The report presents insights into the continent\u2019s top investment prospects, with the top five countries having remained unchanged from the 2024\/25 edition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The small island economies of Seychelles and Mauritius retain their rankings at first and second, with their scores reflecting small but appealing markets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The significantly larger economies of Morocco, Egypt and South\u00a0Africa remain ranked\u00a0third, fourth and fifth, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire was highlighted as a notable riser, moving up eight places to eighth. Nigeria dropped the furthest, falling nine places to eighteenth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Presenting key findings from the report at the report launch in Sandton, GIBS professor\u00a0Adrian Saville<\/strong>\u00a0indicated that South\u00a0Africa\u00a0had been \u201cstuck in neutral\u201d for the past few years because its gross domestic fixed investment was not at the requisite level.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n For it to move out of its \u201cstuck\u201d position, it needs investment confidence to be restored, with the country already presenting an investable destination, and recently making strides on\u00a0energy\u00a0supply\u00a0security\u00a0and improving the\u00a0logistics\u00a0network.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The report was also finalised before the\u00a0Financial\u00a0Action Task Force\u2019s decision last week to delist South\u00a0Africa\u00a0from its \u201cgrey list\u201d of jurisdictions under increased monitoring, and therefore, it could not fully account for the upshots of this decision, Saville averred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, the report does reference the grey list, noting that a likely exit from the list would bring a welcome mark of approval for capital allocators and\u00a0business\u00a0operators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The WTIIA provides an overview of the factors shaping each country\u2019s investment landscape, aimed to assist investors and policymakers with identifying where the best opportunities for growth and impact lie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOver the past year,\u00a0Africa\u2019s investment landscape has been shaped by significant political and policy developments. Elections across multiple countries, episodes of unrest and policy uncertainty, and the global fracturing and reorientation have all had measurable macroeconomic effects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cChanges in the political and the subsequent policy\u00a0environment\u00a0and declining foreign aid, coupled with the redirection of global capital flows, are reshaping how African economies engage with the world, moving from dependence toward resilience and self-determination,\u201d RMB chief economist\u00a0Isaah Mhlanga\u00a0<\/strong>said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Against this backdrop, the 2025\/26 report explores the theme \u201cFrom aid to investment and trade\u201d, reflecting a broader transition underway across the continent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Saville said that, while institutional integrity held firm, the shifts and changes experienced last year were \u201cunprecedented\u201d. He said this could be the moment for trade to displace aid, which could be a powerful contributor to\u00a0Africa, which is, on the balance of things, growing quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Notably, the report shows that trade potential opportunity is happening outside of North America, Saville highlighted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The report analyses 31 African nations, which represent 90% of the continent\u2019s GDP, 83% of the population and 61% of the total land mass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It explores the opportunities and complexities of investing in the diverse African economic landscape, incorporating macroeconomic, markets and demographic data in the form of 20 distinct metrics, which are categorised into four pillars to reflect each metric\u2019s impact on the economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The scoring\u00a0system\u00a0assesses these nations through four key pillars: economic performance and potential; market accessibility and\u00a0innovation; economic stability and investment climate; and social and human development. These criteria help to build a balanced and data-driven view of investment attractiveness across the continent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The report\u2019s index focuses on fundamentals and structural elements that shift slowly over time; therefore, country rankings typically remain relatively stable from year to year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This year\u2019s results reflect the impact of shifting political and economic conditions across the continent. While 11 countries retain their positions from last year, and 22 countries have moved two or fewer positions, seven countries have moved between two and four positions, and six countries have moved five or more positions in the rankings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These significant shifts in rankings reflect the result of either currency devaluations, data restatements or foundational changes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The report presents insights into the continent\u2019s top investment prospects, with the top five countries having remained unchanged from the 2024\/25 edition. The small island…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3145,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38,15,16,7,354],"tags":[29,388,85,389,390],"class_list":["post-3144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-africa","category-business","category-finance","category-mena","category-morocco","tag-egypt","tag-investing","tag-investments","tag-morocc","tag-south-africa"],"yoast_head":"\n