Can Africa's economic recovery withstand inevitable shocks?

In this episode, Wenjie Chen, Deputy Division Chief of the Regional Studies Division at the International Monetary Fund's African Department, discusses the IMF Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa titled 'A Tepid and Pricey Recovery'. The International Monetary Fund's global economic outlook for 2024, released this January, cites a resilient global economy with positive projections for the year ahead. Africa is expected to be the second fastest-growing economic region in the world in 2024, following Asia. Despite this positive forecast, there are concerns about the rising costs for African countries to meet their debt obligations and a funding squeeze that hinders the region's economic growth potential. In this episode, Wenjie Chen, Deputy Division Chief of the Regional Studies Division at the International Monetary Fund's African Department, discusses the IMF Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa titled "A Tepid and Pricey Recovery," released in April 2024. She highlights key findings from the report and contextualizes the IMF's recommendations for harnessing Africa's economic growth potential amid inevitable shocks.