Abstract:
Now home to five of the world’s dozen fastest-growing economies, Africa’s comparably strong performance over the recent past is beyond commodity super cycle and the boon of debt relief. Improved macroeconomic management has played its part, and increasingly, so has the rise of the African consumer. A growing middle class concentrated in urban areas, coupled with a youth bulge across the continent bolster the case for Afro-optimism. But if there is cause for optimism, there is also reason for concern. The increasing reliance of modern society on networked computer systems creates unprecedented vulnerabilities coupled with open and simple pathways to exploit those vulnerabilities. The Internet captures a vast mosaic of economic activity, ranging from millions of daily online transactions and communications to smartphone downloads of TV shows.
