Africa’s economy declined by 2.1% in 2020, to grow by 3.4% in 2021: AfDB’s president

Africa’s economy declined by 2.1% in 2020, to grow by 3.4% in 2021: AfDB’s president

Africa's economy shrank by 2.1 percent in 2020 and is expected to grow by 3.4 percent in 2021 as the global economy recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic and its severe impacts, according to the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwumi A. Adesina.

Adesina made his statements during the Africa Investment Conference, a virtual one-day event organised on Wednesday by the UK Department for International Trade, which brought together UK and African business and government leaders to discuss investment and partnership opportunities.

The conference focused mainly on four sectors, including sustainable infrastructure, renewable energy, financial and professional services, and agriculture and agri-tech.

Adesina affirmed that Africa remained fertile ground for investment, adding that it possesses the same fundamentals that had driven the continent's phenomenal growth over the past decade.

"The continent offered ample opportunities in terms of natural resources, vast tracts of arable land, and a young and rapidly urbanising population, especially with the potential presented by the newly launched African Continental Free Trade Area“, said Adesina.

"The fundamentals in those phenomenal growth rates in Africa are still there. Africa still leads in terms of ease of doing business, and the digital explosion that you see in