The Economist - USA (2020-03-28)

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TheEconomistMarch 28th 2020 3

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ometimesbridgingthegapbetweensuccessandfailure,be-
tweenfinishinghighschoolordroppingout,requiresa lotof
determinationandthecostofa cow.JackOyugigrewupastheold-
estof 14 childrentoparentstillinganacreofgroundinwestern
Kenya.Theircropsusuallygavethemenoughtoeat—neighbours
wouldfeedthemiffoodranshort—buttheyhadlittlecash.When
MrOyugiwenttosecondaryschoolhisfathersoldhisonlycowto
paythefees.“Theneighbourslaughedathim,”hesays.Nowheis
havingthelastlaugh.MrOyugiwentontouniversitywherehe
studiedbiotechnology,and thendevelopedaprocesstomake
protein-richanimalfeedfromwaterhyacinth,aninvasiveplant
onLakeVictoria.Heprovidesjobsfor 30 people.Ordersforthe
feed,whichisabout30%cheaperthansoyabeanprotein,arecom-
ingfromasfarawayasThailand.Asforhisfather,“I’vebuilthima
seven-roomhouseandboughthimsomecows,”hesaysproudly.
MrOyugiistalentedandhard-working.Buthisjumpfromvil-
lagetouniversity,fromsubsistencefarmingtofoundinga thriving
business,isalsoonethatencapsulates thechangethatissweeping
acrosstheworld’syoungestcontinent.Almosthalfofthe1.3bnAf-
ricansalivetodaywerebornaftertheterrorattacksonAmericain
2001—themedianageof 19 islessthanhalfthatofEurope(43).
In1885,whenthecolonialpowerscarvedupAfrica,it hadfewer
than100mpeople,oraboutone-thirdthenumberinEurope.Today

therearealmosttwoAfricansforeveryEuropean.Someoutsiders
seethisrapidlygrowingpopulationasa recipefordisaster.Al-
thoughthepovertyrateisfalling,abouta thirdofchildrenarestill
malnourished.Thisleavesmanyofthemwithstuntedbodiesand
diminishedmentalcapacities.EverymonthaboutonemillionAf-
ricansenterthejobmarket.Manyofthemdonothavetheeduca-
tionorskillstheyneed.Morethana thirdofAfricanchildrendo
notfinishsecondaryschool.InMozambiqueandMadagascarthat
ratejumpstomorethanhalf.Extremistsfindfertilegroundin
countrieswithlargenumbersofpoor,unemployedyoungpeople.
UnlikeotheremergingpowerssuchasChinaandBrazil,Africa
isdividedinto 54 countries,allwiththeirdifferentproblems.Two
ofitsbiggesteconomies,South AfricaandNigeria,arebarely
treadingwater.Manyarerivenbytribaldivisionsandsufferfrom
poorinfrastructure,corruptionandthelegaciesofslavery,colo-
nialismandauthoritarianrule.Somearechallengedbydangerous
religiousradicalisationthatthreatenstoturnfailingstatesinto
failedones.Climatechangewillmakethesechallengestougher.In
theshortterm,sowillthespreadofcovid-19.
Thecontinenthasdisappointedbefore.ThaboMbeki,athisin-
augurationaspresidentofSouthAfricain1999,spokeofentering
“theAfricancentury”.Evenaftertheglobalfinancialcrisis,rapid
growthinAfricagavehopeofsustainedprogress,albeitfroma low

The African century


Special report


For hundreds of years Africa has played only a small role in world affairs. Now the continent is changing so rapidly
it will be hard to ignore, says Jonathan Rosenthal

The African century


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