Sub-Saharan Africa is seeing a “modest pickup in economic growth,” from a rise of 2.8 percent in 2017 to 3.4 percent in 2018, according to the International Monetary Fund.
The IMF African Department reported on Friday the growth is helped by external conditions, including stronger global growth, higher commodity prices and favorable financing conditions.
African Department Director Abebe Aemro Selassie also pointed to growing trade within Africa as a positive force, with intra-Africa trade growing from below 10 percent to almost 20 percent of the region’s trade.