African Development Bank says Ethiopia’s leather industry shows the way
21/10/2016
In a recent newspaper article, Dr Adesina said African government must make improvements in the provision of electricity, roads, ports, rail, aviation and information and communications technology to become competitive. “That way,” he said, “[Africa] will take advantage of its abundant labour and much lower wage rates to attract labour-intensive light manufacturing global firms.”
But he said “sound industrial development policies” are essential if governments are to make a success of bringing manufacturing jobs to their economies. He said Ethiopia’s leather industry offers a good example. “With smart policies, Ethiopia is attracting top global firms and rapidly emerging as Africa's top exporter of leather products,” he said.
Dr Adesina pointed out that by 2050, Africa will have the combined population of China and India today. Rapid urbanisation and growth in the middle class population, estimated to increase from 350 million people at present to close to 1.1 billion by 2060, means that Africa can be “a huge consumer market”, he said.
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