A picture taken on December 8, 2014, in Abidjan shows a Chinese shoe dealer in a transaction at Adjamene’s market. This image represents a significant shift in China’s business dealings in Africa, which were once dominated by state-owned enterprises but are now increasingly focused on consumer products from the private sector.<\/p>\n
Sia Kambou | Afp | Getty Images<\/p>\n
According to the IMF’s economic outlook report, Africa’s faster-growing economies, such as Kenya, Uganda, and Zambia, see annual growth rates of 4.8%, 6.4%, and 5.8%, respectively, while the GDP of the overall continent’s 50-plus countries is 4.1%.<\/p>\n
Chinese investments in Africa’s resource-intensive sectors have declined by roughly 40% since their 2015 peak, amid weaker returns and falling construction revenues in traditional commodity industries, according to the Rhodium Group China Cross-Border Monitor released on Nov. 18 this year.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, China’s exports to Africa have surged by 28% year-on-year over the first three quarters of 2025, following a 57% increase from 2020 to 2024, the report said. Most of those products are higher-value-added manufactured goods such as electronics, plastics, and textiles.<\/p>\n
“In the early days, Chinese companies that went over were doing a lot more infrastructure, and they were also doing a lot of the natural minerals mining,” said Joe Ngai, chairman of McKinsey Greater China.<\/p>\n
“In the last few years, I think people are trying to think of the African consumer market,” he said. But he cautioned that market fragmentation and thin margins can make these ventures difficult.<\/p>\n
In contrast to prior years when people in China didn’t know much about what was happening in Africa, today there are “more business trips, sending more employees overseas. It just feels more involved,” said Heather Li, founder and China-Africa consultant at The Dot Connector.<\/p>\n
Due to power shortages in West Africa, Li said Chinese solar products are welcomed there, while medical supplies, along with baby and household products, are also popular across the continent.<\/p>\n
Already, Chinese smartphone company Transsion has built its business in Africa over the years, while telecoms giant Huawei and household appliance company Midea have also expanded in Africa.<\/p>\n
In July, Chinese state media reported that the Midea group signed an agreement with the Confederation of African Football, which will increase investments in the area. The company has already built factories in Egypt and has plans for more.<\/p>\n
The evolving landscape is evident not only in investment data but also in experiences shared by Chinese entrepreneurs online.<\/p>\n
On social media platforms like Xiaohongshu and Bilibili, posts over the past year portray Africa as an emerging destination for smaller, agile business ventures spanning dropshipping and e-commerce, as well as manufacturing and retail tied to Chinese supply chains.<\/p>\n
One earphone and data-cable trader described relocating from China to Nigeria and his search for African partners, while another social media account documented the progress of a business owner’s bubble tea business in Kenya.<\/p>\n
Joseph Keshi, a Nigerian-born real estate investor and business strategist who has worked closely with Chinese entrepreneurs, said some of them earned as much as six-figure U.S. dollars in their first year.<\/p>\n
While Li cautioned that some might be exaggerating on social media, she noted that the exposure might amplify Chinese awareness of the opportunities in Africa.<\/p>\n
Euromonitor data affirmed the trend is happening on a larger scale \u2014 highlighting how many Chinese ventures in Africa sell basic consumer goods such as diapers, household items, packaged sauces, and snacks.<\/p>\n
“With a rapidly urbanizing, youthful, and increasingly connected population, household spending across the continent is projected to exceed US$2 trillion by 2030,” Christy Tawii, regional insight manager at Euromonitor International, said in a statement.<\/p>\n
She also pointed to the rise of e-commerce platforms such as Chinese Supermarket, which expand the reach of Asian and Chinese brands to African households.<\/p>\n
Many of these entrepreneurs are optimistic that greater use of the Chinese yuan in Africa could lower transaction risks and deepen commercial ties. Currently, the Chinese yuan is used in “30% of trade invoicing,” according to Rhodium’s report.<\/p>\n
To stay informed about the latest developments in China-Africa trade and investment, follow reputable sources such as CNBC and Euromonitor, and consider exploring social media platforms popular among Chinese entrepreneurs, such as Xiaohongshu and Bilibili, to gain insights into emerging trends and opportunities. Read more about China’s expansion in Africa Here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Introduction to China’s Shifting Business Strategy in Africa A picture taken on December 8, 2014, in Abidjan shows a Chinese shoe dealer in a transaction at Adjamene’s market. This image represents a significant shift in China’s business dealings in Africa, which were once dominated by state-owned enterprises but are now increasingly focused on consumer products […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":610,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/image.cnbcfm.com\/api\/v1\/image\/108229696-1763703428866-gettyimages-460144010-Par8049540.jpeg?v=1763963691&w=1920&h=1080","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-609","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-small-business"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sosahustle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/609","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sosahustle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sosahustle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sosahustle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sosahustle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=609"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sosahustle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/609\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":611,"href":"https:\/\/sosahustle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/609\/revisions\/611"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sosahustle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/610"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sosahustle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=609"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sosahustle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=609"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sosahustle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=609"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}