Economic Transformation of Africa

EENI- School of International Business

Course (e-learning): The Economic Transformation of Africa (5 ECTS, e-learning, )

Five subjects compose the course “The Economic Transformation of Africa. The African Industrial Sector”:

1. The African Green Growth Initiative (0.2 ECTS)
2. The African Mining Vision (AMV) (2 ECTS)
3. The African Industrial Sector. Industrial Policy (1.5 ECTS)
4. The role of investments in the transformation of Africa (0.3 ECTS)
5. The African agriculture sector (1 ECTS)

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Languages of study or Afrique Africa Africa. The student has free access to the materials in these languages.

The objectives of the course “The Economic Transformation of Africa” are the following:

1. To know the “African Green Growth Initiative” of the African Union based on a sustainable and inclusive economic model for Africa
2. To understand the fundamental importance of the “African Mining Vision” designed with the objective that the huge African mineral resources would be one of the key pillars of the economic transformation of Africa
3. To analyse the “African Industrial Sector,” identifying their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in the global/regional market, as well the strategy for the implementation of the Action Plan for Accelerated Industrial Development of Africa
4. To analyse the role of investments in the economic transformation of Africa

Download the syllabus of the course “Economic Transformation of Africa” (PDF)

Course intended for all those wishing to understand the deep economic transformation of Africa.

Sample of the course: The Economic Transformation of Africa

The African Population in 2030: 1.6 billion people (today: 1 billion people).

Africa’s share of the total manufacturing output of the World: 1.5% (Europe: 25%, Latin America: 6%, Asia-Pacific: 22%)

Subjects of the Course - The Economic Transformation of Africa:

Subject 1- The African Green Growth Initiative. Syllabus:

1. Introduction to the African Green Growth Initiative
2. Green Growth in Africa
3. The role of the African Countries in the green growth
4. The need for a sustainable infrastructure
5. Proficient and sustainable administration of natural resources
6. Physical, economic, and social elasticity
7. The role of the African Development Bank

Subject 2- The African Mining Vision (AMV). Syllabus:

1. Introduction to the African Mining Vision (African Union)
2. Improvement of the African natural resources
3. Trade of commodities
4. The need for the African mining vision
5. Key factors for realising the African Mining Vision
6. Quality and level of the resource potential
7. Capacity to negotiate contracts
8. Incomplete development of the African resources
9. Reduction of wholly state-owned mining projects
10. Improvement of Infrastructures
11. African Development Corridors
12. Framework for action
13. The African Minerals Development Centre (AMDC)
14. Minerals and Africa's Development
15. The Africa Review Report on the mining

Subject 3- The African Industrial Sector. The Industrial Policy. Syllabus:

1. Introduction to the African Industrial Sector
2. New opportunities for the African manufacturing
3. The Made in Africa Brand
4. The Division of Industry of the African Union
5. The industrial policy in Africa
6. The industrial sector and the structural transformation in Africa
7. The industrial policy frameworks
8. The Public and private sector
9. The strategy for the implementation of the Action Plan for the Accelerated Industrial Development of Africa
10. Case Study:
    1. Kenya: National Industrial Policy
    2. Mauritius: The transformation of a country based on mono-crop into a middle-income economy
    3. Industrialisation in Nigeria and Tunisia
    4. The industrial performance of Rwanda
    5. The industrial policy in South Africa. The Automotive Industry

Subject 4- The role of Investments in the transformation of Africa. Syllabus:

1. Investment, transformation, and development in Africa
2. Trends and patterns of investment in Africa
3. Composition of investments
4. Decline of public investment
5. Factors of investment in Africa
6. Access to the credit and the cost of finance
7. Low domestic savings
8. Risk and uncertainty
9. Inequality and aggregate demand
10. Policy and investment environment

Description of the course: The Economic Transformation of Africa.

1. Near 61% of the African population earn less than two dollars per day
2. Africa imports 39 billion dollars in foodstuff every year
3. The African people living without access to electricity: 600 million

The vision of the African Development Bank on the African Green Growth Initiative is to promote the inclusive economic growth investing in sustainable infrastructures, enhancing management of natural resources and natural disasters and improving the African food security.

Weaknesses of the African Green Growth:

1. Inadequate infrastructure: low access to energy, high tariffs, urbanisation, education, and health.
2. Management of natural resources (renewable and non-renewable), deforestation
3. Climate change and natural disaster.
4. Food security, rising food prices, low productivity. The African food production in 2050: increment of 70%.

The African Manufacturing Production

1. In the last decade, the capacity of manufacturing production of Africa has been doubled
2. New economic relationships with the Emerging Markets (China, India, Brazil)
3. In the last ten years, China was the largest provider of manufactured goods to Africa
4. Trends in the African manufacturing sector: labour-intensive production of simple goods. By example, the AGOA for labour-intensive export textile products to the US Market
5. High commodity prices
6. The strategic role of the special economic zones (employments, technology transfer, value addition)