Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, the President of Africa Development Bank (AfDB), has said that in 2025, Africa accounted for 12 out of the 20 fastest growing economies of the world.
The outgoing president of the AfDB disclosed this in a paper he presented at the 2025 Standard Chartered Bank Africa Summit held in Lagos State.
In a copy of the presentation obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Akinwumi said Africa’s economic growth is projected to rise from 3.3 percent in 2024 to 3.9 percent in 2025, and to 4.0 percent in 2026.
He added that defying all odds, 21 African countries are expected to exceed 5 percent growth in 2025, with some even exceeding 7 percent.
Regrettably, the renowned economist said the GDP growth rate on a per capital basis in the continent still falls way short of what is needed to achieve quantum leaps in inclusive growth and prosperity for its 1.4 billion people.
Adesina said the gap informed the decision of the AfDB to launch its High 5 strategic programmes 10 years back.
The programmes, according to him, are designed to “light up and power Africa; Feed Africa; Industrialise Africa; Integrate Africa; and Improve the Quality of Life of the people of Africa”.
He said: “I am delighted that in the past 10 years under my Presidency, the High 5s of the African Development Bank impacted on the lives of over 565 million people.”
Speaking on what informed the growth, Adesina identified rapid population growth across the continent.
He said Africa, with the world’s largest youth population, spurred increased consumption of goods and services.
“The size of Africa’s consumer market is projected to increase from $1.4 trillion in 2015 to over $2.5 trillion by 2030,” he said.
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The AfDB president added that Africa is critical for feeding the world, as 65 percent of the uncultivated arable land left to feed the world, is in the continent.
According to him, what Africa does with its agriculture will determine the future of food in the world.
He said: “The size of the food and agriculture market in Africa is estimated to rise to $1 trillion by 2030.
“Vast opportunities exist for agribusinesses and Agri-tech companies to apply digital tools to raise productivity and incomes.”
Adesina equally underscored the importance of expanding access to digital services.
He cited the example of collaborative effort between the AfDB and Mastercard, which would reach 300 million farmers with digital access to information and markets.
