Africa Is Richer Than You Think

Vijay Mahajan

Africa is richer than you think. Africa has some of the poorest nations in the world, but it is wealthier across the continent than India. The average gross national income per capita (GNIC) across all 53 African nations in 2006 was about $1,066, more than $200 above India’s. As Table 1 shows, 12 African nations (with more than 100 million people among them) had GNICs that were greater than China’s, and 20 nations (with a combined population of 269 million) had GNICs that were greater than India’s. This concentration of wealth represents a huge potential market for companies worldwide. Of course, serving this market means overcoming the myriad economic, political, legal, medical, and social challenges ...