Africa has some of the poorest nations in the world, but it is wealthier across the continent than India. The average gross national income (GNI) per capita across all 53 African nations in 2005 was about $954, more than $200 higher than India’s. As the map illustrates, 12 African nations (with 100 million people among them) out of 53 had a GNI per capita that was greater than China’s. Twenty nations (with a combined population of 263 million) had a GNI per capita that was greater than India’s. That concentration of wealth represents a huge potential market for companies worldwide. Of course, serving this market means overcoming the myriad economic, political, legal, medical, and social challenges facing the continent. But businesses across Africa have already proved that this is possible, feeding a fast-growing demand for every conceivable type of consumer good and service, from cell phones to banking to televisions. Africa is defying its image as a charity case, prompting entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial businesses to invest in it as they presciently did in India two decades ago.

A version of this article appeared in the June 2007 issue of Harvard Business Review.