Industrialization remains one of Africa’s biggest economic ambitions, but a new continental assessment suggests only a handful of countries are structurally prepared to compete at scale.
The 2025 RED Index report of industrial development is out and it has revealed that of 54 countries in Africa only four countries are structured to meet the demands of high-scale industrialization.
Real Economic Development (RED) is an annual report released by the Business Council for Africa (BCA). The most recent edition of this Africa-centric report was released on May 6, 2026.
The four countries identified in the report as being on the right trajectory to sustain industrial growth are Morocco, Egypt, South Africa, and Mauritius.
Even though Nigeria is the most populated and ranks third behind South Africa and Egypt in GDP, it is not in the top four. While the report acknowledges that Nigeria is making progress, it describes its industrial trajectory as incomplete. The same applies to Rwanda.
