THE ROLE OF INDUSTRIAL CLUSTERS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF AFRICAN COUTRIES

Abstract

According to the World Bank Organization, four of the fastest growing economies in the world in 2019 are in Africa (Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, and Rwanda) and growth perspectives in the continent are positive. African situation and recent developments are presented in the first part of the paper: although the continent is becoming more dynamic, various issues are slowing down growth speed; problems such as raw material dependency, random and unpredicted development, low degree of innovation in all sectors, massive use of endogenous capacity and social problems due to over-urbanization. The aim of the paper is to understand if Industrial Clusters policy could be a key determinant of economic growth in the continent, as Industrial Clusters boost and enforce development, by improving economic and cultural dynamism in entire regions. As it happened in the past in North America, and more recently in East Asia, trough Special Economic Zones (SEZ), implementing Industrial Clusters Policies is a way to overcome problems and to accelerate economic growth. The paper analyses some case studies of industrial clusters in the African continent then compares their situation and features with theory and with other recent realities all around the world. The analysis leads to some conclusions on which are the regions with better growth potential within the African continent and if industrial clusters policies can be an effective tool to increase their development perspectives