If the rest of Africa was as attractive to foreign direct investment (FDI) as South Africa is, the continent could attract an addition $1.9-trillion of FDI, The European House – Ambrosetti (TEHA) managing partner and CEO Valerio De Molli has ventured.

“This would mobilise more than 200-million new jobs and reduce the poverty line across the continent,” he declared.

Presenting the ‘Global Attractiveness and Competitiveness of South Africa and Southern Africa’ working paper at the TEHA CEO Dialogue on Southern Africa, on November 20, in Johannesburg, De Molli said South Africa ranked as the number one most attractive African State, followed by Morocco, Egypt and Nigeria.

“Why is that extremely relevant? Because if you correlate FDI and the global attractiveness indicator ranking, what you discover is that there is a high correlation. The higher the indicator, the more attractive the FDI in those countries,” he explained.

De Molli said that the total value of JSE listings is $1.1-trillion, higher than Italy’s MSE and with a higher proportion of foreign listed companies at 21%. The MSE only has 3% of foreign listed companies.

Notwithstanding, South Africa has faced persistent criticism over widespread corruption, policy uncertainty, and sluggish job creation, with unemployment rates remaining among the highest in the world.

That said, being “most attractive” may be as much a reflection of regional stagnation as of South Africa’s own competitiveness in the broader global context.

De Molli said that sub-Saharan Africa’s population would grow to two-billion over the next 25 years, while Europe would lose 14-million inhabitants. He noted that this growth represented nearly 1-billion more Africans and emphasised that it should be seen not just in terms of hungry mouths, but as the next wave of potential for innovation and opportunity.

He added that if this growing population were to be nurtured with knowledge, it would help secure future growth, progress, sustainability, and the improvement of lives.

“Not only we are talking about quantitative numbers in that dimension of growth, but also, we are talking about a youth revolution. The median age will remain the lowest on Earth today at 18 years old, which is 50% lower than the European median average. This presents a huge opportunity,” De Molli said.