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Afrika
Dec 4, 2015 10:38:08 GMT
Post by pling on Dec 4, 2015 10:38:08 GMT
Artikkel på qz.com 30. oktober 2015Africa’s middle class is dramatically smaller than we think- Africa’s middle class may not be as big as economists have led us to beleive. According to a recent report by Credit Suisse that considers broad measures of wealth, rather than just income alone, only 3.3% of Africans should be considered middle class, or about 19 million people. That’s a far cry from previous estimates from the African Development Bank, based on income, that put the figure closer to 300 million (pdf) in 2011. - The argument for looking at wealth instead of income is based on the idea that wages alone do not measure a household’s financial security and resilience to shocks like losing a job. Earlier this year, a study by the Pew Research Center also found that the global middle class is likely smaller and poorer than previously believed, with many families on the cusp of slipping back into poverty. Pew estimates that just 6% of Africans earn between $10-$20 a day, thus qualifying as middle class. - It is puzzling that Africa’s middle class remains small when wealth on the continent has grown quickly, more than doubling over the past 15 years to some $1.63 trillion. One reason is that Africa’s growth has not been distributed evenly—the continent’s richest, 0.2% of the population, control over 30% of the region’s wealth.
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Afrika
Dec 4, 2015 10:46:23 GMT
Post by pling on Dec 4, 2015 10:46:23 GMT
Artikkel på bdlive.co.za 13. november 2015Africa’s middle class can power growth- OPINION is divided on Africa’s middle-class opportunity. Earlier this year, when Nestlé announced its disappointment with the scale and growth of Africa’s middle class and cut its regional workforce 15%, the news dominated headlines. A few months later, AB InBev’s takeover of SABMiller — one of the largest corporate takeovers yet of a UK-listed entity — was motivated in large part by SABMiller’s proven growth markets in Africa. - Middle-class households are typically defined as those that spend at least half of their income on goods and services, beyond just food and basic necessities. The emergence of this "consumer class" helps to propel growth to the next level. Buoyed by supportive demographics, a rising middle class will mean that demand grows, businesses prosper, employment increases and economies flourish. It’s a virtuous cycle. - Elsewhere in Africa, accurate measurement is not as easy. Just how developed is Africa’s middle class? Different studies offer very different interpretations. An African Development Bank study in 2011 attempted to generate a definition of middle class more suited to African conditions. Controversially, it defined middle class as those living on $2-$20 (adjusted for purchasing power parity) a day. This included the so-called "floating middle" — households living on $2-$4/day — who might be knocked back into poverty in a severe economic shock. The study, using this definition, suggested that roughly a third of Africa’s population was middle class. - However, another study, published by Pew Research Centre this year using the narrower and more internationally accepted definition of middle class (incomes of $10/day or more) suggested only 6% of Africa’s population could be classified as middle income. Pew implied that while African economies had made strides in lifting households out of poverty, many had not yet made the middle-income level. According to Pew, the proportion of poor in Nigeria fell 18% from 2001 to 2011. But while the share of low-income earners grew 17%, the share of middle-income earners rose only 1% over this time. - Important foundations for the emergence of Africa’s middle class are in place with its success in poverty alleviation. It’s in the ultimate interest of the global economy that this progress is built upon.
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Afrika
Dec 4, 2015 11:35:34 GMT
Post by pling on Dec 4, 2015 11:35:34 GMT
Fra wikipedia.comSolar power in Africa- Declining solar equipment costs are expected to significantly increase solar installations in Africa with an industry projection forecasting that the continent's annual PV market will expand to 2.2 GW by 2018. - The Kingdom of Morocco’s solar plan, which is one of the world’s largest solar energy projects and estimated to cost about $9 billion, was introduced in November 2009 with the aim of establishing 2,000MW of solar power by 2020. Five sites have been selected for the development of solar power plants combining a number of technologies including Concentrated Solar Production, Parabolic Through as well as Photovoltaics, with the 500MW phase one solar power complex at Ouarzazate being the first to be developed. The first part of the 500MW project is set produce 160MW of power by 2015. Morocco, the only African country to have a power cable link to Europe, aims to benefit from the €400bn ($573.8bn) expected to come from the ambitious pan-continental Desertec Industrial Initiative. - The distribution of solar resources across Africa is fairly uniform, with more than 85% of the continent's landscape receiving at least 2,000 kWh/(m² year). - There is considerable academic and commercial interest in a new form of Concentrated Solar Power, called STEM, for off-grid applications to produce 24 hour industrial scale power for remote communities and mining sites. STEM uses fluidized silica sand as a thermal storage and heat transfer medium for CSP systems. It has been developed by Italy's Magaldi Industries. The first commercial application of STEM will take place in Sicily in late 2015.
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