Failed leadership and policymaking has kept the vast majority of African countries in poverty. African leaders must take a page out of South Korea's book and focus on export-oriented industrialization in order to prosper.

Part 2 in a recent series on governance competency. Success comes from strategic planning and steadfast execution for years, sometimes decades, on projects that were created to achieve what was envisioned for a country.

It takes a combination of steadfast leadership, strategy, and execution to build an economy from the ground up. Moreover, it takes governance competency for African nations to achieve economic emancipation.

The economic rise of China is a great model that African countries can study and begin to implement. In under half a century, China was able to go from an economically struggling country to a global superpower.

There have been numerous examples throughout the Asian continent of successful countries rising to power through governance competence. However, when you review the current landscape of the African continent, that list is painfully sparse.

The task of building an economy from the ground up is not unique to African countries. South Korea, a country without prominent natural resources, is a brilliant success story of what can be achieved with strong leadership and economic vision.

As African countries continue to fight for a place in the global arena, it is paramount that they reflect on the history of successful countries and businesses to help guide them to economic success.

As economies around the world cope with the crippling COVID-19 coronavirus, so too must African countries on top of their current issues of lackluster leadership and prevalent corruption.

The simplest path for African countries to grow their economy is through export-oriented industrialization (EOI). Leaders must focus on what goods and services they can start exporting to the rest of the world.