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Capital cities in Sub Saharan Africa continue to attract foreign investment

Capital cities in Sub Saharan Africa continue to attract foreign investment

Africa

Africa is attracting foreign investments despite the fall of global commodity prices that has impacted the continent’s biggest economies.

The financial, retail, technology and construction sectors in cities such as Lagos, Nairobi, Accra, Kinshasa and Johannesburg, offer attractive growth prospects for foreign direct investments.

The rise of the middle class in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA) who have more disposable income is seen as a major contributing factor to this growth.

Analysts say Nairobi is the leading destination for foreign investment followed by Accra, as Lagos and Johannesburg equal in the third position.

They further predict that population growth in more than 80 cities in SSA will surpass the one million mark by 2025, in turn leading to rapid urbanisation.

Additionally, the World Bank estimates that the share of Africans living in urban areas is expected to grow to 50 percent by 2030, with cities expected to be home to 85 percent of the national population in some countries.

Risks

Rapid urbanisation of mostly youth who make the bulk of the population is currently placing a huge strain on infrastructure and will continue to put pressure on politicians to direct more resources towards cities.

Currently, inequality in African cities is already among the highest in the world.

Governments in the continent with stretched public finances will need to improve housing and social safety nets. They will also need to diversify their economies to support rural areas in order to avoid an increase in inequality that could stir up discontent.