Despite it not have been completed and a number of controversies in its formation the Konza techno city has made it to the ‘boom towns’ set to grow while riding on the backs of industries such as banking, agriculture and technology.
Having just finished its infrastructure phase, the new technology city is situated 60km southeast of Nairobi and will focus on four economic sectors; namely education, life sciences, telecommunications and business process outsourcing. It is predicted to significantly stimulate technology spending, investment and growth in Kenya.
The report by DHL also said that despite the recent prediction by the World Bank(1) that economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa will slow in 2015, the region is still home to one of the fastest-growing middle class in the world. As a result, there are vast opportunities on the continent for progressive African entrepreneurs and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to take advantage of.
Charles Brewer, Managing Director of DHL Express Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) (http://www.dpdhl.com), says one sector providing plentiful prospects is the agricultural industry, which is Africa’s largest economic sector representing 15% of the continent’s total GDP and more than $100 billion per year(2). “It is estimated that more than 60% of the globe’s available and vacant land is situated in SSA(3), which suggests that the sector still offers incredible growth.”
Another industry seeing significant growth is the banking sector, which has grown extensively over the last decade and has become a substantial player in emerging-market banking2. Brewer says that the rising middle class and ‘unbanked’ African consumers should continue to drive the industry. “Other industries experiencing growth and offering prospects on the continent include technology, consumer goods and telecommunications.”
Other twons mentioned in the reports were Burkina Faso’s Bobo-Dioulasso blossoming due to substantial growth in the food and agriculture sector technonolgy city Ebène, Mauritius which boasts advanced infrastructure and facilities, Mbarara, Uganda which has attracted investors involved in the manufacturing of dairy products, as well as breweries and beverage companies expanding to the area and Farafenni, the Gambia home to numerous banks and insurance firms.