With 1.3 billion people, Africa has a quarter of the world’s population and a thriving market potentially worth “3 trillion dollars in gross domestic product.”
Several British corporations have been expressing a growing interest in Africa’s consumer markets, and the British government published its goal of having Africa as the largest G7 contributor by 2022.
According to the Office for National Statistics, British worldwide investments were negatively affected by the pandemic by £82 billion. However, African nations benefitting from the pandemic experienced a 16% decline in overall foreign capital. While the UK had stated its goal to position itself as “Africa’s partner of choice for trade and investment” at the January 2020 UK-Africa Investment Summit, the UK held a second summit last January to discuss sustainable investment as a strategy to achieve fairly long-term mutual value and endorse the continent’s green economic revolution.
One of the summit’s most important topics will be the recognition of trade obstacles for the UK as well as Africa, especially for leaders in Africa as the nation heals from the pandemic. Sustainability in British foreign investments has the potential to enhance the long-term economic growth of African nations, particularly as measured by industrial output and import-export rates. This means the UK must rethink its role in economic cooperation and within Africa.
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Global investors and traders were undoubtedly concerned about the outbreak. Consequently, African nations remained concerned about beneficial trade practices. The most compelling trade agreement in Africa has been established by China for more than two decades. Despite the pandemic, China increased its exports to Africa by nearly $113 billion in 2019, while African nations increased its exports to China by about $78.7 billion. In comparison, UK-to-Africa exports were around £18 billion in 2019, while Africa-to-UK exports were approximately £16 billion.
There is still much to be done, even though most African countries have committed to eliminating tariffs on 90% of their internally traded products and reducing non-tariff barriers. From 2011 to 2020, Africa received a significant amount of foreign direct investment, led by major nations such as Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa, Mozambique, and Ghana.
Evidently, British investments in the green economy by itself will not make it appealing to African nations in the long run. Furthermore, highlighting the significance of intra-African trade and re-evaluating UK-Africa trade facilitation systems would ensure a long-term perspective and inspire ambitious parties to participate in realistic score ventures and economic growth. Many subjects, such as the relevance of local trade facilitation, remain completely undiscovered in the worldwide implementation of environmental, social, and corporate governance. Regardless of the fact that there is a lack of certainty around events in Europe and worldwide, it is clear that funding in Africa has never been more fascinating.
