Because growth is not enough.
The World Bank reports that Africa’s growth has not sufficiently reduced poverty or created productive employment. Besides, growth induced by commodity price increase, new discoveries of natural resources, or increase in foreign assistance is simply not sustainable.
Economic transformation means relying less on primary commodities and more on industry, manufacturing, and knowledge-based services. It also means modernizing agriculture and upgrading skills and technological capabilities to compete in the global marketplace. Only then will Africa create enough productive jobs, impart the right skills for a modern economy, and improve people’s living standards in economically balanced societies. And that calls for looking beyond short-term growth and taking a long-term perspective in setting an agenda for a sustainable economic future. So Africa needs to master the means to drive transformation.
ACET builds its research around 10 key drivers of transformation:
- State capacity for economic management
- Business environment for the private sector
- Finance – domestic private saving and investment
- Public infrastructure
- Education and skills
- Technology upgrading
- Export promotion
- Foreign direct investment
- Labor/industrial relations
- Targeted sector/sub-sector strategies to leverage potential comparative advantage
In a global development agenda dominated by economic growth and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), we have spent the past five years working to bring attention to structural transformation. Today, several institutions, such as the World Bank and the African Development Bank (AfDB), emphasize transformation as the sustainer of economic growth and poverty reduction.
