UAE capital in Africa clusters in a few sectors, led by state-linked groups that build ports, power plants and mines. Each anchor opens a second ring of contracts for suppliers, builders, operators and financiers, and that ring is a practical way to invest in Africa without building a port of your own.
Most figures below are announced commitments, not money spent. Where sources disagree, both values appear.
- Africa Green Investment Initiative, targeting 15 GW of clean power by 2030 (September 2023)
- USD 4.5 billion
- Mobile money transactions in sub-Saharan Africa in 2025, up 26%
- USD 1.4 trillion
- Africa’s share of known critical-mineral reserves (McKinsey, cited September 2026)
- 25%+
- ADQ-led Ras El Hekma agreement in Egypt, February 2024
- USD 35 billion
Agriculture and food security
Food security brought UAE capital to African farmland, and it still decides where Emirati agribusiness groups lease, plant and buy.
Why it matters for a Gulf investor
In October 2026 Elite Agro Holding announced an AED 660 million (USD 180 million) program, including USD 120 million for about 8,900 ha in Mauritania and AED 140 million for about 400 ha in Morocco. Dubai Investments and E20 have signed an Angola farming deal targeting 28,000 t of rice and 5,500 t of avocados.
BMI and Land Matrix counted 56 signed UAE land deals and 14 more in the pipeline in early 2024, mainly in Africa. Al Dahra was reported in talks for grain land at Toshka in Egypt.
Where the openings are
Large estates buy from a supply chain they rarely own:
- Inputs and irrigation: seed, fertilizer and irrigation contracts for new estates
- Outgrower schemes: contract farming with smallholders who sell into an anchor’s offtake
- Storage and cold chain: packhouses, silos and refrigerated transport to the port
- Processing: milling, drying and packing near the farm (see agro-processing)
Watch-outs
- Check the title chain, lease terms and community consultation record
- Reported talks are not signed leases
- Export crops earn hard currency, while wages and fuel are paid locally
Power and renewables
Power is the sector where UAE capital in Africa is largest and best organized, and where a private investor finds the most structured entry routes.
Why it matters for a Gulf investor
The UAE Minister of Economy said in October 2025 that more than USD 70 billion of the UAE’s African investment over 2019–2023 went to green energy. The Africa Green Investment Initiative (AGII), launched in September 2023, combines USD 1 billion from ADFD, USD 0.5 billion of Etihad Credit Insurance cover and USD 3 billion of Masdar and AMEA Power equity: USD 4.5 billion in all. AGBI’s text also cites USD 4 billion of direct investment. Its 15 GW target for 2030 splits into 10 GW for Masdar and 5 GW for AMEA Power.
Nearly 600 million people in sub-Saharan Africa lack electricity (World Bank), and the Mission 300 program with the African Development Bank (AfDB) aims to connect 300 million by 2030. About 64 million had been connected by October 2026.
Where the openings are
Each gigawatt needs contractors, operators and financiers around the sponsor:
- Construction: engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) subcontracts and grid connections
- Operations and maintenance: long-term service contracts once plants run
- Off-grid and mini-grids: segments where the World Bank’s private-sector arms de-risk private investment
- Captive power: renewable supply for mines and industrial zones
Watch-outs
- A memorandum records intent, not a right to build
- Utility credit decides whether a power purchase agreement pays
- Infinity Power’s Mauritania hydrogen project, cited at USD 34 billion in 2026, is at an early stage
Water and sanitation
No large UAE anchor works in African water and sanitation yet, so the field is open to developers and operators that can work with public utilities.
Why it matters for a Gulf investor
The December 2023 Morocco–UAE declaration includes a water memorandum, and the UAE and Senegal co-host the UN Water Conference on 2–4 December 2026. Gulf firms bring desalination and wastewater reuse experience suited to North Africa and the Sahel.
Demand follows cities. On the Africapolis definition, which counts built-up agglomerations, Africa had about 700 million urban residents in 2020 (54% of the population) and is projected to reach 1.4 billion (65%) by 2050. Each new district needs water and sanitation from the start.
Where the openings are
Cities and utilities tender most water contracts:
- Treatment and desalination PPPs: plants built and run under long-term utility contracts
- Wastewater reuse: treated water for industry, irrigation and green spaces
- Network efficiency: leak detection, metering and billing that cut losses
Watch-outs
- Water tariffs are political, so seek a payment guarantee or a creditworthy offtaker
- Check whether procurement rules accept unsolicited proposals
Ports, logistics and free zones
UAE groups hold African port concessions of 20 to 50 years, and each terminal creates work for logistics firms, zone tenants and service providers inland.
