African industry is doing better than previously thought

“THE FUTURE is here,” says Ibrahima Sarr, pointing to the factories he runs in Senegal. After working and studying for 18 years in Europe he returned home to help spark a manufacturing revolution. Now he is with Africa Development Solutions, a Malian conglomerate, managing plants that make electric bikes, pipes and, soon, clothing.Mr Sarr is not alone in his optimism for manufacturing in Africa. The Diamniadio industrial park he looks out over is the centrepiece of Senegal’s ambitious industrialisation plan. Elsewhere in the region, Ghana has attracted car-assembly plants from Nissan and Volkswagen. Ethiopia, too, has bet heavily on manufacturing.