- Africa’s Expanding Cities Could Unlock Millions of New Jobs – World Bank
Sub-Saharan Africa’s rapidly growing cities could become powerful engines of productivity, private investment and employment, but only if governments begin treating urbanisation as an economic strategy rather than simply a demographic trend, the World Bank Group has said.
In its new report, Sub-Saharan Africa’s Urban Awakening: Catalyzing Economic Growth and Job Creation, the Bank projects that the region will add 748 million urban residents between 2025 and 2050.
That expansion offers governments a limited opportunity to shape where people live, where businesses operate and how workers connect to jobs before poorly planned development becomes permanent and considerably more expensive to correct.
The central argument of the report is that population growth alone will not make African cities productive. Governments must deliberately create places where firms can cluster, workers can reach employment opportunities and private investors can operate within predictable planning, infrastructure and regulatory systems.
“Sub-Saharan Africa’s urban transition can transform the region’s jobs market,” said Paschal Donohoe, World Bank Group Managing Director and Chief Knowledge Officer.
“With the right investments and reforms in infrastructure, land, connectivity and financing, cities can attract private capital, boost productivity, and create the formal jobs that millions of young Africans are looking for.”
The report comes as African governments confront one of the continent’s most difficult economic questions: how to create sufficient employment for a young and expanding workforce.
Cities can help answer that question because the concentration of people, firms, infrastructure and services can reduce production costs, support innovation and provide companies with access to larger pools of workers and consumers.
The World Bank’s findings indicate that urban households already enjoy stronger economic prospects. They spend considerably more per adult than equally educated rural households, suggesting that cities provide access to more productive and better-paying employment.
However, the advantage is not automatic. Congestion, inadequate housing, unreliable infrastructure, insecure land rights and poor transport can erase the productivity benefits that should come from density.
A city may contain thousands of businesses and millions of workers, but its economic potential remains constrained if employees spend several hours commuting, firms cannot obtain serviced land or residents are forced to live far from employment centres.
The Bank is therefore calling for targeted policies that recognise the different needs of established cities, fast-growing urban peripheries and smaller towns.
In major cities, governments should invest in accessible, job-rich clusters supported by transport, infrastructure and affordable housing. Regulations should also make it easier for workers and businesses to locate closer to areas of economic activity.
This requires urban transport policy to be considered alongside land use and housing. Building a commercial or industrial centre without affordable residential communities and reliable public transportation nearby may create investment on paper without delivering broad employment benefits.
The peripheries of African cities present a different challenge. These areas are often expanding faster than governments can provide roads, drainage, water, sanitation and other public services.
The World Bank argues that authorities must plan road networks and reserve space for essential infrastructure before construction becomes entrenched. Once unplanned settlements have occupied the land, installing basic infrastructure becomes more disruptive, politically complicated and financially demanding.
Early planning is therefore not merely an urban-design consideration. It is a form of fiscal discipline that can prevent governments from paying far more in the future to correct development patterns that could have been avoided.
The report also draws attention to Sub-Saharan Africa’s more than 15,000 towns, which are frequently overlooked in national development strategies.
Rather than spreading limited public resources evenly across every town, the Bank recommends concentrating investment on locations with strong economic and geographic potential. These include towns situated along transport corridors or close to agricultural, industrial and other commercial opportunities.
Targeted infrastructure and effective planning could help such towns become productive links between rural economies and larger cities. They could support agricultural processing, logistics, manufacturing and services while reducing pressure on major urban centres.
The approach also requires difficult choices. Not every town possesses the same potential to become a significant economic centre. For communities with weaker economic prospects, investment in education and healthcare may produce better outcomes by enabling residents to access opportunities in stronger labour markets.
Governance and financing will ultimately determine whether the recommendations translate into jobs.
“Africa’s urban transformation will deliver on its promise only if cities have the institutions and resources to manage growth effectively,” said Mark Roberts, World Bank Senior Urban Economist and co-author of the report.
“Stronger urban governance, more predictable financing, and greater accountability are essential to turn rapid urbanisation into better infrastructure, more investment, and ultimately more and better jobs.”
Many African local authorities have extensive responsibilities but limited financial independence. Weak property records, outdated valuation systems and low collection rates prevent cities from raising sufficient revenue to fund infrastructure and essential services.
The report recommends using affordable technology to modernise property-tax systems. Stronger local revenue could improve service delivery, strengthen municipal creditworthiness and make cities more attractive to private investors.
Public-private partnerships could also finance projects in strategically important locations, but they will require credible institutions, transparent procurement and revenue models capable of attracting long-term capital.
For African governments, the message is urgent. The buildings, roads and settlements emerging today will shape how cities function for decades.
If urban expansion produces disconnected communities, long commutes and inadequate infrastructure, cities could deepen inequality and unemployment. If it is supported by planning, connectivity, accountable government and targeted investment, the same growth could create productive centres capable of absorbing millions of workers.
Africa’s urban population is already expanding. The policy choice is whether its cities will merely become larger or become more productive, inclusive and capable of creating the jobs the continent urgently needs.
