Top 5 GCC countries that have invested the most money in Africa in the last decade
Africa is on track to have a significant urbanization. Cities like Cairo, Lagos, Luanda, Dar es Salaam, Nairobi, and Addis Abeba, which have a combined population of almost 65 million, are prime candidates for foreign investment.
Africa often engages in international trade with nations like China, the USA, and several other western economies. However, the United Arab Emirate has thrown in its name in the hat as one of the new economic players who has been progressively beginning to gain influence on the continent.
In recent years, trade between the UAE and Africa has steadily increased. According to the most recent information provided by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Commerce, commerce between the UAE and six non-Arab African nations, Angola, Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, South Africa, and Tanzania, will exceed US$8 billion in 2020.
For instance, Dubai’s DP World, a pioneer in global supply chain solutions, seeks alliances that advance employment, local infrastructure, and the GDP of the country. One notable instance is Kigali, Rwanda’s new Road Transport Center for delivery trucks, which has cut waiting times for land transportation from weeks to days. Additionally, it has reduced storage costs, positioning Kigali as an important logistics hub in East Africa and boosting ties between local companies and international markets.
DP World has made over US$ 1.8 billion in investments in Africa over the past ten years and has plans to make another US$ 3 billion in the upcoming years. In a report done by Knight Frank LLP, an estate agency, residential and commercial property consultancy headquartered in London, England, and titled, Africa Horizons: The Continent’s unique guide to real estate investment trends and Opportunities (2023/2024), the top 5 Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries which have brought in the most foreign direct investments, were mentioned.
Also, the number of sectors by number of investments were listed and goes as follows, financial services: 149, transportation and warehousing: 84, environmental technology: 64, ICt and electronics: 49, and cosntruction: 47.
Each of these sectors has received a significant amount of FDI from GCC countries, to varying degrees, Below are the top 5 Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries which has brought in the most foreign direct investments to Africa from 2012 to 2022.
| Rank | Country | FDI investment amount |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | United Arab Emirates | $59.4 billion |
| 2. | Saudi Arabia | $25.6 billion |
| 3. | Qatar | $7.2 billion |
| 4. | Kuwait | $5.0 billion |
| 5. | Bahrain | $4.2 billion |
