Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) has announced the release of its latest edition of the best destination for investment in Africa.
The report, “Where to Invest in Africa,” shows how Morocco has emerged as the second most attractive business destination in Africa, outperforming South Africa that dropped one place in the report.
Egypt tops the list. The North African country owes its performance to “a progressive increase in the investment from the private sector,” which boosted economic growth, according to How We Made it in Africa.
Part of Morocco’s rapid rise in the rankings it the increased visibility in African affairs. The country’s return to the African Union has allowed it to strengthen its leadership position in the continent.
Morocco’s return to the African Union in January 2017 and the launch of the African Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) in March 2018 provide Morocco further opportunities to promote foreign investment and trade and accelerate economic development RMB Report
The ranking also showed Morocco displacing South Africa from its second position. Kenya is the fourth in the report followed by Rwanda, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, and Tunisia, which are among the top ten destinations for investment in Africa.
This is not the first report that s emphasized Morocco’s growing importance as a promising investment hub.
The 2019 Investment Climate Statements from the US Department of State lauded Morocco’s geographic location for attracting international investors.
The report indicates that Morocco attracts the “fifth-most foreign direct investment (FDI) in Africa, a figure that increased 23 percent in 2017.”
The assessment comes amid efforts by the Moroccan government to diversify the country’s economic activities. The most promising sectors in Morocco are the automotive and aeronautical sectors.
The aeronautical sector creates more than 11,000 direct job opportunities, a number that contributes 8.5% to Morocco’s total employment.
In July, a South African paper called Morocco “the face of Modern Africa.”
“Where others have deliberated, Morocco has delivered,” argued the paper, as it backed the notion that Morocco is rapidly becoming a go-to destination for investors interested in the African continent.