Africa’s New Investment Powerhouse: UAE emerges as Africa’s largest FDI provider, funneling $59.4 billion into key sectors like infrastructure and energy.
Rapid rise places UAE in the ranks of global giants, sparking fierce competition in the African market.
With $5.6 billion in projects, Abu Dhabi leads UAE’s economic push, while India also seeks to strengthen trade ties through a strategic investment conference.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has jumped on the bandwagon of world powers vying for commercial dominance in Africa, aiming to sell its goods to some of the 1.2 billion people living there.
The UAE is the largest provider of foreign direct investment (FDI) for Africa among the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, according to the most recent study by the property consulting firm Knight Frank. The UAE continues to concentrate on the continent’s high-growth sectors, including infrastructure, energy, transport, logistics, and technology.
After China, Europe, and the US, the UAE has become the fourth-largest investor in Africa over the past ten years, according to White&Case, a worldwide legal company with offices in New York that represents businesses, governments, and financial institutions.
Due to the US, India, Russia, and China’s impact on the continent, as well as Abu Dhabi’s rise, there will be greater rivalry in the African market.
Between 2012 and 2022, FDI flows from the GCC (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE) states to Africa totaled $101.9 billion on 628 projects, whereas FDI flows from Africa to the GCC states totaled $3 billion on 141 projects, according to White&Case.
FDI from the UAE to Africa totaled $59.4 billion during the time, with Saudi Arabia coming in second ($25.6 billion), followed by Qatar ($7.2 billion), Kuwait ($5 billion), and Bahrain ($4.2 billion).
Africa is quickly growing as one of Abu Dhabi’s major markets. In 2021, Abu Dhabi spent $5.6 billion on 71 projects on the continent, with The Agtech Park in Egypt ranking as the most significant.
India is likewise attempting to influence trade on the continent. For instance, in 2022 India organized a two-day investment conference in New Delhi that included around 40 African officials from 17 different countries to talk about how India and Africa might better improve trade and investment.
