Toggle Menu McKinsey & Company Home Toggle search field McKinsey Quarterly Our flagship business publication has been defining and informing the senior-management agenda since 1964. New Ventures We’ve created a global platform to bring bleeding-edge ideas, solutions, and services to our clients. About us OVERVIEW WHO WE ARE WHAT WE DO SOCIAL IMPACT MEDIA CENTER ALUMNI NEW AT MCKINSEY BLOG Back to New At McKinsey Blog Pride in Lions SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON LINKEDIN TWEET THIS ARTICLE ON TWITTER SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON FACEBOOK Senior partner Acha Leke interviewed this week on Bloomberg TV September 23, 2016 – Lions were on the move in Manhattan this week as we presented our latest research on Africa’s economic outlook to the U.S.-Africa Business Forum. Key findings from the Lions on the move II report were presented to an audience of heads of state, government leaders, and CEOs by Dominic Barton, our global managing director, and Acha Leke, a senior partner based in Johannesburg. When the first Lions report was published 6 years ago, almost all African countries were experiencing rapid economic growth. Today, the picture is more complex. Major oil exporters have seen growth slow, as have countries involved in the Arab Spring. Nevertheless, there are good reasons for optimism: By 2034, Africa is expected to have a larger workforce than either China or India. Africa is urbanizing faster than any other region—which should boost productivity as people move from agriculture to manufacturing or service jobs. Smartphone penetration is expected to reach 50 percent by 2020, up from only 18 percent in 2015. Although fewer in number than might be expected, Africa’s large companies are growing faster and are generally more profitable than their global peers. In the words of US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, who cohosted the New York forum along with Bloomberg Philanthropies, “The report highlights the positive long-term growth potential of economies across the African continent.” These positive trends explain why we’ve continued to expand across the region. Our Lagos office opened in 2010, just prior to the publication of the first Lions on the move report. Since then we’ve opened in Nairobi and Addis Ababa, adding to a network of locations that also includes Johannesburg, Luanda, and Casablanca. Our Africa Practice has been serving clients across the continent for more than 20 years. On the ground, there’s a palpable sense of excitement about the opportunities to help improve the economic well-being and quality of life of millions of Africans, says Paul Jacobson, a consultant in our Johannesburg office who helped lead the research behind the new report. “When we were setting up for this project, I was inundated by requests from colleagues who wanted to be part of the team. Many of them told me they joined McKinsey because they’d been inspired by the first report 6 years ago.” RELATED Report - McKinsey Global Institute Lions on the move: The progress and potential of African economies June 2010 – Africa's economic growth is creating substantial new business opportunities that are often overlooked by global companies. Consumer-facing industries, resources, agriculture, and infrastructure together could generate as much as $2.6 trillion in revenue annually by 2020, or $1 trillion more than today. MORE BLOG POSTS Previous post Skills for life: A rousing speech from Generation Kenya McKinsey & Company Logo Sign up for email alerts Select topics and stay current with our latest insights EMAIL ADDRESS LinkedIn Twitter Facebook YouTube RSS Contact us FAQ Privacy policy Terms of use Local language information McKinsey Insights - Get our latest thinking on your iPhone, iPad, or Android device. © 1996-2016 McKinsey & Company