How Chinese innovation can spur economic growth in Africa
Jean-Claude Bastos de Morais says Africa can learn from China’s continued economic expansion, and tap into its rich reserves of human capital, through investment by governments, non-profits and the private sector to achieve self-sustaining growth
Africa – a region of 54 countries – is separated by thousands of miles of terrain, complicated political histories and anywhere between 1,000 and 3,000 languages. It also has significant socioeconomic challenges such as access to education, infrastructure, poverty and life expectancy. Yet Africa and China have much in common.
China and Africa both have huge populations, which in the pursuit of industrialisation and economic growth is hugely important. Between them, over a third of the planet’s people live in either Africa and China – 2.6 billion. Of these, 1.2 billion live in Africa. Unlike China however, Africa has an extremely young population – and it is the fastest growing in the world. This provides the African continent with the richest source of human capital in the world – but it must be nurtured.
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This is as true for Africa as it is for China. The emphasis in both countries must be to push enterprise from the grass roots. Government zeal is key and, in Africa, there is a rapidly growing understanding among policymakers that innovation – and the support of innovation – is critical. Therefore, investment in innovation ecosystems and infrastructure in Africa must be a key priority.