The Prepaid Economy: African Edition

During the second half of 2011, relations between Africa and Brazil continued to flourish as part of the historic trade, cultural and economic rapprochement of the two economic juggernauts.

Specifically, African governments asked for more financing from the South American country to implement development projects, according to Brazil’s National Bank of Economic and Social Development (BNDES). Key reasons for intensifying this relationship include the fact that Brazil is now the world’s sixth-largest economy (after China, the United States, France, Germany and Japan) and that it has become a major player in South-South cooperation.

Readjustments in trade flows provoked by the economic crisis in countries of the northern hemisphere also contribute to this situation. Linked in the past by colonial trade, the modern experiences of Brazil in Africa – in agriculture, social protection, vocational training and alternative sources of renewable energy – have helped strengthen the development of the region with the highest poverty rates in the world, and at the same time have created a favorable climate for private business and investment.