Africa has made very good progress in institution building and in promoting democratic practices on the political front. However, there is some way to go in some countries where reversals of democratic practices have been reversed such as recently, in Mali. Indeed, the Arab spring revolutions also pint to challenges of in the area of Voice and Accountability, which is potentially explosive when combined with youth unemployment. One question is, are political elections outcomes in Africa random?

In recent years, Africa has experienced increased large-scale foreign investments in agriculture. A recent study estimates that more than half of the 56 million hectares of land sought after by foreign investors globally is located in sub-Saharan Africa. The Democratic Republic of Congo and Mozambique have the highest share of foreign investor driven land deals relative to total arable land of close to 50% and 21%, respectively. In most African countries, the urgent need for development in agriculture and the lack of fiscal space to support capital intensive projects has facilitated large scale land deals. If properly channeled, foreign land acquisitions in Africa can enhance the efficiency of agriculture by investing in irrigation and infrastructure development, thereby opening up job opportunities to improve rural livelihoods.

For the past decade, Africa has exhibited strong economic growth. A new economic growth momentum has been established. The continent weathered the financial crisis and has bounced back. But headline economic growth is not enough. Deliberate policies to reduce inequalities and promote inclusion are now needed more than ever before. It is time to focus on people’s expectations: decent work, a living wage, access to basic service, more democracy, and accountable governments. Africa and its people aim to be a pole for global growth in the decades ahead.

Over the last 50 years, Africa has moved from mostly colonial states, through seemingly endless array of development challenges, to a continent on the verge of major political and economic transformation. Over the past decade in particular, despite successive global food and financial crises, Africa has been growing at an unprecedented rate to rekindle a growing optimism about Africa’s potential. Across the continent, there is now a greater sense to seize the initiative and take advantage of the emerging conditions to maximise the continent’s comparative advantages and bring about the necessary structural changes in its economy.

Demand for retail banking services in Africa has picked up in recent years, spurred largely by the emerging middle class on the continent which has tripled over the past 30 years to 355 million or more than 34% of the continent’s population. To this end, domestic, regional and international banking groups are re-focusing their efforts to expand the menu of services to meet the growing needs of this newly-found affluent class. According to recent estimates, retail banking in sub-Saharan Africa is projected to grow by 15% per annum by 2020, bringing the sector’s contribution to GDP to 19% from 11% in 2009.