Writers 
There is no doubt that African economies were radically transformed from subsistence stage to the market economy especially through the gradual process of integration into the world market. Essentially, cash-crop farming was encouraged by propaganda, offer of good prices, prompt payment, provision of transport facilities and well regulated markets.
Farming for export was further induced by the introduction of suitable tropical seeds, distribution of fertilizers, establishment of demonstration farms where colonial agricultural officers explained the planting and harvesting procedures to the masses of African peasants.
This was a radical and progressive change. Modernised cash-crop farming enabled the peasants to earn more incomes and enjoy better standards of living. In each colony, roads, railways, harbours, bridges and airports were built with forced labour and revenue generated locally rather than with the financial assistance from the metropolitan governments. Indeed whatever loans were raised were negotiated without any inputs by an African. Such loans were imposed on each colony for the building of various infrastructures. It was the colonial authority that decided how and when loan repayment was made out of colonial revenue. It must be noted that the constructions of the infrastructure which attracted European capital and technology were not primarily for the development of the colonies, but for the promotion of western capitalism, the development of European trade and trade monopoly by several European firms such as the U.A.C., C.F.A.O., S.C.O.A., P.Z., and Unilever.
Thus by such transport facilities, European traders were able to reach the interior of each colony to procure available agricultural mineral and forest resources. These were shipped to Europe and North America to feed their factories to manufacture various consumable items which were brought into the colonies for sale. The costs of these imports were however higher than what the Europeans paid for the raw materials from African producers. Hence, the terms of trade were unfavourable to them as they were unable to bargain or negotiate prices with the European firms. Nevertheless, increased trade with Europe and America brought new imports, new values and tastes on which Africans now spent their incomes.
Africans learnt a lot about how the European firms organised their businesses - whether wholesale, retail trade, import and exports. Several Africans manned retail outlets for European firms and even served as distributors for the big firms. Generally by the 1930s, especially in British West Africa, the colonial governments lost many African civil servants to the European firms that offered better wages and salaries. The introduction of European type of education at first by the missionaries and later by the colonial authorities, opened a floodgate of opportunities for Africans to secure jobs with the firms even though they were not receiving equal pay with Europeans of equivalent qualifications.
Generally, the public services of the colonial regimes which included health care, law and order, education, electricity, post office, transport (railway), introduction of colonial currencies and prohibition of African currencies, taxation and the regulation of banking industries, enhanced, facilitated and improved the performance of the principal sectors of the economy. Although Africans also enjoyed the economic advantages of these changes, the major beneficiaries were Europeans, European firms and their capital investments.
Africans must however be credited with their initiative in embracing innovative changes in agriculture. Since the second half of the nineteenth century. African producers had been providing and supplying Europeans with cotton, palm oil, and groundnuts without receiving elaborate instructions about production methodology. Thus in the colonial period, majority of African peasants without the influence of European inputs or propaganda, undertook the production of cocoa, coffee etc. in large quantities to meet increasing European demands. African farmers decided what amount of family labour was to be deployed to the farms during planting and harvest seasons. Rather than encourage the cultivation of local foodstuffs, colonial governments especially in the territories under the French, Belgian and Germans introduced plantation farming which entailed the seizure of lands from bona fide African owners to produce the required cash crops. No compensations were paid to African owners especially in French West Africa, East Africa, South Africa and Rhodesia etc. Africans were compulsorily removed from fertile lands and relocated to less fertile and inhabitable areas. The Germans, the French and the Portuguese introduced some legislations that compelled African to provide labour on European plantation for a number of days. Failure to do so earned any groups of Africans so apprehended some days or months of servitude. In French West Africa where the French introduced the notorious system, some villages revolted and migrated to the adjacent British colonies regardless of the frontier laws and controls.
As mentioned earlier, the colonial regime made it possible for Africans to receive European type of education. The initiative was taken by the Christian missionaries to establish schools that produced pastors, evangelists, teachers and clerks who worked in the various sectors of the colonial economy. It was in response to increased demand for western education and the need for trained African personnel in the colonial administration and the expanding commercial sector. Consequently, more Africans acquired formal education and became teachers, clerks, interpreters, artisans and other categories of workers. This created a new class of educated Africans who gradually became involved in commerce and other economic activities.
The expansion of education also contributed to the growth of African entrepreneurship. Some educated Africans established businesses and participated in trading activities, while others became middlemen between European firms and African producers. Although Europeans continued to dominate the major sectors of the colonial economy, Africans gradually acquired business skills and experience which later became useful in the development of indigenous enterprises after independence.
Another important economic effect of colonialism was the monetisation of the African economy. The introduction of colonial currencies, taxation and wage labour encouraged Africans to participate increasingly in the money economy. People who had previously produced mainly for subsistence began producing goods for sale in local and international markets. The payment of taxes in money also compelled many Africans to seek paid employment or increase the production of cash crops. This helped to expand commercial activities and strengthened the connection between African economies and the international market.
However, the economic changes brought by colonialism had serious disadvantages. African economies were largely structured to serve the interests of the colonial powers. Emphasis was placed on the production and export of raw materials such as cocoa, cotton, palm oil, groundnuts, coffee and minerals, while manufactured goods were imported from Europe. This discouraged the development of local industries and made many African economies dependent on foreign markets and European manufactured products.
Furthermore, the construction of roads, railways, ports and other infrastructure was largely designed to facilitate the movement of raw materials from the interior to the coast and to promote European trade. Although Africans benefited from these facilities, their primary purpose was to strengthen the colonial economy and make the exploitation and exportation of African resources easier.
Colonial taxation, forced labour, land alienation and the introduction of plantation agriculture also placed considerable burdens on African communities. In some areas, Africans lost their fertile lands and were compelled to work on European-owned plantations. The unequal terms of trade also meant that African producers often received low prices for their raw materials while paying higher prices for imported manufactured goods.
In conclusion, colonialism brought significant economic changes to Africa. It introduced cash-crop production, modern transport systems, formal education, banking, taxation, wage labour and increased participation in international trade. These developments contributed to the transformation of African economies from predominantly subsistence economies to increasingly monetised and commercial economies. Nevertheless, the major objective of colonial economic policies was not primarily the independent development of African societies but the advancement of European economic interests. Consequently, while Africans benefited from some of the infrastructure, education, employment and commercial opportunities created during the colonial period, European governments and companies remained the principal beneficiaries. The economic structure established during colonialism therefore left a lasting influence on African economies even after independence.