Others tapping Africa are involved in pharmaceuticals, automobiles, information technology, power, mining and consumer goods.

State-owned companies are also making large investments in oil and gas fields to meet the needs of energy-hungry India.

Many investors view the resource-rich continent as the new frontier for global business. Home to a billion people, Africa's economy is growing by about four and a half per cent.

Debashish Mukherjee, with consultancy A.T. Kearney in New Delhi says the continent has great potential.

"Africa is where India was a few decades back," Mukherjee said. "The per capita income in many of the African countries is growing, there has been investment in education in many of the Sub Saharan countries, so many of the forward-looking indices are right and I think many of the companies would like to capitalize on that with an early start."

Attracted by cheap labor and land cost, Indian companies are also moving into Africa for commercial farming. Only about 15 cent of the arable land in Africa is cultivated. And many countries, which are food-deficient despite having surplus land, are inviting foreign investors into the agricultural sector.

In India, where farming is dominated by small, family-run holdings, companies are attracted by the possibility of starting large-scale operations in Africa. Arun Agarwal heads the African committee at the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry in New Delhi.