Capital Flows to Africa: An Analysis of the Structure of Official and Private Capital Flows

Although globalization was built on increased world trade, the movement of capital has accelerated faster in the past two decades. It is this free flow of capital that is offering African countries renewed hope of tapping global markets for the much needed resources to aid their economic growth while becoming fully integrated into the global economy. While past studies tackling external resource flows to Africa have focused on either official or private capital flows, this paper analyses both types of capital flows with the intention of providing a clearer picture on composition and magnitude of external resources to Africa. Three types of capital flows – Official Development Assistance (ODA), Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and Workers Remittances – emerge as key to tackling Africa’s development problems. Together, these flows account for the bulk of resources to Africa. In addition, they have built-in advantages for economic development hence are more suited to addressing Africa’s growth challenges. To this end, African countries must enact policies that directly relate to aiding effectiveness of these flows.