Move over, Asia: new economic powerhouses are in Africa

China and India lead the list of fastest-growing economies, but a number of African economies follow close behind.

Written by Joe McKendrick, Contributor on Jan. 6, 2011

Just the other day, my SmartPlanet colleague Christina Hernandez reported on her discussion with Samasource founder and CEO Leila Janah, who discussed how information technology is bringing new opportunities to impoverished corners of the world. She cited the example of an entrepreneur who was building a digital conversion business in Nairobi, Kenya.

This entrepreneurial spirit, combined with the immense opportunities created by information technology, along with a wealth of human resources and natural resources, may be helping to lift an entire continent out of generations of dire poverty.

The Economist, in fact, just published information, culled from the International Monetary Fund, that shows that six out of 10 of the world's fastest-growing economies in 2001-2010 were in Africa, and seven out of 10 will be in Africa in the in 2011-2015 timeframe.

As categorized by The Economist,The fastest growing economies over the next four years will be