Heba Salama, CEO of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Regional Investment Agency, highlighted the strong growth of foreign direct investment (FDI) into COMESA member states, underscoring the region’s rising attractiveness as a global investment destination.
Speaking at the opening session of the second COMESA Investment Forum 2026 held in Nairobi, Salama said that FDI inflows into COMESA countries surged 154% in 2024, reaching a record $65bn, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development COMESA Investment Report 2025, despite ongoing global economic headwinds.
She noted that part of this increase was driven by large-scale projects such as the Ras El Hekma project in Egypt. However, even excluding this project, investment inflows would have grown by 16%, reflecting broad-based investor confidence across the region.
Salama added that COMESA’s share of global FDI has doubled from 2% to 4%, while its share of FDI directed to developing economies rose from 3% to 7%. Today, the region accounts for roughly 67% of total FDI inflows into Africa.
International project finance in COMESA nearly doubled to $79bn, while greenfield investments remained robust at around $77bn, demonstrating sustained investor interest in the region’s economic opportunities.
However, Salama noted that investment flows remain concentrated in a limited number of member states, namely Egypt, Ethiopia, Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Kenya. She stressed the importance of expanding investment flows across the broader region to ensure more inclusive and balanced economic development.
Salama also pointed to notable sectoral shifts: construction investment increased nearly fivefold; energy and gas supply rose 22%; renewable energy surged 67%; and health and education investments jumped 130%. Conversely, agrifood systems, water and sanitation, and transport infrastructure remain underfunded, requiring greater attention.
She stressed the need to reshape global perceptions about Africa, saying, “Africa is not a risky destination — Africa is rising,” highlighting its growing markets, skilled talent, energy resources, and innovative capacity.
To sustain momentum, Salama emphasised strategic priorities including strengthening productive sectors and value-added manufacturing, expanding digital infrastructure, investing in education, skills, and healthcare, and improving policy and data frameworks to provide investors with clarity, stability, and predictability.
Concluding, she said the forum offers a vital platform for building partnerships, removing investment barriers, and unlocking new opportunities that can transform capital into jobs, ideas into industries, and Africa’s potential into tangible economic growth.