Why it matters for a Gulf investor
DP World had about 10 African ports in 2023. It holds a 30-year concession at Berbera with up to USD 442 million of investment and, under an October 2023 agreement, runs about two-thirds of Dar es Salaam port for 30 years. At Banana, the DR Congo’s first deep-water port, Phase 1 is due in early 2027.
AD Ports Group signed a 30-year concession at Pointe-Noire in June 2023 and a 20-year concession at Luanda in April 2024. In May 2025 it agreed a 50-year term for KEZAD East Port Said, a 20 km² industrial and logistics zone in Egypt.
Where the openings are
Most of the business around a concession is open to third parties:
- Zone tenancy: warehouses and light industry in port-linked zones such as KEZAD East Port Said
- Inland logistics: trucking, dry ports and cold chain to landlocked markets
- Port services: maintenance, equipment supply and digital customs systems
- Regional distribution: 25 countries had final African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) tariff schedules by December 2025
Watch-outs
- Sudan cancelled a USD 6 billion memorandum with AD Ports Group and Invictus for Abu Amama port in November 2024
- Exclusivity, tariff and termination clauses decide a tenant’s exposure
- AfCFTA preferences apply only to goods that meet rules of origin
Mining and critical minerals
UAE capital entered African mining through controlling stakes in copper and tin, drawn by the continent’s share of energy-transition minerals.
Why it matters for a Gulf investor
IRH completed its purchase of 51% of Mopani Copper Mines in Zambia in March 2024, with USD 620 million of equity and up to USD 400 million of shareholder loans; the state miner ZCCM-IH kept 49%. In June 2025 it agreed to buy 56% of Alphamin Resources for about USD 367 million, which gives it the Bisie tin mine in the DR Congo, about 6% of world tin.
McKinsey estimates that Africa holds more than 25% of known critical-mineral reserves, and the DR Congo mined about 73–74% of world cobalt in 2025 (US Geological Survey). South Africa holds 82.9% of platinum group metal reserves.
Where the openings are
Large mines buy services for decades, and host governments push for local processing:
- Mining services: drilling, haulage and maintenance at sites such as Mopani
- Processing: in 2022 the DR Congo’s processed cobalt exports were worth USD 6 billion, against USD 167 million unprocessed
- Logistics and trading: concentrate haulage, bonded storage and traceable metal trading
Watch-outs
- In September 2026 ZCCM-IH accused IRH’s unit of a USD 61 million funding shortfall and threatened arbitration; IRH denied any rift
- The DR Congo halted cobalt exports in February 2025 and moved to quotas in October 2025
- Conflict-affected regions need human-rights and supply-chain due diligence
Real estate, tourism-led developments and infrastructure
Construction was the top sector for Gulf investment in Africa over 2012–2022, and Ras El Hekma in Egypt shows the scale of UAE capital now at work.
Why it matters for a Gulf investor
Construction took USD 36.2 billion of the USD 101.9 billion of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) foreign direct investment (FDI) in Africa over 2012–2022 (White & Case). In February 2024 an ADQ-led consortium agreed USD 35 billion for Ras El Hekma: USD 24 billion for development rights and USD 11 billion of converted UAE deposits. The site covers more than 170 million m², and Egypt keeps a 35% stake.
Morocco offers a policy-led track. The December 2023 UAE–Morocco declaration covers high-speed rail, the Dakhla port and airport, and tourism and real estate.
Where the openings are
Below the master developer, a megaproject is delivered by contractors and operators:
- Plot development: hotels, housing or mixed-use blocks within a master plan
- Construction and materials: contracting, steel, cement and fit-out
- Asset operation: facility management and serviced apartments
- Transport PPPs: rail, roads and airports
Watch-outs
- Egypt’s pound fell from about 31 to above 50 per US dollar in March 2024
- Verify land title and permits before any payment
- The more than USD 150 billion Ras El Hekma is expected to attract is a projection, not committed capital
Fintech and digital services
Fintech lets a mid-sized Gulf investor invest in Africa’s mobile economy with a minority ticket, and mobile money carries more value in sub-Saharan Africa than anywhere else.
Why it matters for a Gulf investor
The GSMA counts USD 1.4 trillion of mobile money transactions in sub-Saharan Africa in 2025, about 66% of the global total, across 341 million active accounts. The region is also the costliest for mobile remittances, at 8.78% in the first quarter of 2025.
