Invest in African countries? Evaluation of risk based on the cloud model

In the background of economic globalization, Africa has become a hot destination for foreign investment by its vast market and rich resource. However, risks such as political instability and weak economic foundation in African countries have brought great uncertainties to the effectiveness of investment. To assess the investment risk objectively and scientifically in Africa, the statistical data of 13 key African countries in the period of 2016–2020 are selected from the recent African Attractiveness Survey Report. Secondly, this paper establishes an investment risk index system covering politics, economy, law, society, and environment. Then use the coefficient of variation method to determine the degree of influence of each indicator from both temporal and spatial perspectives. Finally, apply the cloud model which can consider the fuzziness and randomness to measure the investment risk in Africa from the temporal and spatial perspectives. The results show that: (1) from the perspectives of time and space, the weights of indicators in the economic and social dimensions are 0.19 and 0.27, and 0.36 and 0.24, respectively. (2) The level of investment risk varies significantly among 13 African countries, with Tanzania and Kenya having a total score higher than 0.600 and being the top targets for investment. (3) The investment risk of key African countries fluctuated down from 2016 to 2019, but increased significantly in 2020, with the total score between 0.300 and 0.500.