Africa’s top countries for investment identified
South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya are Africa’s best investment destinations for 2011, according to the Dutch-based organisation Africa Business Panel.
Nairobi's central business district. Kenya has been identified as one of the continent's top three investment destinations.
The three countries came out tops in a survey among 800 professionals currently involved in the continent. The top ten countries are, in order of preference: South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Angola, Tanzania, Rwanda, Botswana, Uganda and Mozambique.
Africa Business Panel said in a statement that all the top ten countries are in Sub-Saharan Africa due to the political turmoil in North Africa, which led to a drop in investor confidence in the region.
All of the top ten countries, with the exception of Rwanda, are also non-francophone nations.
The statement continued by saying that almost all African markets are seeing encouraging year-on-year growth. “This is attracting the attention of the international investor community who increasingly see Africa as the last frontier for attractive growth opportunities.”
Lourens van Niekerk, a senior manager at Standard Bank, commented that he sees significant potential in the Angolan market. “Angola is still growing its economy at a massive speed and with the oil price appreciation it is bound to continue. A distinct lack of certain products and services is growing rather than declining and makes Angola a frontier market of the first order.”
Van Niekerk added that South Africa could be used as a springboard for investment into the rest of the continent. He also said that Accra, Ghana is a good base for doing business in the greater West Africa region.
Ogo Ibok, CEO of the Lagos-based Skill Enhancement Centre (SENCE), said that Nigeria, with its large population and strong growth potential, holds considerable potential for investment.
Ibok is also enthusiastic about the progress that Rwanda has made in recent years.