Digital infrastructure presents a ripe and often underappreciated investment opportunity in Africa. According to the International Finance Corporation and Google, the continent’s internet economy has the potential to add $180 billion (£142 billion) to Africa’s GDP by 2025 – and there is a need for robust digital infrastructure to support this growth. The COVID-19 pandemic served as a powerful catalyst in this regard, intensifying the demand for enhanced digital infrastructure across the continent as internet usage surged and governments worked to close the digital divide.

Africa is on track to be the second-fastest growing region globally – trailing only Asia – with generally stable macroeconomic fundamentals. However, challenges persist due to currency depreciation, high debt levels, and a funding squeeze amplified by tighter monetary policies. Nevertheless, the continent is perhaps more resilient to economic headwinds than ever before, with African countries aligning trade and investment policies behind the African Continental Free Trade Area and implementing prudent macroeconomic policies to navigate uncertainty.

Our 10th Annual Mining Series took place in Cape Town from 6 - 8 February, and it was a fantastic week of meeting our members, making new connections, and together championing the importance of Africa’s mining industry.

Thirty percent 30% of the world’s mineral deposits, including those critical in the manufacturing of green technologies are scattered within Africa’s soils. The DRC producedes 70% of the world’s cobalt, Zambia is the second largest producer of copper and South Africa holds the largest share of manganese reserves. While the outcomes of COP27 have yet to live up to its name of “implementation”, one point was made clear: greenwashing will not be tolerated.

London, UK, 6th December – Karen Taylor, CEO of Invest Africa, a leading business network promoting trade and investment in Africa, is appointed as a member of the National Investment Council by H.E. William Ruto, President of Republic of Kenya, in the Kenya Gazette.

The continent has to be enabled to escape the worst fallout, build resilience and be compensated fairly, while benefiting from opportunities.

Although Africa faces a disproportionate burden, it is in the continent’s best interest for its leaders to engage with other world leaders directly and actively on environmental problems, to bridge the gap between developed and developing nations.

Over the last two weeks, global leaders gathered in New York for the 77th United Nations General Assembly under the theme, “"A watershed moment: transformative solutions to interlocking challenges". African leaders took the opportunity to highlight that the continent once again finds itself at the sharp end of these interlocking challenges and therefore must have seat at the table in outlining solutions.

​With increasing public and regulatory scrutiny of claims by companies about their ESG achievements, it is essential that these are accurate, well-founded and backed up with data.

Control Risks and Oxford Economics Africa are pleased to launch the seventh edition of the Africa Risk-Reward Index. The index illustrates the evolution of the investment landscape in major African markets and provides a grounded, longer-term outlook of key trends shaping investment in these economies.

From the highs at the start of the previous decade catalysed by the commodity boom, US-Africa trade has fallen sharply, effectively halving in the ten years since. This is reflective of a US policy towards the continent, which has not sustained the active engagement of trade and investment experienced in the 2000s. With significantly less focus on economic development, the vacuum has increasingly been occupied by investment from the developing world, spearheaded by China.

Invest Africa has undergone a rebrand, reflecting its commitment to building trusted partnerships across the continent, and globally, with the shared goal of achieving sustainable development in Africa. The new identity represents Invest Africa’s continued engagement with an increasingly dynamic business environment.

Rt. Hon. Mark Simmonds, Chairman of the Invest Africa Advisory Board wrote a letter to the Financial Times in response to an article on Russia embarking charm offensive with governments across Africa. In it, he argues that Russia and Sergei Lavrov having found “signs of friendship” in Africa in recent months is a worrying sign of a dilution of European influence in Africa. In response, the west need to engage more meaningfully, across multiple areas, to assist Africa’s development.

Africa has substantial economic potential and the opportunities for foreign investment and strategic partnerships are on the rise. There is consensus that investment opportunities in Africa are abound, five structural trends - the continent’s youthful population, increasing levels of urbanisation, abundance of resources, depth of financial services and technological infrastructure put Africa in a unique position for robust and resilient long-term international investment opportunities for countries like the United Kingdom.

This Invest Africa and Standard Chartered Bank paper clearly identifies a pipeline of opportunities across the continent. The ambitious AfCFTA, which has promised to set the continent on a stronger and more inclusive growth path is particularly within the interest of British businesses. Support from the region’s key trade partners, including the UK, will be critical to the success of the agreement.