Foreign investments in Africa decline 3% in 2023- UNCTAD

Foreign investment flows to Africa dropped by 3% in 2023 to $53 billion, despite an increase in investments in green energy projects, the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said.

While Egypt and South Africa drove the overall investment trend in the continent, countries such as Morocco and Mauritania are expected to benefit from their green hydrogen plans in attracting substantial foreign investments, UNCTAD said in a recent report.

Mauritania’s green hydrogen plan “is expected to generate $34 billion in investment, an amount several times greater than the nation’s GDP,” UNCTAD said.

“Morocco also had decreased FDI inflows but performed well in attracting greenfield projects,” it said

Africa also received more than $10 billion in project finance for wind and solar electricity production, with the largest projects located in Egypt, South Africa, and Zimbabwe, it said.

Value chains for electric vehicles also prompted foreign investments, UNCTAD said, adding that the largest deals announced included one to establish a $6.4-billion electric vehicle battery manufacturing facility in Morocco.

Most FDIs came from the Netherlands, France, the US, the UK, and China, it said,