Emerging Africa, the Latest from Financial Times

Financial Times recently began a series entitled Emerging Africa. In one article entitled Africa’s Frontier Market Ready to Score, author William Wallis quotes former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan who last week launched a review of Africa's progress in meeting development goals. Annan said, “Africa is rich, and its stock is rising. The value of its land and minerals is going up. There is no lack of resources, no deficiency of knowledge and no shortage of plans. Africa’s progress rests above all else on the mobilization of political will.”

The article brings attention to IMF predictions that slate sub-Saharan Africa for 6% GDP growth in 2010, and provides details on the vastness of Africa's resources:

What potential for Africa's entrepreneurs. Without a doubt, the challenges identified in the article are real including capital flight, the AIDS pandemic and ongoing crisis of leadership, but Africa's bright spots are getting brighter as highlighted in another article in the series entitled Rwandan president carves out innovative role.

“My preoccupation,” says Paul Kagame, “is how do we make Africa, this one billion people, relevant so that we can partner with other members of the global community, instead of being just dependents or victims caught up in between the conflicts of the key players?”