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East Africa region rises to becomes fastest growing region in Africa

by Milicent Atieno
East Africa region rises to becomes fastest growing region in Africa

Just in case you were wondering why the first TICAD [Tokyo International Conference on African Development] to be held outside of Japan was held in Kenya, the economic powerhouse of East Africa, the choice wasn’t arbitrary. It was backed by informed economic growth and potential investment opportunities data.

The East Africa region is full of opportunity and is currently the fastest growing region in Africa. Collectively, the countries that make up the East Africa recorded a mean growth rate of 6.7%, the fastest of any region across Africa.

One industry that this growth has been clearly illustrated is the construction industry. The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows that cement consumption in Kenya hit 5.23 million metric tons by November 2015. Up from 5.19 million metric tons recorded in 2014.

Overall, the data shows the construction industry grew by 11.3 percent in the Q1 of the year 2015. Up from 7.6 percent growth recorded over the same period in the year 2014. Much of the growth in the construction industry is attributed to increased public infrastructure development and private sector investments into the real estate industry.

Over the next three years, Uganda’s cement consumption is forecasted to increase by at least 12 percent. While no specific estimations has been given for Tanzania, but the general observation on the ground is that the construction industry has boomed with the cement industry also recording good business in the past few years.

The region’s infrastructure has for long been wanting, and the member states are making impressive progress in meetings the demand for infrastructure development.

Africa as a continent also has the fastest growth rate of urban population worldwide. It is also the continent with the least urbanized population. Current projections indicate that by the year 2030, 60 percent of Africans will live in towns and cities.

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