Investment expansion

The World Bank estimates that Africa needs about $93 billion annually to bridge its infrastructure gap. Moreover, according to Ernst & Young's latest Africa Attractiveness report, China has already invested in 293 projects in Africa since 2005, totaling an investment outlay of $66.4 billion.

The underdeveloped infrastructure such as energy and transportation will still attract increased Chinese investment to the continent in the next five years, the Baker McKenzie report noted. By 2025, benefits from the Belt and Road Initiative will spread to other sectors due to improved infrastructure, especially in such burgeoning sectors as technology, telecommunications and manufacturing, added the report.

While infrastructure development has been the primary Belt and Road driver, other sectors will emerge to play a role. The report indicated that there is an increased entry of Chinese smartphone brands to Africa.

The market share of Shenzhen-based Transsion's mobile brands reached 38 percent in Africa in 2016, according to the market intelligence company International Data Corp. It means that for every three mobile phones sold on the continent, one is made by Transsion.

Transsion's investments in many African countries have not only made it a household brand, but also brought real benefits to local people. In 2011, the company set up a smartphone plant in Ethiopia, which created more than 1,500 jobs for local workers.

While producing handsets for global customers, Huawei has ventured into infrastructure for mobile services to get local people connected to the wider world. Since 2013, the Chinese telecommunications giant has worked with Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority and local carriers to deliver network coverage to remote areas. In 2014, it helped connect more than 500 villages for the first time by installing 169 base stations in remote areas of the country.

Positive impact

According to observers, accelerating the development of infrastructure in areas such as energy, transportation and information and communication technology has become a broad consensus among African countries in driving economic growth and transformation, but financing has been a huge challenge.

In early 2017, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) cited an infrastructure boom in Djibouti. Data from the IMF pointed out that the growth of the small country in the Horn of Africa is estimated to have reached 6.5 percent in 2016. The country also targets medium-term growth of 7.5-10 percent per year through infrastructure investment. China is financing many of the projects, including a port and a water pipeline connecting Ethiopia.

China has become the leading source of foreign direct investment on the continent, noted Lemma Senbet, Executive Director of the African Economic Research Consortium, a Nairobi-based economic policy research organization serving Africa. "I regard Chinese engagement with Africa as truly transformational in trade, investments and infrastructure development. There has been positive impact on Africa's growth trajectory."

Stanley Jia, Chief Representative of Baker McKenzie in Beijing, echoed Senbet's opinion. He said the Belt and Road Initiative "is and will continue to be the most important and impactful macroeconomic undertaking in the world, for at least the next 10 years."

Jia added that the scale and ambition of the Belt and Road Initiative means there will be plenty of opportunities for local and international partners in a wide variety of sectors that can work hand in hand with Chinese organizations for mutual benefit.