Souhir Mzali: ALL BLOG POSTS
Gabon’s economy has reached a critical juncture in 2016, with the drop in global oil prices having increased the need for and urgency of economic diversification, while reducing the availability of public financing to back the transformation. Under the now seven-year-old economic strategy, the Emerging Gabon Strategic Plan, the government has hastened efforts to expand the scope of economic activity, focusing on financial services, tourism and agriculture.
“Abidjan is a boom-town with an exploding economy, shipping out great quantities of coffee and timber and manifesting a flair for making a real splash in terms of putting on the dog.”
That sentence (which prompted to me look up the meaning of “putting on the dog,” a 19th century phrase implying luxury and glamour, and referring to men’s stiff so-called dog collars worn at formal events) was written in 1971 by an American journalist of Cote d’Ivoire’s then-capital, suggesting the West African economy was on a fixed path towards prosperity.
Morocco has had success in its recent efforts to build up export-oriented manufacturing projects, which should take over from more traditional industries in driving growth, as well as provide higher-quality employment over the longer term. If the kingdom can continue to attract major investment in high-growth-potential industries such as automobiles, aeronautics, agri-business and offshoring, while also developing well-integrated business ecosystems in these areas, it could achieve the sort of growth rates seen in other emerging markets