As coronavirus disrupts supply chains, could Africa profit?

Official coronavirus-related figures coming out of Africa say countries on the continent have so far escaped the worst ravages of the global outbreak, most vividly seen in countries like Italy, Spain and the United States.
According to the African Union (AU), just about 70,000 Africans have officially been infected with the novel pathogen as of May, which is a rather small number given the continent's population of roughly 1.2 billion.
Despite the comparatively low numbers of infections, most African countries have imposed sweeping lockdown measures, hitting prime sectors such as commodities and tourism especially hard, and driving governments deeper into budget deficits.
As the World Bank expects the African continent as a whole to experience its first recession in 25 years, the AU fears some 20 million jobs will be lost in this year.
And yet, Christoph Kannegiesser believes African economies could still "get off rather lightly" if restrictions hampering economic activity are eased soon enough. The chief executive of the German-African Business Association is already casting his sights on post-coronavirus times, hoping Africa could become a new player in the game of globalised production.
"Africa should be moving stronger into the focus," Kannegiesser told DW, as companies worldwide reviewed their supply chains currently being severely disrupted by the global pandemic.