Mozambique’s capital Maputo has been singled out as the large African city with the highest potential for inclusive growth, according to the 2015 MasterCard African Cities Growth Index (SCGI). Casablanca (Morocco) and Lagos (Nigeria) rank second and third respectively.
Now in its third year, the ACGI maps African cities’ economic outlook according to their potential for inclusive urbanisation. The 74 analysed cities are divided into three categories by population size: large (over one million), medium (between 500 000 and one million) and small (under 500 000).
University of South Africa (Unisa) professor, George Angelopulo, author of the 2015 ACGI, said that Maputo’s inclusive growth potential fell into the medium to high category which could be attributed to its share of Mozambique’s foreign direct investment (FDI). “Furthermore, the city boasts constantly improving levels of government effectiveness, regulatory quality, and ease of doing business,” he said.
Slow economic growth combined with increasing populations make it likely that South Africa’s four large cities are likely to experience greater inequality over the next decade. Pretoria (ranked 21st) is the South African city with the greatest potential for inclusive growth, followed by Johannesburg (27th), Durban (32nd), Cape Town (38th) and Port Elizabeth (44th).
Matola, adjacent to Maputo to the west, is the ACGI’s top medium-sized city with the highest potential for inclusive growth. It is also the city with the highest potential for growth throughout Mozambique. Matola is followed by Nouakchott (Mauretania) and Libreville (Gabon). All three cities have medium-high inclusive growth potential.
Of the small cities assessed, Windhoek (Namibia) and Victoria (Seychelles) rank first and second respectively with medium-high inclusive growth potential. Gaborone (Botswana) is third, with medium-low inclusive growth potential.
