NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

By Akinyi Ochieng and Isaac Kwaku Fokuo, Jr.

Back in January, Africa’s economic outlook for the year was bright. African Development Bank projections predicted 3.9% growth in 2020 and 4.1% in 2021. But then, coronavirus upended the global economy. Less than two months later, with only 61 confirmed Covid-19 cases in Africa, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) revised the continent’s growth projections downwards to 2%. Last week, The World Bank said that Africa is headed towards its first recession in 25 years. These gloomy figures can largely be attributed to disrupted value chains, reduction in FDI and remittances, and direct hits to sectors such as tourism and oil.

While no industry can truly be recession-proof, tech-enabled sectors may be more likely to withstand these shocks. Digital technology is getting a boost as people find new ways to work and communicate and sectors take their services onlines. Below, Botho Emerging Markets Group identifies three sectors that are likely to survive and even grow in the face of the coronavirus-sparked economic crisis.

Photo courtesy of CommScope.