South Africa received $40.9B FDI in 2022, a 1235% jump from 2020.

Egypt received $5.1B FDI in 2022, second largest in Africa.

Nigeria received $4.8B FDI in 2022, 103% rise from 2020.

Mozambique received $5.1B FDI in 2022, 68% increase from 2020.

Ethiopia received $4.3B FDI in 2022, 79% jump from 2020.

China’s direct investment stock in Africa exceeded $40B in 2022, 4th largest investor.

China built Addis-Ababa–Djibouti Railway, 752.7km, cutting freight time 7days to 10hrs.

China constructed Lekki Port Lagos, 24/7 container ops, clearing 10days vs 1month.

China’s Oriental Industrial Park Ethiopia hosts 140+ firms, 24k employees.

Huawei launched eKit brand for South African SMEs, expanding ICT investment.

Africa Investment Forum 2023 generated $34.82B investment interest in infrastructure, agriculture, health, creative industries.

Mtwara-Mbamba Bay standard gauge railway Tanzania secured investment interest.

Africa’s renewable capacity added 3GW in 2023, 1.6% of global renewables.

Kenya’s grid is 93% green, aims 100GW by 2040.

Africa aims to mobilise $1T public/private finance for clean energy by 2030.

70 acquisitions of African startups 2022-23, including BioNTech acquiring InstaDeep Morocco.

Private equity in Africa rose 66% YoY 2022 to $7.7B, led by Mediclinic deal.

UK holds $65B FDI stock in Africa, second only to China.

UK-Africa summit 2022: £2.1bn new oil & gas deals, £161m clean energy.

Kenya negotiating Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership with US, AWS development centre established.

South Africa received $40.9B FDI in 2022, a 1235% jump from 2020.

Title:

Content: « Money » monitors the forecasts of economic analysts for foreign investment flows in the current year
A number of them predicted it would reach $10 billion.
Samar Al-Sayed
Praying for Mahmood
6: 59 AM, Wednesday, 27 Jul 22
Wael Ziadeh: The Russian-Ukrainian war is an opportunity for the Egyptian stock exchange to attract more capital
Esraa Ahmed: Clean energy, infrastructure and digital financial services are the most attractive sectors
Hani Geneina: Companies should be encouraged to reinvest their profits instead of transferring them to parent entities abroad
Naaman Khaled: Most of the money will come from Gulf markets
The Egyptian government aims to increase foreign direct investment flows, especially the Gulf, in the local market in the coming period, in light of the repercussions of the Russian-Ukrainian war on the global and local economies, and a number of analysts and macroeconomic experts estimated the value of these investments to reach $10 billion, driven by various factors, including the decline in the stock prices of companies on the stock exchange, and the exchange rate of the pound against the dollar.
The latest report issued by UNCTAD in June on the volume of foreign investment flows in 15 African countries last year showed that Egypt ranked second in the list, recording the volume of flows about 5.122 billion dollars compared to 5.852 billion in 2020 compared to 9.010 billion in 2019.
South Africa came first last year with a 1,235% jump in investment inflows of $40.889 billion compared to $3.062 billion in 2020 and $5.125 billion in 2019.
Wael Ziadeh, founder and CEO of Zela Capital, said that the Russian-Ukrainian war had negatively affected foreign direct investment flows in the world, while inter-state assistance had increased to counter the negative consequences of the war.
He explained to Al-Mal that these negative effects included the exit of investment flows from some emerging countries, which led to the impact of their trade balance, especially as their imports of food and oil more than their exports, for example Turkey and many European countries, as well as Sri Lanka.
On the other hand, the war represents a positive area for these countries, especially in activating the stock market sector, he said, adding that in this context, the Egyptian Exchange has opportunities to attract more foreign investments in the coming period.
He predicted that Egypt will take no more than six months to recover its trade balance once the war is over, as the prices of petroleum products and food will fall rapidly, as they rose rapidly after the outbreak of the war.
The objectives of the Egyptian government published in July 2021 in the second and final review report of the Credit Standby Arrangement Program signed with the International Monetary Fund, amounting to about $5.4 billion, indicated that the percentage of net foreign direct investments of GDP will rise to 2.5% in the current fiscal year compared to 2% in the last fiscal year, adding that it recorded 1.4% in the fiscal year 2021 / 2020, 2% in 2019 and 2.6% in 2019. / 2018.
These targets pointed out that the proportion of net foreign direct investment will jump to 3% of GDP in the fiscal year 2025 / 2024 compared to 2.9% in 2023 / 2024.
The government also expected in the report to increase the volume of foreign direct investment flows in the local market to about 11.7 billion in the current fiscal year against 8.6 billion dollars in the last fiscal year 2022 / 2021 to rise to 14.9 billion in the next fiscal year (2023 / 2024) and 16.5 billion in 2025 / 2024.
According to the Central Bank of Egypt ’ s forecasts issued in its statistical bulletin for May, the proportion of net foreign direct investment in GDP declined to about 1.3% in the fiscal year 2020 / 2021 compared to 2% in the fiscal year 2019 / 2020, adding that it was 2.7% in the fiscal year 2018 / 2019 and 3.1% in the year 2017 / 2018.
Economist Hani Geneina predicted that the value of net foreign direct investments in the local market will exceed 10 billion dollars in the coming period, due to several different factors, including the decline in the prices of shares of companies in the stock exchange and the exchange rate of the pound against the dollar.
However, Egypt was the second largest recipient of foreign direct investment in the African continent, he said, adding that recent pledges from Gulf countries to invest about $22 billion in various sectors will boost foreign direct investment in the future.
The number of new green projects in Egypt has more than tripled to $5.6 billion, according to the UNCTAD report, pointing out that for example, the UAE real estate company Reportage announced a real estate project worth $1.5 billion.
According to the report, the volume of foreign direct investment flows to North Africa declined by 5% to $9.3 billion last year.
Geneina told Al-Mal that the flows of foreign direct investments to the markets are divided into three types, the first is the acquisition of one company on another by more than 10%, pointing out that this investment happened last fiscal year, such as the acquisition of the UAE Holding “ADQ ” on several Egyptian companies, pointing out the importance of this type of investment, but it is not very useful in the list of foreign investments.
This type of rapid investment is encouraged by the decline in both stock prices on the stock exchange and the exchange rate of the pound against the dollar, as well as the recent government stimulus measures that included the implementation of the state ownership document.
The document of state ownership announced by the government in mid-June revealed the most prominent sectors that will witness the stabilization or reduction of government investments (while allowing the participation of the private sector), a number of activities in the transport, education, mining, real estate, electricity, telecommunications and sports sectors.
Geneina said that the second type of flows is the reinvestment of a foreign company present in the market for its profits again, pointing out that this type is classified in the balance of payments as foreign direct investments.
He added that the most prominent local sectors that will go to this type of investment is oil and gas, due to the high value of its profits achieved last fiscal year, and will therefore reinvest its large financial surpluses during the current fiscal year.
He pointed out that the third type of investment is the most difficult, which is the establishment of a new company or project from the beginning, and the employment of new workers, pointing out that for example, Dana Gas announced that it will expand its operations implemented in the local market.
This area is likely to witness an increase during the current fiscal year, especially in the oil and gas sectors and related sectors, namely petrochemicals and fertilizers, especially by Gulf investments in light of the features announced recently by the government, namely the state ownership document, the gold license, as well as the large financial surpluses they have, which motivates them to invest in the local market.
In mid-May, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced a number of concessions on the industrial sector, most notably the issuance of the golden license for some projects, pointing out that it will be granted once and include three areas as a start, namely green hydrogen, electric car manufacturing and infrastructure, seawater desalination projects and renewable energy.
Geneina stressed the importance of the government encouraging foreign companies to reinvest their profits in the local market instead of transferring them to parent companies abroad by providing incentives to urge them to take this step.
According to the latest UNCTAD report, Mozambique ranked third in the list of foreign investment flows to 15 African countries last year, and its inflows rose by 68% to $5.102 billion compared to $3.035 billion in 2020, while it recorded 2.212 billion in 2019.
Nigeria ranked fourth on the list, attracting inflows of 4.844 billion over the past year, an increase of 103 percent from the previous year, the data added, adding that it recorded 2.385 billion in 2020 and 2.305 billion in 2019.
Ethiopia followed in fifth place, and foreign direct investment inflows increased last year by 79% to $4.259 billion compared to $2.381 billion in 2020.
In the sixth place came « Congo » with the volume of flows of $3.691 billion, a decline of 8% from its value in 2020, and recorded 4.016 billion dollars, followed by Ghana in the seventh place in the list and increased flows by 39% to reach 2.614 billion dollars during 2021 compared to 1.876 billion in 2020.
According to data from the UNCTAD list, foreign direct investment flows in Senegal jumped by 21% to 2.232 billion against 1.846 billion dollars in the previous comparison period.
According to the report, the value of flows to Morocco increased by 52% last year to $2.153 billion, and a major international financing deal was announced there, a $20 billion construction project for a 3,800km transmission line to the UK with a capacity of 3.6 gigawatts, sponsored by English company Xlinks.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo ranked 10th on the list, with investments up 14% to $1.870 billion compared to $1.647 billion in 2020.
Gabon came in eleventh place, with direct investment flows falling by 5% last year to record 1.635 billion dollars compared to 1.717 billion in 2020, followed by Uganda, with flows rising by 31% to 1.142 billion dollars compared to 874 million in 2020.
Tanzania ranked 13th, with foreign investment up 35 percent in 2021 to $922 million compared to $685 million in 2020.
According to the bulletin, investment flows in Algeria decreased by 24% last year to $870 million compared to $1.143 million in 2020, pointing to the decline of investments in Tunisia to $660 million compared to $652 million in 2020 to be ranked 15th.
Esraa Ahmed, a macro-economic analyst at the investment bank “Ahly Pharos ”, agrees with Geneina ’ s opinion as she expects the volume of net foreign direct investment in Egypt to rise to about $10 billion during the current fiscal year (2022 / 2023), up from levels that will not exceed $7 billion in the fiscal year ending 2021 / 2022.
She added that this rise is driven by the Gulf investment flows that have been announced recently, and the acquisition deals that we see are witnessing activity during the current period.
There are other factors that may prevent net foreign direct investment from rising to larger numbers in the near future due to the continuation of the war in Ukraine and its repercussions on the global economy.
According to Ahmed, these factors are the economic situation of the European Union, which is an important partner for Egypt in terms of trade and investment, in addition to the general reluctance globally to risk starting new projects, and the prevailing outlook for emerging markets and the risks of their currencies.
On the sectors that may witness foreign inflows during the coming period, she said that the most prominent of them are clean energy, new infrastructure driven by the expansion of the state in this field, in addition to digital financial services, and some branches of manufacturing industries.
For his part, Numan Khalid, a macro-economic analyst at Arqaam Capital, said that the current circumstances in the world prevent the possibility of predicting the volume of foreign direct investment flows in the local market during the coming period.
He added that most of the investments come from the Gulf market, especially from Saudi Arabia and the UAE, pointing out that these two countries have benefited greatly from the recent increases in oil prices, and thus have a great financial solvency through which to invest in surrounding countries, especially in Egypt, which is one of their target markets.
He pointed out that health, hotels, real estate and the financial sector will witness an increase in the volume of investment flows to them during the coming period.
During his participation in the Qatar Economic Forum last June, the Minister of Finance, Mohamed Maait, looked forward to increasing the volume of Gulf investments with the transformation of their deposits in Egypt into real investments that benefit from the promising development opportunities available in various fields.

