Definition Of Finance In Africa

• China’s inroads into Africa come at the expense of Africa’s citizens. Says Bremmer, “The Chinese quid pro quo typically involves lots of Chinese content, lots of Chinese labor that they’re sending over to these countries to work, which hurts local unemployment issues. And of course, the availability of commodities, including food, to be exported to China. There’s sometimes a Faustian bargain in these countries.”

Through my lifetime, I have witnessed the ever-changing world of business and the myriad of global and regional, socioeconomic and political changes accompanied with it. This has not only shaped my actual reality, but has also sparked a genuine interest in global affairs and International economics and finance. From events of the 2008 global financial crisis, to more recent events in my home country Nigeria, who is currently in an economic recession, triggered by a drop in oil prices and financial mismanagement, it is a given that the world is a reflection of global interrelations, and with this, I describe economics as the core of world discussion and finance as its driving tool. This is the reason I am determined to devote myself to the cause of developing an expertise in the interaction between politics, international finance and global markets with the hopes of contributing to the building of an accountable and democratic economy both at home front and on an international platform.

China has seen massive economic growth in the past few decades. Since its reopening in the 1970s, the country has begun trading and buying foreign currencies with western nations like the United States. When the housing crisis which began to unravel in 2007 really hit the American economy hard, China was more than happy to step in and put up funding to help keep the American economy, one of its biggest customers, in a delicate balance. Unfortunately, the American economy has been incredibly slow to recover from the last major recession. As such, it has increased its dependence on Chinese funding to back American debt.

form of payment. Before, China was used to exchanging for goods, so now the ones used to

The Chinese government owns all the land and protection of property is decreasing. The corruption of the Chinese government continues as they reject core reforms such as disclosure of assets by officials, oversight of bodies, and lifting political restraints on citizens. To continue the problem China has a weak financial regulation, use of debt to overproduce, the culture of saving and not spending, and profound fear of innovative ideas. However, China’s use of

Stealing Africa is a staggering documentary about a money hungry company called Glencore. They are responsible for the destruction of land in Zambia that has left natives penny-less. The Zambian natives are now some of the poorest people in the world. What Glencore wants is their copper rich grounds that can make them billions of dollars. This copper is essential in the global economy and has caught the eyes of the world’s richest companies. Today, virtually all of the copper mines in Zambia are owned by multi-national corporations. In the past ten years they have extracted enough copper to be worth more than twenty nine billion US dollars. Ironically,

A major challenge and cause of serious medical issues in Sub-Saharan Africa is the lack of access to a clean water supply. There are 345 million people that lack access to water in Africa. Unfortunately, when water is available it is high in contamination. When wells are built and water sanitation facilities are developed, they cannot be maintained properly to due to limited financial resources. Water quality testing is not performed as often as necessary and the people are unaware that the water may not be safe to drink. Oftentimes, when a source of water has been provided, the quantity of water is often given more attention over the quality of. Lack of clean drinking is the leading cause of diarrheal diseases in Sub-Saharan Africa and causes 7.7% of deaths in Africa. Diarrhea is caused by numerous bacterial, viral and parasitic organisms most of which can be spread by contaminated water. The importance of diarrheal diseases has mostly been overlooked. Through UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO) there have been some accomplishments during the

Africa is the world's second largest continent in both area and population, only Aisa supersede Africa in this area. Approximately 11,670,000 square miles Africa make up roughly a fifth of the world's land area, Also with a population of 959 million people, with calculates to be a seventh of the world population(1).

4. Read Annual Editions Article 4.1, "Africa's Hopeful Economies: The Sun Shines Bright", pp. 116-122, and Article 4.2, "Can Africa Turn from Recovery to Development?", pp. 122-127.

Kingsley Moghalu author of Emerging Africa: How the Global Economy's Last Frontier Can Prosper argues that the African economic can be transformed once there is a paradigm shift. which includes African countries creating complex products, the development of a stronger intuition, the use of propaganda and development of central banks. He believes that African countries can gain wealth and prosperity once these paradigm shifts are applied.

As China’s economy has progressed they have become more eligible to invest into other countries. As of recent China has been investing into Africa. In May 2014 China’s premier, Li Keqiang, toured Africa for the first time since he took office in 2013. He visited Ethiopia, Nigeria, Angola, and Kenya and met with numerous leaders to discuss the developing relationships between the countries. In conclusion to the premier’s visit he gave a pledge for an additional 12 billion USD in credit and funding in hope of boosting the economic development of the continent… China is forecasted to become one of the biggest overseas investors by 2020.

Foreign to Africa has caused little to no outside investment in business within the continent and a sizable portion of the continent’s savings are

African Friends and Money Matters is a book written by David E Maranz, an anthropologist that worked for many years throughout Africa. This was a really interesting book because Maranz examines a large portion of Africa. Instead of focusing on a country or small portion of a culture, he explains how money is used across much of the African continent, particularly the sub-Saharan portion. Because of this, he does not have a set of key informants. Instead he gives many examples by saying something like “a friend of mine,” or my “ acquaintance Abdou,” using different people for different situations (Maranz 76). He also cites many quotes from previous anthropologists in his analyzations.

While relations with China are not in themselves a recent phenomenon, the extensive amount of trade that the two partake in is. Actually, the affiliation between China and Africa stretches back centuries. Some scholars try to establish the starting point based on “the discovery of ancient Chinese ceramics on the east coast of Africa, or to the trading ties begun under the Song dynasty” (Raine 13). Trying to trace ties back this far is important in increasing a sense of loyalty. After all, people tend to have stronger feelings of fidelity towards someone they have known for years, as compared to someone they have just met. Another frequently cited encounter is when the Chinese explorer Zheng He “reached the east coast of Africa where…Zheng came, saw and never conquered…[leaving only a legacy] of trade, stimulating a local market for Chinese silk and porcelain” (Raine 13). This incident is important in further establishing solidarity between the two nations. China refers to this history to prove “it has interacted commercially without further agenda and without detriment to Africa” (Raine 14). It uses this point to relate to Africa – they are both Third World nations that have faced oppression from the First World, and therefore need to stick together.

In the recent years, China has had a growing presence in the African continent, engaging in trades, delivering aid and initiating projects. China’s involvement in Africa is something that has triggered very animated debates among students and scholars. Many hypotheses as to China’s intentions have been presented. Is China really the solution to Africa’s underdevelopment or simply for its own political and economical interests? This essay will present a more pessimistic view on this whole situation arguing the very dangers and consequences of China’s relationship with Africa. Not only does China worsen the countries’ economic conditions by triggering high levels of inflation and unemployment but it also represent a new form of colonialism