Africa’s growth is underpinned by strong fundamentals, making the continent a destination for companies looking to grow their markets.

Africa is projected to be the second-fastest growing region in the world between 2015 and 2020. The continent has the highest population growth rate, rising from 500 million in the 1980s to more than 1 billion in 2014 to a projected 2 billion by 2050. This growth is augmented by rapid urbanization, with four times as many cities over 1 million people as the United States. Buoyed by the world’s fastest growing consumer market, consumption by middle-income households is estimated to reach $1.5 trillion by 2020. Inflows of foreign direct investment are also growing from $10 billion in 2002 to $54 billion in 2014, as manufacturing, technology, construction and service sectors expand across the continent and companies harness untapped natural resources.  Africa continues to be home to 30% of the world’s unused mineral resources and 60% of the world’s uncultivated fertile land.

BlackIvy’s anchor countries, Ghana and Tanzania, enjoy:

+ central locations—serving as natural gateways to their regions

+ political stability with leadership committed to private investment

+ abundant natural resources

+ competitive and growing labor pools, with young populations

+ favorable tax and trade incentives with regional and international markets, including the European Union and United States

+ projected average annual growth of 5.9% and 6.9%, respectively between 2016 and 2020