For most of history, Africa has been identified as one of the world’s most impoverished continents. The lack of human necessities and economic instability was the reason behind underdevelopment. However, as of 2021, rapid economic growth in the region comes from sales in commodities and the proper utilization of resources.

According to the current growth rate, the World Bank expects middle-income status by 2025 for some African countries. Africa’s GDP is growing by 3.4% after facing a slight slowdown to 2.1% in 2020.

Why Is Africa Experiencing Rapid Economic Growth?

Africa is home to the largest reserves of cobalt, platinum, and diamond. Besides that, the UN estimates that Africa holds about 65% of the world’s arable land. 

Collectively, Africa harnessed its natural resources to finance the development of its countries. As a result, it led to a rise in GDP, making Africa the fastest growing continent back in 2013. By 2022, Africa’s GDP is projected to grow at 3.3% annually. It makes Africa the center of attention for industrialization and opens the gateway for foreign countries to invest in the continent.

Over the years, Nigeria, due to oil reserves, Angola because of its population, and South Africa’s natural resources have led these regions to become the largest economies in this vast continent. Since economic growth was prevalent throughout the continent, several businesses invested in Africa. 

Another reason is the fast population growth throughout the continent. In fact, when Europe and East Asia face a population decline, which ultimately results in fewer consumers for businesses, Africa is the fastest-growing population in the world.

The investment by these international businesses helped stabilize the infrastructure and development in the region. These factors make the continent’s potential growth similar to Europe and the US. Besides that, Africa has a high percentage of young labor that has access to education. As the birth rate in most African countries is still high, the more youthful population age structure is beneficial to economic growth. Not only this, but countries like Algeria, Morocco, and Egypt have also played an essential role in economic growth.

History of the Economic Growth in Africa  

Over the last decade, most African countries experienced sustained economic growth at an exceeding annual rate of 5%. However, Africa’s economy has experienced fluctuations throughout history. 

Africa had two periods of economic growth. The first phase was from 1960 to 1975, while the second phase started in the 1990s. However, Africa also faced a period of a prolonged stagnant economy.

There were fluctuations in the trade as poverty continued to prevail in the region. As a result, Africa was only able to experience sustained growth in the 1960s. During the 1980s, Africa was heavily indebted as it continued to borrow money from abroad. As a result, the attempts for industrialization crippled, and the region faced instability again.

Underdevelopment, lack of infrastructure, geographical conditions, colonization, and the slave trade were significant reasons for Africa’s poor growth.

In the early 1990s, the government took several political measures to combat economic instability. These included the closure of state-owned companies, liberalizing the agricultural markets, reducing debt, and improving trade. 

As a result, by the end of the 20th century, Africa entered the phase of economic growth. The growth continued over the years, and by 2013, Africa got its recognition as the fastest-growing continent.

In 2020, Africa’s economy was heavily affected by the covid pandemic. However, it gained control over this crisis and continued to grow as a potential market for international companies.

How Has the African Economic Growth Led to a Demand for Translations?

Africa has 16% of the world’s population, making it the world’s second-largest and second-most-populous continent. With Africa emerging as a manufacturer and consumer market, translation services have become necessary with flourishing businesses in different fields. With every country having a foreign language, it gets challenging to communicate to establish business terms and overcome linguistic barriers.

Only about 13% of the population speaks English, and some terms cannot be translated without a native African translator. Therefore, translation services for the African market prove vital in such a setting.

The Need for Translational Services

Since South Africa alone has eleven national languages, it is necessary to get in touch with an African translation agency first. A professional African translation agency can help translate all African languages while maintaining the context and concept for words that do not have a word-to-word translation.

Furthermore, a reliable translation provider for the African market will help translate marketing material, legal documents, websites, financial documents, etc. Besides that, migration from Africa increased the demand for African translation agencies. When African businesses have to communicate their terms to foreign companies, it becomes a challenging task. Companies cannot discuss marketing strategies clearly, and it affects business relations.

Anyone who doesn’t speak French or English has no access to African businesses without a professional African translation service. In addition, a professional translation service successfully provides linguistically fluent and accurate translations.

Native translators can deliver efficient and highly accurate translations in medical, finance, technology, mining, or transportation where the language is a significant issue. So, to localise businesses or products in Africa, it is essential to contact a translation service for the African market. Without these translation services, foreign business firms and companies are at a significant loss for securing a place in the local market.

Frequently Translated African Languages 

The most frequently translated African languages are:

● Somali

● Amharic

● Hausa

● Yoruba

● Fulani

● Swahili

● Afrikaans

Africa being a linguistically diverse continent, has about 2000 other languages. The diversity and the number of these distinctive languages prove the need for an African translation agency.

With Africa becoming a notable market for businesses and economic growth, companies must understand the need for translation services in the region. Besides that, to expand a business in Africa, people should gain maximum knowledge regarding profitable markets, lucrative industries, and translation services. Since it’s a newly emerging market, keeping all of this in mind would prove beneficial for business expansion.