People might assume that Rhode Island, with one of the largest African immigrant communities in the country, has strong economic ties to Africa, a continent with some of the fastest-growing economies in the world.
Unfortunately that is not the case. In fact, Rhode Island’s trade relation with the continent is abysmally lower than any state. It is time for Rhode Island businesses to look to Africa for vast business opportunities through the African immigrant communities here in the state.
Every time I search Rhode Island trade with Africa through Google, all that I find is the state’s dark history of slavery trade. Of course that period’s indelible mark on Rhode Island remains and must not be forgotten, and one must never downplay this horrific period in human history. But Rhode Island has an opportunity to learn from its past and seek a more positive re-engagement with the continent.
According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, Rhode Island’s total exports of all merchandise to sub-Saharan Africa decreased significantly during the past two years, from $179.5 million in 2014 to $17.5 million in 2016. That is a substantial decrease in the export and trade to a continent with the fastest-growing middle class, youthful population and rate of consumer sales.
The World Bank 2017 data show impressive economic resilience in seven African countries: Kenya, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Senegal, Cote D’Ivoire, and Uganda, each with a growth rate at 5.4 percent annually from 2015 to 2017. After a sharp economic slowdown in 2016, Nigeria, Angola, and South Africa — the continent’s largest economies — are showing encouraging signs of rebounding, with the growth rate averaging 3.5 percent.
A 2017 African Development Bank report also shows that an estimated 200 million Africans, ages 20 to 59, entered the workforce during the past decade. Over the next decade, the working-age population and gross domestic product are expected to increase by more than 4 percent annually.
This indicates an enormous business opportunity. With its large African immigrant population, Rhode Island has a huge competitive advantage over most states, if it is interested in looking into the future for new and long-term economic opportunities.
Rhode Island should re-engage with Africa, this time in a more positive and mutually beneficial way. Rhode Island businesses would find tremendous market opportunities in Africa, and establish long-term economic opportunities both here and in Africa, enabling the state and the continent to look into the future together.
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Komlan Aloysh (aloysh@gmail.com), a Liberian-American, is a Rhode Islander and cofounder and editor of an online blog, AloyshWrites.com. Follow him on Twitter @AloyshWrites.
Source: http://www.providencejournal.com/opinion/20170609/ri-businesses-should-look-to-africa
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