Uganda’s capital city Kampala is among Africa’s top ten dynamic business cities, according to a recent report dubbed ‘Into Africa: The continent’s Cities of Opportunity’ authored by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
The report concentrates on the continent’s 20 cities which were judged as ‘most dynamic and future focused’, placing Kampala in ninth position behind other East African cities of Dar es Salaam (1st), Nairobi (3rd) and Kigali (7th). Dar es Salaam also tops Lusaka, Nairobi, Lagos and Accra on opportunity index.
Others on top ten list are Abidjan, Addis Ababa and Cairo. The report was structured around the critical issues of the business community, as well as those of the office holders and other public authorities who are responsible for improving the collective life of each city examined here.
The report indicates that when infrastructure, human capital and security are in place, culture and society starts to flourish. It further shows when investing in Africa, investors consider current vis-à-vis potential development, location, nature of opportunity among others.
“African cities when being assessed need to be looked at through a different lens, as current standings and future potential tell different city stories,” the report indicates in part. The cities were contested around economic opportunities which are driven by demands of the emerging middle class— consumers, technology, infrastructure, tourism, and financial services.
Meanwhile, despite topping the opportunity index, Dar es Salaam was not featured in top ten overall index after being placed at position 15. Nairobi, Kampala and Addis Ababa featured in both top ten indices—opportunity and overall.
Others are Accra, Lagos, and Cairo. Also Dar es Salaam city was not in the top ten attractive Foreign Direct Investment FDIs. Nairobi leads as the best city in Africa that attracted most FDIs followed by Accra and Lagos.
Others are Johannesburg, Cairo, Casablanca, Abidjan, Tunis, Algiers and Lusaka, and analysts say the report is an eye-opener to policy makers especially for countries to develop adequate infrastructure and human capital investment.
“This can limit the economic potential of a city,” the report says of the inadequate infrastructure in most cities of Africa.
The role of the public sector policy makers and related development of institutions in guiding a city is important to the private sector, it adds.
