African countries have been urged to diversify their economies and take advantage of the growing urban middle class consumer on the continent, to sustain the modest growth of the past decade.
Speaking to Citi Business at the Africa Summit on Business and Governance in Brussels, a Private Sector Expert at the World Bank, Mazen Buri, said African countries cannot continue to depend on exports of primary commodities as they have done in the past, but must diversify into new sectors, taking particular advantage of urban consumers and the growing middle class.
According to him, projections are that by 2010, there will be about 200 million middle class consumers on the continent, noting that this presents a huge potential for the continent.
Mazen Buri also identified regional integration as the other catalyst for sustained economic growth on the continent, noting that the potential for trade in consumer goods across markets and the increasing purchasing power of the middle class present a good opportunity for the continent.
Listen to Bernardino’s interview at Citi FM Radio.
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