As other emerging markets falter, sub-Saharan Africa is attracting growing volumes of international capital. Risks in the region remain higher than average but, as political, economic and governance conditions improve and as African market structures evolve, they are risks that more investors are prepared to take. Ironically, there is now a danger of too much interest in the capital markets.
Inflows of private capital to the region rose to an estimated $53bn in 2007, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). That compared with $11bn in 2000 and $48bn in 2006, when private flows outstripped official aid (2006: $40bn) for the first time ever.
