The Africa Competitiveness Report 2017, competitiveness constitutes the factors, institutions, and policies that determine a country’s level of productivity. Productivity, in turn, sets the sustainable level and path of prosperity that a country can achieve. The 2017 edition of The Africa Competitiveness Report comes out at a transitional time for the region. Low commodity prices and reduced growth in emerging markets and advanced economies have contributed to slow growth in the majority of African countries, following a decade of sustained GDP growth (above 5 percent). However, slower GDP growth has also given impetus to reforms and economic diversification in some countries.