India–Africa: Perspectives on Development in Africa—Trade and Investment

The realisation that trade and investment are key to development is backed up by development theories and empirical studies. This article identifies existing patterns of trade and investments between India and Africa, whereby Africa has a trade surplus through exports of mostly unprocessed commodities and importing processed merchandise from India. Nevertheless there is scope for Africa to improve domestic business conditions to attract the Indian capital, skills and technology necessary for Africa to process her raw materials before exporting, thus creating more jobs and earning more profit. The Indian government is commended for policies that encourage private sector investments in Africa.