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Previously considered a primary destination for foreign aid dollars, Africa is now a magnet for investment capital. A growing GDP and expanding consumer market have attracted investors from Beijing to Wall Street. Now some of the world’s top media outlets and forums are bringing much-deserved attention to the continent.

CNN’s Marketplace Africa 

In 2010, CNN International launched a new program exhibiting the international and domestic dynamics of Africa’s marketplace. Each week, the program hosts pioneers in Africa’s commercial landscape.

According to Africa Business Source, “Marketplace Africa extends CNN International’s existing programming focused on Africa, including African Voices and Inside Africa.” CNN’s extensive coverage on Africa mirrors the global media’s increased attention toward the continent’s economic prospects and opportunities.  Major networks such as BBC, CNBC, MSNBC, and Bloomberg have expanded their coverage as well.

CNN’s Marketplace Africa has featured entrepreneurs such as Rwanda’s Sina Gerard whose chili sauce recipe launched him from street vendor to millionaire. Global investment is highlighted as well. The show’s host, Robyn Curnow, interviewed Ernst & Young’s Africa CEO about investors’ increasingly optimistic perceptions of the region.

African reform and innovation has attracted big-hitters from around the world and the media will help increase attention from potential investors as well as serve as a mechanism of accountability. Still more, networks like CNN will be the eyepiece as the world watches Africa rise.

Marketplace Africa airs at 10:45 p.m. on Fridays on CNN. For web features, visit http://edition.cnn.com/CNNI/Programs/marketplace.africa/

World Economic Forum on Africa 2011
Every year, world leaders make their way to the Swiss Alps for the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The forum hosts heads of state and leading thinkers to discuss solutions to major global issues.

In May 2011, the World Economic Forum hosted the 4^th African conference in Capetown, South Africa. The event, entitled From Vision to Action: Africa’s Next Chapter, featured prominent figures such as Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, South African President Jacob Zuma, and former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.  After a plenary session, focus groups covered topics that included:

●      The necessity of government, business, and civil society in economic development

●      Africa’s growing “South-South” trade relationship

●      The stabilization of democracy in Africa

Tanzania’s President Jakaya M. Kikwete spoke on his country’s approach to development, “The innovative partnerships that we have created address one particular problem we face – how to transform Tanzanian agriculture, which is predominantly subsistence and marked by low productivity.”

With 60 percent of the world’s uncultivated, arable farmland and a sizable population reliant on subsistence farming, agriculture was a major issue. Kofi Annan said, “Our vision is not just to help farmers to feed themselves but also to feed the markets so Africa can become part of the global food security system. This is not a pipe dream.”

Leaders agreed that, to accomplish these goals, partnerships between public, private, and social sectors must be front-and-center in development strategy. 

The presence of the World Economic Forum on African soil is a huge boon to a continent that has been marginalized in the past. This forum marks a shift in Africa’s trajectory, favoring African built market solutions over aid-heavy methods.

For videos and summaries visit:

http://www.weforum.org/events/world-economic-forum-africa-2011

Ted Talks Global

In June 2007, Ted Talks held its first conference in Africa. Hosted in Tanzania, the event featured leaders on the cutting-edge of development thinking. These are some of the highlights from that event.

On Patient Capitalism

Jacqeline Novogratz, founder and CEO of Acumen Fund

●      She offers three lessons: dignity is more important to the human spirit than wealth; traditional charity and aid are never going to solve the problem of poverty; and markets alone are also not going to solve the problem of poverty.

●      She started Acumen fund, a non-profit venture capital fund for the poor. It raises funds from individuals, foundations, and corporations and reinvests equity and loans in for-profit and non-profit entities that offer health, housing, and clean water to low-income families in Africa and South Asia.

●      Acumen has invested $20 million in 20 different enterprises and created 20,000 jobs and delivered services to ten of millions of people.

●      Jacqueline offers numerous stories of how individuals began the journey out of poverty by her listening to the poor and encouraging them “listen” to the market.

Want to Help Africa? Do Business Here

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigeria’s first female finance minister

●      A study by Economic Commission for Africa showed a clear upward trend in governance in 28 African countries.

●      Nigeria’s telecom market is the second-fastest growing in the world next to China’s.

●      Barclays Bank invested $500 million and Standard Chartered invested $140 million in Nigeria’s banking system.

●      “The best way to help Africans today is to help them stand on their feet. And the best way to do that is by helping create jobs.”

●      First company to enter Nigeria’s telecom market was MTN of South Africa. During a three-year period, the company made $360 million in profit per year. $360 million in a poor country, with an average income under $500 per capita.

On Investing in Africa

Euvin Naidoo, president of South Africa’s Chamber of Commerce

●      “Each country has a unique value proposition—You can make money; you can lose money.”

●      South Africa was voted as the top destination for 1,000 UK-based companies’ offshore call centers.

●      Today, 16 African countries have sovereign credit ratings ranked by S&P and Moody’s & Fitch, and this number is growing steadily.

●      Goldman Sach’s report “The Next 11” identified Nigeria as becoming one of the top ten economies in the world by 2020.

●      Opportunity: Nigerians account for Africa’s largest population and only have 700 ATMs in the country; on average, 50 percent of Africa’s roads are unpaved.

●      In 2006, Kenya’s stock exchange returned at 60 percent, Algeria at 40 percent, South Africa at 20 percent.