African countries boast a combination of a healthy youth population, natural resource endowment and opportunities for infrastructural development to attract foreign investment.
In a recent report by Rand Merchant Bank titled, ‘Where to Invest in Africa’, Seychelles, Mauritius and Egypt top the list of 31 most viable destinations to invest in Africa.
Here are the top ten best African countries to invest in 2024;
Seychelles
Seychelles topped the list of investables places in Africa. Despite being one of the smallest economies on the continent, the archipelago nation topped metric scores on personal freedom, human development, lack of corruption, and connectedness.
The report noted that Seychelles stands to gain greatly from improving its innovation and diversifying its import concentration.
Mauritius
Mauritius ranked next in social & human development, economic stability & investment climate, while it ranked 3rd in market accessibility & innovation and 23rd in economic performance & potential.
However, Mauritius’ landmass of 2,000 km2 and population of 1.26 million people offers fewer potential customers to businesses seeking the numbers.
Read also: Nigeria ranks 9th in African investment destination as Island nations top
Egypt
While Egypt ranked 3rd overall, it ranked first in economic performance & potential. It however ranked 5th in market accessibility & innovation, 23rd in economic stability & investment climate and 13th in social & human development.
According to the report, Egypt is caught between two extremes market conditions. Its large population makes it attractive to investors, but it ranks low in personal freedom, the report stated.
South Africa
South Africa ranked 4th best African country to invest in 2024. It ranked first in market accessibility & innovation, 5th in economic performance & potential, 7th in economic stability & investment climate and 29th in social and human development.
According to the report, the country has an economic and humanitarian crisis to overcome with a 30% unemployment rate and a negative GDP growth forecast.
Morocco
Morocco ranked 5th best place to invest in Africa. It also ranked 5th in social & human development, 2oth in economic stability & investment climate, 27th in market accessibility & innovation and 25th in economic performance & potential.
“Personal freedom remains an area where Morocco has plenty of scope to improve. On this metric, it scores the second lowest on the model. For instance, greater freedom for women to participate in the workplace has room to reap economic benefits,” the report stated.
Ghana
Ghana is the 6th most investable country in Africa, ranking third on the social & human development index. It ranked 8th in economic stability & investment climate, 6th in market accessibility & innovation and 15th in economic performance & potential.
“Ghana is among the top ten for urbanisation, connectedness, innovation, political stability, personal freedom and employment. Critical to macroeconomic stability is addressing high public debt and inflation,” the report stated.
Tunisia
Tunisia ranked 5th on the social & human development index, 14th on economic stability & investment climate, 2nd in market accessibilty & innovation and 26th in economic performance & potential.
Tunisia’s export basket positions it ahead of the continent. “Only one product reaches double digits as a percentage of trade flow – that being insulated electrical wire. The rest of Tunisia’s exports span a wide array of relatively complex products, including ICT, motor vehicle parts and a variety of chemicals,” the report said.
Senegal
Senegal ranked 9th on the social and human development index. It ranked 12th in economic stability & investment climate, 29th in market accessibilty and innovation, and 2nd in economic performance & potential.
“Senegal’s main red flag in the rankings of its forex stability and liquidity. It comes in at 28 out of 31 countries,” the report said.
Nigeria
Nigeria ranked 15th on social & human development, 21st in economic stability & investment climate, 29th in market accessibility & innovation and 2nd in economic performance & potential.
“Nigeria ends up further down the investability scoreboard than its sheer size may suggest, with an overall ranking of ninth on our model,” it stated.
Algeria
Algeria ranked 10th investable country in Africa. It ranked 4th on the human & social development index, 24th in economic stability & investment climate, 9th in market accessibilty & innovation and 7th in economic performance & potential.
Algeria has very low import concentration, but “low scores for political stability and economic freedom may be concerns for investors,” the report said.
By 2050, Africa’s population will reach close to 2.5 billion, meaning that a quarter of the world’s population will reside in Africa. This has positive economic prospects if there are enough employment opportunities open for this workforce.
