A new report entitled “Industrialization Index for Africa 2022” (AII 2022) published by the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Union (AU) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) reveals that 37 African countries, including Morocco, have seen significant improvement over the past decade. South Africa was thus able to maintain its position at the top of the list throughout the period 2010-2021, closely followed by Morocco, which occupies second place this year.
This study comes after the holding of the African Union Summit on industrialization and economic diversification, organized in Niger in order to shed light on the development of African countries in this sector. According to the AfDB report, “Africa has the potential to become the next global frontier for industrial development”.
The 2022 Africa Industrialization Index reflects “the Bank’s understanding of the components of successful industrialization”. It is based on a comprehensive set of available, relevant and comparable data, providing an overall ranking of African countries, constructed from three sub-indices” including performance, direct determinants and indirect determinants and 19 key indicators.
The analysis is based on annual data collected since 2010 from 52 African countries allowing them to track their progress and compare performance and patterns.
Regarding the sub-index of direct determinants, the Kingdom was able to win the first place at the continental level, followed by South Africa, Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, Mozambique, Libya, Mauritania, Ghana and Cape Verde. And concerning the sub-index of indirect determinants, Morocco ranks second after South Africa and ahead of Egypt, Tunisia and Mauritania.
According to the report, Morocco is one of the strongest manufacturing economies in Africa, registering continuous improvement in all dimensions of the index since 2010. It explains that “ the government has given priority to industrial development, particularly in the automotive sector“.
” Lorocco exports electrical distribution equipment, motor vehicles, fertilizers and women’s clothing to world markets, including Europe, the United States and Brazil. The strong export performance has enabled the country to become the second largest exporter of manufactured goods on the continent after South Africa“, add the editors of the document.
It now accounts for 21.1% of total manufactured exports in Africa, surpassing direct competitors such as Tunisia and Egypt. Morocco could thus become the most industrialized country in Africa.
As for the development support plan, the AfDB emphasizes that it provides support to Morocco “the development of the plan to accelerate the industrialization of the country. This includes planned budget support for structural reforms”.
The same source reveals that “ two loans have helped the OCP Group in Morocco to develop its production and storage facilities for phosphates and fertilizers, helping it to be competitive in regional and global markets“, which has contributed to the creation of thousands of jobs. The AfDB advises that “ these investments have contributed significantly to government revenue through the payment of dividends, increased taxes and duties, and contribution to the country’s foreign exchange earnings“.
The report’s editors say that the COVID-19 crisis has exposed Africa’s weak integration into global value chains, ” with the exception of a few participating countries, such as Morocco and South Africa, which have been affected by reported disruptions in global supply chains“.
Furthermore, they point out that other countries are showing promising signs of emerging new industries such as leather in Ethiopia and pharmaceuticals in East Africa. Some countries, including Ethiopia, Rwanda and Morocco, are setting up networks of industrial parks and special economic zones (SEZs), as well as other measures to promote SME development.
As a result, the AfDB believes that the index will serve as the basis political dialogue with African governments » and to a « tailored support to help them identify opportunities to advance industrial development“.