One of the main barriers to foreign direct investments in Africa in the past has been corruption and political instability. However, the image of Africa which was negative has changed over the last couple of years, and now the various resources in most of the African countries are starting to become much more attractive for potential investors around the world.
Africa is a continent that is full of a young and vibrant population, along with significant economic potential, which has for a number of years made it an attractive prospect for foreign investors. The demand for land in African countries has been massive. Worldwide, it has been estimated that 115 million acres of land have been leased or sold to foreign investors. According to the World Bank, most investors tend to be attracted to Sub-Saharan Africa, mainly due to the fact that it has about half the world’s available farmland. Furthermore, over 70% of land acquired by investors is in Africa, where the land is quite cheap, and non-existent or informal land-use laws have allowed some governments to sell large tracts that have been farmed by locals for generations.
Aicha Ghaffari, a venture builder and Investment Advisor based in Qatar highly contributes to extending the Middle East and in Particular Gulf Cooperation countries into the frame of International Investments and development projects; “Africa is going to great lengths to attract foreign investments. The continent over the years has encouraged investors to invest in African countries as it will help create employment opportunities for its people. Because of its history and geography, Africa is a natural trade partner for gulf economies. Most of its investors are outside of the country where the majority is from the Middle East”; she mentioned to the Herald; while adding: “The Middle East plays a major role in investments in Africa. Some of the main investors of this continent include Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Bahrain”.
Aicha Ghaffari, a young Tunisian woman who lives in Qatar, is passionate about venture building, investment, and business expansion with more than a decade of professional experience in the Startup and corporate eco-systems. She benefits from a large cross-functional experience in Business Innovation, Investment and fundraising, Operations, and Business Development which had self-leaded her nicknamed the “best friend of start-ups and investors” in Doha.
Coming from a very humble family, and going through a lot of challenges, traveling from one place to another, Aicha succeeded to position herself in the middle of the Venture Capitalists, Angel Investors, Family Offices, and high-net-worth individuals. Today, Aicha is acting as an advisor for a lot of investors in Qatar and the region with a recognized and effective track record.
Investors from the Middle East are mainly interested in food crops. Recently, the Saudi Arabian government stated that they have identified 27 countries to invest in agriculture to help boost food security amidst international concerns about rising prices. Sub-Saharan Africa consists of a large amount of land that isn’t being cultivated because the technology is not sufficient to aid the process mainly due to the costs. However, this is what gives hope to investors, as a well-funded player can push the innovation process for farmland development.
Furthermore, Qatar too has achieved much success in investing in the continent of Africa and there is a remarkable interest in signing agreements with private sector companies and friendly countries in the continent. When it comes to Qatari investments in South Africa, Qatar has invested in many sectors including mining, oil, and petrochemicals. Due to this, South Africa is one of the most important locations for Qatari investments, as the continent is full of promising opportunities that attract investors from Qatar.
“Qatar being on the Map as the business leading party for decades, the country is from far a large international business attractor and innovator” – Aicha Gaffari, Doha, State of Qatar 2022.
In addition, and being an expert in this field for 10 years, Ms. Al Gaffari precised: “Qatar has encouraged its businessmen to get acquainted with the various investment opportunities in South Africa, and also supports companies from both countries to establish genuine partnerships and commercial alliances as it is greatly beneficial for the economy of Qatar as well as Africa. Investments and signed agreements in many fields also help boost the close relations between Qatar and Africa. Furthermore, Qatar is a strategic trade partner to South Africa and has great interest to increase its exports to Qatar which will strengthen their bilateral trade exchange”. Thus the many sectors in South Africa such as mining, technology, manufacturing, agriculture, and food security sectors are very attractive to investors in Qatar. Thus Qatari companies should take the best out of this opportunity and invest in their South African counterparts.
Being highly influential, Ms. Al Gaffari participates in several international exhibitions as well as advises local and foreign companies in their Investment Strategies. One of them, is Licorne Gulf, a specialized firm focusing on capital raising based out of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, London, and Geneva, founded by Alexandre Katrangi & Irina Duisimbekova.
Totalizing 25 years of international experience in fundraising, M&A, development, and advisory for SMEs, Fortune 500 companies, and Family owned businesses Licorne Gulf had recently decided to welcome her skills into a Senior Board Member position as Strategic Advisors for Qatar Affairs, benefiting from her unique know-how into coordinating Private-Public Partnership (PPP) developments and actions and taking into consideration the strategic alliances the company had extended in the State of Qatar since last past 10 years.
Overall, the new trend aligning GCC countries and African developments seems to enlighten the vision of several actors contributing to more stability.
“Investing in Africa is good for businesses and a sustainable corporate strategy for foreign investors in the Middle East. Governments in emerging and advanced countries in the Middle East should leverage these emerging and profitable investment opportunities, which is greatly beneficial for both the Middle East as well as Africa.”