Welcome to 2018! As the New Year begins, we have put together a short list of 6 things to look forward to in Africa for 2018.
1. Africa at the Winter Olympics: The 1st African bobsled team in the history of the Winter Olympics will compete this year. Seun Adigun, Akuoma Omeoga and Ngozi Onwumere are also the first Nigerian athletes to compete at the Winter Olympics from 9 Feb 2018 – 25 Feb 2018 in PyeongChang, South Korea.
2. African Elections: Will the world’s youngest continent continue to be run by its oldest leaders? In 2018, Presidential elections will hold in Cameroon, Egypt and Mali. General elections will hold in Sierra Leone, South Sudan and Zimbabwe. A parliamentary election will also hold in Mali.
3. Africa’s GDP Growth Rate: The Africa Development Bank (AfDB) has projected a 3.7% GDP growth rate for Africa in 2018. The continent’s averages compare favourably with global economic growth projections of 3.5% and 3.6% GDP growth in 2017 and 2018 respectively.
4. Africa at the World Cup: Tunisia, Nigeria, Egypt, Senegal and Morocco are the African representatives at the FIFA World Cup 2018 in Russia holding from 14 June – 15 July.
5. Nigeria and South Africa’s Economic Recovery: Full economic recovery for Africa’s two largest economies, Nigeria and South Africa. As at September 2017, Nigeria’s economy lifted its head after five consecutive quarters of recession, while South Africa clawed back from a technical recession after months of barely-there growth.
6. More African countries to open up to African travelers in 2018: In line with recommendations by the African Development Bank (AfDB) in its Africa Visa Openness report, more countries in 2018 will make it a lot easier for other Africans to visit. Countries like Rwanda, Kenya, Namibia and Nigeria have already taken steps in this direction.