Why are the opportunities in Africa larger than elsewhere in the world? Simple. Demographics.
The average age in Europe is 42, with more people retiring each year than children being born. THe same is soon true in America, Asia, and Australia. But in Africa, the average age is only 19. In simple terms, half of everyone in Africa is child or teenager. A bit younger if you leave out North Africa, as the average varies from country to country:
What does this mean in terms for African businesses? Growth! Both growth in population as well as a massive potential of economic growth.
The combined GDPs of all the African countries total to around $2.5 trillion. That is the economic output of 1.2 billion Africans, half of which are not yet of working age. The population is estimated grow to 2 billion by 2040 and during that 67% growth today’s children will be working age adults providing the world’s largest and lowest cost workforce.
At Africa Eats we talk internally about the soon-to-be massive middle class and its implications for our businesses, but as we focus on food & agriculture, the opportunity at hand is less complicated, as there will simply be at least twice the appetite for fruits, vegetables, grains, and meats than today, and building out the production and supply chain of those products is what we do.
As we say in our podcasts… the Opportunity is Africa.
