Industrialisation in Africa began during the colonial period. It was further driven by Africa’s natural resources, investments from European and Asian countries. It has shaped Africa’s social, economic and political affairs to such an extent that decades after gaining independence, African countries are still dependent on their ex-colonisers. The effects of the uneven and exploitative nature of colonialism exhausted many African economies and are largely the function of colonial history. Africa’s current economic structures are connected to the economies of their ex-colonisers, and the new world powerhouses, namely China and India, through a range of trade, monetary investment, and infrastructure policies. Regardless of its rich mineral resources ranging from diamond, gold, copper, and platinum among others, many African countries are the least developed and under-industrialised nations in the world. Poverty, inequality, and unemployment are on the rise, as well as the threat of terrorism in some African countries, particularly the countries in Sahel region. Efforts to decolonise Africa date as far as the 1930s, but it has not proved successful, largely, because the ex-colonisers’ influences and controls are still in place. This chapter traces the history and politics of industrialisation and the decolonisation of the western paradigm in Africa.
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