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Title:

Content: FDI flows to North Africa down 5% in 2021
Foreign direct investment to North Africa fell 5 percent to $9.3 billion for the whole of 2021, according to a report on “Investing in the World ” released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) on June 9, 2022.
These investments, towards Tunisia, improved slightly from $652 million in 2020 to $660 million in 2021.
The same investment to Morocco increased by 52 percent to 2.2 billion dollars in 2021, compared with a 12 percent drop to 1.5 billion dollars in Egypt.
Despite the decline in these investments in Egypt, it remains the second country to benefit from the inflow of foreign direct investment in Africa.
According to the same report, the flow of foreign direct investment in Africa reached a record level of $83 billion for the whole of 2021, more than double the investment achieved for the whole of 2020.
Despite this significant growth, the flow of investment to Africa in 2021 represented only 5.2 percent of the global total, compared to 4.1 percent in 2020.
Most African countries saw a slight increase in foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2021.
These investments developed in South, East and West Africa, while they maintained their previous levels in Central Africa, while declining in North Africa.
Europeans remain the most important investors in Africa, led by investors from the United Kingdom ($65 billion) and France ($60 billion).
Increased investments in renewable energy
Despite the overall positive trend of foreign direct investment towards Africa, the announcement of new projects remained weak at $39 billion and shows only a weak recovery compared to $32 billion recorded in 2020 and less than $77 billion recorded in 2019.
In parallel, the number of international projects in the field of renewable energies in Africa increased to an estimated 71 projects, almost double the 36 projects completed in 2011.
Among these projects is a $20 billion project that aims to export wind energy to the UK from Morocco.
By laying 3,800 km of submarine cables.

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China’s direct investment stock in Africa exceeded $40B in 2022, 4th largest investor.

