Read the news about civil war in Kenya, unrest in Chad, or genocide in Darfur, and you could conclude that Africa is no place to invest money.
But behind the headlines lies business opportunity. Africa's economy is growing at 5 percent to 6 percent a year. Inflation is down. Prices are rising for commodities like oil, copper and gold.
Like all emerging markets, Africa is a risky place to invest but "the perceived risk is greater than the actual risk," says Tom Gibian, the chief executive of Emerging Capital Partners (ECP), a private equity firm based in Washington, D.C., that focuses on Africa.
The firm has invested more than $1.2bn in several Africa funds since 1999. It has invested in 48 companies, exited from 18, recouped more than $600m and posted an average return of three times its initial investment. "The financial performance has been terrific,"Gibian says.
Source: Fortune, http://money.cnn.com