BY year 2020, Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Egypt and other sub-Saharan African countries are expected to earn about $2.6 Trillion from resources including agriculture, consumer goods and infrastructure growth.

Although the continent faces significant challenges; opportunities are said to also abound, going by the fact that 60 per cent of the world’s unused agricultural land is in Africa.

Besides, the continent is adjudged to be very rich in a broad range of resources and has large market with increasing disposable income.

Accordingly, it was estimated that since 2000, 31 million African households have joined the world’s consumers’ class and with income to make purchases other than food and shelter.

These details are contained in a document titled: ‘Investment Opportunities in the Nigerian ICT sector ‘presented to investors at the just concluded GITEX Technology show in Dubai, UAE, a copy obtained by The Guardian. The documents noted that there are 54 countries of different ethnicity, culture, language, and at different levels of development on the continent.

According to a telecoms expert and Federal Government’s consultant, Amstrong Katang, who made the presentation, said despite the challenges it faces, Africa has recorded progress in a number of areas.

He said over the past decade, Africa has grown to become the second fastest growing regional economy in the world (after Asia).

Katang said 11 African countries grew at a yearly rate of seven per cent or more between 2000 and 2009, stressing that the International Monetary Fund estimates that 11 of the 20 fastest growing global economies through 2017 will be African.

According to him, there are increasingly better educated workforces as a result of increasing access to education at all levels.

Besides, the experts said Foreign Direct Investments projects in Nigeria, South Africa and others have grown at a compound rate of nearly 20 per cent since 2007 and that despite a global downturn, it grew by 5.5 per cent from 2011 to 2012.

On Nigeria, Katang said with an estimated population of 170 million, the country made the seventh largest country in the World; and the largest in Africa. He said 42 per cent of Nigeria’s population is below 15, making it a young driven economy.

He explained that Nigeria’s GDP has grown at close to seven per cent over the past five years, stressing that the country has now has Africa’s largest economy after recent re-basing exercise

Revised GDP for 2013 is now $509.9 billion up from old estimates of $269.5 billion.

Katang said Nigeria’s consumer class is growing approximately 23 per cent of the population, stressing that in 2012 Nigeria had 106 active infrastructure projects in 2012 with a total value close to $100 billion.

By Adeyemi Adepetun via The Guardian