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Content: 【 Printing 】
China has maintained its status as Africa ’ s largest trading partner for 15 consecutive years.
Related LINKS http: / / www.CRNT.com 2024-02-21 11: 08: 01
BEIJING, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- China has maintained its status as Africa 's largest trading partner for 15 consecutive years. In 2023, China-Africa trade reached a historical peak of US $282.1 billion, an increase of 1.5% year-on-year.
According to Changjiang Wei, Department of West Asia and Africa of the Ministry of Commerce, economic and trade cooperation is the "ballast stone" and "booster" of China-Africa relations.
Driven by the pragmatic measures of the past sessions of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, China-Africa economic and trade cooperation has always maintained a strong vitality, and China-Africa economic and trade cooperation has achieved fruitful results.
The scale of China-Africa trade has reached new highs and the structure has continued to be optimized.
Imported agricultural products from Africa have become a bright spot for growth. In 2023, China imported nuts, vegetables, flowers and fruits from Africa increased by 130%, 32%, 14% and 7% respectively.
Mechanical and electrical products to non-exports of the "main force", "new three" products to non-exports to achieve faster growth, new energy vehicles, lithium batteries, photovoltaic products exports increased by 291%, 109% and 57%, strong support for Africa's green energy transformation.
China-Africa investment cooperation is growing steadily.
China is the largest non-investment developing country.
By the end of 2022, China ’ s stock of direct investment in Africa exceeded US $40 billion. In 2023, China ’ s direct investment in Africa still maintained a growth trend.
The industrial agglomeration effect of parks such as the China-Egypt Teda Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone, Hisense South Africa Industrial Park, and Nigeria ’ s Laiki Free Trade Zone continues to show, attracting a number of Chinese enterprises to invest in Africa, covering various fields such as building materials, automobiles, household appliances, and agricultural product processing.
China-Africa cooperation in infrastructure construction has achieved remarkable results.
Africa is China's second largest overseas contract engineering market, Chinese enterprises have accumulated more than 700 billion US dollars in non-signed contract engineering contracts, completed turnover of more than 400 billion US dollars, and implemented a number of landmark projects and "small and beautiful" projects in the fields of transportation, energy, electricity, housing and people's livelihood.
The African Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the Lower Kaifu Gorge Hydropower Station in Zambia, and the Senegalese Fanggioni Bridge have been completed, which has effectively promoted the local economic and social development.
The momentum of China-Africa cooperation in emerging fields has accumulated.
Cooperation in emerging areas such as digital economy, green and low-carbon, aerospace, and financial services has continued to expand, injecting new vitality into China-Africa economic and trade cooperation.
China and Africa joined hands to expand the cooperation of "Silk Road E-commerce", successfully held the African Good Goods Network Shopping Festival, and implemented the African "100 stores, 1000 products on the platform" action, which led Chinese enterprises to actively contribute to the development of African e-commerce, mobile payment, media entertainment and other industries.
China has signed air services agreements with 27 African countries and successfully built and launched meteorological communication satellites for Algeria and Nigeria.
Not long ago, the "China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation Pilot Zone Construction Master Plan" was approved by the State Council and agreed to be officially issued, actively supporting Hunan Province in the construction of the China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation Pilot Zone, becoming another major event in the development of China-Africa economic and trade cooperation. "In the past three years, the province has maintained an average annual growth of 23.1% of rapid development momentum.
Equipment manufacturing, energy mining, road and bridge housing construction, agricultural development and other advantages of the industry into Africa, hybrid rice, engineering machinery and other technologies and products enjoy popularity in Africa. "The long-term mechanism of trade cooperation and exchange.
Jiang Wei said that the Chinese side will continue to uphold the concept of true affinity and the correct concept of justice and benefit, and work with the African side to fully play the role of the leading region, lead the transformation and upgrading of China-Africa economic and trade cooperation, improve quality and improve efficiency, and better benefit the Chinese and African people.
【 Printing 】
Related News:

Title:

