Addis Abeba — Ethiopia emerged as the leader in attracting foreign direct investment in East Africa last year, according to the World Investment Report published by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development , recently announced that Ethiopia had already attracted $3 billion in FDI during the first 10 months of the current fiscal year .Data from the EIC indicates that China is the largest source of FDI in Ethiopia, accounting for nearly 50% of all incoming projects.
The UN agency also indicated that Ethiopia's allowance of foreign investment in digital payment systems contributed to the FDI inflow in 2023., through its newly established and wholly owned subsidiary, Safaricom M-PESA Mobile Financial Services PLC, received the Payment Instrument Issuer License from the National Bank of Ethiopia . This license enables it to provide mobile financial services to its customers under the trademark M-PESA.
Egypt was the top African country for FDI, attracting $9.8 billion, followed by South Africa with $5.2 billion. Conversely, FDI flows to developing economies decreased by 7% to $867 billion, representing 65% of global flows.