An image taken on December 8, 2014 in Abidjan exhibits a Chinese language shoe seller in a transaction at Adjamene’s market.
Sia Kambou | Afp | Getty Pictures
Chinese language enterprise dealings in Africa, as soon as dominated by state-owned enterprises, at the moment are more and more shifting towards shopper merchandise from the personal sector.
Whereas Africa’s faster-growing economies, reminiscent of Kenya, Uganda and Zambia, see annual progress charges of 4.8%, 6.4% and 5.8%, respectively, the GDP of the general continent’s 50-plus nations is 4.1%. That’s in accordance with IMF’s financial outlook report final month.
Chinese language investments in Africa’s resource-intensive sectors have declined by roughly 40% since their 2015 peak, amid weaker returns and falling development revenues in conventional commodity industries, in accordance with Rhodium Group China Cross-Border Monitor launched on Nov. 18 this 12 months.
In the meantime, China’s exports to Africa have surged by 28% year-on-year over the primary three quarters of 2025, following a 57% improve from 2020 to 2024, the report mentioned. Most of these merchandise are higher-value-added manufactured items reminiscent of electronics, plastics and textiles.
“Within the early days, Chinese language corporations that went over had been doing much more infrastructure, and so they had been additionally doing plenty of the pure minerals mining,” mentioned Joe Ngai, chairman of McKinsey Higher China.
“In the previous couple of years, I feel individuals are attempting to consider the African shopper market,” he mentioned. However he cautioned that market fragmentation and skinny margins could make these ventures tough.
The shift comes as the primary G20 summit ever held on the continent kicked off over the weekend in South Africa. Whereas the U.S. solely despatched its performing ambassador, Chinese language Premier Li Qiang represented Beijing, creating extra high-level alternatives for enterprise discussions.
In distinction to prior years when individuals in China did not know a lot about what was taking place in Africa, at present there are “extra enterprise journeys, sending extra workers abroad. It simply feels extra concerned,” mentioned Heather Li, founder and China-Africa advisor at The Dot Connector. She famous that, more and more, bigger Chinese language corporations are sending decision-makers to Africa to discover particular market alternatives.
As a result of energy shortages in West Africa, Li mentioned Chinese language photo voltaic merchandise are welcomed there, whereas medical provides, together with child and family merchandise, are additionally well-liked throughout the continent.
Already, Chinese language smartphone firm Transsion has constructed its enterprise in Africa through the years, whereas telecoms large Huawei and family equipment firm Midea have additionally expanded in Africa.
In July, Chinese language state media reported that the Midea group signed an settlement with the Confederation of African Soccer, which can improve investments within the space. The corporate has already constructed factories in Egypt and has plans for extra.
Rising Chinese language social media consideration
The evolving panorama is obvious not solely in funding information but additionally in experiences shared by Chinese language entrepreneurs on-line.
On social media platforms like Xiaohongshu and Bilibili, posts over the previous 12 months painting Africa as an rising vacation spot for smaller, agile enterprise ventures spanning dropshipping and e-commerce, in addition to manufacturing and retail tied to Chinese language provide chains.
One earphone and data-cable dealer described relocating from China to Nigeria and his seek for African companions, whereas one other social media account documented the progress of a enterprise proprietor’s bubble tea enterprise in Kenya. The social media posts additionally present entrepreneurs promoting slippers, small home equipment, furnishings, and press-on nails.
Joseph Keshi, a Nigerian-born actual property investor and enterprise strategist who has labored carefully with Chinese language entrepreneurs, mentioned a few of them earned as a lot as six-figure U.S. {dollars} of their first 12 months.
Whereas Li cautioned that some may be exaggerating on social media, she famous that the publicity may amplify Chinese language consciousness of the alternatives in Africa.
Euromonitor information affirmed the pattern is going on on a bigger scale — highlighting what number of Chinese language ventures in Africa promote fundamental shopper items reminiscent of diapers, home items, packaged sauces and snacks.
“With a quickly urbanizing, youthful, and more and more linked inhabitants, family spending throughout the continent is projected to exceed US$2 trillion by 2030,” Christy Tawii, regional perception supervisor at Euromonitor Worldwide, mentioned in a press release.
She additionally pointed to the rise of e-commerce platforms reminiscent of Chinese language Grocery store, which increase the attain of Asian and Chinese language manufacturers to African households.
Many of those entrepreneurs are optimistic that larger use of the Chinese language yuan in Africa might decrease transaction dangers and deepen business ties. At present, the Chinese language yuan is utilized in “30% of commerce invoicing,” in accordance with Rhodium’s report.
However Rhodium Group and Atlantic Council say there is a “structural ceiling” to elevated use of the Chinese language yuan, citing China’s commerce surplus with most of its African companions and the worldwide reliance on the U.S. greenback.
Exports-only pitfalls
The rise of Chinese language shopper companies’ curiosity in Africa comes as revenue margins slender at house on account of slowing financial progress and intense competitors.
Promoting to Africa’s shoppers additionally turns into extra engaging to Chinese language corporations as they face commerce limitations with the U.S. and Europe, Rhodium Group identified. The analysts laid out a “stagnation situation” through which Chinese language exports more and more move to areas reminiscent of Africa if China fails to resolve its overcapacity points and faces additional restrictions in Europe.
Whereas low-cost imports profit shoppers, in Africa as in different components of the world, a surge of low-cost exports can undermine native manufacturing and deepen commerce imbalances.
“It will be essential to see Africa as not only a shopper market, however as a market that produces the products that the continent itself will devour,” mentioned Ebipere Clark, visiting fellow and advisor on the African Coverage Analysis Institute.
Some Chinese language corporations are already beginning to produce domestically.
“There’s extra push for industrialization in Africa,” The Dot Connector’s Li mentioned. “I used to be concerned in some consulting initiatives to draw Chinese language mild industries to maneuver the manufacturing in Africa, and so they even have precedence entry to U.S. and Europe markets.”
Guangzhou-based buying and selling firm Sunda Worldwide sells a spread of merchandise from agricultural instruments to every day shopper items, and claims to have ramped up its development of greater than 20 manufacturing facilities in Africa over the past decade.
Sunda reportedly earns as much as $450 million yearly by supplying Africa’s necessity markets reminiscent of child diapers and sanitary pads.
A number of of Sunda’s listed factories are in Zambia. That is the place Premier Li final week signed a $1.4 billion settlement to modernize a railway linking the nation to the Indian Ocean with the purpose of considerably increasing freight volumes.
