Challenge of Sustainable Growth in Africa – The Auto Industry is Driving Change

The sleeping giant is finally awakening! Africa is now on its feet financially and as the one continent where large mineral deposits are not yet depleted the race is on to invest there. ICT, manufacturing, construction and now…… vehicles for Africa! Just as infrastructure is the main driver of the economy, so is the auto industry. Therefore, the African auto assemblage industry will boom and there is no doubt about that. For these and more reasons, we now know for sure that Africa is the next best thing for vehicle dealers. With an insatiable hunger for vehicles, what better way to satisfy that than establishing auto assemblage centers in Africa?

 

Ok, much needs to be done about Africa. The main challenge for the governments of the day is to determine where most investment is needed and we can say that so far they are doing very well. Trained manpower is the main need for Africa. This is why education plays a very important role in the continent. With University education considered a privilege for the well to do in most countries, the governments of Africa are doing everything to come up with training programs.

The western economies have matured. Therefore, everyone is now running where there is room for growth and Africa is the place to be. Statisticians say that in the next few years, growth of about 60 percent is expected in the construction sector and most of that is going to happen in Africa. There will be a robust growth in the motor vehicle industry.

So what are African governments doing to get their economies on their feet and hit the ground running? Read on:

Long term plans for infrastructure development

It all starts with the manpower and Africa has realized this. Many countries are investing heavily in training programs for automotive engineers, construction and civil engineers, ICT engineers and many others as a preparation of the ground for sustainable development. Why motor vehicle engineering, you may ask? Vehicles play a crucial role in the transformation of any economy.

Training future engineers for new projects and maintenance

For many years, Africa has been importing manpower from China and India, but they have now realized that this has been having a negative effect on the economy. For example, for a road construction project, if done by foreign engineers, it would mean that they would have to remain in Africa to do the maintenance.

With Africa making efforts to have its own-trained manpower, the feeling is that soon there will be enough manpower to keep this continent running. Luckily, the motor vehicle industry has not lagged behind and with Africa facing towards the East to satisfy its hunger for affordable motor vehicles, countries like Japan are playing a crucial role in training manpower for Africa. They also fund major road projects all over Africa.

Funding and empowering the private sector

The private sector in Africa is a major industry player. Therefore, the governments of the day are funding the sector heavily by enacting bills that promote growth of business. For example, it is now very easy for individuals to get start up loans for business. Actually, individuals own many car and truck importation businesses in Africa. With the road network growing by miles every year, the auto industry in Africa is big.