The potential impact of these crises on the poorest is significant, but perhaps what is even more important to focus upon is not only what will happen to these countries if the world does not consider them in the solution, but what benefits could be reaped if the world does. Too often, developed countries have viewed developing countries as remote places that require attention for moral and humanitarian reasons alone but in this interconnected world, it becomes all the more apparent that a stable, vibrant developing world would offer significant benefits to all.
Developing countries offer untapped resources that could potentially help resolve some of the world‘s greatest current challenges. If brought into the conversation and viewed as an investment, these opportunities could be leveraged:

  • Africa as a solution to future food crises—Africa has the potential to feed its own citizens and others around the world. Cyclical food shortages and food crises like the most recent are realities partly because of underinvestment in agricultural productivity. With low cost investments in its vast agricultural potential, Africa could break from the cycle of food insecurity that can quickly undermine development gains. Indeed, the World Bank estimates that growth in the agricultural sector is twice as effective in reducing poverty as growth in other sectors.


  • Africa as an investment opportunity—Growth rates in Africa have continued at a strong pace over the last decade. In 2007, the World Bank reported that 18 non-oil producing countries have experienced average annual growth of 5.5% or more between1995-2005. In the last few years African stock markets have been amongst the fastest growing and in 2008, four African countries were named by the World Bank as the best business climate reformers in the world. While the most recent figures from the IMF2 have revealed inevitable reduction in predicted growth rates for 2009, a 3.5% growth rate is significantly higher than the global growth rate of 0.5%, and of individual advanced economies such as the United States (-1.6%), the United Kingdom (-2.8%), and Japan (-2.6%). These trends show the potential for African markets as potentially profitable investments that can yield returns for global investors. Increasingly, investors are seeing Africa as a good investment destination – investment in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in 2007 was $30 billion, up from $22 billion in 2006 and more than 7 times 1995 levels of $4 billion. Continued investments are critical to keeping these economies vibrant.


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