Africa is the world’s second largest and second most populous continent after Asia, covering 20% of the world’s total land area, and home to 14% of the world’s human population, yet remains the world’s poorest and most underdeveloped continent. Innovative investment has not only attempted to curb this situation, but has bore fruit for those nations looking to claim new levels of international prestige in a geopolitical hegemony. Yet one of the striking issues we and the team at Baird’s CMC agree upon is the incredible lack of investment in Africa from the part of the United States.

There are many potential reasons why the United States lags behind China in investment in Africa. Political risks are a continued deterrent, with few nations that comprise the continent hosting governments free from corruption or internal power struggle.

Human rights are mere obstacles to a power-hungry Chinese government, a notion unfortunately growing in popularity in the U.S. out of sheer desperation from the dire straights the economy has left the nation in.

Baird’s CMC has collected a series of case studies and reports which were commissioned by the U.S Chamber of Commerce on why Africa has not attracted more interest from the U.S. business community. Their revelations conclude that to make itself more attractive for US investment, Africa should invest in education , health and infrastructure, further ensure the rule of law and a business-friendly climate for all investing companies and show it is serious about attracting foreign investment. I strongly agree with the application for prosperity in investment between companies in the United States and Africa but also feel work must be done on the part of the American government to market Africa to unbeknownst investors.

I therefore strongly recommend you check out http://www.usafricainvestment.com for the findings from Baird’s CMC and the African Business Initiative of the U.S. Chamber of  Commerce.