Africa: Ethiopia posts second fastest millionaires growth on continent

The third annual Africa Wealth Report was released earlier this month, by New World Wealth – an independent research house providing information on global wealth trends. The report is the main source of data for wealth managers in Africa.

The Report assessed the performance of Millionaires in Africa between 2007 and 2015.

Mauritians are the wealthiest people in Africa, with US$21,700 per capita, while Zimbabweans are the poorest, with US$200.

Ethiopia posted the second fastest growth of wealthy individuals – an increase of 130 percent.

Other countries where the population of millionaires grew were Tanzania (80 percent); Ivory Coast (70 percent) and Kenya (60 percent).

An investor-friendly environment and low-level business sector regulations make Mauritius a millionaire hotspot.

The report defines millionaires as those with net assets of US$1 million or more. New World Wealth predicts the number of millionaires in Ethiopia will reach 4,700 by 2020.

Ethiopia continues to register huge rates of growth earning the East African nation a top spot among twenty African countries with alluring markets and growth potentials. The country’s economy will expand by between 7 percent and 10 percent this fiscal year, missing the government’s target of 11 percent, as a severe drought hurts agriculture.

Ethiopia, Africa’s second-most populous country after Nigeria, with almost 100 million people, said average growth has been more than 10 percent a year for the past decade, including 10.2 percent last year.