Common Futures

survey
can work with African nations to contain the damage particularly because
there is an inter-connected web among the various terrorist groups.
On the economic front, the mineral resources of Africa and the huge market
stand out as the most important factors. African energy resources and materials
like iron ore, copper, manganese, bauxite, etc will be vital for India’s continued
growth. The significance of Africa’s consumer market is being recognised
globally today. The continent of nearly a billion people is steadily building
up a substantial middle class. The consumer spending of the Continent is
expected to increase to USD 1.4 trillion by 2020. 2 The demand is across
various sectors from consumer goods to pharmaceuticals to IT and telecom.
This is a market, which no growing economy can ignore. The potential in
the agricultural sector has to be particularly mentioned here; 60% of the
world’s uncultivated, arable land is in Sub-Saharan Africa. If exploited in a
proper and sustainable way, the continent would become the breadbasket of
the world in a decade.
The fourth reason why Africa is important to India is the Indian diaspora
in the Continent. It is estimated that there are over 2 million persons of
Indian origin in the continent. Many of them migrated there generations
ago and there are the new younger lot who are going for professional and
entrepreneurial reasons. India is not only interested in their success but would
also like to leverage them to promote India-Africa engagement. They are an
ideal platform for deepening people-to-people, cultural and social ties.
The fifth factor is the evolving demography of Africa. One study shows that
by 2040 there will be more than one billion Africans in the working age. 3
That would be the time when most countries in other continents will have a
shortage of labour force. With adequate growth in infrastructure, Africa has
the potential to become a major manufacturing hub supplying to the rest of
the world.
Is there a scramble for Africa?
There is no doubt that the resurgence of Africa has attracted many global
players to the continent. There is a great interest among the developed
countries as well as emerging powers to woo Africa. In this context, there
have been unfortunate references to a “new scramble for Africa” or “Africa
being the new hunting ground”. Such references betray the old 1885 Berlin
Conference mindset when Africa was divided arbitrarily among the European
powers. The Africans had no role in that division. Today’s Africa is different.
Competition among global players for engagement with Africa is actually good
for the Continent because they have more options. The terms of engagement
today are decided by the African countries and cannot be thrust upon them
unlike in the colonial period. India, however, has never believed in the socalled
“scramble”. Indian leaders have repeatedly stressed that the continent
has enough potential for many players to engage in meaningful cooperation.
2 McKinsey Global Institute, “Lions on the Move: The Progress and Potential of African Economies,”
June 2010
3 Ibid
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