Content: People 's Network > > International
Along the way, along the road
China and Africa jointly build the "Belt and Road" wind is hanging
People 's Daily reporter Tang Weihong, Chen Xingxing, Zhao Yanhong
October 06, 2023 17: 23 | Source: People's Daily Online - International Channel
Small number
30,000 miles to go this morning.
In the golden month of September, a railway freight train loaded with coffee beans from the Ethiopian plateau, in the heart of East Africa, traverses the mountains, plains and deserts to reach the easternmost port of Djibouti in Africa.
As early as the early 15th century, Zheng He visited the east coast of Africa four times. The Maritime Silk Road witnessed a long history of China-Africa exchanges. More than 600 years later, China and Africa built the “One Belt, One Road ” key cooperation project, the Asia-Djibouti railway, through the East African plateau, paving the way for prosperity.
The mountains are not far from the sea.
This year is the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative, the policy concept of "true sincerity" for Africa and the correct concept of righteousness. Over the past 10 years, China and Africa have worked hand in hand, and the cooperation has yielded fruitful results and fragrance.
Container trains of the Yagi Railway converge at the Nagade station in Djibouti.
Road to Prosperity
On September 16, Fayisa, 28, of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, drove his train out of the Yagi Railway's Indus station.
As a student, he never rode a train, and now he can ride the train independently on the Ethiopian plateau, transporting Ethiopia's coffee beans, grains, granite and other special products to Djibouti port for export.
The Yagi Railway assists the Ethiopian government in transporting food.
Respondents' Map
With a length of 752.7 kilometers and a design speed of 120 kilometers per hour, the railway is the first transnational electrified railway and the longest distance electrified railway in the African continent.
It will reduce the cargo time from Addis Ababa to Djibouti from seven days to more than 10 hours.
"Safety, price and speed are the most concerned factors when customers choose transportation services." Yagi Railway Marketing Department head Samir told reporters that Yagi Railway helped customers save transportation costs, and its products will be more competitive in the market.
Yagi Railway is jointly constructed and operated by China Civil Engineering Group Co., Ltd and China Railway Second Bureau Group Co., Ltd., and the whole project adopts a full set of Chinese standards to achieve the Sinicization of the whole process from financing support, design standards, equipment procurement, construction and operation.
Over the past five years, the railway has sent 7.43 million tons of goods and nearly 530,000 passengers, and its transportation revenue has maintained an average annual growth of more than 35 percent.
The railway, which will lead to prosperity and development, will not only boost the economies of the two countries and increase people-to-people exchanges, but also significantly enhance regional economic integration.
Hu Bin, Chinese ambassador to Djibouti, said that China-Djibouti infrastructure cooperation projects, including the Yagi Railway, have provided great impetus for Djibouti to continuously advance towards the realization of the Vision 2035 goal.
Laiki Port implements a 7 × 24 hour loading and unloading operation mechanism.
On September 14, a container ship from Shanghai, China, docked at the port of Laiki, shipped Chinese tires, raw materials from Southeast Asia, and loaded rubber and other materials to return to the port.
It takes about a month to pass through other ports before. "A daily chemical products producer in Lagos, Nigeria, told reporters about the logistics convenience brought by Laiki Port.
Laiki Port, located in the Lagos Free Trade Zone, is the first modern deep-water port in Nigeria to be equipped with a container shore bridge.
At the opening ceremony of the port, Lagos State Governor Babajid Sanhuru said that “Laiki Port will make Lagos a maritime logistics hub for Central and West Africa. ”
Paving the road to build the port, connecting the eight sides.
China supports Africa in making infrastructure construction a priority for economic revitalization, and encourages and supports Chinese enterprises to take a variety of modes to participate in infrastructure construction, investment, operation and management in Africa.
Yagi Railway, Kenya Mombasa-Nairobi Railway, Congo (Brazzaville) National Highway No. 1, Laiki Port, Djibouti Doharei Multipurpose Port, Togo Lomé Container Terminal... A large number of "Belt and Road" flagship projects have become the "steel skeleton" supporting the African continent, and played an important role in the process of regional connectivity and integration.
"In the past 20 years, the two sides have cooperated in building more than 10,000 kilometers of railways, nearly 100,000 kilometers of roads, nearly 1,000 bridges, hundreds of ports, and 700 million users of network services in Africa," said Ambassador Hu Changchun, head of the Chinese mission to the African Union.
"It means independence and self-determination," he said.
Opuku, a founding member of the National Democratic Congress and member of the National Political Committee of Ghana, commented on the civilian infrastructure brought to Africa by the Belt and Road Initiative.
East Industrial Park Huajia aluminum production workshop.
Photo by Zhao Yanhong, People 's Daily Online
Dream Garden
"Thanks to Chinese companies for providing me with a stable job," Meirant, a female worker in Ducam, Oromia state, Ethiopia, told reporters, adding that her income has quadrupled in the five years she worked in the Oriental Industrial Park.
Lida clothing, where Melant is located, is the largest jeans production enterprise in Ethiopia, and the entire industrial chain from cotton - yarn - denim - jeans is set up in the park, which greatly promotes local employment.
At the same time, its source material cotton was purchased in Ethiopia, which solved the problem of imported materials due to the shortage of foreign exchange.
On the Addis Ababa – Adama highway, some 16 kilometers to the southeast, a huge sign of the "Oriental Industrial Park" came into view.
Rows of factory buildings in the park are neatly arranged, and trucks carrying raw materials and products pass through them.
The park, founded by Chinese private enterprises, is the first industrial park in Ethiopia, with a total area of 5 square kilometers, of which 2.33 square kilometers has been completed.
Lu Qizhong, director of Dongfang Industrial Park, told reporters that the park currently has more than 140 enterprises, involving building materials, shoes and hats, textile and clothing, automobile assembly and metal processing industries, with a total staff of about 24,000, of which about 1200 Chinese personnel, the rest are local employees, 70% to 80% are female workers.
Ten years ago, Dukam was a small town with a population of about 6,000.
Now, with the arrival of the Oriental Industrial Park, the population of the town has increased dozens of times.
From the original grasslands to the present densely populated towns, Dukam has also been upgraded from a town to a city.
In June 2007, the Oriental Industrial Park was listed by the Ethiopian government as an important priority in the country ’ s industrial development plan.
The construction and development of the park has provided a practical reference basis for the implementation of the Ethiopian Industrial Park Law and promoted the adjustment of relevant land regulations in Ethiopia.
He said that the East Industrial Park has attracted a lot of investment for Ethiopia.
"This has boosted Ethiopia's economic development and created more jobs for our people," he said.
In Huajian Light Industry City, shoemakers work on the production line.
Photo by Zhao Yanhong, People 's Daily Online
"The Chinese master taught me professional skills and Chinese." At Huajian Light Industry City, which is also invested by Chinese private enterprises in Ethiopia, the squad leader Min Derui was checking the operation of the production line in the workshop.
He graduated from Madawarab University, where he has been working for 8 years and is currently responsible for 150 Ethiopian employees. “It is a great achievement that we produce shoes that earn foreign exchange. ”
Build a nest.
Not only in Ethiopia, but also in African countries such as Mauritius, Nigeria and Zambia, the figure of China's economic parks can be seen.
By the end of 2022, China's stock of direct investment in Africa exceeded 47 billion US dollars, making it the fourth largest source of investment in Africa, and there are currently more than 3,000 Chinese enterprises investing in Africa.
The establishment of economic and trade cooperation zones, special economic zones, industrial parks and science and technology parks in cooperation with African countries has attracted Chinese and other countries to invest in Africa, set up production and processing bases and carry out localized operations, increased local employment and tax revenue, promoted industrial upgrading and technological cooperation, and injected new momentum into Africa's industrialization process.
Babatunde, a researcher at the Institute of Peace and Conflict Resolution in Nigeria, bluntly said, “China is a good partner in Africa ’ s exploration of the path of modern development. ”
South yam at Friendship Square in Addis Ababa.
Photo by Zhao Yanhong, People 's Daily Online
The Friendship Tree.
"Hello, welcome to Ethiopia," he said. At the Friendship Square at the foot of the Prime Minister's Office in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, locals greeted the reporter in Chinese.
On both sides of the horseshoe lotus-shaped national flower lectern, the lush and upright Southern Yangshan trees attract a large number of tourists to take photos.
Friendship Square is an important part of China's aid to Ethiopia's riverbank green development project, and is a key project of the "Belt and Road" jointly built by China and Egypt, with the first phase covering an area of 28.58 hectares.
Previously, it was a garbage dump of sewage, and after the construction of the CCCC One Public Bureau Group, it was only 11 months, which transformed it into one of the most functional and largest urban comprehensive squares in Africa.
"There are 76 trees in all, symbolizing the 76 nationalities of Ethiopia." Zeyedi, an Ethiopian employee of CCCC One Public Bureau Group, touched one of them and told reporters, "This is a gift from an Ethiopian old man when the square was built."
"I see that the square you built is moving trees, my yard has a South Yangshan, I want to give you, now move it, I can plant another small one." Ethiopia lacks a professional green seedling company, when the square tree search work is in the bottleneck, an old man offered to give it free of charge.
The market price of this 12-meter-tall tree is about 20,000 yuan.
“The square that Chinese companies helped us build is fantastic. ” De Bella, a coffee shop not far from Nanyang Shan, told reporters what the square meant to the locals.“ I ’ ve lived in the neighborhood for 15 years.
It turned out that it was very bad, and it was full of garbage... After the square was built, the environment was better, there were more tourists, and the income of the residents nearby was also higher. "
The riverbank green development project has also brought tourism revenue growth and employment growth to Ethiopia, and has also solved environmental pollution and ecological degradation problems that have plagued the region for many years.
Zhao Zhiyuan, Chinese ambassador to Ethiopia, pointed out that the project is of great significance to enhancing the national image of Ethiopia, enriching the lives of the Ethiopian people, promoting economic and social development and constantly advancing toward modernization.
A couple of newlyweds and friends pose for a photo at Friendship Square in Addis Ababa.
Photo by Chen Xingxing, People's Daily Online
All things are created for him and for him.
The Mongolian railway, praised by foreign media as "even giraffes are very satisfied", is another example of the focus on protecting African ecology in the process of China-Africa joint construction of the "Belt and Road".
Kenya is the fulcrum of the 21st century Maritime Silk Road connecting East Africa.
The railway is the first railway to be built by China since Kenya's independence.
According to the migration path and activity habits of wild animals along the route, the railway has set up animal channels and bridge culverts in the wildlife park, and even giraffes can pass at a leisurely height of more than 7 meters.
The railway passes through the air, the animals continue to enjoy themselves in nature, and people can watch from a distance.
Green is the background of sustainable development of the "Belt and Road".
China has been actively supporting Africa's efforts to combat climate change and seek green development.
Following the green development action in the "eight major actions", the green development project was included in the first three-year plan of the "Vision 2035 for China-Africa Cooperation" as one of the "nine projects".
Under the green development project, the China Africa Geoscience Cooperation Center was officially listed, and the China-Africa Green Innovation Plan was launched. A number of renewable energy projects such as the Zongailu Hydropower Station in Nigeria and the Sakai Photovoltaic Power Station in Central Africa are progressing smoothly.
Peter Kagwanga, director of the African Policy Institute in Kenya, believes that China's infrastructure construction and all development within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative are striving to achieve harmonious coexistence with natural ecology.
Nigerian Agricultural Technology Demonstration Center, Bruce walks with Chinese teacher Wang Xuemin in a field of hope.
Photo by Zhao Yanhong, People 's Daily Online
Land of Hope
"Looking at the operation of Chinese experts, I first knew that the original fertilization is to accurately punch holes in the roots." In early August, early in the morning, Abuja, the Chinese aided Nigerian agricultural technology demonstration center, Bruce from Borno State, was observing how Chinese teacher Wang Xuemin interplanted seedlings.
He taught his countrymen the techniques of fertilization and pest control in China, and successfully extended the cultivation time of chili seedlings, increasing the yield of chili peppers to 30 kilograms in a field that originally produced 5 kilograms of chili peppers per season.
The confluence of the Niger and Benue rivers in Nigeria has irrigated thousands of miles of fertile soil along the two rivers.
However, due to factors such as the level of agricultural technology, the country still needs to import 2.2 million tons of rice every year, and has become a net importer of food for 20 consecutive years.
The project covers agricultural technology training centers, agricultural technology research and development and service centers, small-scale agro-processing technology demonstration centers, new energy and water-saving irrigation facilities and related supporting facilities.
Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria Cui Jianchun said the project is of great significance to agriculture and food security in Nigeria and Africa as a whole.
"It is to help the local people grow good food and feed themselves!" In October 2003, Wang Xuemin first came to Nigeria as a technician sent by the China-Nigeria "South-South Cooperation" agricultural project, and has worked on the land for nearly 20 years.
In 2017, Wang Xuemin and his colleagues cooperated with domestic advanced breeding companies to develop new rice varieties suitable for Nigeria, with a yield increase of about 30% compared to the original local main varieties.
They dream of Nigeria becoming the “granary of Africa ”!
Nigeria Agricultural Technology Demonstration Centre small agricultural processing workshop.
Photo by Zhao Yanhong, People 's Daily Online
It was also in 2017 that the four Chinese ministries and commissions jointly released the “Vision and Action for Jointly Promoting Agricultural Cooperation on the Belt and Road ”, which clarified the framework ideas and cooperation priorities for promoting international agricultural cooperation, and further strengthened the“ Belt and Road ” agricultural cooperation with top-level design.
and fishing.
China actively shares its experience and technology in agricultural development with Africa, supports African countries in raising their agricultural production and processing levels, and promotes the construction of agricultural industrial chains and trade development.
Chinese agricultural experts, like Wang Xuemin, are all over Africa, sowing hope.
According to the white paper on China-Africa Cooperation in the New Era released by the Information Office of the State Council in November 2021, since 2012, China has trained more than 50,000 people in Africa and built 23 agricultural demonstration centers through the implementation of projects such as 100 agricultural experts and expert groups in Africa.
In Madagascar, the introduction of hybrid rice varieties from Hunan, China, has not only fed local farmers, but also sold surplus grain.
In Rwanda, the technical training of fungi and herbs in environmentally friendly agricultural projects is very popular, not only helping to solve food sources and livelihood problems, but also protecting slopes and soil and preventing soil erosion.
By the end of 2020, China has more than 200 non-agricultural investment enterprises, involving a total of 35 African countries, with an investment stock of 1.11 billion US dollars, covering various industries such as planting, breeding and agricultural product processing, and more than 350 kinds of African agricultural products and foods can be traded with China.
The representative of the African Union in China, Mr. Osman, said that cooperation between Africa and China is effectively promoting the transformation of inclusive agriculture in African countries.
Walk alone fast, walk far. 10 years, work together to build a dream! 10 years, painted in a brilliant color!
To date, 52 African countries and the African Union Commission have signed the Belt and Road cooperation document with China. “Africa is what some Western economists call ‘ hopeless continent ’, but now it is on the forefront of China-Africa cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, ” said Denis Munene, executive director of the China-Africa Center at the African Policy Institute.
On both sides of the Taiwan Straits, the tide is flat and the wind is hanging.
Looking forward to the next 10 years, China-Africa high-quality joint construction of the "Belt and Road" will certainly take advantage of the momentum and promote China-Africa relations to a better future!
(Editor: Liu Jieyan, Yang Mu)
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What trends are emerging for African startups in 2022?

