Doing for ourselves

Greetings

For over a century, Africa’s relationship with the rest of the world has been ‘extractive’ with raw materials going one way (out) and processed/manufactured goods going the other way (in). While this continues to be the best, there is a drive to change the situation. How Africa is moving towards production sovereignty. In Ghana, which is the second-largest cocoa producer, there is a drive to process more cocoa locally: Ghana sets 2030 deadline to overhaul cocoa financing and end raw mineral exports. In Nigeria, Aliko Dangote’s oil refinery, which has become the world’s largest jet fuel exporter, is reshaping the oil industry in Nigeria, across the continent and globally: Nigerian billionaire says Dangote refinery ended Africa’s “economic slavery”. And the African Vaccine Manufacturing Initiative (AVMI) seeks to contribute to boosting The $668 Billion Opportunity: How Health R&D Can Transform Africa

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In the 2015 IMF blog post The African Century, Antoinette M. Sayeh and Abebe Aemro Selassie write, “By 2030 or so, sub-Saharan Africa’s contribution to the increase in global labor force will exceed that from the rest of the world combined.” And it has been predicted that, by 2025, one in five people globally will be African. On the surface, if we can harness this as per Africa’s Golden Opportunity: Demographic Dividend, this is a plus for Africa, and Africans. But, it also comes with its own challenges: Africa’s Battle to Retain Tech Talent in a Fierce Global Race.

Mohamed Dhaouafi is a Tunisian tech entrepreneur, the founder and CEO of Cure Bionics, CEO of Ecobees and co-founder of ZETA HUB. Mohamed Is Developing Affordable 3D Printed Solar-Powered Bionic Hands For Amputees In Africa

This paragraph in From Earth to Emazulwini: A look at African architecture resonated with me, “The future of African architecture is not just in tall buildings. It’s in just buildings. Spaces that serve people. Spaces that heal. Spaces that tell our stories instead of silencing them.”

It is about taking into consideration history, context, nuance, environment, etc when it comes to designing and building across the continent, especially with the rapid urbanisation taking place. It can’t be about simply transplanting what has been done elsewhere, as has been done for far too long. It is about Designing the Future: Architectural Marvels Shaping African Skylines and Dreaming with new tools.

According to Stats SA, “Three‑quarters (75,2%) of all tourists came from neighbouring Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries, while tourists from other African countries contributed 1,9%. This means more than 77% of all tourist arrivals were from the African continent.”

While this is high, in comparison to most of the other countries on the continent, it also reveals an opportunity. Regulating and Facilitating Intra-Africa tourism looks at how ramp this up within the context of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

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Kojo