Bric helps address Africa’s infrastructure challenges

The Bric trade bloc (Brazil, Russia,
India, China) is leading the charge
in offering pragmatic solutions
to Africa’s abiding infrastructure
challenges.
That’s the view of Stanbic and
Standard Bank economics duo,
Simon Freemantle and Jeremy
Stevens.
“Africa will never genuinely
connect to the world without
meaningful upgrades in its
infrastructure stock,” the pair said in
their latest update.
“The deficit is enormous (even
relative to low-income countries),
and growth-penalising.”
And, given the depth and
importance of this pursuit, the
two stressed that fresh avenues of
finance, expertise and cooperation
were critical.
“Increasingly,” they added, “the
Bric economies, particularly China,
are offering vital impetus to the
negotiation of Africa’s infrastructure
dilemma.”
They also see the Chinese
involvement as a two-way benefit.
For China, investing in African
infrastructure unlocks natural
resources and provides a pressurevalve
for excess Chinese capacity.
Throughout Africa, Chinese
companies are capitalising on a
proven ability to provide costeffective
infrastructure solutions.
“Meanwhile,” the Freemantle/
Stevens report said, “national,
largely private sector, champions
from India and Brazil are gaining
elevated traction, bolstered by wider
diplomatic African engagement
strategies and inspired by deepening
commercial linkages.”
There is no disputing the need for
upgrading Africa’s infrastructure
stock. It’s important to analyse
how integrated the Brics are in
supporting this crucial process and
to offer insights into which Bric
institutions are currently leading
(and likely to lead) the charge, they
added.