The UK’s Post-Brexit Investments In Africa May Need Reassessment

The numbers say it all: 54 countries, over 1.2 billion people, and a multiplicity of untapped markets. Indeed, Africa is an ideal place to invest, whether or not most of the continent’s economies are—by global standards—small or mid-sized.

Apparently, investment destinations anointed with diversity need diverse attention. That’s why China, the United States, France, Japan, and even India are trade allies with and investors in the region, simultaneously. 

Enter Great Britain.

Big ambitions and exciting plans

The United Kingdom has been doing business in (and with) Africa since the 16th century. Dealings between the G7 country and this continent have been superficially lowkey, however, at least compared to the mammoth amounts invested by other advanced economies from the Group of Seven.

However, ever since that high-profile summit in London a year ago, the hype for English investments in Africa has been through the roof. 

Prime Minister Boris Johnson and 21 African leaders attended the UK-Africa investment summit in January 2020. When someone as vocal about African investments as Boris is in the same conference room with no less than 38 percent of African presidents, among others, million/billion-dollar interests are almost native.

The event ended with investment deals worth USD 2.6 Bn, setting the table for full-dress relations between London and Africa.

It’s not too baffling that the U.K is throwing both weight and cash behind and into Africa. China alone has pumped into some USD 40 Bn of FDI stocks in the continent’s major economies.