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Cape Town - Africa is open for business, according to Bob Diamond.
The free and democratic election in Nigeria was the key to switching investor interest back to Africa, according to Diamond, CEO and founding member of Atlas Merchant Capital and founder of Atlas Mara, and CEO of Barclays until 2012.
At an early morning session on Thursday as part of the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Africa, Diamond said issues like Ebola raised investor concerns about Africa in October and November last year.
"We are very positive about Africa. Of course nothing goes in a straight line on the continent, but we see investors coming back now," he said at the session hosted by FTI Consulting.
He said he chose Rwanda as his base in Africa because of good cooperation with the government, its attitude towards business and its focus on education and women.
Diamond mentioned agriculture as one of the important areas he wants to focus on in Africa by lending small amounts to people in agriculture who would otherwise not have access to finance.
"Our lesson in Africa so far has been that yes, there are impediments, but there is a big willingness to engage when there is a good opportunity," he said.
Diamond regards technology as the biggest challenge on the continent. That is why he wants to provide an intelligent technological solution to analyse data for his company and clients in Africa.
"We want to be the leading financial institution in sub-Saharan Africa, with a key presence in all four major trading blocks on the continent," said Diamond.
