(Posted 24th August 2026)
Courtesy of Rosebell Mugambi
We are working very hard to attract foreign investment. Perhaps it is time we worked equally hard to measure what that investment actually leaves behind.
Foreign direct investment into Africa reached a record $97 billion in 2024, according to UNCTAD. Tourism and hospitality are firmly part of that ambition, & rightly so. Capital builds hotels. International operators bring distribution, systems, brands, expertise & access to global markets. But are we sufficiently auditing the long-term economic bargain.
What are we measuring 10, 15 or 20 years after an investor arrives?
How many local businesses entered the supply chain?
How many Africans moved into ownership & executive leadership?
How much technical and commercial knowledge was transferred?
Did surrounding communities become economically stronger?
And when the concession expires, the brand exits or ownership changes, what capability remains in the host economy?
This matters because tourism can appear to be booming while creating something dangerously close to a zero-dollar economy for local businesses. Hotels are full. Arrivals are rising. Tourism receipts look impressive. Yet the host country doesnt benefit. The most valuable parts of the transaction can remain elsewhere. That is not the same thing as a strong tourism economy. And Africa is not coming to the investment table empty-handed. The investor did not create the Maasai Mara, the Okavango Delta, the Namib Desert, our coastlines, wildlife, heritage or cultures.
Capital is valuable.
But access to an irreplaceable African asset is valuable too. We should negotiate accordingly.There are models worth studying.Namibia has used communal conservancies and joint ventures where communities can participate through land rights, revenue, lodge ownership & partnerships with private operators so has Botswana. Even there, the policy conversation has increasingly moved from simply collecting lease income towards communities becoming shareholders. That distinction is important.
There is a difference between earning from an asset and building the capacity to own the economy around that asset. Every major tourism investment in Africa needs something beyond an investment plan to a legacy plan. Because an investment can be commercially successful while leaving behind a weak developmental outcome.
This is not an argument against foreign investment. Africa needs capital, expertise, global distribution & strong international partners. But the best model must combine: international capital + commercial competence + deliberate African economic participation. That balance has to be designed. Africa should stop entering investment negotiations as though money is the only scarce asset in the room.
