Africa has made its way centre stage in today's global economy.The region's collective economy of more than 50 individual countries barely grew during the last two decades of the 20th Century - but in the late 1990s, the continent began to stir.
Gross domestic product (GDP) growth picked up and then bounded ahead, rising faster and faster through 2008.
A May 2012 International Monetary Fund regional economic outlook report for sub-Saharan Africa refers to "solid trend growth" in the region, noting that regional output rose by 5% in 2011, with a further increase expected by 2012.
The telecom, banking, retail, construction and oil and gas industries are now booming, bringing about a dramatic surge in foreign investment into the region.
Africa received its largest-ever share of global foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2011, according to the 2012 attractiveness survey on Africa conducted by Ernst & Young.
According to the survey, FDI projects in Africa grew 27% from 2010 to 2011, and have grown at a compound rate of nearly 20% since 2007.
Robust telecommunications
Key to Africa's future economic growth in all sectors will be increasingly the quantity and quality of the continent's infrastructure.
We estimate that today African governments and private sources combined are investing about $72bn (£46bn) a year in new infrastructure across the continent, out of which telecom-related infrastructure accounts for $21bn (£13bn).
A recent study entitled Connected World highlights the growing influence of developing markets in the global economy, and shows how critical a robust telecommunications infrastructure is for any country that wants to compete internationally or attract foreign direct investment.
The study revealed that a reliable communications infrastructure is a prerequisite for businesses considering a move into a new emerging market. Four in 10 business leaders globally stated that a lack of a secure communications backbone would prevent them from entering a new market.
The Ernst & Young survey notes for example that the Kenyan communications sector benefited from FDI, while FDI opportunities exist in communications for Nigeria.
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