Nigeria to contribute over 25% to Africa’s GDP by 2020

Africa’S biggest economy, Nigeria, is to contribute over 25 per cent to the continent’s economic growth in the next four years.
According to a new report, the country’s contribution is benchmarked at an average rate of 4.8 per cent yearly leading to year 2020.

The document, which was made available yesterday to The Guardian by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and titled “Economic Insight: Africa Q1 2016,” projected that growth on the continent would average over four per cent in the next four years.

The accountancy and finance body while forecasting bright outlook for African economies, however, warned that manufacturing still accounts for an infinitesimal share of output, adding that the old model of exporting raw materials was fast becoming unsustainable.

“The GDP growth in Africa is projected to average 4.3 per cent between 2015 and 2020. Nigeria, the largest economy on the continent, is expected to contribute significantly to Africa’s economic expansion at an average real rate of 4.8 per cent yearly between 2015 and 2020, contributing over 25 per cent to the continent’s forecast growth in this timeframe,” the report said.

Regional Director, ICAEW Middle East, Africa and South Asia Michael Armstrong said: “Africa is the most commodity-dependent continent on earth. Africa’s economies increasingly need to create a hospitable environment for companies in the manufacturing and services sectors to drive growth, as the old models of growth driven by exports of raw materials are outdated.

“The East African region is embracing the use of renewable energy to leapfrog older power generation technologies, while also reducing the need to extend the national energy grid to remote villages,” he added.

Besides, the document stated that Africa’s report innovation in financial services technology – known as FinTech – had erupted as a primary global investment opportunity, recording rapid growth over the past five years as technological innovations allowed digitally active consumers to streamline and improve on traditional banking services.

Associate Director, Macro Consulting at Oxford Economics, Tom Rogers, said: “A clear plan for preventing fiscal slippage will be needed to underpin confidence in public finances and economic stability.

“The government’s recognition of these economic concerns will be needed to address these issues and instill some confidence in the country’s economic outlook.”

It would be recalled that some continental economic leaders had recently stressed the need for Africa to optimally utilise her inherent potentials to nurture the anticipated growth.

Senior Adviser at Lazard, Dr. Ngozi Okonio-Iweala, who was among the speakers at Africa’s CEO Forum in Cote d’ Ivoire, said the continent though currently witnessing decrease in Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs), however, noted that she had sufficient capital to finance her investments.