Summary:

Africapitalism is defended as a civic duty, a bit like the slogan of John F. Kennedy: "Don't ask what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." On paper, Africacapitalism seems to ask entrepreneurs what they can do for their continent. But when entrepreneurship is advocated without regard to the power structures in society, it only creates new forms of vulnerability.

Two major dangers appear when basic services are relegated to private for-profit companies, which are not accountable to the public as is the government. First, the suffering of those who were disadvantaged by pre-existing socio-political structures: the poor, women, people with disabilities, the unemployed, etc. Secondly, Africapitalism generates a particular type of laxity that does not stem from despair but from having won the bad battle. When the goal is economic patriotism (i.e. that Africans have companies and means of production in Africa), structural inequality within African societies is only an ulterior motive, if it is taken into account. Africapitalism whispers to entrepreneurs that they too can be part of the richest 1%, at the cost of abuse in terms of work and the environment.

If Africapitalism fails to offer shared prosperity for all, it will be because its promoters have not succeeded in addressing the issue of power and the drivers of inequality.