Africa Rising: Who Benefits?

Africa, once dubbed the hopeless continent, is now hopeful, according to the Economist, with six of the world’s ten fastest-growing economies in Africa. Whilst investors are losing faith in stagnant or collapsing economies in Europe and elsewhere, they are increasingly excited about Africa’s new boom.

But African economic growth has come with inequality. In programme one we explore growth in Nigeria and how it fits the perception of Africa rising.

Nigeria’s economy, as with that of many countries in Africa, is heavily dependent on the extractive industry – which drives growth but rarely creates substantial employment for local people. The official unemployment rate is nearly one in four, but many more Nigerians are under-employed, working in irregular and badly-paid jobs in the informal sector.

Nearly 85 per cent of Nigerians still live on under $2 per day. Lack of reliable access to water and electricity is a daily frustration for many. Yet there has been consistent economic growth in the country for the past decade – growing, on average, by 7.4% per year according to the most recent African Economic Outlook report. So who is benefiting from the boom?

You can listen to this debate on:http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p019smcc