Africa offers vast investment opportunities for Asian countries with the appropriate incentives for their private sectors, Prof. Kevin Urama, Chief Economist and vice president of the African Development Bank Group, has affirmed.

Urama made the call during a webinar to discuss the 2023 edition of the African Economic Outlook report. The African Development Bank organized the session jointly with the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP) in Sejong-Si, Korea.

“I invite investors and governments in Asia to see Africa not as a distant land, but a continent full of opportunities,” said Urama, vice president for Economic Governance and Knowledge Management.

He based his recommendations on the data in the latest edition of the African Economic Outlook, a flagship annual publication of the Bank Group that reviews the economies of the 54 African countries and provides detailed forecasts.

The report shows that Africa has remained broadly resilient despite experiencing significant shocks, particularly from the Covid-19 pandemic, climate change, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. From an economic growth of 3.8% in 2022, the continent is set to climb to 4.1% in 2023 and 2024, exceeding the global average by 2.9% and the European average by 1.1%, according to the report, which estimates that growth in Asia would be higher, at 4.3%.

Source: African Development Bank Group