Compare that with global growth forecasts of 3.9 percent.
Oil Pain For Some
Only a quarter of African countries actually produce oil, data from the African Development Bank shows. Some of the continent's poorest countries, such as Liberia and Sierra Leone, spend 15 percent of their income on oil imports, the AfDB says. For them, oil's 25 percent fall this year will be a boon.
Yet exporters like Nigeria and Angola will be hard hit. If U.S. oil futures slip towards $70 a barrel––around $6 lower than current levels––and stay there a while, Angola and Gabon would face a three-notch ratings downgrade, while Nigeria risks being downgraded 1.1 notches, BNP Paribas calculates.
Fund flows paint a somewhat mixed picture. Recent months have seen a slowdown in equity investment flows, with funds dedicated to sub-Saharan Africa but excluding South Africa clocking outflows of $77 million in 2014, adding to last year's $23 million losses, according to EPFR Global.
MSCI's emerging and frontier Africa ex-South Africa index has gained 1.2 percent this year, almost on a par with global shares.
Nigerian equities, however, have slumped 20 percent this year as falling oil prices have dampened investors' appetite for stocks in Africa's top oil exporter.
Acadian's Mehta said after adding to her sub-Saharan equity holdings over the past years, she was not planning to increase her exposure, despite firmly believing in the growth story.
"African markets, as compelling as they are, do just have significantly less liquidity than other frontier countries."
The main share index in Africa's largest economy, Nigeria, has a market cap of $70 billion compared to the $749 billion in India's main index or $476 billion in Russia.