ABSTRACT
A defining characteristic of the twenty-first century is the unprecedented growth of what most people refer to as the “global middle class.” This explosive growth is creating extraordinary demand for consumer products and the natural resources needed to produce them. Sub-Saharan Africa, one of the last continental regions with relatively unexploited natural resources, has become the focus of intensified global attention – and not just from its former colonial masters. Investors are attracted to its abundant mineral wealth, vast agricultural land, and increasingly skilled labor force. This attractiveness is reflected in consistently high GDP growth rates in the region, exceeding in the past decade even those of the so-called “Asian tigers.”