Network International completed its purchase of DPO Group in September 2021 for USD 291.3 million, gaining more than 60,000 merchants in 21 African countries. African startups raised USD 4.1 billion in 2025 by Partech’s count, which includes debt, and USD 3.2 billion by The Big Deal’s.
Where the openings are
Openings sit where UAE payment corridors meet mobile networks:
- Remittances: cheaper transfers between the UAE and African markets
- Merchant acquiring: card and online payments, the business DPO built
- Fund stakes: venture funds, the model of Mubadala’s 2021 partnership of up to USD 416 million
Watch-outs
- Kenya and Côte d’Ivoire were on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list in October 2025
- Central banks license payment firms country by country
Telecoms, data centers and AI
Since 2014 e& has controlled Maroc Telecom, then active in North, West and Central Africa, and UAE capital now backs the data centers that cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) services need.
Why it matters for a Gulf investor
e&, then Etisalat, completed its EUR 4.138 billion purchase of Vivendi’s 53% of Maroc Telecom in May 2014, which then also operated in Burkina Faso, Gabon, Mali and Mauritania. In May 2024 G42 and Microsoft announced USD 1 billion for a geothermal-powered data center and cloud region in Kenya; its status could not be confirmed at the time of writing.
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) counts 36% of people in its Africa region online in 2025, against 74% worldwide. Rural use is 21%, and 5G covers 12% of the population.
Where the openings are
Data and connectivity need assets and the services that run them:
- Data-center supply chain: construction, cooling, power and security
- Towers and fiber: shared infrastructure that operators lease
- E-government systems: digital identity and public services built with ministries
Watch-outs
- Data-localization rules decide where data sits
- Data centers depend on stable, affordable power
Healthcare and pharmaceuticals
No large UAE anchor works in African healthcare yet, so the openings lie in clinics, diagnostics and medicine supply built with local partners.
Why it matters for a Gulf investor
Demand grows with population. Africa had about 1.55 billion people in mid-2025 and is projected to reach about 2.47 billion by 2050 (UN medium variant), and each added city district needs clinics, pharmacies and laboratories.
Returns depend on who pays: patients, insurers or public payers. Mobile money gives patients a payment channel, and a plant that meets AfCFTA rules of origin can serve neighboring markets.
Where the openings are
Focused assets beat large hospitals at the start:
- Diagnostics: laboratories and imaging that serve several clinics in one city
- Specialist clinics: dialysis, maternity or eye units repeated across cities
- Pharmaceutical distribution: import, warehousing and cold chain
- Hospital PPPs: build, equip and maintain contracts backed by the state
Watch-outs
- Each country registers medicines separately
- Audit distributors for counterfeit products
- Public payers can pay late
Tourism and hospitality
African tourism projects now have an investment platform in Dubai, and UAE airlines carry part of the demand that hotels depend on.
Why it matters for a Gulf investor
The UAE–Africa Tourism Investment Summit in Dubai, in October 2025, presented more than 100 projects worth more than USD 6 billion from over 20 African countries. Promoters expect them to create more than 70,000 jobs.
Morocco received a record 19.8 million arrivals in 2025. In October 2024 Emirates served 20 gateways in 17 African countries with 161 weekly flights.
Where the openings are
Smaller players can take the value chain around hotels:
- Hotel development: plots in resorts such as the Egyptian coast projects
- Hotel management: operating contracts for Gulf brands
- Tourism services: tours, events and ground transport
Watch-outs
- Summit projects are proposals; check title and sponsor equity
- Local-currency room rates lose dollar value after a devaluation
Manufacturing and agro-processing
Manufacturing is where trade rules, zones and ports meet, and UAE groups so far appear as zone developers rather than factory owners.
Why it matters for a Gulf investor
The AfCFTA links 54 signatory countries with combined GDP above USD 3.4 trillion. Rules of origin covered 92.43% of tariff lines by July 2025, with autos and textiles outstanding then.
Zones carry the incentives. Morocco’s Industrial Acceleration Zones pay a flat 20% corporate tax under 2026 rules, and Ethiopian SEZ firms keep 100% of foreign-exchange earnings.
Where the openings are
The strongest cases sit next to an anchor that supplies inputs or buys output:
- Agro-processing: milling and packing near UAE-backed estates
- Building materials: cement and steel for construction
- Contract manufacturing: production for Gulf brands
Watch-outs
- Check that your product meets rules of origin
- Zone incentives change with finance laws
See how an adviser in Dubai screens sector opportunities and connects sponsors with partners.