FULL TEXT: Africa's investment climate improves, but gains remain uneven - Report

Africa’s investment climate improved between May and August 2026, but gains remained uneven across markets, with investors showing stronger interest in sectors where demand was resilient and projects demonstrated credible prospects for execution.

This is according to the Africa Investment Pulse 2026 report by Emerging Market Advisory.

The report identified energy and transition assets, digital infrastructure and financial technology, logistics and regional trade, agri-processing, healthcare, and export-oriented manufacturing as the sectors that attracted the strongest investor interest during the period.

However, it noted that several challenges continued to influence investment decisions across the continent. These included foreign-exchange convertibility, sovereign debt pressures, high financing costs, policy and tax uncertainty, weak contract enforcement, unreliable infrastructure and limited capacity among local partners.

The report grouped African markets into three broad categories based on their investment conditions.

The first category comprises markets where commercial capital can be scaled due to relatively strong market fundamentals and investment platforms.

The second consists of reform and trade-corridor markets, where targeted measures to reduce investment risks could help translate investor commitments into actual deployment.

The third category comprises frontier markets, where investment remains dependent on stronger project preparation, patient capital and improved risk-sharing mechanisms.

The review covers the period from May 1 to August 31, 2026, with earlier evidence used to provide context on the conditions prevailing at the start of the period.

It also assesses the outlook for the next three reporting periods, highlighting the key factors expected to influence investment decisions across African markets.

See the full report below: