Africa today, in the wake of COVID-19, is facing an unprecedented threat to its hard-earned growth over the last decade. The pandemic is global, but the resil­ience of the African region depends on the strategies and policies countries adopt now, building on recent initiatives to accelerate economic growth to meet national development aspirations in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the African Union's Agenda 2063, and to do so in a financially and environ­mentally sustainable manner. The cost to achieve the SDGs by 2030 in Africa is estimated at about $1.3 trillion a year, accord­ing to the United Nations. It will increase dramatically due to population growth projected at 45 per cent over 2020–2030—a dynamic that could seriously undermine the efforts to end extreme poverty and inequality, tackle climate change and build resilient infrastructure in Africa. Increasing the role of the private sector stands out among the widely advocated options for such investments, especially given the low levels of investment by governments and the donor com­munity. This option resonates with African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) initiatives to harness the demographic dividend, grow the middle class, increase the use of technology, pro­mote rapid urbanization and boost opportunities for regional and global value chains for African businesses as strategic drivers of economic growth in Africa. And the continent is endowed with a strong natural resource base, abundant human capital and, most important, strong entre­preneurial activity among its people, features that together signpost the road to private sector development -- [author website].

xxxv, 165 p. : ill., charts, graphs, tables

9789211251395
9789210051248 (e-ISBN)
2411-8346 (print ISSN)
2411-8354 (eISSN)