Johannesburg - African equity funds have attracted net new cash in 51 of the last year's 52 weeks, EPFR Global said on Thursday, underscoring the evolution of the continent's frontier markets as a serious investment play.

According to the Washington-based fund tracker, a net $660 million flowed into African regional funds over the last 12 months -- not vast sums on the global scale but far more than Africa has ever attracted in the past.

The one blip marring what would have been a clear run of 52 weeks of positive net inflows came in mid-July and only amounted to $750,000 of withdrawals.

EPFR includes North Africa in its definition of Africa, despite a preference by many investors to regard the sub-Saharan region as a whole and lump in the five Mediterranean littoral countries with the Middle East.

Some of the Africa funds surveyed include South Africa, Brandt said, although a cap on exposure to the continent's biggest and most sophisticated economy means the overall figures still give a clear picture of interest in "frontier Africa".

For most foreign portfolio investors, that means primarily Nigeria and Kenya. But it has also started to include the more illiquid markets of Uganda, Ghana, Zambia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, in all of which promising mineral deposits look set to underpin strong economic growth.