Curriculum Africa's Economies
Africa's Economies
The diverse economies of Africa's 54 countries - colonial legacies, commodities, mobile money, a continental free trade area, a young population and the road to development.
- Africa's Economies: A Continent of 54 Countries Why it is misleading to talk about "the African economy", and a tour of the continent's very different economies, from Nigeria and South Africa to Kenya and Ethiopia. 📄 Read-aloud
- The Economic Legacy of Colonialism in Africa How the slave trades and colonial rule shaped Africa's borders, institutions and economies, and what research finds about their long-lasting effects. 📄 Read-aloud
- Commodity Dependence Why many African economies rely on exporting oil, minerals or crops, and how price swings in these commodities create booms and busts. 📄 Read-aloud
- M-Pesa and Africa's Mobile Money Revolution How a mobile phone payment service launched in Kenya in 2007 brought financial services to millions and became a model for the world. 📄 Read-aloud
- The African Continental Free Trade Area Why African countries trade surprisingly little with each other, and how the continental free trade agreement aims to change that. 📄 Read-aloud
- Botswana: Diamonds Without the Curse How Botswana turned from one of the world's poorest countries into an upper-middle-income economy by managing diamond wealth well. 📄 Read-aloud
- Africa's Economies: Checkpoint 1 Quick checkpoint - five questions on Africa's diversity, history, commodities, mobile money and trade. 5 questions
- Africa's Young Population Why Africa's fast-growing, youthful population could be a huge opportunity or a serious challenge, depending on whether enough jobs are created. 📄 Read-aloud
- Farming in Africa: The Yield Gap Why crop yields in much of Africa remain lower than elsewhere, and what could raise farm productivity for the millions who depend on agriculture. 📄 Read-aloud
- Power and Roads: Africa's Infrastructure Gap How shortages of electricity, roads and ports hold back African businesses, and the efforts to close the gap. 📄 Read-aloud
- Ethiopia and the Manufacturing Question Whether African countries can follow East Asia's path of growth through factory exports, using Ethiopia's industrial parks as a case study. 📄 Read-aloud
- Africa's Debt Challenges Why many African governments face heavy debt burdens again, who they owe, and how debt restructuring works. 📄 Read-aloud
- Nigeria: Africa's Giant The economy of Africa's most populous country - oil, a booming creative industry, currency challenges and major reforms since 2023. 📄 Read-aloud
- South Africa: Africa's Most Industrialised Economy How South Africa built the continent's most sophisticated economy, and why unemployment, inequality and power shortages hold it back. 📄 Read-aloud
- Rwanda: Rebuilding After Genocide How Rwanda achieved rapid growth after the 1994 genocide through state-led development, services and tourism, and the debates about its political model and data. 📄 Read-aloud