What determines private investment in Burundi?

The economy of Burundi is currently under life support and private investment is still in its embryonic stage, after a series of civil wars that have characterised Burundi’s post – independence era. The political woes that Burundi continues to experience are one of the fundamental hindrances to private investment growth and development. Probably, this is the reason why most researchers, academicians and observers analyze the situation of Burundi only with political glasses; thereby undermining the role played by the economic structure. The perspective adopted in this study is quite different: the idea is to present a picture of Burundi from an economic point of view, partially leaving politics in the background and yet based on empirical evidence. This kind of approach does not imply that politics is unimportant! Our humble view is that politics is often constrained or even controlled, by economics! Private investment is the backbone of every economy and Burundi cannot be an exception. The study, while restricted to non – political determinants of private investment; seeks to uncover those factors that really matter to private investment, other than politics. Results indicate that population growth; exports and private sector credit are the most powerful factors that affect private investment in Burundi. The results provide a concrete justification for the policy recommendations suggested.