Industry & Craftsmanship in Africa

Industry and Crafts in Africa

The export of raw materials and African mineral resources continues to represent the largest economic sector. There are only a few processing plants for these materials in some countries. The main reason for this predicament is the unstable conditions prevailing in most African countries. Major investors prefer locations with secure framework conditions.

A well-developed infrastructure, meaning the supply of energy as well as a dense transport network, is a basic prerequisite for international corporations to consider locations in Africa. Unfortunately, this is only the case in very few countries. Added to this are the insecure, changing political conditions. In many African countries, civil wars are raging, making it almost impossible to establish economic sectors.

History of Industry in Africa

During the colonial era, the occupying powers had little interest in African states developing their own national economies. Instead, the extracted raw materials were exported directly and processed further in the colonial powers' own countries. Unfortunately, all industrialization concepts of the past decades must be considered failed. There are various reasons for this: in addition to the poor framework conditions mentioned earlier, the overvaluation of currencies and the discrimination against small-scale industry by governments are particularly noteworthy. In order to make Africa more attractive for large industrial producers, many currencies were overvalued. Small and medium-sized enterprises therefore had hardly any chance to develop. These enterprises were also not taken into account when issuing import licenses by the respective governments. Since they were not included in economic promotion programs either, the possibility of independent development was not given.

Distribution of Industry and Prosperity in Africa

Economic progress varies greatly among individual African countries. While northern states such as Egypt and Tunisia are comparatively well off, particularly the states in Central Africa have a hard struggle. Nigeria is an exception in this regard. The country is doing better than many others thanks to its pronounced oil industry. However, the conditions under which the oil is extracted are very poor. In general, it can be stated that a more developed economy does not mean prosperity for the population. As a rule, working conditions are far from Western standards. Wages are, in particular in relation to the risks to which workers are exposed, unacceptable. In this respect, the differences between more and less developed economies are not very large. The wealth of a state is usually concentrated in the hands of a few wealthy individuals, while the majority of the population is impoverished.