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Growth of this magnitude matches and even exceeds China and India's forecast growth but is demonstrative of the potential of the continent to take its place among the world's emerging superpowers.

Already the populations of Africa, China and India combined make up half of the world's total population of more than six billion people but these three continents have traditionally been the world's poorest.

That's changing, said Greg Mills, a director at the Brenthurst Foundation.

Speaking at Nedbank Capital's annual African Investor Conference on Monday, Mills said sub-Saharan African growth was sitting at around 6%.

"It wasn't that difficult to get to 6%, actually it was done largely on the back of improved governance, fewer military regimes and improved commodity prices," said Mills, adding that 10% does not look that long a way off. "I certainly believe we could have a decade of 10% growth without that great a deal of effort," he said.

A research and author, Mills' forecasts are backed by the International Monetary Policy (IMF), which last month said African economies were set to boom.

According to the latest IMF World Economic Outlook, real GDP growth in sub-Saharan Africa is projected to average 5.25% to 5.75% during 2011-12.

"The sub-Saharan African region is showing solid macroeconomic performance, with many economies already growing at rates close to their pre-crisis averages," the report noted.

The IMF said the region was poised for continued economic expansion in the near term, provided the recent rise in financial and economic instability in major advanced economies remained contained.

While the global slowdown has not significantly affected the region thus far, downside risks have risen. Inflation has increased perceptibly in a number of countries in the region.

"Under the baseline scenario, with a strong recovery under way, this is an opportune time to return to the region's long-standing priorities of improving policy and institutional frameworks, building resilience to commodity price swings, and developing financial markets, all of which would help lift the region's potential growth and alleviate poverty. In the event of a pronounced global downturn, countries that have policy buffers should aim to support growth," the IMF said.

Unprecedented economic growth in the region, and Africa as a whole, has changed the debate on the continent's future markedly in the last ten years.

While the discussion ten years ago might have been over how foreign aid could be used to help ailing African economies, the debate is now over how to capitalise on the opportunities presented by being the last frontier - the continent literally at the centre of the east-west dichotomy.

"We are in a different place altogether in Africa. It is by any means perfect but we are in a different space, one that is poised to enjoy a new era and very much a continent of the future," said Mills.

One of the key drivers of African growth is commodities.

There has been something of an African commodities boom over the last 15 years. It's not just oil, although oil is a significant part of this.

Oil reserves as percentage of global reserves have increased dramatically over the last few years partly because the price of oil has made it more affordable to do deep level exploration and partly because of increasing African stability, which has made it possible for foreign companies to explore.

Certainly on the back of increased Chinese and Indian demand, and involvement in the continent, oil along with other commodity prices have risen.

The IMF estimates that if China's per capita use of these minerals is going to reach the levels of say South Korea over the next 30 years they will require about ten times the amount of copper and iron ore that is currently being supplied to them.

"It's unlikely that there will be a downturn (in commodity prices)," said Mills, although that depends largely on Chinese growth.

This is important because African GDP growth has largely tracked that of commodity prices. Global management consulting firm McKinsey said last year that the global race for commodities also gives African governments more bargaining power.

"They are negotiating better deals that capture more value from their resources," McKinsey said in its report on the driving forces behind Africa's growth.

The report also noted that if the recent trends continue, Africa would play an increasingly important role in the global economy.

"By 2040, it will be home to one in five of the planet's young people and the size of its labour force will top China's," it said.

"Africa has almost 60% of the world's uncultivated arable land and a large share of the natural resources. Its consumer-facing sectors are growing two to three times faster than those in the OECD countries and the rate of return on foreign investment is higher in Africa than in any other developing region."