While the economic growth rate in Africa compares quite favourably with those of developed countries, it is significantly less than those in other emerging countries, most notably in Asia. A reasonable benchmark for the evaluation of Africa's economic development, is the progress being made towards the achievement of the Millennium Development goals.
Closely related to the above is the need for the benchmarks not only to measure performance but also to provide a standard for the participants in the system. In a world of inter-operability, necessitated by multiple delivery offerings, the co-existence of varied systems is already a reality.