Will Africa be the automotive industry's next boom market? One former GM executive thinks so.

According to the U.N., more than half of the world's population growth of 2.4 billion projected by 2050 will come from Africa, where the population is expected to double and where the workforce will soon be the world's largest.

Can the automotive industry find new opportunities by serving this expanding market?

Edward T. Hightower, an automotive industry veteran who formerly headed up GM's global crossover business as executive chief engineer and vehicle line executive, addresses this question in his new book: Motoring Africa: Sustainable Automotive Industrialization - Building Entrepreneurs, Creating Jobs and Driving the World’s Next Economic Miracle. 

According to the publisher, automotive CEOs looking for profitable growth and cost-effective new market access and heads of state in Africa looking to encourage investment and create jobs will find Motoring Africa to be a comprehensive roadmap.

Hightower is set to present an overview of his book, read excerpts and answer questions during an official launch event in Chicago, 3:00–5:00 p.m. (CT) tomorrow (Saturday, May 19), at the Blue Lacuna, a technology and innovation center, 2150 S. Canalport Ave.

The author also recently spoke at the 10th annual Africa Business Forum at Stanford, hosted by Stanford Graduate School of Business on Saturday, May 12, in front of an audience of international business, government and nonprofit leaders who all share an interest in shaping the future of business and manufacturing in Africa.

Motoring Africa posits that investing in the manufacture of complex products that require technical and industrial skills, such as automobiles, in six selected African countries, is the most viable way to serve these markets, while creating vast opportunities for entrepreneurs, investors and job seekers.

China’s growth serves as a model for shaping Africa’s manufacturing future, according to Hightower. From 1990 to 2015, China’s automotive industrialization period, the country went from manufacturing 500,000 cars to more than 25 million cars annually. During this 25-year period, China’s GDP increased nearly 30-fold.

Motoring Africa is published by FastPencil Publishing. It is available now – $27.95 hardcover and $9.99 eBook – through Amazon, Apple iBooks and other channels.