But things are different now. Rather than merely announcing grand plans, policymakers are putting their money where their mouth is this time. As a result, infrastructure is going up right before our eyes. For example, internet access in Rwanda puts many American cities to shame. In Senegal, they’re building a brand-new “smart” city. Across Africa, tens of thousands of kilometers of highway are under construction, with hotels and filling stations popping up along the way and creating mobility opportunities.
Africa has been touted as the ‘next big thing’ time and again for two decades, but the predictions never panned out. In its Economic Development in Africa Report 2022, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) revealed that in the past 20 years, one of the continent’s biggest obstacles to trade growth was the lack of export diversification. Africa was the world’s second least export-diversified trade region during that time.
But things are different now. Rather than merely announcing grand plans, policymakers are putting their money where their mouth is this time. As a result, infrastructure is going up right before our eyes. For example, internet access in Rwanda puts many American cities to shame. In Senegal, they’re building a brand-new “smart” city. Across Africa, tens of thousands of kilometers of highway are under construction, with hotels and filling stations popping up along the way and creating mobility opportunities.