Somalia May Become African Leader in Mobile Money

The World Bank published in August 2018 a major report titled "Rapid Growth in Mobile Money: Stability or Vulnerability?"

Somalia is the focus of the report, which suggests the country has the potential to become the largest mobile money market in Africa with the number of mobile money transactions exceeding those in Kenya.

Chinese Manufacturing Investments in Africa

The China-Africa Research Initiative (CARI) at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) published in August 2018 a study titled "What Kinds of Chinese 'Geese' Are Flying To Africa? Evidence from Chinese Manufacturing Firms" by Deborah Brautigam, SAIS, Tang Xiaoyang, Tsinghua University, and Xia Ying, S.J.D. candidate at Harvard Law School.

The paper provides an analysis of the nature of Chinese manufacturing investments in Africa, focusing on Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, and Tanzania. It explores the varieties of existing Chinese manufacturing investment and the sectors into which Chinese companies are investing. Chinese manufacturing investment in Africa is expanding rapidly but the official data on investment approvals significantly overstate the actual number of investments in operation.

CARI published a policy brief on the same subject.

Indian Investment in Africa

Fahamu published on 17 September 2015 a summary titled "Indian Investment in Africa January 2003 to July 2015" of a report done by fdimarkets.com.  You can access the entire report at the bottom of the Fahamu article.

Between January 2003 and July 2015 the survey identified 383 FDI projects, which accounted for a total capital investment of $55 billion.  South Africa received one-fifth of the projects.  Other leading recipients were Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, Tanzania, and Ethiopia.  Most of the projects were in the field of financial services although most of the capital went into coal, oil, and natural gas projects.  If this report is accurate, then India's FDI in Africa far exceeds China's FDI in Africa based on official Chinese statistics. 

Foreign Direct Investment in Africa 2015

Ernst and Young just published its Attractiveness Survey Africa 2015: Making Choices.  It contains a wealth of current information, primarily on foreign direct investment (FDI) in Africa.

In 2014, the number of new FDI projects in Africa fell 8.4 percent but remained well above 2008 levels.  Capital investment in Africa, however, surged to $128 billion, up 136 percent over 2013.  FDI investors returned enthusiastically to Egypt and Morocco and increased their projects in Ethiopia and Mozambique.  There were fewer projects in South Africa, Angola, Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya.

There was a slight drop in the attractiveness of Africa for investment as a region.  Africa dropped from 2nd to 4th place in regional rankings after Oceania, North America, and Asia.  FDI in Africa has grown five fold since 2000 and is forecast to overtake  official development assistance (ODA) in 2015.  FDI is projected to reach just over $55 billion compared to just under $55 billion for ODA.  Portfolio investment is predicted to grow to $18 billion and remittances an astounding $65 billion.

Collectively, European investors began by far the largest number of FDI projects in Africa in 2014.  The United States was the largest single country investor, launching 101 FDI projects or almost 14 percent of all projects in Africa.  The UK and South Africa tied for second, the UAE was fourth, France fifth, and Germany sixth.  Although Chinese investment soared in 2014, it was only number 7 with the launching of 32 FDI projects valued at $6.1 billion and 4.4 percent of the total number of new projects.