Africa Rising 21st Century

               For more than two decades now, Americans have held polarized views about the integrity and accuracy of votes in our national elections. As someone who once taught African election observers and African political parties, this was embarrassing early on. I recall hosting a Nigerian delegation in Florida in 2002 where participants asked to see the infamous “hanging chads” from the 2000 elections. My colleagues and I took pride in our training in Africa to emphasize that in our country, losing parties tried to learn from their losses and move on to their next opportunity to win. Unfortunately, that is no longer the case. American elections routinely seem to devolve into recriminations and court challenges. We would find ourselves in a precarious position these days preaching such sanctimonious sentiments about the acceptance of our election results. In 2023, there are key elections in Africa, and one hopes our government can focus on ...

               For the past several years, proponents of Africa have trumpeted the rising gross domestic product (GDP) in some African countries as the growth of their economies seemed to signal a major turnaround for the continent and its people. The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) gave hope that a strong, united African market was just around the corner. Yet, the major boost to African countries broadly has been stymied by COVID-19, conflicts and other challenges. One hopes these challenges can be overcome in this new year. Kearney, a global management consulting firm with offices in more than 40 countries worldwide, first stated in its Global Retail Development Index (GRDI) of 2021 research report that Africa would be “retail’s next gold rush” as Asia’s growth slows. “Driven by growing, young, urban, and increasingly more affluent populations, Africa’s aggregate potential as an emerging retail market far outweighs problems associ...

             Now that the New Year is upon us, we in the African Diaspora need to plan for joint action to better ensure that emerging markets under Diaspora control really are under the control of the indigenous people and not complain about others using neocolonial methods to maintain their dominance. That happens because we let it happen. The time has come for that to end.             We wait for international financial institutions, international combines of nations such as the United Nations, the African Union and the European Union, as well as donor nations, to solve our problems that we let our leaders get us into. It is said that God helps those who help themselves, but we seem to have preferred others to bear the burden that is ours to bear.             In the 1930s, black people and our supporters in other races staged one of the ...

               The Biden Administration pledged to listen at the recent US-Africa Leaders’ Summit, but said it also would demonstrate its interest in a robust partnership with the nations of Africa, as signified by its closing statement on the conference: “Our partnership is based on a conviction that Africa’s governments and peoples will help define the future of the international order to address our world’s most pressing challenges.  The United States, for its part, will support and work to realize greater – and long overdue – African representation in international institutions, including those that shape global governance,” the White House statement read.  “The United States has announced a plan to reform the United Nations Security Council, including support for permanent seats for countries in Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean, and voiced support for the African Union to join the G20 as a permanent member.”  To that ...

             Being left out of industrialization for so long has been an obstacle for emerging markets in Africa and Latin American and the Caribbean (LAC). However, Japan and Germany had their infrastructures destroyed in World War II, allowing them to adopt newer technology in the reconstruction. Japan today the world’s second largest steel exporter due to this modern technology. Similarly, industrialization-deprived emerging markets, starting in some instances from almost nothing in terms of homegrown technology, have adopted modern technology that puts them ahead of more developed countries in some cases. For example, the lack of wired telephone lines has led to greater adoption and usage of cell phones, often advanced cell phones, which are used to facilitate business transactions. So, the question now is: will the development of the cryptocurrency industry help emerging markets or not? The answer at this point is mixed. Thus far, four African...

             For two decades, the United States has held a trio of conferences that used to be considered summits: the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Ministerial, Private Sector Forum and Civil Society Forum. They have comprised the American part of the international competition to win the hearts and minds of Africans. The US-Africa Leaders’ Summit and the US-Africa Business Summit  (December 13-15, 2022)  are being touted as stand-ins for the AGOA forums, but, while some positive developments are possible, that really isn’t the case.             AGOA is a longstanding trade process that has defined American commercial interactions with African countries since the turn of this century. The three forums are intended to get all three sectors – government, private sector and civil society – in line on how the United States and qualifying African beneficiary countries do business...