Africa has re-emerged as an arena of great-power competition. Yet, India – despite deep historical ties, a large diaspora and shared post-colonial values – remains relatively underrepresented on the continent. This report examines India’s comparative advantages, the structural and institutional gaps undermining its engagement in Africa, and the mismatch between rhetoric and outcomes. It concludes with recommendations for both Indian and African stakeholders to recalibrate and deepen this significant partnership in order to maximise mutual benefit.

About the author

Ronak Gopaldas is a political economist, ‘pracademic’, writer and speaker. His work focuses on the intersection of politics, economics and business in Africa. He is currently a director at Signal Risk, a research fellow at the Centre for African Studies at NTU, a visiting fellow at the London School of Economics and a faculty member at GIBS. He was previously head of country risk at Rand Merchant Bank, where he worked for almost a decade.