Why Indian investors are shunning Europe for Africa

One of the reasons for the increase in investment into Africa from other emerging markets such as India and China is because the continent offers entrepreneurs the same earnings growth potential they are used to in their own countries, rates not easily achievable in the US or Europe.

Zin Bekkali

Zin Bekkali

Zin Bekkali, CEO of Silk Invest, said in a recent interview with CNBC Africa that many business people in emerging markets benchmark themselves against the double digit growth opportunities found in their own countries, which gives them a greater appetite for markets such as Africa.

“If you’re an entrepreneur out of India, or the Philippines or the UAE . . . your tolerance for risk is higher [because] you’re coming from a region where you have been growing your business 10% to 20% annually in terms of earnings, and that is basically your benchmark,” he said.

“Recently we spoke to a Chinese investor, and . . . for them Africa is actually a safer [and] better place to do business than Europe, because they can work in an African environment but [it is] far more difficult [for them] to work [in] a rather bureaucratic [and] settled environment as we have today in Europe,” Bekkali added.