Nigeria was the top Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) destination in Sub-Saharan Africa for 2020 ahead of South Africa and Ethiopia, the United Nations Trade Association (UNTA) said on Monday.
In its World Investment Report for 2020, UNTA said Africa’s largest economy attracted $2.6 billion investment last year, a 21.21 percent decline from $3.3 billion recorded in 2019.
South Africa and Ethiopia received $2.5 billion each.
However, Egypt remained the top recipient of FDI in Africa with about $5.5 billion in 2020.
The report describes Nigeria as among the most promising poles of growth in Africa and attracts numerous investors in hydrocarbon, energy, building, and other sectors.
It said: “Poorly developed transport and energy infrastructure (lack of electricity), which result in high operating costs is one of the weak points for investment in Nigeria if this can be addressed, Nigeria has the potential of attracting more.”
The report added that investors in the country are from the United States China, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and France.
“FDI flows to Africa declined by 18 percent to an estimated $38 billion, from $46 billion in 2019. Greenfield project announcements, an indication of future FDI trends, fell 63 percent to $28 billion, from $77 billion in 2019. The pandemic’s negative impact on FDI was amplified by low prices of and low demand for commodities,” it added.
