In recent years, a broad swath of African countries has begun to show a remarkable dynamism. From Mozambique’s impressive growth rate (averaging 8% p.a. for more than a decade) to Kenya’s emergence as a major global supplier of cut flowers, from M-pesa’s mobile phone-based cash transfers to KickStart’s low-cost irrigation technology for small-holder farmers, and from Rwanda’s gorilla tourism to Lagos City’s Bus Rapid Transit system, Africa is seeing a dramatic transformation. This favorable trend is spurred by, among other things, stronger leadership, better governance, an improving business climate, innovation, market-based solutions, a more involved citizenry, and an increasing reliance on home-grown solutions. More and more, Africans are driving African development.
The global economic crisis of 2008-09 threatens to undermine the optimism that Africa can harness this dynamism for long-lasting development. In light of this, it might be useful to re-visit recent achievements. The African Successes study aims to do just that.
The study will identify a wide range of development successes (see list), from which around 20 cases will be selected for in-depth study. The analysis of each successful experience will evaluate the following: (1) the drivers of success—what has worked and why; (2) the sustainability of the successful outcome(s); and (3) the potential for scaling up successful experiences. African success stories offer valuable insights and practical lessons to other countries in the region.
I welcome your comments and suggestions for success stories. Click here to see the list of what we have come up with so far.
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