Kenya has slipped out of the top 10 best destinations for business in this year's Absa Africa Financial Markets Index.

The country is now ranked eleventh from an impressive seventh last year albeit with a lesser 47 points out of a possible 100 points in the index.

While the index cites progress in sustainable finance, Kenya has lost ground in four out of the six pillars measured including market depth, access to foreign exchange, macro-economic opportunity and the enforceability of standard agreements.

Kenya has, however, improved its ranking in market transparency, tax and regulatory environment while maintaining par on its rank in capacity for local investors.

Under market depth pillar, Kenya and Morocco topped the countries surveyed for their having green bonds, equities and mutual funds in their financial market products.

Overall, South Africa remains the best destination for business in Africa due to her strength and depth of financial markets as well as the good regulations that bolster the nation's investment potential.

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The survey, however, notes South Africa has been battered by the pandemic hard, denting scores in several categories measured by the index.

The Absa Africa Financial Markets Index studies financial market growth across 23 countries in the continent and shares details on the economies with the most supportive environment for markets.

“The index records countries’ openness to foreign investment and is an objective indicator of the attractiveness of Africa’s capital markets, intended for use by policy-makers, investors and asset managers around the world," said Jason Quinn, Absa Group interim CEO.

Some countries in Africa, however, scored dismally, effectively dampening their attractiveness for businesses to consider for investment.

Some of the countries at the bottom of the list that very few investors and businesses would consider are neighboring Ethiopia which scored 25 out of possible 100, just ahead of Cameroon (29), Lesotho (30), Angola (33) and Senegal (34) in West Africa.