What trends are emerging for African startups in 2022?

China built Addis-Ababa–Djibouti Railway, 752.7km, cutting freight time 7days to 10hrs.

China constructed Lekki Port Lagos, 24/7 container ops, clearing 10days vs 1month.

China’s Oriental Industrial Park Ethiopia hosts 140+ firms, 24k employees.

What is the impact of Chinese companies on jobs in Africa?

Which sectors are Chinese investments in Africa focusing on?

industrial parks
Labor-intensive manufacturing

Huawei launched eKit brand for South African SMEs, expanding ICT investment.

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Content: / 3 May 2024

Huawei launches eKit brand for SA SMEs

Huawei eKit Launch ribbon cutting ceremony: from left to right: Zhang Chaoyang, President of the South Africa-China Economic and Trade Association, CEO of Bank of China Johannesburg Branch; Pan Qingjiang, Consul General of China in Johannesburg; Guo Ziping, Director of the Development and Reform Commission of the Shenzhen Municipality; and Gene Zhang, Managing Director for Huawei South Africa’s Enterprise Business.

‘We believe that technologies that improve communications will also grow the economy’

Huawei this week launched its eKit brand for South African small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The brand, which encompasses a broad variety of networking and collaboration products that use cutting-edge enterprise-grade technologies, was launched at the China (Shenzhen) – South Africa Investment Promotion Conference.

The Huawei eKit provides a variety of cost-effective products including networking, storage and intelligent collaboration equipment for SMEs. It’s designed for use in SME offices, economy hotels, schools and small factories.

The eKit comprises different models of switches, routers and access points which use the latest Wi-Fi 6 and 7 technologies. They provide quality and wide-ranging Wi-Fi through indoor and outdoor access points. The Huawei eKit official website and Huawei eKit app both complement the hardware offering by providing a one-stop digital platform that will support efficient operations for distribution partners, including transactions, marketing, enablement, deployment and maintenance.

The launch served as an example of how South African businesses and consumers can benefit from a collaborative and win-win partner ecosystem with China’s largest ICT company.

Vincent Liu, Director of Commercial and Distribution Business at Huawei South Africa’s Enterprise Business, highlighted how launching new brands like this in South Africa furthers China’s innovative impact.

“The eKits will provide solutions for connectivity, storage, video solutions and intelligent collaboration. It’s a new brand that brings the latest technology to SMEs,” he said.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony at the conference marked Huawei eKit’s entry into South Africa.

In the wake of the launch, Liu was joined by Managing Director for Huawei South Africa’s Enterprise Business, Gene Zhang, and other officials attending the conference to award the Huawei eKit Gold Distribution Partner award to Switchcom Distribution.

“We believe that technologies that improve communications will also grow the economy,” said Liu. “Partnerships with ICT distributors like Switchcom Distribution will assist in Huawei’s vision and provide end-to-end solutions for resellers, installers and internet service providers in the country.

The China (Shenzhen) – South Africa Investment Promotion Conference was hosted by the Development and Reform Commission of the Shenzhen Municipality, at the Bank of China Johannesburg Branch in Sandton on 24 April.

About Switchcom Distribution

Switchcom Distribution is a dynamic and innovative ICT distributor in South Africa, providing end-to-end solutions for resellers, installers, ISPs, WISPs and end users in Wireless, Networking, VoIP, Surveillance and Fibre sectors.

