Katerina Mansour
        Staff Writer

In honor of Black History month, I’d like us to take a moment and celebrate some of the amazing successes African nations have been achieving as of late.

There is no denying that, throughout the African continent, there are many problems from security threats, to weak government, to dire economic circumstances.

However, there are also many amazing things happening, and it’s worth smiling about.

First, let’s celebrate Ethiopia’s rapid — and promising — economic growth.

According to reports, Ethiopia was the fastest growing economy in 2015 within Africa and second within the world. The only other country that grew faster was Papua New Guinea at a 12.3 percent growth rate. According to the IMF, Ethiopia’s economy grew 8.7 percent last year, and is expected to grow 8.1 percent this year.

Spending by state-owned companies on capital projects and infrastructure has led to a 70 percent boost in capital investment. China, in particular, has strong interests in Ethiopia and is investing within the country.

All of this, in addition to the fact that Ethiopia has remained a peaceful and stable country, leads me to calling Ethiopia a success story worth looking into.

Next, we have to marvel at the Ivory Coast’s transformations.

The Ivory Coast is still recovering from about a decade of brutal conflict that ended only in 2011.

Yet, its demographics are changing and so is its economy.

The Ivory Coast is urbanizing rapidly, the middle class is expanding, and after four years of consecutive economic growth, it’s seen a 20 percent rise in per-capita income.

This drastic change has been bringing back the people who fled the country during its crisis to places such as France. Their return brings the possibility of many investment opportunities that could further expand the country’s economy and its already growing middle class.

But it’s not only economic growth that Africa should be proud of; instead, it’s how the continent has sagaciously utilized technology.

Multiple recent reports and articles have brought up Africa’s progress in terms of technology, more specifically mobile technology and the potential it holds for its countries.

Recently, a Harvard Business Review article named Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa as three countries in which the digital economy ranks as the fastest moving in the world.

Kenya, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa are commonly known as the “KINGS” of Africa’s digital economy.

Innovation in technology is anticipated to take Africa to the next level in terms of world economies based not just on commodities but also the digital world.

Also, it would shortsighted to overlook the efforts of South Africa in reviving the quagga.

The quagga, a distinct subspecies of the Zebra had been extinct since colonial hunters of the 19th century wiped them out. However, over the past 30 years, Quagga Project has been using selective breeding in order to try and revive them.

Their reasoning is that this is an attempt to try and repair ecological damage and also simply bring back one of South Africa’s many charismatic animals.

This is part of many other stories within South Africa about trying to preserve or restore wildlife. For example, many other strides are being made to end Rhinoceros poaching.

Lastly, it is crucial to touch upon the issue of women’s rights and its improving status within the African continent.

For years, the African Union has been focusing its efforts on empowering women and improving women’s rights. It has recently been celebrating the fact that 16 African countries have some of the highest numbers of women in parliament.

Rwanda’s parliament, for instance, actually has the highest number of women in parliament worldwide. The AU now has the highest number of women in peacekeeping and political decision making positions worldwide.

Throughout Africa, women have also been offered more incentives and opportunities to become entrepreneurs.

In Tanzania, real estate companies and other organizations are offering women the possibility of obtaining low-cost land, which has been one of the main difficulties women have faced in their attempts to kick-start businesses in the country. These efforts are being carried out around East Africa and are incredibly promising for women within the region.

I could keep going, but I think I’ve made my point clear: African countries are not to be cast aside as irrelevant within the global sphere.

Throughout the continent, many promising changes are occurring, and many success stories are leading African countries into some of the most competitive arenas of the global economy, such as the tech space.

Africa is a force to be reckoned with. I don’t mean to dismiss or forget about the many struggles the continent is facing, but I certainly would like us to embrace the positive paths being taken.