Africa has plenty of an exploited investment opportunities ranging from natural resources to raw materials from agriculture. There are however challenges which an investor has to deal with when investing in Africa. The challenges in themselves also create interesting investment opportunities. A summary of the challenges which investors have to overcome are as follows;
- Inadequate transport infrastructure. It takes a bit of to move from one place to another from example moving from East Africa to West Africa may take more than moving from East Africa to London.
- Different regulatory frameworks across the countries. There are different laws and tax regimes which investors have to contend with.
- Inadequate energy to support the development of the manufacturing sector. The energy produced in most countries cannot support heavy manufacturing processes.
- Inadequate governance structure for protection of foreign investment
- Perceptions of rampant corruption in some countries of Africa
- Lack of concerted effort to promote Africa as an investment destination
- High cost of doing business in Africa as a result of inadequate business supporting infrastructure.
- Lack competent entrepreneurs because of inadequate entrepreneurship training among Africa countries
- There is abundant labour but is not skilled to support the development of the continent.
- Some products and services are only for the export market because of lack of effective domestic demand.
- Limited domestic investment funds as a result of low saving culture and high pervert levels.
- Crop farming in Africa is mainly supported by small scale farmers who face quality and quantity challenges because they lack resources to acquire inputs. The raw materials are often not readily available in right quantities support agro based manufacturing concerns,