Nigeria has fallen to 18th in Africa’s investment attractiveness rankings.
The country took the drop in the latest Where to Invest in Africa 2025 report, jointly published by Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) and the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS), which evaluates 31 African economies based on their investment attractiveness.
According to the report, Seychelles tops the ranking, buoyed by strong macroeconomic stability, high levels of personal freedom, and human development. Mauritius follows in second place, leveraging its innovation-driven economy, sound governance, and well-regulated investment climate.
Egypt, South Africa, and Morocco complete the top five, each maintaining diversified economies that continue to attract investors despite structural challenges.
Nigeria’s fall—dropping nine places from its 2024 position—comes after a major currency devaluation that eroded its lead as Africa’s largest economy by Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The report cites the country’s overdependence on oil exports, which account for nearly 70 per cent of total trade flows, as a major constraint on economic complexity and resilience.
It also identifies political instability and policy uncertainty as key deterrents to investors, even as it acknowledges Nigeria’s long-term potential. The country’s improving ease of doing business, expanding digital economy, and youthful workforce provide grounds for cautious optimism about future growth.
“Nigeria’s case contains lessons,” the report notes. “First, data is only as good as its collection and calculation methods. Second, the numbers do not always reflect reality.” Still, it adds that Nigeria remains “an exception that proves the robustness of the WTIIA model,” given that most countries’ scores evolve gradually in ways that economic logic can explain.
Seychelles and Mauritius—both relatively small economies—demonstrate that consistent reform, innovation, and policy stability attract investors more effectively than population size or natural resource endowments.
