The African export basket continues to lack manufactured products and is overly-reliant on raw materials and in cases, a single commodity; as a result, African countries continue to be affected by commodity volatility and to experience high inequality.
Speaking during the Manufacturing Indaba on December 9, consultancy Deloitte emerging markets and Africa MD Dr Martyn Davies said countries with high levels of manufacturing value-add (MVA) had better opportunities to create employment and achieve higher equality.
He explained that the countries with the highest Gini coefficients, or most inequality, had lower MVA as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP). Davies mentioned that resource-driven economies have “baked-in inequalities”.
MVA as a percentage of GDP was 17% globally in 2017, while sub-Saharan Africa averaged 10.2%.
South Africa has the highest MVA at 13.4% of…
