebrating the world's richest continent
No Result
View All Result

Regional Integration as a Tool for Wealth Creation in Africa

Press Room by Press Room
August 24, 2020
in COVID19 Updates, News, Special Feature
Reading Time: 4min read
0
Regional Integration as a Tool for Wealth Creation in Africa
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
ADVERTISEMENT

The COVID-19 pandemic and its health and economic impacts has forced a global rethink of the current multilateral framework and what it means for the future. For Africa, COVID-19 has served as a wake-up call in many ways.  The mitigation measures that were put in place by most countries, globally, to contain the spread of the pandemic, and particularly border closures and lockdowns, resulted in reduced economic activity and supply chain disruptions across the whole world, Africa included. Reduced economic activity has meant demand contraction in Africa’s key markets, who were worse affected by the pandemic, thus depressing export revenues as commodity prices have continued to plummet.   

Several African manufacturers have successfully reoriented operations to begin production of Protective Personal Equipment (PPE) and ventilators to  meet local demand. However, for the most part, pandemic-related disruptions have exposed African economies’ overdependence on high commodity prices and exports of raw materials to fund basic government services. Together, disrupted international supply chains and domestic lockdowns created a perfect storm in which income, goods or services stopped circulating as economies came to a standstill. No money, no movement, and a realization that most African countries lack economic diversity and resilience.

So, what is to be done? Simply put, there is a need to focus on fundamentals: producing more of what Africa consumes, and consuming more of what Africa produces. This does not mean cutting Africa off from the outside world. However, it does mean focusing first and foremost on the African market, and other markets secondarily. It means the need to think about Africa more as a single common market to facilitate scaling up. Producing and consuming locally will facilitate the development of supply chains that will offer small companies, and countries, opportunities to leverage their strengths and specializations and feed into large value chain networks that create more value through production, processing and distribution.  And it means raising the standards within African supply chains to enable African firms to produce world class industrial products.

To achieve this, there needs to be a concerted effort to shore up manufacturing in Africa. The demand for manufactured goods is already there, as evidenced by the figures on the import of manufactures. Key to enhancing manufacturing in Africa is improving intra-African trade through the effective operationalization of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which would spur industrialization. The COVID-19 crisis has shown that enhanced industrial production in Africa is entirely achievable, especially as countries have struggled to source inputs and products from overseas. African industries do have the potential to respond to demand and in fact, there is potential to leap-frog into advanced manufacturing and create the required capacity to produce quality world class goods. 

By extension, the pandemic has also exposed the vital importance of economic capacity not only for socioeconomic development and industrialization but to enhance resilience against crises and exogenous shocks that often occur without warning. Building on existing regional strategies for disaster risk reduction, there is also a need to factor in how pandemics present a multi-dimensional set of risks that require integrated responses to mitigate systemic risks.

The capacity to locally manufacture the basics that are critical during emergencies—foodstuffs, clothing, shelter—and building the markets and supply chains needed to ensure a good supply of these, would contribute significantly to GDP, income and job creation.

The question becomes how to  build the markets and supply chains needed to ensure Africa can provide for itself, including during emergencies. For example, Africa has several agricultural commodities on which regional value chains can be constructed. These alone would contribute significantly to GDP, incomes and job creation while also paving a shift into the manufacture of light intermediate goods (e.g., wood products, textiles and leather) adds to the range of possibilities. As Africa builds more critical mass, the continent would increasingly move investment into distribution, data transmission and services to ensure these goods make it to market. Financing and insurance are needed across the spectrum, as are all the skills of the youth and specialists who can help manage the IT and logistics that leverage digital capabilities. This will create high paying, skilled jobs for Africa’s youth. In other words, there is a need to take a horizontal view of value creation and maximize opportunities to generate these in Africa, for African economies, African businesses, African workers and African consumers.

ADVERTISEMENT

So how can this be achieved? Fulfilling the African Development Bank’s High 5s priorities: Light Up and Power Africa; Feed Africa; Industrialise Africa; Integrate Africa; and, Improve the Quality of Life for the People of Africa, would address these challenges on multiple fronts and instrumentalize a tightly interconnected African market. The High 5s address the continent’s demonstrated need for power generation to electrify households and industries; enhanced transport links to connect African countries by land, sea and air; ICT for communication and digital management of logistics; financial markets to integrate for more and better financial flows for business enterprises to flourish and to meet household needs; and agribusinesses that rely on the latest seed and other technology to produce the crop yields needed to sustain Africa’s fast growing populations.

By producing what it consumes and consuming what it produces as its countries and businesses progress up the value chain, Africa can build wealth, opportunity and resilience and ensure the successful realisation of Agenda 2063.

Khaled Sherif is the Vice-President, Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery at the African Development Bank

ADVERTISEMENT
Previous Post

KEY ROLE FOR NATURAL GAS IN SUPPORTING GHANA’S DEVELOPMENT

Next Post

Cycle the Oregon Coast with Escape Adventures

Press Room

Press Room

Nomad Africa celebrates life on the African continent. Covering stories from all countries and all cultures, it strives to include unique tourist attractions, business development, technology and investment opportunities as well as looking at the continent's cultural heritage.

