AGOA, going, gone

Some African countries struggle to attract investment not because they lack businesses or infrastructure projects worth funding, but because the risks are too high for many global investors. British International Investment (BII), the UK government-owned development finance institution, wants to go where certain types of capital will not.

What happened? BII plans to invest about £2.25 billion ($3 billion) in some of Africa’s riskiest markets over the next five years, Bloomberg reported. The commitment is roughly a quarter of the £9 billion ($10.07 billion) BII expects to deploy and mobilise across Africa under its 2026–31 strategy.

The money will target frontier economies where private investment is scarce, while BII works with local banks, pension funds and other investors to deepen local financial markets.

Explain like I’m new here: BII is not an aid agency handing out grants. It invests in companies, banks, infrastructure, and funds, and expects returns. But as a development investor, it can take longer-term risks that commercial investors may avoid.

Think countries such as Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ethiopia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where businesses may have customers and growth opportunities but still struggle to raise money because investors worry about currency depreciation, political instability, weak capital markets, or difficulty getting their money out later.

In 2025, BII committed £729 million ($815.7 million) to poorer and more challenging markets. Its new strategy requires 25% of new core investments to go to the world’s least-developed countries.

Between the lines: Africa does not only need more foreign capital. It needs investors willing to take the first risk.

If BII backs a bank, power project, or local VC fund, and it performs well, the bigger win is proving to pension funds, insurers, and asset managers that the market can deliver investable returns. BII can then bring those investors into later deals instead of funding everything itself.

At MIP Africa, a film and television industry market held in Cape Town from October 28 to 30, Kaye Ann Williams, Netflix’s director of scripted content for sub-Saharan Africa, reassured producers that the company was not pulling back from South Africa or the rest of the continent. She noted that Netflix was actually ramping up its investment.

Explain like I'm new here: Williams is taking over from Ben Amadasun, Netflix’s Africa content boss, who was retrenched in October alongside roughly 1,000 employees globally, about 6% of the company’s workforce. Netflix has not publicly given a specific reason for Amadasun’s departure.

However, when the person overseeing a region disappears in a global restructuring, producers are bound to wonder what happens to the projects and relationships built under them.

Why this matters: South Africa accounts for 71% of Netflix’s content production and licencing investment in Sub-Saharan Africa. Williams said the company now commissions around 15 to 20 local shows and films annually, up from eight to 12. Its decade-long presence has also supported more than 8,000 jobs through partnerships with over 30 local production companies.