While Africa may have been aggrieved at being excluded from the BRIC grouping acronym for fast rising economies, they have created several of their own including RISE (Rwanda, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone and Ethiopia). 

Also, the populations of key regional markets such as Nigeria, Kenya and Angola will more than double by 2050, and long-term UN population forecasts expect Africa to be home to almost one-third of the world’s population by the end of the century.

Meanwhile, fast increasing urbanisation and an emerging consumer class is enough to make a compelling case for retail investment, according to Jon Copestake, chief retail & consumer goods analyst for the Economist Intelligence Unit. He was speaking at the Retail Congress Africa conference, in Cape Town at the end of December. 

According to the EIU report, by 2035, 50% of the African population will live in cities. “Two of the key ingredients for discretionary consumer spending to grow include a younger population and income growth. Disposable income levels above the $5,000 threshold usually result in a shift in consumer expenditure towards discretionary goods and services beyond the basic necessities of food, clothing and shelter. 

“The next five years is expected to see Nigeria alone bring around 6m households into this income bracket. During the same period, the average disposable income in Johannesburg will be on par with some western European markets,” Copestake added.