About Huawei

Huawei is a leading global provider of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and smart devices. With integrated solutions across four key domains – telecom networks, IT, smart devices, and cloud services – we are committed to bringing digital to every person, home and organization for a fully connected, intelligent world.

Huawei’s end-to-end portfolio of products, solutions and services are both competitive and secure. Through open collaboration with ecosystem partners, we create lasting value for our customers, working to empower people, enrich home life, and inspire innovation in organizations of all shapes and sizes.

At Huawei, innovation focuses on customer needs. We invest heavily in basic research, concentrating on technological breakthroughs that drive the world forward. By December 31, 2022, Huawei had 207 000 employees, more than 114 000 of whom were R&D employees (55.4%). We operate in more than 170 countries and regions, serving more than three billion people worldwide.

In 2022, through the efforts of all employees, the company achieved an estimated annual sales revenue of CNY636.9 billion, aligned with forecasts.  Founded in 1987, Huawei is a private company fully owned by its employees.

For more information, please visit Huawei online at www.huawei.com or follow us on:

http://www.huawei.com/za/

https://www.facebook.com/HuaweiSAR

http://www.linkedin.com/company/Huawei

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What trends are emerging for African startups in 2022?

Which sectors are Chinese investments in Africa focusing on?

Africa Investment Forum 2023 generated $34.82B investment interest in infrastructure, agriculture, health, creative industries.

Title:

Content: News

November 13, 2023

We are building power house around investment in Africa – Adesina

AfDB President, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina

By Jimoh Babatunde

The President of the African Development Bank , Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, says the bank is building a formidable powerhouse around investments in Africa, that will deliver transformative impacts on the lives of people.
He made this known in the Moroccan city of Marrakech, weekend, at the close of the day global event, Africa Investment Forum’s 2023.

The Africa Investment Forum’s 2023, which drew over 1,000 delegates from more than 60 countries , generated $34.82 billion in investment interest for infrastructure, agriculture, health, and creative industry projects.
Speaking on the event with the theme “Unlocking African Value Chains,” Adesina said “We are building a formidable powerhouse around investments in Africa, that will deliver transformative impacts on the lives of people.
“That is the bottom line of the Africa Investment Forum: investing to improve lives.”
The African Development Bank Group President, and Chairperson of the Africa Investment Forum, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina,thanked Moroccan King Mohammed VI who placed the event under his high patronage.

“Morocco is the right choice. We have been treated to incredible hospitality. The decision of the Africa Investment Forum founding partners to hold the 2023 Market Days in Marrakech two months after September’s devastating earthquake, and the support and resilience of the Kingdom and government of Morocco is highly commendable.”

Morocco’s Minister of Economic Inclusion, Small Business, Employment and Skills Younes Sekkouri, said the Forum underlined the critical importance of South-South partnerships and the crucial issue of financing infrastructure.

“Africa is at the forefront of international attention as one of the most dynamic and promising markets in the world…The Africa Investment Forum has been a turning point to explore these opportunities, discuss challenges and solutions and strengthen the partnerships necessary to realise our aspirations,” Sekkouri said.

Among delegates were several African heads of state and government, including President Azali Assoumani of Comoros and current chair of the African Union, President Samia Suluhu Hassan of Tanzania, President Julius Maada Bio of Sierra Leone, Rwanda’s Prime Minister Eduoard Ngirente. Also in attendance was the Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley.

The Africa Investment Forum is a multi-stakeholder platform focused on continental dealmaking and project facilitation between project sponsors, policy makers and investors. With this edition, the Forum has attracted nearly $180 billion in investment interest since it was launched in 2018.

Deals covered several sectors including the Mtwara-Mbamba Bay standard Gauge railway line in Tanzania, and the Mangapwani II Integrated Port in Zanzibar. There were also deals in agri-business, renewable energy, creative industries and healthcare.
At the launch event of the Alliance for Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones, the African Development Bank, the Africa Export-Import Bank, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, committed $3 billion to the alliance.

Founding partners commend Market Days

The Chief Executive Officer of the Islamic Trade Finance Corporation Eng. Hani Salem Sonbol, representing the President of the Islamic Development Bank Dr. Muhammed Sulaiman Al Jasser, said Africa was a land of boundless possibilities and a dynamic engine of growth.

“As a founding partner of the Alliance for Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones, IsDB committed $300 million to fuel Africa’s agro-industrial growth. We are ready to partner with investors, businesses, and development partners to unlock the full potential of the continent,” he said.

The Africa Investment Forum showcased several key side events including regional transport corridors, a roundtable with a Japanese business delegation, and a Mayor’s Forum on leveraging cities and municipalities to unleash growth and development.
The Mayoral event included mayors and governors from Lagos, Nairobi, Addis Ababa, Abidjan and ministerial representation from Rwanda.

Mtwara-Mbamba Bay standard gauge railway Tanzania secured investment interest.

Africa’s renewable capacity added 3GW in 2023, 1.6% of global renewables.

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Content:
President William Ruto has raised concerns over the underfunding of Africa’s renewable energy development.

He said though it was encouraging that 2023 recorded the largest increase in renewable energy capacity, with the addition of about 500 gigawatts globally and new investments worth $600 billion, Africa fared badly.

The President said Africa possesses the highest untapped potential of renewable energy reserves in the world but had only managed 3 gigawatts of the global increase.

“The continent with the world’s greatest potential and the highest demand currently accounts for a paltry 1.6% of the world’s total renewable energy capacity,” he said.

He pointed out that Africa offers huge opportunities for wealthy investors from the Global North in clean energy, offering a win-win outcome for them and the continent.

“African leaders endorsed the Nairobi Declaration, which set the continent’s green power generation target at a five-fold increase from 56GW in 2022 to at least 300 GW by 2030,” he said.

President Ruto made the remarks on Wednesday when he addressed the High-Level Business Segment on Climate Change Response and Transition to Carbon-Free Energy in Seoul, South Korea.

The President said recent floods in Kenya and other parts of the world were a result of climate change and called for joint efforts to mitigate the effects of the phenomenon.

He said Kenya had made tremendous efforts in renewable and clean energy, adding that the country’s power grid is 93% green.

He urged Korea and Korean investors to continue supporting Kenya in clean energy adoption as the country pursues the ambitious plan to enhance the current grid from 3GW to 100GW by 2040.

“The ambition is realistic because Kenya is endowed with abundant potential in every type of renewable energy,” he said.

The President said Africa launched the Africa Green Industrialisation Initiative at COP28 to promote the growth of clean energy manufacturing.

He said this potential puts the continent at an advantage to seize the economic opportunities within the global energy transition.

“This can be achieved by mobilising $1 trillion from public and private finance by 2030,” he said.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of President of the Republic of Kenya.

Kenya’s grid is 93% green, aims 100GW by 2040.

Africa aims to mobilise $1T public/private finance for clean energy by 2030.

70 acquisitions of African startups 2022-23, including BioNTech acquiring InstaDeep Morocco.

Title:

Content: In 2023, standards became higher than ever for global tech. Customers want to be able to buy something in two clicks but still need in-person customer service. Workers want to work digitally, ideally from a beach somewhere, while maintaining a connection with their colleagues. And the truth is these standards are unlikely to get lower soon.

