African cities make it to the world's elite list

By: Rofhiwa Madzena

While New York and London remain the most global cities to live in globally, African cities like Joburg are following close behind.

The future potential of 125 cities was measured by A.T. Kearney and African cities made it onto the list along with the most influential cites in the world like New York and London as places that are creating and entrenching a global footprint.
The report, Global Cities Index (GCI) and Outlook for 2015, showed that while New York and London have stayed as the world’s most global cities, African cities including Johannesburg which sits at number 55 and Cape Town which follows close behind at number 69 saw their ranks improve the most on the index. The report indicated that most of Johannesburg’s growth came from improved political engagement.

The global influence of the countries was measured based on the well-being of the population, the economy, the developments as well as governance.
Erik Peterson, partner and managing director of the A.T. Kearney Global Business Policy Council said, “The structure of the Global Cities 2015 measures both the current performance and future potential of cities to attract and retain global capital, people and ideas.”
Other African cities that made it onto the list were Cairo which is at number 50. It was the only African city to come ahead of Johannesburg. Nairobi was ranked number 75 and Lagos was lagging far behind Joburg at disappointing 86th place.