The Economist USA 03.28.2020

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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