In Africa, the tech scene hasn’t been any less dramatic. It was, in many ways, a market correction. Several startups shut down, while many others survived by bone-deep cost-cutting or mergers and acquisitions. Founders and investors have gone from chasing Silicon Valley-esque growth to seeking a balance with the African market. Between 2020 and 2023, African tech went from the “peak of inflated expectations” point to the “plateau of productivity” side of Gartner’s hype cycle.

Now, what’s next? That’s what everyone wants to know as we enter a new year. Predicting the future is hard and risky. But it’s even harder in the digital tech industry because, as we’ve seen in the past three years, things change fast and dramatically. However, 2023 gave several pointers to trends we should all pay attention to in the new year.

Crypto/Web3

2022 was a rough year for the crypto market. Everything went wrong, from Terra’s downfall to FTX’s scandal. But 2023 was a lot better as Bitcoin ended the year over 150% higher than where it started. The Solana blockchain also made a dramatic comeback, with its token rising over 1000%.

Why does this matter? Because price is still the main driver of the crypto ecosystem. Funding pours into startups when prices are high and dry up when prices are low. It also means the hype bubble will likely return because markets become irrational in the face of high prices.

Africa is the fastest-growing cryptocurrency market among developing economies, primarily because people seek to hedge against inflation. Young people are drawn to low-barrier opportunities to generate wealth, which is crypto’s biggest use case today.

Africa’s regulatory environment is also slowly buying into crypto. In December, Nigeria’s central bank lifted a ban on cryptocurrency transactions, saying global trends had shown a need to regulate such activities.

Artificial intelligence

AI has become the rave of the moment, thanks to OpenAI’s breakthrough with ChatGPT. The chances that an image or text you see on social media are products of generative AI are higher than ever. Every big tech player is in the race for AI dominance. Google launched Gemini in December, a few weeks after Elon Musk’s xAI launched Grok, another ChatGPT competitor.

One in every four dollars that went into the pocket of an American startup was related to AI, per Crunchbase data. According to McKinsey data, AI startups garnered over five times as much funding in the first half of 2023 as they did over the same period in 2022. Global demand for talent in this section also spiked in 2023. LinkedIn job postings that mention AI or generative AI have more than doubled since 2021.

In Africa, we are seeing more startups either focus on AI or apply it to their processes. For instance, OnePipe, a Nigerian fintech, uses artificial intelligence for fraud detection and prevention and biometric verification for customer KYC implementation. It also uses natural language processing for conversational transactions. Nokwary, a Ghanaian startup, uses speech recognition and conversational user interfaces to enable visually impaired people and those who can’t read and write to interact with banking apps and systems through spoken commands.

The biggest challenge to an AI boom in Africa is data. However, this poses a huge opportunity for research and data collection companies in the continent.

Mergers and Acquisitions

Many startups shut down between 2022 and 2023, either because they couldn’t raise more cash or because tough economic times got the better of them. But that wasn’t the only trend that emerged. Many others survive by getting acquired. Nearly 70 acquisitions have happened between 2022 and 2023, according to data from The Big Deal and BD Funding Tracker. Some notable deals were Risevest and Chaka, BioNTech and InstaDeep, Bitmama and PayDay, and FairMoney and PayForce.

Mergers and Acquisitions will likely remain a trend for as long as valuations are low. Over the last two years, startups have been more cautious about bloating their valuations, and investors have kept the same sentiment. It’s partially why we haven’t recorded new unicorns in a minute. MNT-Halan was the only new entrant in the last two years.

This also creates an opportunity for African startup marketplaces, which will replicate Acquire.com to make acquisition easy for startups with solid products but low clout.

International work for Africans

Many African countries saw their currencies devalued in 2023. Inflation rates have also spiked in many economies. This creates a stronger appeal for them to earn foreign currencies and an [almost worrisome] opening for Westerners to find cheap labour in Africa. This is crucial because wage rates are rising in China and India, making it increasingly expensive for companies to outsource services there.

Studies by Bloomberg show that China’s upper-middle class now dominates, with over 200 million urban households having disposable incomes of $16k — $34k. Meanwhile, many Sub-Saharan economies have seen their middle-class shrink in recent years.

Also, there aren’t enough opportunities for young people to work remotely in Africa. Ten to twelve million young Africans enter the labour market each year, and an estimated one-third of the 600 million young people entering the global market by 2030 will be young Africans.

This trend will create opportunities for new approaches to apprenticeship or employment matching. It also means startups focused on building tech talent will likely see growth in 2024.

New regional preferences

In 2024, investors could reevaluate their regional strategies in response to changing macroeconomic and political conditions. Per the EIU, fifteen African countries have elections next year, and investors will observe their outcomes keenly. Elections are fraught with risk, especially in regions where armed conflict is rampant. The EIU notes that elections in Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, and South Africa will add to political risk, which could have long-term implications on where investors put their money.

An AVCA survey revealed that LPs favoured investing in West Africa while GPs leaned towards East Africa. The data aligns with this: between 2019 and 2023, per The Big Deal, there were over 700 recorded deals worth $1m or more. West Africa led the pack with 246, East Africa with 175, Northern Africa with 160, Southern Africa with 147, and Central Africa with 14. Depending on the degree of confidence, the numbers could realign with investors becoming more risk-averse. It’s all “wait and see” going into 2024.

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What trends are emerging for African startups in 2022?

significant merger and acquisition activity

Which countries are actively investing in Africa besides China?

Private equity in Africa rose 66% YoY 2022 to $7.7B, led by Mediclinic deal.

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African private equity activity surges to 5-year high in 2022

Private equity and venture capital investments in Africa soared 66% year over year in 2022 to $7.70 billion, the highest aggregate value for the region in the last five years, S&P Global Market Intelligence data shows.

The massive jump was mainly due to the proposed acquisition of hospital operator Mediclinic International PLC, which is valued at more than $5 billion.

Transaction volume, which includes M&A and rounds of funding, has steadily climbed in the region since 2018 and reached 404 deals in 2022. The continent saw a full-year increase in transaction volume even as activity slowed sharply in the final quarter of the year.

Investments with private equity involvement totaled $370 million in the fourth quarter of 2022, down 71% from $1.28 billion in the prior-year period. Deal volume declined 43% over the same time frame.

* Download a spreadsheet with data featured in this report.
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Attractive valuations, young demographics

African technology companies offer appealing entry valuations and high growth rates of about 100% annually compared to peers in the U.S., according to Fope Adelowo, principal at Helios Investment Partners LLP, which invests in telecommunications, media and financial services across the region.

"The growth outlook for those sectors are not only quite positive, but they are also, in many ways, noncyclical," Adelowo said. "When you look at the global environment, whether that's people using more digital methods to make payments ... consumers consuming more data, we're really just in the early stages."

African economies are also buoyed by young populations that are "increasingly entrepreneurial and driven by technology-led innovation," Adelowo said. Money moved into venture capital in the region has grown about 10x in the last five years, largely due to that young population, which is "very digitally engaged." That is helping drive innovation to address inefficiencies in many sectors in Africa, Adelowo added.

Health, tech sectors drawing interest

Once the multibillion-dollar deal for Mediclinic closes, that transaction will become the largest private equity capital deployment in Africa in the last three years. Mediclinic's buyers include Remgro Ltd. and SAS Shipping Agencies Services SÀRL. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter.

