Today investors from Malaysia, Indonesia and yes, the United States are making profitable investments in Africa. That Coke and Pepsi are dueling for Africa's market share challenges stereotypical thinking about the continent. No, African prosperity is not simply a few privatizations away. Africa faces daunting challenges, including the tragic return of once-eradicated diseases and environmental degradation. Basic human needs still go unmet, and it will take years of economic growth to remedy these ills.
Democratic progress is spotty.
Several African countries are war zones and Africa's humanitarian disasters, such as those seen on television, defy description. But positive developments are taking place too. At long last, Africans are beginning to seize their economic destiny, freed from control by authoritarian leaders. They can now sell their crops to whom they want and buy cooking oil from whom they want. And the world is noticing.