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Energy and infrastructure are the sectors with the greatest potential to attract investment by Spanish companies in Africa, according to Enrique Manzanares, former advisor to the Spanish Economic and Commercial Office in Johannesburg. Manzanares made these declarations at the framework of the presentation of the book Africans Investing in Africa at the Navarra Center for International Development (NCID)one of the lines of the Institute for Culture and Society (ICS) of the University of Navarra.

With respect to the energy sector, he referred specifically to the promising future of natural gas exploitation, since reserves have been found in Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya and Namibia. He also stated that Spanish companies have been "very successful" with renewable energies on the continent.

Regarding infrastructure, he pointed out that seven Spanish companies are among the 20 best in the world in this field: "They have proven to be very competitive and have a great reputation in the world, and could carry out large projects in this region". For this to be possible, he stressed that governments must encourage these investments through regulation in the sector. As an example of good practices, he mentioned Mozambique, "which has provided a good legal framework and is among the three countries with the best status to receive foreign investments along with South Africa and Nigeria, even though it is a smaller Economics than these".

Fastest growing region in the last decade

He also stressed that Spanish companies could also enter the food sector in South Africa, since being in another hemisphere there are different production seasons. "There is potential to export these goods; in fact, it is already being done little by little with citrus fruits," he commented.

Along with Enrique Manzanares, Terence McNamee, presentation , director attachment of the Brenthurst Foundation, one of the most important in South Africa, and co-producer of the book together with the Tony Elumelu Foundation.

McNamee noted that Africa has grown economically by 5% per year over the past decade, which at average makes it the fastest growing region in the world over that period. Currently, the main investors in Africa, he said, are China, Brazil, India, Turkey and Europe.

"In large part, this increase has been due to Chinese demand for African resources, but also because African governments have begun to implement better macroeconomic policies," he said.

Along with this, he added that another factor is the greater political stability on the continent. "Perhaps this is the most stable stage since the end of colonialism. In 1989 only five African states had held elections in the last decade, while between 1990 and 2000 40 states had multi-party elections."

Africans Investing in Africa analyzes African inward trade by showing how, where and why Africans invest in their country; identifies the economic, political and social experiences that drive or stimulate investment; and highlights examples of pan-African investors.