An IMGlobalWealth.com news Report
Britain’s retreat from development spending is another sign of its reduced economic and political reach in Africa. Figures highlighted by The Independent show particularly sharp reductions in bilateral assistance, while official allocations indicate that UK aid to Africa will fall by 56% by 2028-29, a reduction of almost £900 million. Malawi and Mozambique are each expected to lose around 90% of their direct support.
“some African governments are considering investment migration as another means of attracting capital”
The consequences should not, however, be viewed through a purely post-colonial lens. Many former British territories now have considerably larger and more developed economies than they did during the early decades of independence. Kenya’s economy, for example, expanded from approximately US$14 billion in 1998 to more than US$120 billion in 2024. This greater economic scale means that a fall in British aid may be less significant at the national level than it once would have been.
Yet national GDP figures can conceal considerable vulnerability. Aid often supports specific health, education, humanitarian and governance programmes that governments cannot easily replace. The effect will therefore be felt unevenly, particularly by poorer communities and countries with weak public finances.
Britain is also no longer Africa’s only major external partner. China has built substantial influence through trade, infrastructure construction and state-backed finance. Until 2020, Chinese lenders accounted for an average of about 20% of estimated African infrastructure financing, making China the continent’s largest single-country source of external infrastructure funding. Kenya and Zambia have been among the important recipients.
But China should not be presented as an unlimited substitute for Western aid. Chinese bilateral lending has declined, and between 2020 and 2024 African countries paid China US$22 billion more than they received in new finance. Nevertheless, Chinese Belt and Road investment rebounded strongly in 2025, with Africa emerging as its largest regional recipient. Beijing’s role is therefore changing rather than disappearing, combining investment, trade, debt relationships and geopolitical influence.
Against this more competitive financial landscape, some African governments are considering investment migration as another means of attracting capital.
Kenya has revived proposals for a Golden Visa that could grant immediate permanent residence to substantial foreign investors, although no final threshold or legislative structure has been announced. Ghana’s 2026 investment bill directs the authorities to develop citizenship-by-investment legislation, but does not yet create an operational programme. IMGW.news has previously identified Ghana as an emerging jurisdiction to watch while emphasising that no programme has been launched.
“Chinese lenders accounted for an average of about 20% of estimated African infrastructure financing, making China the continent’s largest single-country source of external infrastructure funding. Kenya and Zambia have been among the important recipients”
Botswana has announced plans for citizenship by investment as it seeks to diversify an economy heavily dependent on diamonds, while South Africa’s proposed immigration reforms contemplate an investment-linked residence visa. Both initiatives remain subject to further legal and operational development.
Investment migration cannot replace development aid. Properly designed, however, programmes linked to productive investment, employment and infrastructure could form part of a broader response to declining external support.
Britain’s withdrawal may thus produce two migration currents: greater pressure on Africans to seek opportunities abroad, and a stronger effort by African governments to attract internationally mobile wealth and investment.
