For a continent with such an embarrassment of riches when it comes to natural resources, Africa should feature more prominently than it does within the vast asset pools of international fund companies.

That it does not is because of liquidity — or the lack of it — rather than too few investment opportunities, say fund managers. However, lacklustre stock markets have also been a serious stumbling block.

“It has been a tough decade for African markets,” says Emily Fletcher, co-manager of the Frontiers Investment Trust at BlackRock, the world’s biggest asset manager. “Over the past 10 years to the end of April, the Kenyan market has fallen 12 per cent, the Nigerian market 89 per cent, and the Egyptian market 46 per cent. The larger South African index, although positive, has fared little better, returning just 7 per cent.”