Linking globalization, economic growth and poverty: Impacts of agribusiness strategies on sub-Saharan Africa

The globalization process has the potential to benefit the economic development of sub-Saharan Africa. It has fused the theoretical stages of economic development, and raised the premium on the traditional, sequential approach. SSA governments are investing in the necessary components to foster economic stability and increase the middle-class, including infrastructure, opening telecommunication markets, and internet-based distance learning programs. Competition for capital, driven by globalization, is pushing private sector agribusiness to seek opportunities to capture higher returns in the longrun. This approach encourages a shift in strategies for internationalizing. Rather than trade in final consumer goods, multinationals are leveraging - either by production contracts, joint ventures, or wholly-owned companies-their technical expertise to introduce production efficiencies while, at the same time, learning about the tastes and preferences of the soon-to-be middle class in SSA. It is agricultural trade and macro-economic public policies, along with corporate tax policy and firms' new interest in translating soft assets or qualitative factors into profits-all working simultaneously-that defines the opportunity to include SSA as beneficiaries of the globalization process.