Lagos Ranked Third In Africa’s Large Cities With Inclusive Growth Potential

MAPUTO, the capital of Mozambique, is the large African city with the highest potential for inclusive growth, according to the 2015 MasterCard African Cities Growth Index (ACGI). Casablanca (Morocco) and Lagos (Nigeria) rank second and third respectively. Abuja came in sixth and Port Harcourt 11th.

Now in its third year, the ACGI maps African cities’ economic outlook according to their potential for inclusive urbanisation. The 74 analysed cities are organised into three categories by population size: large (over one million), medium (between 500,000 and one million) and small (under 500,000). Twenty-five economic and social inclusion indicators rank cities’ level of inclusive urbanisation, forecasting potential for inclusive growth. Once ranked, the cities fall into one of four bands describing their inclusive growth potential – high, medium-high, medium-low or low.

“The ACGI assesses the potential of Africa’s cities to increase the well-being of their urban populations,” says Professor George Angelopulo of the University of South Africa, author of the 2015 ACGI. “As inclusive urbanisation is a prerequisite for inclusive growth, the study presents a measure of each city’s potential as a place to live, work and do business in the coming years.”

Maputo’s inclusive growth potential falls into the medium-high category, attributed to its share of Mozambique’s foreign direct investment (FDI), which as a percentage of national GDP is among the highest in the world. The city boasts constantly improving levels of government effectiveness, regulatory quality, and ease of doing business.

Angelopulo notes that Casablanca – ranked second among large cities – is the only North African city with medium-high growth potential, supported by Morocco’s relative stability in a turbulent region.

In Lagos (Nigeria), the third-ranked large city which also has medium-high growth potential, the increase in percentage of middle class households is significant due to the number of citizens that increase represents and the effect they will have on future consumption in the city.