The technology sector, particularly digital infrastructure, is also attracting investor interest, Adelowo said. There is an imbalance in the supply of data centers, for example, compared to growth expected from consumers that need more data and are spending more time online.

Africa's financial services and fintech sectors are also expected to continue to grow as many African countries increasingly move to a cashless society, Adelowo added.

What trends are emerging for African startups in 2022?

significant merger and acquisition activity

UK holds $65B FDI stock in Africa, second only to China.

Title:

Content: When asked for his views on diversification as a strategy for portfolio management, Warren Buffett responded, “diversification is protection against ignorance”. Instead of a diversified portfolio, the Oracle of Omaha famously prefers a concentrated one, composed of a few sectors he has rigorously studied.

The UK’s investment strategy for the African continent is seemingly straight out of the Buffett playbook. As of 2020, the UK holds $65bn in total foreign direct investment (FDI) stock in Africa, second only to China. The vast majority of the portfolio is in oil, gas, mining and financial services.

In 2022 five new oil and gas deals worth £2.1bn were struck at the UK-Africa summit. In stark contrast, just £161m (8% of the total summit commitments) were invested in clean energy. One may agree with the UK’s strategy, suggesting that there aren’t many other high-yield investments to be made other than in oil majors, legacy miners and grey-haired banks. And besides, who would disagree with Buffett’s dictum? He is the sixth-wealthiest person in the world after all.

The truth of the matter is that Buffett would not be as wealthy as he is without adapting to changes in market trends, technologies and geopolitics. In May he sold his remaining stake in chip manufacturer TSMC due to geopolitical considerations (TSMC is based in Taiwan). A concentrated portfolio does not mean a stagnant one. It is this insight that the UK is overlooking, setting itself up to miss opportunities in those new industries rapidly taking shape across the world’s youngest and most promising continent.

Two trends are shaping markets across the continent. One of these is the adoption of financial technologies and the other is increased demand for healthcare, a consequence of Africa’s population boom and rising standards of living.

Fintech sector

McKinsey, a consultancy, estimated that revenues in the African fintech sector could surge eight times their current value to $30bn by 2025. Between 2020 and 2021 alone, the number of tech start-ups tripled to 5,200 companies. In 2021, seven of the 10 newly minted African unicorns (private companies valued over $1bn) are fintechs. As more Africans get connected and as digital identification verification models mature, fintechs will scale and profits will follow.

The second sector is pharmaceuticals. As Africa’s population grows and incomes rise, more money will be spent on healthcare. Within this sector, the Covid-19 pandemic laid bare the worrisome state of Africa’s vaccine and therapeutic manufacturing capabilities. Estimates vary, but some assessments forecast vaccine demand to double in volume from about 1-billion doses now to more than 2.7-billion doses by 2040. Industries adjacent to pharmaceuticals such as logistics, packaging and protective equipment are likely to cash in on increased private and public healthcare expenditure.

There are some positive signs that the newly revamped British International Investment (BII), formally the Commonwealth Development Corporation, is adjusting its investments because of these market trends. In 2020, the BII made a $150m investment in Kelix bio, a pan-African pharmaceutical platform focusing on manufacturing and marketing. It also executed a $20m, four-year structured credit deal with Moove, a fintech company that provides customers with cheaper access to vehicles.

Risk premium

These steps are positive but they are small. Inward FDI for Africa remains pitiful. Last year set a record for the continent, bringing in $83bn. To put this in context, the City of London in 2020 hit $831bn in FDI (10 times that of a continent of 54 countries), according to the Office of National Statistics.

What to make of this all? At least two insights. First, the UK should look to new sectors, taking bold bets in companies leading the fintech and pharmaceutical sectors. The second insight is that Africa’s risk premium is overpriced. There is opportunity beyond the industries of the 20th century; one just needs to look for them.

• Nott works for a venture facility for public benefit and is based in London. He writes in his personal capacity. You can follow his writing on Twitter @TheAfricaBrief.

Picture: 123RF

Which European countries lead investment in Africa?

UK-Africa summit 2022: £2.1bn new oil & gas deals, £161m clean energy.

Kenya negotiating Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership with US, AWS development centre established.

Title:

Content: Columnists

New opportunity to enhance US-East African trade, investment relations

Like the rest of the world, African economies are today faced with headwinds. This has elevated the need to enhance trade and investment with key partners such as the US to weather such crises, catalyze economic growth and safeguard livelihoods.

According to the United Nations' World Economic Situation and Prospects report, economic growth in Africa weakened to 3.3 percent in 2023. This was attributed to the global economic slowdown, subdued investment and falling exports.

However, there is optimism over the East African region’s prospects. The African Development Bank projects that the region's growth will stand at 5.1 per cent in 2024 and 5.7 per cent in 2025, ahead of the rest of the continent.

A significant proportion of this is expected to be driven by trade and investment activity. Trade and investment can spur robust economic activity in the region, unlocking opportunities for more people directly in the form of jobs and indirectly by developing value chains.

This also has the potential to drive inclusive development and reduce reliance on development assistance.

As the region looks to enhance trade and investment relationships with the rest of the world, significant attention needs to be paid to the US market considering its role as a strategic trading partner.

Over the years, trade and investment between the US and the East African region has steadily grown.

In 2022, the value of imports from the US, including machinery, wheat and aircraft into the region stood at $1.1 billion. Exports, mainly apparel, macadamia nuts, coffee, tea, and titanium, totalled $1.3 billion.

This activity is expected to get a further boost from Kenya’s ongoing negotiations with the US, known as the Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership.

It is the first-of-its-kind bilateral trade agreement between the US and a sub-Saharan African country and aims to increase investment, promote sustainable and inclusive economic growth, benefit workers, consumers, and businesses, and support African regional economic integration.

There has been continued interest by US companies in establishing or expanding their business presence and engagement within the East African region.

In recent years, this has seen the establishment of strategic investments in Kenya including the recent Amazon Web Services development centre and the NBA Africa office in Kenya.

There are even more opportunities to deepen the region’s two-way trade relations with the US. Currently, Africa lags behind other regions, such as Europe and Asia, in terms of trade and investment activity. More opportunities can be unlocked through closer commercial collaboration as well as sustained efforts to enhance the business climate and progressive reforms to address persistent barriers to trade and investment.

This makes the upcoming 4th regional AmCham Business Summit (on April 24 and 25, 2024) a great opportunity for strengthening bilateral trade and investment between the US and the region.

Bringing together business and government delegations from the U.S., Kenya, and across the East African region, the Summit, set to happen on April 24 and 25, 2024, will explore the vast trade and investment opportunities that lie ahead. On the agenda are issues critical for the region’s economic development, including shaping the future of U.S. - East Africa trade and investment, climate action, digital transformation, universal health coverage and sustainable finance.

It will build on the huge successes from last year’s summit that saw deals forged, connections struck and investments worth US$700 million announced.

Such platforms for interaction by businesses from across the region and the U.S. as well as senior government officials are key in promoting and enhancing trade and investments. Spurring robust economic activity in the region bears huge benefits for individuals, businesses, and the region, including inclusive growth and resilience to external shocks.

Which African countries are driving the venture capital ecosystem?

Which countries are actively investing in Africa besides China?