Africa needs to attract quality investment to ensure meaningful and sustained growth, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said on Friday.

"A good sign is that big economies are beginning to understand their actions have effects on the rest of the world," he said.

While the continent with its growing middle class held great potential for direct foreign investment, the quality of such capital needed to be probed, Gordhan said.

"We need to ask a few more questions about the quality of capital. Is it here purely for the purposes of yield?"

This would indicate a short-term view that would not adequately contribute to sustainable and sustained growth.

Gordhan was speaking at an Association of Black Securities and Investment Professionals conference in Rosebank, Johannesburg.

"Africa has come a long way in terms of reducing risk premiums," he said.

More democratic governments and high levels of media freedom helped to reassure investors.

"[However] we do have a perception deficit."

While perceptions of Africa as "the dark continent" were being shed, it was often viewed as a "semi-dark continent".

Africa was forced to constantly prove itself.

"There are many years ahead in the perception battle, the perception that we are not quite ready for the levels of development we think we deserve."

Lessons learnt from the global financial crisis could help Africa to plan for the future.

"Africa's population will double in the next 20 or 30 years. How do we plan [for this]?"

Gordhan said trade between African countries needed to improve.

Investment in new technology, improved training and sustainable business, including fostering entrepreneurship, would help build Africa's capabilities.

Poor market practices in the financial sector, such as reckless lending, also needed to be examined.

Leadership decisions in the financial sector had real effects on the lives of people.

For example, in the retirement industry, high fees charged had far-reaching consequences.

This was because young families would become responsible for providing for elderly relatives, which would impact on their own futures.