By CHARLES ONYANGO-OBBO
The African Development Bank (AfDB) is becoming cool these days. It recently released a report entitled Middle of the Pyramid: Dynamics of the Middle Class in Africa (at http://www.afdb.org).
And it is just that; a major effort to figure out how many Africans are middle class, how much money they have in their wallets, where they get it from, and the lifestyle they are purchasing with the money.
Most Kenyan bank reports will bore you to death. They are full of dry numbers and often give information of interest to small specialist groups, e.g. how much money has been lent to farmers and the amount of fertiliser they are buying with it.
Most Kenyan bank reports will bore you to death. They are full of dry numbers and often give information of interest to small specialist groups, e.g. how much money has been lent to farmers and the amount of fertiliser they are buying with it.
One of the few exceptions a few years ago was something that Stanbic Bank (CFC Stanbic Kenya local) did about Africa’s future economic fortunes.
The definition of the middle class is extensive, but broadly they are the individuals with annual incomes of more than $3,900 (Sh328,000), and spend between $6 (Sh500) and $10 (Sh840) a day.
The definition of the middle class is extensive, but broadly they are the individuals with annual incomes of more than $3,900 (Sh328,000), and spend between $6 (Sh500) and $10 (Sh840) a day.
Today they have risen to 34.3 per cent (or 313 million) of the African population, up from around 111 million (26.2 per cent) in 1980.
