Africa has to deal with three dimensions of its development trajectory that are very difficult to master, despite doing the right things. One is the large commodity dependence that keeps us from industrializing and making sure we integrate value chains in a much more meaningful way. Second is the fact that we don't really have historically examples of economies that have grown since the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century without access to credit and liquidity. And then the third characteristic that really makes Africa suffer more than it should: It's always a terrain for geopolitical football games.
Cohost Janet Bush talks with Carlos Lopes. He is a professor in the Mandela School of Public Governance at the University of Cape Town. He’s also an affiliate professor at Sciences Po, Paris, an associate fellow in the Africa Program at Chatham House, and a member of the African Union reform team. Lopes was the policy director for UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and executive secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa. He serves as an advisor on MGI’s research on Africa, including our latest report, which discusses the continent’s human capital and natural resources and how they can help to accelerate productivity and reimagine Africa’s economic growth. His views are his own. In this podcast, he covers topics including the following:
- The factors constraining Africa’s potential
- The promise of AI for Africa
- The threat and opportunity of climate change for Africa
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