Those that live in North America as well as those that live in Europe have a strong tendency to look through the prism of this world through their own perspective, which somehow misses the vital point, that the population of this world has already been ceded to the balance of those other countries which are non-North American and non-European, and that as in many things, size and numbers do matter. For instance, for the year 2050, as projected by www.ined.fr, Africa is scheduled to have a population of 2,489,275 peoples, and Asia is scheduled to have a population of 5,290,263; whereas North America and Europe combined will have a scheduled population of just 1,135,686. Further to the point, the median age of a given country or continent most definitely matters, for the younger a given nation is, the more productive that nation has a tendency to be, along with the salient fact that younger people consume as well as produce far more material goods than older people do, as well as the additional fact that younger people are far less of a burden upon the nation in regards to healthcare, retirement benefits, and other relevant things.
This world is fully realized, thereby signifying that there are no new horizons to be discovered, for all has already been discovered; therefore in today's world, such countries that formerly were colonies of European powers, are now independent nations and those up and coming nations, essentially want the very same material things that are so prevalent in our western societies of today. The difference though, between those young nations in Africa in comparison to the United States and Europe, is that Africa has plenty of young people that they can avail themselves of and lean upon in order to increase their productivity from their current relatively low levels, thereby accomplishing very impressive economic growth rates, that western nations will not ever achieve again; for those western nations, have the heavy burden of a great amount of old people, and an ever aging population, which is thereby supported by a decreasing percentage of young people, that somehow have to carry not only the weight of their own self, by also those senior citizens.
So too, one of the most important ways, that nations enrich their population is through the exportation of all sorts of goods and products, of which, there was a time when many a consumer good in America so imported, was labeled, "Made In Japan," which then was subsequently replaced by the ubiquitous "Made In China," and will by 2050, be replaced by "Made In Nigeria," or some other country in Africa, because those nations with the youngest workforces while also having very low labor compensation rates have an inherent advantage over all those mature nations that are ever aging as well as having to adhere to all sorts of rules and regulations, long established, by those subject nations.
The biggest advantage that Africa has over all other continents is that outside investment into their continent, is highly desirable by capitalistic enterprises, because Africa offers to those that have that capital, a far higher return upon that capital, than equivalent domestic investment in such, which thereby translates into a higher as well as a more sustainable growth rate for those African countries.