Sub-Saharan Africa’s cities could become engines of economic growth and job creation if governments focus investment and policy attention on places where firms can cluster and workers can easily reach them, says international development finance organisation the World Bank Group.

The ‘Sub-Saharan Africa’s Urban Awakening: Catalysing Economic Growth and Job Creation’ report projects that the region will add 748-million urban residents between 2025 and 2050.

This growth offers a time-bound opportunity to create more and better jobs for the region’s expanding young workforce.

Cities already offer stronger prospects, as urban households spend considerably more per adult than equally educated rural households, which reflects more and better jobs.

“Sub-Saharan Africa’s urban transition can transform the region’s jobs market. With the right investments and reforms in infrastructure, land, connectivity and financing, cities can attract private capital, boost productivity, and create the formal jobs that millions of young Africans are looking for,” says World Bank Group MD and chief knowledge officer Paschal Donohoe.

Realising this potential will require targeted action to address the different challenges facing cities, their rapidly growing peripheries, and smaller towns, the report says.

In major cities, governments should prioritise the creation of accessible, job-rich clusters by investing in infrastructure, transport and affordable housing, while improving regulations that enable firms and workers to locate closer to economic opportunities.

Further, on city peripheries, governments need to plan ahead for rapid expansion, particularly by establishing road networks and reserving space for essential infrastructure before development becomes entrenched, the report recommends.

Meanwhile, the potential of sub-Saharan Africa’s more than 15 000 towns is often overlooked, the report highlights.

For smaller towns, it recommends a selective approach to investment, focusing resources on places with strong economic and geographic potential, particularly towns along transport corridors and near other economic opportunities.

In these high-potential towns, targeted infrastructure and stronger urban planning can help unlock growth and job creation, while investment in education and health can help residents in towns with fewer economic opportunities connect to stronger labour markets.

The report also calls for rapidly growing towns to have the appropriate urban governance and financing tools they need to better plan for future expansion.

“Africa’s urban transformation will deliver on its promise only if cities have the institutions and resources to manage growth effectively. Stronger urban governance, more predictable financing, and greater accountability are essential to turn rapid urbanisation into better infrastructure, more investment, and ultimately more and better jobs,” says World Bank senior urban economist and report co-author Mark Roberts.

The report recommends practical, cost-effective measures, such as using low-cost technology to modernise property tax systems that can raise local revenue, improve city creditworthiness, and help attract private investment, including through public-private partnerships in key city locations.

With sub-Saharan Africa’s urban future taking shape now, the choices made today will shape the region’s cities for generations to come, he says.

Additionally, the report emphasises the need to act early and strategically, combining targeted infrastructure with stronger institutions, better urban planning and financing, and greater mobilisation of private capital.

Together, these measures can help ensure the region’s rapid urban growth translates into greater economic opportunity and more and better jobs.