External risks to Africa’s growth: Falling commodity prices, China’s economic slowdown, and rising external debt (Amy Copley, Brookings)

As Africa continues to face a number of challenges due the “triple threat” of falling commodity prices, China’s economic slowdown, and the rising cost of external debt, these external shocks also provide opportunities in 2016 for implementing innovative, robust policies to accelerate and sustain future growth. In the inaugural Doing Business in Africa: A Risks, Trends, and Opportunities Roundtable, participants from government, civil society, academia, and the private sector explored what these external shocks mean for doing business on the continent and how related policy measures can support new and existing economic opportunities. Since external factors—including GDP growth in G-7 countries and China, oil and non-oil commodity prices, and borrowing costs in international capital markets—account for nearly half of GDP growth fluctuations in sub-Saharan Africa, understanding exactly how these factors influence the economic activities in African countries and what can be done to weather and emerge stronger from these shocks is important to fostering successful businesses and investments in the region. During the roundtable, participants engaged one another on solutions for these challenges, sharing their unique perspectives and opening the discussion to related, medium-terms risks as well

http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/africa-in-focus/posts/2016/05/27-external-risks-to-african-growth-copley