European investors remain the most important source of FDI stock in Africa, led by the United Kingdom ($60 billion), France ($54 billion), and the Netherlands ($54 billion) over the past five years.
But the relative share of Africa’s FDI stock originating from Europe declined in the last decade, while Asia’s share increased—with China currently leading the pack.
We explore the leading sources of FDI flows to Africa, based on data from the Brookings Institute research from the year 2014 to 2018.
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China
China is the world’s largest investor in Africa in terms of total capital. They invested more than $72 billion in the continent from 2014 to 2018. That investment created more than 137,000 jobs across 259 projects.
France
France invested $34 billion in Africa over the same period, creating 58,000 jobs in 329 projects. France’s investments are crucial to its former colonies in Africa, such as Nigeria, Morocco, Algeria, and the Ivory Coast.
The United States
American direct investment in Africa was nearly $31 billion from 2014 to 2018. The United States was responsible for a total of 463 projects on the continent, the most of any other country. These projects created 62,000 jobs. American companies continue to seek investment opportunities in Africa.
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United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) poured more than $25 billion into Africa over four years. This makes sense given the UAE’s proximity to eastern Africa as it sits on the eastern edge of the Arabian peninsula.
The UAE’s capital investments in Africa are expected to rise sharply in the coming years: The government 2020 announced a $500 million initiative to help Africa’s youth and digitize resources.
In late 2019, the UAE said it was finalizing a free trade agreement with a consortium of African countries, and last month, it signed a $35 billion deal with Egypt to develop a prime stretch of the North African country’s Mediterranean coast.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom invested nearly $18 billion in Africa from 2014 to 2018, covering 286 projects and creating 41,000 jobs. Britain, like France, still has strong ties to its former colonies in Africa, such as Sierra Leone, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Zambia, Tanzania, and Egypt.
Credit: GITFiC.com (2023 Investment index compilation)