Infrastructure development in Africa is directly related to economic growth. Adequate infrastructure increases productivity, lowers costs, and encourages investment.

Without a robust investment, it can be a struggle for African countries to create the essential infrastructure, resulting in slower economic growth. Poor infrastructure hinders corporate productivity, raises operating costs, and diminishes global competitiveness.

Infrastructure projects offer large job opportunities, both during development and via the establishment of long-term operations positions, which suggests that a lack of adequate infrastructure investment hurts the job market.

Unfortunately, these investments which primarily fall on the government cannot be financed by governments alone, especially in some African countries where there are complex socio-economic and political realities. Fortunately, the private sector steps in to fill the gap.

A report by the World Bank noted that the private sector infused $86B into infrastructure development in low- and middle-income nations in 2023. This unfortunately represented a 5% decline in investment compared to the year prior.

“In 2023, 68 countries received investments across 322 projects, compared to 54 countries and 260 projects in 2022. Guinea Bissau, Libya, Papua New Guinea, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Suriname achieved their first private participation in infrastructure (PPI) transactions in more than a decade,” the report reads.

Africa Eastern and Southern (AFE) committed $2.3 billion to 45 projects in 2023. The Africa Western and Central (AFW) region announced $1.2 billion in investment pledges spread across 21 projects during the same period

With that said, here are the 10 African countries with the least private infrastructure investment.