Developing Africa Through Green Industrialization
For environmentalists and development experts, green is not just a colour; it also refers to activities that benefit the environment – the careful use of the earth’s finite resources.
Africa’s policy wonks are already on the green bandwagon, having identified “green industrialization” as the Holy Grail of the continent’s socioeconomic transformation. They believe infusing green initiatives into value-chain activities – during the sourcing and processing of raw materials, and the marketing and selling of finished products to customers – can cure economic stagnation.
At recent economic forums in N’Djamena in Chad, Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, Abuja in Nigeria, Rabat in Morocco, even New York in the United States, and elsewhere, Africa’s experts have been expressing their support for green industrialization.
“Green industrialization is the only way for Africa…it is a precondition for sustainable and inclusive growth,” highlights the Economic Report on Africa 2016: Greening Africa’s Industrialization, published by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).

Ryan Hallock