One cannot doubt Africa, if Maria Ramos’s optimism is anything to go by. Declaring openly her bullishness is no matter of blind faith; one of the world’s most powerful personalities in business believes Africa is the place to be for the world’s fastest growth rate.

“Over the next five years, Africa is likely to take the lead with the highest average growth rates, and will become the fastest growing continent,” said the Absa group chief executive officer, referring to The Economist’s recent coverage of emerging markets.

“Whereas today, Africa accounts for just 2% of global GDP [gross domestic product] and Asia a further 25%; by 2050, Africa’s contribution will have risen to about 5% and Asia’s to 50% – so, together, they will account for well over half of global GDP,” she explained to Opportunity and all in attendance at the Discovery Invest Leadership Summit held in September in Johannesburg.

“This trajectory stays the same even if we take a slightly longer term view. Over the next decade, for example, many economists are forecasting that Africa will grow at an average of 7% a year, thereby maintaining its position as the most rapidly growing continent,” Ramos added.

She believed there are important questions for business and government when it comes to Africa. “The questions we must now pose ourselves are the following: What are the drivers of unprecedented growth in Africa and Asia? And, perhaps more importantly, what must Africa and Asia do, immediately, to capitalise on this historic opportunity to converge on developed economies?”

GDP was set to rise from around $2 trillion to above $3 trillion in the coming 10 years, according to some; but Ramos expressed concern that if factors such as education and policy were not carefully assessed, the continent may miss a window of opportunity where consumer spending is predicted to rise to around $1.5 trillion from $900 billion over the next decade.

She has previous stated that success will depend on the extent to which building — rather than extracting — becomes the “central organising idea of African countries”, according to Alasdair Anderson, quoting the CEO during her delivery of the annual Anton Rupert Memorial Lecture at the University of Pretoria.

The implicit reference to mining indicated that “Africa needs to expand beyond being an exporter of resources and move toward having a resilient and competitive manufacturing base,” to use Ramos’s own words.

But exports remain crucial for now, and the question of looming strikes remains a concern for South African companies, not only in mining, but across vital industries such as transport – posing large problems, given South Africa’s reliance on current infrastructure and the need to expand it.

Ramos has noted that Africa and Asia shared similar beginnings: “Fifty years ago, most of Asia was at least as poor as Africa. South Korea had the same income level per capita as Sudan, and Ghana’s citizens were richer than most citizens of Asia.”

She added that Africa did not emerge from the global economy unscathed, but did relatively well, given the international situation.

Ramos described it during an interview with McKinsey Quarterly: “In many countries, there is absolutely no doubt that the focus continues to be, and will remain for some time, on commodities. But we also need to understand that it’s not just the commodity endowment that is driving the potential of those economies. It’s also what’s happened in the last decade and a half around the investment in people, systems, and social and physical infrastructure, as well as increasing government stability and sounder fiscal policies. Those moves are beginning to pay dividends.”

Garreth Bloor