The Africa Advantage, Part 1: why Europe needs Africa

Changing the starting point

Africa is too often introduced through what it needs from other regions. The opening part of The Africa Advantage turns that question around. What does Europe need from Africa, and what might that dependence mean for the continent’s future?

Dr. Joseph Opare approaches the subject through an African Hebraic worldview and the Issachar Principle: understanding the times and considering how to respond. The documentary brings that faith-based perspective into a discussion about economic change, international relationships and Africa’s place in the world.

A future that changes the balance

The series looks towards 2050 as a period in which Africa could carry greater economic and political weight. Population is one important part of that picture. The UN’s 2024 population projections provide a foundation for examining how populations are expected to change across regions.

A growing population means more potential workers, consumers, entrepreneurs and citizens with expectations of their own. It can also increase the importance of the markets and partnerships that develop around them.

The documentary’s argument is that Africa should understand this changing position when dealing with Europe. A relationship viewed only through aid misses the interests that bring outside powers to the continent.

From importance to negotiating power

Being important to another region creates possibilities. Turning that importance into better outcomes requires choices about trade, investment and the terms of cooperation.

One practical question is where value is created. Selling a resource is different from processing it, building an industry around it and retaining the skills needed to expand. Another is who shapes a partnership’s priorities: the outside investor, the government or the people expected to benefit.

These questions help explain why the relationship with Europe deserves fresh attention. African development is not simply something Europe observes. The documentary argues that Europe’s own future is tied to how that relationship evolves.

Reading the moment from the diaspora

For diaspora viewers, the film offers a way to think about Africa beyond inherited images of dependency. Ties to the continent can involve knowledge, enterprise and participation in its future as well as family history.

The faith-based framing asks viewers to recognise a changing moment and consider the responsibilities that come with it. The economic discussion asks what would make that opportunity visible in people’s lives.

Watch Part 1 for the series’ opening argument, then continue to Part 2 on Africa’s people and economic potential. Together, they pose a larger question: if the world increasingly needs Africa, how can Africans shape the terms of that relationship?