Increasing Sub-Saharan Africa's Share of Foreign Direct Investment: Public Policy Challenges, Strategies, and Implications

In this article, the author describes anecdotal predictors of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows, which include key indicators of development, governance variables, information infrastructure, and business environment. He also presents the public policy challenges of increasing FDI to Sub-Saharan Africa. Using Porter's 1990 framework of competitive advantage of nations as a backdrop, specific strategies to increase FDI inflows with their implications are offered. Among the suggested strategies and implications are using the “principle of clustering” where demand conditions are favorable, looking outside the traditional inflows of FDI to Africa, establishing carefully monitored export processing zones, expanding regional trading arrangements, working together to change the negative perceptions of the region, and reducing corruption. The article ends with a conclusion and discussion.