Egypt remains Africa’s top investment destination for the second year in a row. According to Celeste Fauconnier, RMB Africa analyst and co-author of Where to Invest in Africa, the country remains at the top, thanks to its high scores for economic activity and its easy operating environment. South Africa yet again came in second in the bank’s annual survey. This, said Fauconnier, was mostly due to the low economic growth that was not expected to improve much this year. “Egypt’s economic activity scoring continues to dominate that of South Africa. Both South Africa’s growth forecasts and the size of its economy are inferior to Egypt’s.” Addressing the Exporters Club Western Cape, Fauconnier said South Africa’s operating environment, however, remained leagues ahead of Egypt’s. The third best investment spot in Africa, according to RMB, is Morocco followed by Kenya.
Other countries in the top 10 are Rwanda, Tanzania, Nigeria, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire. “Morocco, in third place, is Africa’s fifth-largest market and, like Egypt, will have an expected growth rate of 4% over the medium term,” she said. “It has enhanced investment appeal, thanks to its reintegration into the African Union (AU) and accession to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).” She said Ethiopia was a country to keep an eye on as it was Africa’s fastest-growing economy at present. Tanzania, on the other hand, which achieved a ranking of seven in the survey was, however, a current concern. “The ranking is based on surveys that have a one-year lag and
the current developments in the country with the government restricting investors has not been taken into account,” said Fauconnier. “It is not a destination we are advising would-be investors to rush into, but rather to keep an eye on the developments.” She said while the methodology used for Where to Invest in Africa was sound, it was based on static datasets. “This means that the operating environment scores would not necessarily account for events or risks that arise after the surveyed data has been published.” Despite this, Fauconnier said Africa continued to hold much potential and opportunity for South African exports. “The African population is growing and it continues to import most of what it needs.”
Egypt’s economic activity scoring continues to dominate that of South Africa. – Celeste Fauconnier
