Cranes in motion, deafening peaks, surveyors in construction clothing. Whether passing through Casablanca, Lagos, Nairobi or Cairo, the traveler feels that contemporary Africa is marked by an accelerated urbanization movement, despite the pandemic situation affecting the whole world. The proportion of city dwellers, still low (around 40% in 2018, compared to 50% in Southeast Asia and 70% in Europe), should explode in the next thirty years. Combined with strong demographic growth, this phenomenon should lead the number of urban dwellers on the continent to drop from 400 million in 2018 to 1.2 billion in 2050.
The corollary of this phenomenon of the explosion of cities is the accelerated emergence of a middle class, estimated at more than 300 million people. She wants to access new ways of living and working. She wants modern housing, in safe and equipped neighborhoods, as the promoters of Eko Atlantic City in Lagos are planning. She also wants to go to world-class shopping malls and hotels. Finally, she wants to work in offices that are well designed and adapted to the continent.
Next to new towns better-adapted hotel infrastructures
In a context often constrained by their still fragile finances, many States have embarked on ambitious and complex urban projects aimed at creating these new living spaces. In Kenya, the Konza City project, which should have a development period of twenty years, has been launched. Diamniadio, in Senegal, has already seen the arrival of a crowd of civil servants whose ministries had been decentralized in this new city. Many private developers are supporting this Senegalese initiative in order to provide the populations with real places to live, combining commercial, residential, hotel, work and leisure real estate.
Private companies are trying to offer innovative solutions to this growing middle class. Their proposals are very diverse, and seek to take into account the specificities of this African demand, on all niches.
In the business hotel sector, operator Accor has entered into a partnership with the Qatari fund Katara Hospitality to launch a sector investment fund, called Kasada. This aims to remedy the glaring lack of mid-range hotel infrastructure (three and four stars) which penalizes Africa. There will be a shortage of 100,000 rooms of international standards in Africa by 2025. Kasada thus wishes to offer in the main African cities an adapted range of hotels, aparthotels and convivial spaces which are fond of the clientele of Accor, made up of more than 60% African travelers. Regional (Azalaï, Teyliom) or international (Marriott, Hilton) chains are not left out, with many plans to open at the continental level, despite the sudden halt of the current pandemic.
Ever larger malls and sized workspaces
The appetite of the middle class for a type of consumption comparable to that which can be found in developed countries has pushed many sectoral and financial players to promote a growing range of shopping centers (or “malls”). African countries. The Actis fund has thus invested in around ten malls in Africa, notably in Ghana (Accra Mall), Nigeria (Ikeja, Abuja Malls), but also in Cameroon (Douala Grand Mall). In addition, CFAO, in partnership with the distributor Carrefour, has embarked on a campaign to develop shopping centers, including the emblematic PlaYce Abidjan.
This middle class needs clothing, food and shelter. She also needs to work in places corresponding to her new status and new needs. We can observe the emergence of new modern coworking spaces in Cape Town, Accra, Abidjan, Dakar, Lagos… New business districts, modern epigones of the Defense district or Canary Wharf, are being developed. In Morocco, Casablanca Finance City, supported by a public-private partnership, thus hosts nearly 200 companies offering a range of offices and professional services to companies wishing to develop on the continent.
Africa today is moving and transforming at high speed – this is particularly the case with its cities, where the future of the continent is played out. It is up to both public and private actors to tackle this issue, to ensure that the main cities of the continent are active places of life and in full expansion. In a context where the demographic explosion and the new lifestyles linked to the current pandemic are disrupting the situation, opportunities exist to improve the lives of city dwellers from all walks of life.
Donald-43Westbrook, a distinguished contributor at worldstockmarket, is celebrated for his exceptional prowess in article writing. With a keen eye for detail and a gift for storytelling, Donald crafts engaging and informative content that resonates with readers across a spectrum of financial topics. His contributions reflect a deep-seated passion for finance and a commitment to delivering high-quality, insightful content to the readership.
