Development Strategies for Africa: Lessons from Asia, Europe, USA and Canada

Abstract

The study analyzed development strategies for Africa with specific emphasis on lessons from the developed countries of Europe, Asia, the United States of America, and Canada. Development is akin to a sustainable livelihood, hence, the need for a country to devise means for the achievement and maintenance of accelerated improvements in the holistic affairs of the people and their environs. The objectives of the study were to analyze major development strategies suitable for African countries, identify challenges of development strategies in African countries and proffer solutions to ameliorate them. The Economic Theory of Modernization was adopted for the study. The qualitative research methodology which is mainly descriptive was adopted for the study through the use of secondary sources of data like internet sources, textbooks, journals, etc. It was discovered that primary exports and diversification, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI); planned use of external aids, natural resources economics, and domestic resource mobilization, constitutes major development strategies for the underdeveloped and developing countries of Africa. It was also discovered that problems of unorganized vision and plans, corruption, poor funding, ineffective tax administration system and poor plan implementation and evaluation limit the success of development strategies in African countries. It was recommended that special funds for development plans should be independent of the general budget and agencies of implementation and evaluation should be created for any development plan or programme.