Related Posts

Vodacom Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Mondia launch first-of-its-kind maternal health service in Democratic Republic of the Congo
News

Vodacom Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Mondia launch first-of-its-kind maternal health service in Democratic Republic of the Congo

March 1, 2021
Innovative Smart Bag redefines menstruation management for refugee girls in Uganda
News

Innovative Smart Bag redefines menstruation management for refugee girls in Uganda

March 1, 2021
ENGIE acquires 100 MW Concentrated Solar Power plant in South Africa
News

ENGIE acquires 100 MW Concentrated Solar Power plant in South Africa

March 1, 2021
Next Post
Cycle the Oregon Coast with Escape Adventures

Cycle the Oregon Coast with Escape Adventures

Please login to join discussion
ADVERTISEMENT

Sign up for Weekly Newsletter

Sign up for Nomad Africa's weekly newsletter and never miss out on travel and tourism updates across the continent of Africa. Get industry insights, travel tips and understand how the latest trends will affect your business. Learn more about African culture and support tourism in Africa.
* = required field

powered by MailChimp!
ADVERTISEMENT

Follow Nomad Africa Mag on Twitter

Tweets by @NomadAfricaMag
ADVERTISEMENT

Recent Posts

  • Vodacom Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Mondia launch first-of-its-kind maternal health service in Democratic Republic of the Congo
  • Innovative Smart Bag redefines menstruation management for refugee girls in Uganda
  • Travelling with teens? Here is a survival guide
  • ENGIE acquires 100 MW Concentrated Solar Power plant in South Africa
  • Hoteliers must embrace digital technology, says TIME Hotels’ Corporate Director of IT
  • UN forum unveils the wonders of artificial intelligence and other Science, Technology and Innovations for Africa
  • WHO launches first Mass Casualty Management (MCM) training in Addis Ababa
  • How to ensure that you don’t outlive your savings
ADVERTISEMENT

Trending on NomadTV

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2bhBUqVHDw&t=3s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLCy9F-47as&t=19s

Tags

#POATE2020 #PearlofAfrica #VisitUganda Africa Africa Travel Angola Aviation Botswana Cape Town China Dubai Egypt eswatini Ghana Hospitality Hotels Johannesburg Kenya Kigali Limpopo Marrakech Marriott Mauritius Morocco Mozambique Nairobi Nigeria Nomad Africa Radisson Hotel Group Rwanda RwandAir Senegal Seychelles South Africa South African Tourism Industry swaziland Tanzania Tourism Travel Travel News Uganda Venda Wesgro Western Cape WTM Africa Zambia Zimbabwe
GallivantPlus GallivantPlus GallivantPlus
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

About Nomad Africa

Nomad Africa celebrates life on the African continent. Covering stories from all countries and all cultures, it strives to include unique tourist attractions, business development, technology and investment opportunities as well as looking at the continent's cultural heritage.

We Are Social

Recent Posts

  • Vodacom Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Mondia launch first-of-its-kind maternal health service in Democratic Republic of the Congo
  • Innovative Smart Bag redefines menstruation management for refugee girls in Uganda
  • Travelling with teens? Here is a survival guide
  • ENGIE acquires 100 MW Concentrated Solar Power plant in South Africa
  • Hoteliers must embrace digital technology, says TIME Hotels’ Corporate Director of IT

Recent Comments

  • Hassan Tongun on The Karo Tribe: Ethiopia’s Indigenous Group That Excels in Body Painting and Scarification
  • Teferi Adem on The Karo Tribe: Ethiopia’s Indigenous Group That Excels in Body Painting and Scarification

Get In Touch

2414 Publishing (Pty) Ltd,
135, Daisy Street, Off Grayston Drive, Sandowns, Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Tel: +27.[0]10.590.6264, +27.[0]11.052.4597
Cell:+27.719.130.776, +27.610.817.489
Email: info@nomadafricamag.com

Please send all press releases to editor@nomadafricamag.com.

  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Partner with us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Get In Touch

© 2021 All Rights Reserved 2414 Publishing (Pty) Ltd. Designed & Developed by: CreativeMagic Group.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Tourism News
  • Features
  • Top Destinations
  • Beliefs & Existence
  • Spotlight
  • Showcase
  • Watch
  • COVID19 Updates
  • Subscribe
  • Login

© 2021 All Rights Reserved 2414 Publishing (Pty) Ltd. Designed & Developed by: CreativeMagic Group.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Wait! Have You Signed Up For
Our Weekly Newsletter?

Sign up for Nomad Africa’s weekly newsletter and never miss out on
travel and tourism updates across the continent of Africa. Get industry insights,
travel tips and understand how the latest trends will affect your business.
Learn more about African culture and support tourism in Africa.