Chinese appliance maker Midea steps up African investment

Chinese home appliances maker Midea has signed on as an official sponsor of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), as part of a broader push to expand its footprint across the continent through increased manufacturing and distribution. 

Midea products are sold in several African countries and it has positioned Egypt as its regional production base. The company currently manufactures dishwashers in Egypt and is preparing to launch two additional factories: one for washing machines due to open in August, and another for refrigerators expected to begin production in November. 

Sponsorship of Africa’s largest football tournament – set to take place in Morocco later this year – is intended to boost Midea’s brand visibility as it scales up operations on the continent. The company sees long-term potential in Africa’s home appliances market, which is valued at an estimated US$70.3bn. Ownership of appliances remains relatively low in many countries, suggesting significant room for growth. 

Analysts forecast the continent’s home appliances market to grow at an average of 7.6% a year through to 2030. One of the key drivers is urbanisation. Africa’s urban population is projected to double from 704m to 1.4bn by 2050. Nigeria is expected to have the world’s fourth-largest urban population at 250m, while Egypt is forecast to reach 147m. Cities are expected to absorb 80% of total population growth, with two-thirds of Africans living in urban areas by mid-century.  

Midea is part of a broader wave of Chinese appliance companies expanding in Africa. Haier, another major player, said in 2024 that it had doubled its annual revenue in the Middle East and Africa over each of the previous three years. The company began operations last year at a 200,000m² industrial park in Egypt’s Greater Cairo region, complementing existing factories in Tunisia, Algeria, Nigeria and South Africa. The first phase of the site focuses on producing air conditioners, washing machines and television screens, with a second phase to include refrigerators and freezers. Haier also acquired Electrolux’s water heater business in South Africa last year for ZAR2.45bn (US$138m). 

Other Chinese manufacturers are stepping up investment too. Vanward, a producer of water heaters and kitchen appliances, has invested US$12m in a new plant in Egypt, while Hisense runs a factory in South Africa that supplies refrigerators and televisions across the sub-Saharan Africa region. 

 
References 

‘SCZone chairman witnessed the launching of the new dishwasher production line in Midea Egypt’, Suez Canal Economic Zone, 8 August 2023 

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‘China’s Midea eyes bigger global market share after US$4.6 billion IPO’, South China Morning Post’, 21 October 2024 

'Chinese company Midea plans to invest $50 million to expand in Egypt', Al Sharq, 14 May 2025 

'Midea Partners with CAF to be the official sponsor of the TotalEnergies CAF AFCON 2025', Midea, 17 July 2025 

'Chinese home appliance giant expands investment in Africa', China Daily, 17 July 2025 

‘China’s Midea to sponsor Africa’s biggest soccer tournament to push for local market expansion’, Yicai Global, 17 July 2025 

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'Household appliances - Africa', Statista, Accessed on 25 July 2025 

‘Africa’s Urbanisation Dynamics 2025’, OECD, 2025