The increasing risk aversion of many frontier market investors has left many African stocks trading at valuations not seen for years, Peter C. Thoms, Founder and Portfolio Manager of Africa Capital Group LLC, has said.

"We think now is an excellent time for strategic, long-term oriented investors to consider Africa. Poor sentiment and cheap valuations add up to opportunity," he said.

The decline in the oil price has been a big factor in the dour investor sentiment toward African stocks and currencies.

"We agree that the low oil price is a big problem for several oil exporters—Nigeria and Angola in particular. Low precious and base metals prices are also very challenging for some countries, including South Africa and Zambia," said Thoms.

"Weak commodity prices, however, do not have a uniformly negative effect on all of Africa. The continent’s economy, broadly speaking, is moving away from its historic reliance on energy and mining. To think of Africa as tied strictly to the fortunes of oil or mineral prices is to overlook the recent but rapid development in Africa’s consumer-facing sectors," he added.

Africa Capital Group LLC is an independent investment firm based in Coronado, California, US.

The firm manages Africa Frontier Fund LP, a long-only equity fund, which targets domestically oriented industries in Sub-Saharan Africa, including financials, telecoms, consumer goods, healthcare, food and beverage, utilities and infrastructure.

Africa Capital Group's strategy has remained defensively positioned since its inception and continues to hold a significant position in USD cash.

The strategy has also had no exposure to mining companies and very little exposure to the energy sector.

"The only energy-related holding we have is Kenya’s KenolKobil, and this holding produced a positive return for the Strategy in 2015. Given the ongoing volatility in global markets, we are investing patiently and opportunistically," said Thoms.

"We seek to invest in companies that are serving critical needs and that have both a strong industry position and firm long-term growth trajectory. Most of our companies provide high-quality products and services to their local populations," he said.

"While the overall investor sentiment toward stocks in Africa—and everywhere else in the world, for that matter—remains negative at the moment, we cannot help but be bullish on the prospects for our portfolio companies," he added.