Africa not getting investment needed to help world meet Sustainable Development Goals

Africa is not getting the investment needed to help the world meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals ( SDGs) by 2030, new research from Standard Chartered has revealed.

The $ 50 Trillion Question investigates how some of the world’s largest asset managers – with a combined USD50 trillion in AUM – are investing at this critical time for the global economy and the environment.

The research shows that almost two thirds ( 64 per cent) of the panel’s AUM is invested in the developed markets of Europe and North America, while just 3 per cent is in Africa. Asia, which includes several developed markets, takes 22 per cent, while just 2 per cent, and 5 per cent of the assets are invested in the Middle East and South America, respectively.

The risk posed by emerging markets was flagged as a major barrier to investment. More than two- thirds of investors believe emerging markets are high- risk, compared to 42 per cent who believe the same for developed markets.

More than half of the panel ( 53 per cent) believe returns from investment in Africa are low or extremely low, with almost three in five investors ( 59 per cent) saying that they are deterred from investing because they lack in- house specialist teams.

In contrast, those already investing in Africa are optimistic about the region, with 93 per cent saying they are likely to increase investment in future. 54 per cent of Africa investors said their investments had performed as well as – or better than – their developed market investments over the past three years. The figure for emerging markets overall was 88 per cent.

However, COVID- 19 may have made it even harder for emerging markets to get the investment they need. Some 70 per cent