The International Monetary Fund has identified seven countries in the Sub-Sahara region whose economies are gaining strength quickly. The countries’ economies, according to IMF, are most likely going to stand out in 2023.
They include Senegal, Niger, Rwanda, Congo DRC, Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, and Togo.
Senegal’s economy is to witness the most boost in 2023 in the region, according to IMF’s World Economic Outlook. The output of this fast-rising exporter of oil and gas is expected to grow by 8.1% in 2023, compared with a projected 4.7% expansion in 2022.
The economic stance of Niger republic is promising over the near and medium term, with probable growth acceleration from 6.5% in 2022 to 7.2% in 2023, mainly influenced by agriculture and reinforced by the novel Les Nigériens nourrissent les Nigériens which is the “3N” agricultural initiative, sustained public investment in infrastructure, and the strengthening of her extractive sector. Growth in oil, which was pegged at 20.6% in 2022, should increase to 86.2% in 2023.
According to the IMF, Rwanda’s economy will grow at 6.7% in 2023, showing fast-tracked growth from 6.0% in 2022. The Country’s real GDP growth is expected to accelerate in 2023. The tourism and hospitality sectors are also expected to grow, attracting more Foreign Direct Investments.
Despite the Russia–Ukraine conflict, the economic outlook of the Democratic Republic of Congo is encouraging, with GDP growth in 2022–23 reaching 6.7%, driven by mining and recovery of nonextractives. According to the African Development Bank, priority investments should continue to support internal demand. Advancements in transport and logistics are going to support the reopening of non-extractive activities, services, and industries, stimulating export and tax revenue. Also, the 2023 elections are likely to increase public expenditure and to some extent widen the budget deficit from 1.6% in 2022 to 1.5% in 2023.
Côte d’Ivoire’s economy remained amongst the few Sub-Saharan African economies that maintained growth in 2020 despite the Covid-19 pandemic, and in 2021 GDP growth accelerated to an estimated 6%, according to IMF.
Even with the Russia–Ukraine conflict, which could negatively influence, the outlook for 2023, the West African nation is expected to profit from investments and reforms in the Côte d’Ivoire 2030 Strategic Plan, the National Development Plan 2021–2025 (NDP), and a more stable sociopolitical environment. Consequently, growth should rebound to 6.7% in 2023, driven fundamentally by agriculture, industrial activity, buildings and public works, transport, commerce, telecommunications, investment, and consumption.
Benin has one of the strongest economic growth rates within the West African Economic and Monetary Union, with an estimated growth rate of +7.2 % in 2021, an increase of +3.4 percentage points compared to 2020. Despite the shocks linked to COVID-19 affecting some key sectors of the Beninese economy, the country has been strengthened by the good performance of sub-sectors such as port activities, agricultural production, and tourism. According to predictions, the growth of the Beninese economy is expected to reach +6.2 % in 2023.
After a slowdown in GDP growth to 1.8% during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Togo bounced back to 5.3% in 2021, showing progress in the services sector. On the consumption side, household spending plus public and private investments have significantly added to the recovery.
Côte d’Ivoire was projected to be West Africa’s fastest-growing economy in 2022 at 5.7%, but Senegal’s expansion by 4.8% in 2022, her upward drive to 8% in 2023, and a projected increase of 10.5% in 2024 puts her on top of the list of promising sub-sahara African economies.