PR TIMES AFRICA PRTimesAfrica (March 2016) | Page 59

AFRICA TODAY
CAN AFRICA
FUND ITS OWN
GROWTH?
Despite witnessing exceptional growth in
development finance in recent years, Af-
rica is still faced with the arduous task of
mobilizing adequate resources to fund its
growth and future transformation agenda.
Given the paucity of external development
assistance, and low commodity prices for
its goods and services, Africa has awak-
ened to the fact that it must rely on its own
financial resources for sustainable devel-
opment.
One of the leading pan-African bodies, the
United Nations Economic Commission for
Africa (ECA), says infrastructure develop-
ment in Africa has the potential to raise
gross domestic product (GDP) by 2% and
develop the backbone for rapid industrial-
ization, which in turn could boost the ca-
pacity of the continent to generate more
domestic resources.
In its Innovative Financing for the Eco-
nomic Transformation of Africa report,
published in March 2015, ECA reckons
that Africa’s current infrastructure needs
stand at a whopping $93 billion annually,
out of which $45 billion is mobilised, leav-
59 | PRTIMES AFRICA MARCH 2016