Engineering and Africa

I recently had the opportunity to travel around southern Africa this month.  During my two week stay it was easy to see the promise, potential, and pitfalls of Africa.  High unemployment, education challenges, political stagnation, and a lack of economic diversity are visible challenges.  These are major challenges, but the sheer vastness of the continent also exposes one to the huge opportunities and potential.

Increased educational opportunities in STEM related fields and agricultural management/innovation appear first on my opportunity list.  If you are a major university, and have an A&M (i.e., Texas A&M) at the end of your name, I would add Africa as a potential location for a satellite campus and/or target for collaborative local university programs.

From producing mining engineers to agricultural economists, Africa needs to have a system that educates its best and brightest in Africa.  Increased educational opportunities solve most problems in the world - in Africa they appear as a path to solve all their problems.  From the eyes of an engineer, it is hard not to view Africa as one huge potential engineering project.  From infrastructure to energy development to a rising middle class, the future of Africa is all about engineering and the need to develop a locally produced engineering pipeline.

The Chinese appear to have this figured out and are pouring resources into investment and development opportunities.  We are lagging, but it is still not too late.

A few statistics on Africa from the current issue of New African magazine that I picked up at the Jo-Burg airport:

• Africa is home to 60% of the worlds uncultivated arable land
• 23% of Africa's land if forest land, while:
• 75% of global platinum deposits
• 50% of diamond and precious stones
• 50% of chromium
• 20% of gold and uranium
• By 2030 some 40 African countries will be oil and gas producers
• Proven oil reserves in Africa now stand at 120 billion barrels - valued at $7.3 billion.
• Proven gas reserves stand at 510 tcf - valued at $3 trillion
• Proven recoverable shale gas reserves - 1,042 tcf - are valued at $6 billion
• Value of Pan-African fish trade amounted to - $22 billion
• In 2013, consumer spending in Africa stood at $680 billion; it is projected to increase to $1 trillion by 2020 and $2.2 trillion in 2030 (Note - the driver of economic opportunity this century is the mobile/smart phone.  Everyone in Africa appears to have a phone to their ear!!)
• The continent's infrastructure funding gap is estimated at $92 to $100 billion per year
• FDI to Africa rose from $51.7 billion in 2012 to $56.6 billion in 2013