Are you an investor or entrepreneur looking to invest or start a business in any of the African countries?
Do you want to know the best investment opportunities or small business opportunities in Africa?
Centuries ago, Europe was the darling economy of the world; until America rose to become the world’s economic power.
Now, Asia has the most countries with
the fastest rising economy followed closely by Africa. Africa is
perceived to be one of the frontrunners of future economic growth next
to Asia.
Africa’s foreign development investment
has significantly improved over the past decade. It is forecasted to
have a $150Billion growth by 2015 with Africans themselves leading the
investment growth across the continent. So without wasting your time,
here is a list of top 10 investment ideas and small business
opportunities in Africa.
1. Fiber Optics + Internet service provision
As Africa open up to the world, there is
a tremendous increase in the demand for quality telecommunication and
internet service. Take for instance, video and web conferencing, web TV
are yet to fully utilized in Africa because of the poor internet speed
experienced in most African countries.
This is where the need for Fiber optics
cable comes in. This opens doors for outsourcing business and e-commerce
ventures as the price of internet connection will be lower. In my
country Nigeria, companies such as MainOne and Glo have taken the lead
in the laying of fiber optics cable but the industry is not yet
competitive; and other African countries are still untapped.
2. Industrial Zones and Free Trade Zones
Industrial and free trade zones are
springing up rapidly in Africa and South Africa is taking the lead. This
is proof that the African government is determined to improve its world
ranking.
If you run a manufacturing firm or you
have plans to go global and tap into Africa’s potential, then you should
consider the industrial zone because it offers strategic economic
advantage with its location near local and national transportation
links. This also opens doors to employment opportunities. And businesses
that will be established in this zone will help support the expanding
manufacturing industry and add value to the economy.
3. Government Tenders and Contracts
Responding to government and
non-government tenders is next in the top 10 business opportunities in
Africa. Since Africa is a fledging industrialized continent, the
governments of various countries have an open market policy making it
tenders an opportunity for business.
4. Outsourced Business Process Services
Another small business opportunity in
Africa is Business Process Services. BPS lowers administrative and
operating costs. Thus, it makes it easy and possible for the business to
provide new services, improve core business activities and enhance
customer service. With the massive population and high number of jobless
graduates, technicians and technologist, you can set up a firm that
will deliver administrative services to developed countries at a cheaper
rate.
Take for instance data entry services,
database management services, call center services and customer care
services are examples of services that most developed countries
outsource to countries with skilled but cheap workforce.
5. Real Estate Development
In the list of the top 10 business
opportunities in Africa is real estate. Purchasing or developing
commercial property in Africa is very advantageous since it has
appreciated over the past ten years. Evidence to this is the fact that
demand for commercial real estate in countries such as South Africa,
Ghana, Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya, etc have gone up to 400%, a growth caused
by foreign investors and the increasing demand of offices by new
businesses.
But is commercial real estate the only
lucrative aspect of real estate in Africa? My answer is no. There is
also an overwhelming for residential properties and the rest. In fact,
regardless of the area of real estate you venture into; you are bound to
reap bountiful profits.
6. Health Care
Sixth in the top 10 business
opportunities in Africa is health care. The standard of health care in
Africa is very poor when compared to the standards in Europe, Asia and
America. Secondary and tertiary healthcare services have a high
investment potential in Africa as health management, research and
information technology are lacking. This also offers the opportunities
to serve a social cause.
Taking my country Nigeria as an
instance, the health care facilities on ground are obsolete and
unreliable that most people seek medical checkup abroad and delicate
surgeries such as heart and kidney transplant are done abroad.
7. ICT Infrastructure
Since Africa lacks infrastructure in the
field of communication and information technology, it is a good
investment opportunity. There are local IT and communications companies
looking to expand their business and is seriously looking for foreign
investors to make it possible; thereby creating opportunity for private
investors to help make a thriving company improve its operations in
return for a profit.
8. Power generation
Eighth in the top 10 investment
opportunities in Africa is Nigeria’s need for infrastructure in the
field of power generation. The government in fact has announced its plan
to attract $100 billion in investments over the next five years for its
power sector. And when there is a need to be satisfied, there are much
business opportunities behind.
In fact, there is a plan privatization
process in place and to be sincere with you; power generation is the
next big business not only in Nigeria but Africa as a whole. In fact,
power generation is highly untapped because the primary source of power
in Africa is Hydro and it is still under-utilized while solar, wind,
nuclear, etc are still untapped.
9. Agro-Allied investment
Next in the list of business
opportunities in Africa is still in Nigeria which needs agricultural
equipment, chemical supplies, waste recycling operations and
fertilizers. But I want to emphasize the point that that the need for
agro-allied equipments is not peculiar to Nigeria alone but all African
countries.
10. Fashion & Beauty
Africa has hundreds of rising stars who
are building successful businesses in the fashion and beauty industry.
I’ll share a few interesting examples with you. Suzie Wokabi is one of
Africa’s leading entrepreneurs breaking into the beauty and personal
care market, a sector that is dominated by international giants like
Unilever, Procter & Gamble, L’Oréal and Mary Kay. Suzie Beauty, the
cosmetic business she started about 7 years ago in Kenya, has become
hugely successful.
Kunmi Otitoju is another inspiring
entrepreneur who has built a successful business with her luxury label,
Minku. Her young business makes high-quality leather bags designed with
Aso-oke fabric, a hand-loomed cloth woven by Nigeria’s Yoruba people.
Her unique designs have become a major hit in high end stores in
Nigeria. (photo credit: minku.com) The list of promising African
entrepreneurs who are building successful businesses in the fashion
industry is quite impressive. This would be an interesting industry to
watch in 2015.
In conclusion, I want you to know that
every sector of the economy in Africa has huge untapped potential; from
technology, agriculture, food industry, services, real estate, etc. They
all have the potential to yield good return on investment.
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