McKinsey in sub-Saharan Africa: Helping unlock a continent’s economic rebirth
Africa’s rapid growth has captured the world’s imagination, triggering unprecedented business interest and investment. As highlighted in “Lions on the move,” McKinsey’s widely-acknowledged report on Africa’s economic prospects, the continent will profit from rising global demand for natural resources; boast a consumer market of 128 million households by 2020; and see its labor force top 1 billion people by 2040.
Across Africa, McKinsey is playing an active role the continent’s economic rebirth, making a difference to both individual clients and whole countries. We have over 165 consultants working in region; among them they represent over 39 nationalities and speak over 45 languages. From our offices in Johannesburg, Lagos and Luanda, we have completed over 1,000 engagements over the past decade—in more than 30 countries, including South Africa, Nigeria, Angola, Tanzania, Kenya, Zambia, Namibia, Ethiopia, Ghana and Senegal. In addition, we have completed several hundred pan-African engagements.
Our work ranges from defining growth strategies for entire countries and key sectors such as oil and gas, financial services, and transport; to helping achieve step-change improvements in education and health; to designing a $500 million fund to channel finance to African farmers; to supporting major companies’ expansion into new markets. We serve many leading sub-Saharan players across sectors including energy and materials, financial services, consumer goods and retail, telecommunications, infrastructure and logistics, and the public and social sectors.
Our client work is underpinned by major knowledge investment, including in our Africa Consumer Insight Centre.
We also play an important role in building capabilities and growing African leaders—both in our clients’ organizations and in our own. Our alumni hold senior roles in government, business and the social sector across the continent.