UAE becomes Africa’s biggest investor

UAE companies have investments in agriculture and telecom on the continent

The United Arab Emirates has become the largest backer of new business projects in Africa. Between 2019 and 2023, Emirati companies announced $110bn of projects, $72bn of them in renewable energy, according to FT Locations, a data company owned by the Financial Times.

The pledges were more than double the value of those made by companies from the UK, France or China, which pulled back from big-ticket infrastructure investment projects in Africa after many failed to deliver expected returns.

The UAE has long been a political player in north Africa and the Horn of Africa, where it has been accused of fuelling conflicts in Libya and Sudan. Now, its leadership is trying to diversify its economy away from oil and gas, including to green energy and «critical minerals» such as copper that are needed for electric cars and batteries.

Dubai’s port and airline companies were early movers to Africa. Dubai’s Emirates airline has flights to 20 African countries. DP World, controlled by Dubai’s royal family, has been present in the region since 2006. It manages six ports, with plans to build two more. Abu Dhabi Ports has managed Kamsar port in Guinea since 2013, and recently won concessions in Egypt, the Republic of Congo and Angola.

AE companies also have investments in agriculture and telecoms. Since 2022, the Dubai royal Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook al-Maktoum has struck deals to sell carbon credits from forests covering a fifth of Zimbabwe, 10% of Liberia, 10% of Zambia and 8% of Tanzania.

Emirati investments have also shaken up the mining industry. International Resource Holdings, part of a conglomerate controlled by the Abu Dhabi national security adviser Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, paid $1.1bn to Zambia’s state mining company, ZCCM, for a 51% stake in Mopani Copper Mines.