Madagascar, the fifth-largest island in the world and IORA member, offers enormous investment opportunities.
Recently published INVESTOR’S GUIDE TO MADAGASCAR, prepared and financed by the COMESA Regional Investment Agency with the inputs of the Economic Development Board of Madagascar (EDBM), explores the possible sectors for investment. It also contains the necessary information about the procedures for the potential investors.
The location of Madagascar makes it highly advantageous for the Blue Economy Sector investments, especially in the fishing and aquaculture industries. It has an Exclusive Economic Zone covering 115 million hectares and an extensive continental shelf of about 12 million hectares rich in fish resources. It also has 4,800km of coastline and more than 330,000 ha of mangroves for conversion to shrimp farming. There is 155,000 ha of natural water bodies for fish breeding in cages, up to 150,000 ha of irrigated rice, of which 34,000 ha is suitable for rice-fish culture, and 20,000 ha of area suitable for conversion to ponds. More than 50 percent of algae that has human uses can also be found in Madagascar. The fish and aquaculture potential of the country is more than 200,000 t/year, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
Additional to the fish and aquaculture sector, the investment opportunities include an extension of existing main ports and new port facilities for mineral exports such as coal, limestone, and iron; concession of smaller ports for local products; development of new Special Economic Zones; possibility of operating large and small hydraulic power sites; reinforcement of the hydraulic power capacity.
The Treasure Island Madagascar provides a wide range of tourism assets, ranging from wildlife to beach tourism and cultural events. Its rich, astonishing biodiversity, nature reserves, special reserves, world heritage sites have made Madagascar win numbers of awards. Tourism is another important sector that needs investment to realize the potential of some of the most remarkable and unspoiled resources in the world. The following are some of the needs: New high-end hotels to have enough capacity for more tourists; Sports tourism: Windsurfing, kitesurfing, sailing, paragliding, canyoning, scuba diving, hiking, climbing, caving, rafting, and fishing; Seaside tourism: Almost 5,000km of coastline and unspoiled archipelagos with white sand beaches and turquoise waters, such as Nosy Be and Sainte Marie.
For much more opportunities and detailed legal information on the investment procedures, read the guide.