Africa remains a key destination for foreign investors with long-term ambitions. In 2025, foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows added about $70 billion to the region’s economy despite a decline in mega one-off deals. Although the latest figure is lower than the $94 billion peak in 2024, it still sits among the top three highest annual totals seen in decades.
But behind the topline figures lies a highly concentrated market. Data from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), shows investment in the region is largely driven by a narrow pool of economies and projects. According to the agency’s 2026 World Investment Report, five countries alone accounted for more than half of total FDI inflows in 2025.
Much of that investment continued to flow into hydrocarbons. Of the 10 largest greenfield projects announced during the year, six were in energy and gas supply. The pattern underscores Africa’s enduring challenge of attracting investment into a broader range of productive industries.
Egypt
Egypt once again topped Africa’s FDI rankings in 2025, attracting about $15.5 billion. The figure is far below last year’s record $46 billion, but the comparison is misleading.
The 2024 total was inflated by the $35 billion Ras El-Hekma deal, the biggest investment agreement in the country’s history. Without that one transaction, FDI into North Africa fell to about $22 billion in 2025 from roughly $51 billion a year earlier. Strip out the mega-deal, however, and Egypt’s own investment story looks stronger.
UNCTAD estimates underlying inflows rose by about one-quarter, helped by the $3.5 billion Alam El-Roum deal. The project, financed by the real estate arm of Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, Qatari Diar, is expected to transform part of the country’s Mediterranean coast into a mixed-use tourism city.
The recovery follows sweeping economic reforms introduced in 2024 after a prolonged foreign currency crisis. Since then, the government has floated the pound, tightened monetary policy and eased inflation. Investors have responded, with about 95% of FDI now flowing into the non-oil economy.
The Republic of Guinea
One of the biggest surprises of the year came from the Republic of Guinea. Inflows jumped to about $8 billion in 2025 from $1.7 billion a year earlier, placing the mineral-rich nation second only to Egypt in FDI.
Mining accounted for much of the increase, with the more than $20 billion Simandou iron ore project leading the way.
After decades of delays, the project shipped its first cargo in late 2025, marking the shift from construction to commercial production. Guinea also exported a record 182.8 million tonnes of bauxite as demand from China remained strong, reinforcing its position as the world’s largest supplier.
The investment surge came alongside a more stable political and economic backdrop. A new constitution ended the country’s military transition, while economic growth accelerated to 7.4% and inflation eased to 3.1%. Together, these changes strengthened investor confidence.
Mozambique
Mozambique dominated investment into Southern Africa in 2025. FDI inflows climbed to about $5.7 billion, the highest level in at least five years, accounting for roughly 70% of the sub-region’s total. The haul also eclipsed Angola’s $1.1 billion, despite the latter being Africa’s second-largest oil producer.
UNCTAD attributes much of the increase to hydrocarbons and liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects. The biggest shift came in the country’s LNG industry, where TotalEnergies and ExxonMobil revived developments worth more than $50 billion after more than four years on hold. Both projects had been suspended since 2021 following insurgent attacks in Cabo Delgado.
Their return coincided with improving security conditions and renewed financing, including the reaffirmation of a $4.7 billion loan from the U.S. Export-Import Bank for the Mozambique LNG project.
The Bank of Mozambique expects inflows to remain strong in 2026, although much will depend on ExxonMobil reaching a final investment decision on the Rovuma project.
Nigeria
After three years of steady FDI decline, Nigeria saw a marked turnaround in 2025, supported by a bold shift in policy direction.
The WIT report shows inflows more than tripled to about $4 billion, up from roughly $900 million in 2022. The recovery came as conditions in the foreign exchange market became more predictable and inflationary pressures began to ease.
Following a painful adjustment period in 2024, Nigeria’s annualised exchange-rate volatility fell to 7.5% in 2025 from 64.5% a year earlier, according to ARM Investment Managers. Inflation also dropped by more than half to around 15%.
Oil and gas remained the biggest draw for foreign investors. Recent policy changes under the Petroleum Industry Act, which overhauled the sector’s fiscal and regulatory framework, coincided with stronger investment interest.
UNCTAD noted Nigeria secured a major project finance deal worth about $2 billion, lifting overall inflows.
Ethiopia
Ethiopia’s FDI inflows were largely unchanged in 2025 at about $3.8 billion, but the composition of investment is beginning to shift. Market liberalisation is opening sectors that were long closed to foreign investors. In the 2024/25 full year, new capital was channelled into manufacturing, agriculture, digital infrastructure and newly liberalised import-export trade, according to official data.
That marks a departure from years when foreign investment was concentrated in a handful of state-approved sectors and transactions.
The UN agency said the shift was already visible in the pipeline of new projects. “In Ethiopia, one of the largest projects announced during the year involved a major fertiliser complex, highlighting investment interest in agricultural input industries and domestic food system resilience,” the report said.
The commitment reflects a broader effort to diversify investment beyond the headline deals that long defined the nation’s FDI landscape.
Beyond the headline deals
Greenfield investment remained a defining feature in 2025, but its composition began to change. The value of announced projects fell by almost one-third even as the number of new projects increased.
The shift does not necessarily point to weaker investor appetite, UNCTAD cautions. Instead, it suggests companies are committing capital more cautiously as they navigate geopolitical tensions, trade uncertainty and a tougher global investment climate.
Rather than betting on a handful of mega-projects, investors are spreading risk across a larger number of smaller developments. As the report notes, “greenfield projects often provide a clearer indication of where investors see long-term opportunities.”
Even so, concentration remains a defining feature. The 10 largest greenfield projects still accounted for about 40% of the total value announced during the year.
Energy and extractive industries also continued to dominate. Hydrocarbons, liquefied natural gas (LNG), mining and renewable energy attracted much of the investment, while rising demand for critical minerals such as copper, cobalt and rare earths strengthened Africa’s role in global supply chains. Digital infrastructure also gathered pace, although projects remained smaller than the data centre developments seen in advanced economies.
The same pattern was visible in project financing. International project finance (IPF) values rose by almost one-quarter, but the number of deals fell by more than 20%. This trend, the report notes, suggests investors were backing fewer, larger projects as financing conditions remained tight.
Egypt alone attracted four of Africa’s 10 biggest IPF transactions, while Morocco, Algeria, Namibia, South Africa, Ethiopia and Nigeria also secured major projects.
Cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A), however, remained subdued, with net divestments continuing to outweigh new acquisitions.
Africa is still attracting global capital, but the pattern remains familiar. Until investment spreads beyond a handful of countries, sectors and megaprojects, the continent’s FDI story will remain one of promise tempered by concentration.
