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Morocco has overtaken South Africa as an investment destination, according to the 2026/27 RMB Where to Invest in Africa (WTIIA) report.

The North African country now sits in fourth spot, with SA dropping to fifth in the survey of 31 countries.

This swap in fourth and fifth positions is the only change in the top five – Seychelles, Mauritius and Egypt have remained in the top three across all three editions of the WTIIA report.

RMB says the latest edition reveals how reform momentum, stronger institutions and exposure to shocks are changing the continent’s investment landscape.

“Africa’s strongest investment markets are increasingly those that combine growth with credible policy, stronger institutions and greater resilience to shocks”, said chief economist Isaah Mhlanga.

“These qualities are becoming more important as global uncertainty tests the durability of investment opportunities.”

Morocco’s move above South Africa is best understood as a growth momentum story, say the researchers.

The country’s position has been strengthened by industrialisation, export diversification, infrastructure investment and macroeconomic stability.

South Africa remains a significant investment market, supported by deep financial markets, improving reform delivery and substantial shock-absorbing capacity, they said.

However, slower growth continues to place pressure on its ranking.

Stephen Grootes interviews Samantha Singh-Jami, head of Africa Research and Strategy at RMB.

Rather than saying South Africa loses a place, she would say that Morocco gained a place because of various factors, is Singh-Jami’s take.

“Morocco’s had sustained industrialisation; automotive and aerospace development, export diversification, tourism growth… and obviously a stronger medium-term growth.”

The RMB research lead highlights that they’ve added factors under vulnerability and resilience, where it’s no longer just about how fast a country grows but about how it actually performs under certain shocks.

“This vulnerability obviously describes an economy’s structural exposure to shocks, and then resilience describes the policy of institutional capacity to absorb those shocks, adjust, and basically recover.”

For more detail, listen to the interview audio at the top of the article

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