It’s often been said that you have to find your own opportunities and make your own luck. Nowhere could this be truer than in the world of exporting and, if you’re a small firm, these opportunities could be in places you least expect to find them.
Perhaps one of the most underappreciated markets in the world is Africa, a place people are more likely to associate with aid, charity and humanitarian crises than investment, trade and commerce.
But in fact it’s one of the world’s most dynamic business regions with growth rates of up to 8%, a population of over a billion and $2 trillion in collective GDP, with Sub-Saharan Africa now the second fastest-growing region in the world, trailing only developing Asia. This extraordinary growth has been accompanied by a sharp rise in Africa’s international credibility: The number of countries with international credit ratings in Africa has soared from five in 2000 to 24 in 2012 as African Governments open themselves up to scrutiny, business and to markets.
This growth isn’t happening in a vacuum, it comes from a variety of sources. For a start, a reduction in the incidence of armed conflict, as well as increased action by African governments to improve economic conditions and the business environment, has resulted in a huge rise in living standards. This means that Africans are generally becoming more and more able to purchase British goods and services, last year importing as much as £10.4bn worth of products from the UK; up from £8.6bn in 2010 and more than Russia and Turkey combined.
Combined with the huge amounts of capital flooding into the continent as a result of impressive large scale infrastructure projects, this means that Africa is a market that UK and South East firms ignore at their peril.
In 2012, the South East exported goods to the value of £2.21 billion to Sub-Saharan Africa, a figure we could see grow further if firms across the region engage with these large scale infrastructure projects and increasing consumer demand.
One such infrastructure project is ‘Eko Atlantic’, an impressive urban development project in Nigeria. Eko Atlantic will become home to 250,000 people and provide workplaces for another 150,000. The ten square kilometre development will have waterfront areas, new transport systems and mixed use plots combining residential areas with leisure facilities, offices and shops.
Projects like this aren’t rare in Africa. In South Africa for instance, a £750m solar power project was announced in August which will see all Government buildings in the eastern province of Gauteng installed with solar panelling.
Combined with a reduction in poverty, a huge uptake in modern technology, such as mobile phones and rapid urbanisation (the proportion of city-dwellers may reach two thirds by 2050), Africa’s path to development is becoming increasingly assured and its status as a lucrative market secured.
Of course this is not to brush over the challenges of this market. No one said it would be easy – and any firm looking at any African country for the first time needs to get proper advice. So I would suggest starting with UKTI – if we can’t help you with one of our 40 locally based international trade advisers and presence in 34 countries across the continent, then we can certainly point you in the right direction.
With UKTI’s help, we could soon see our construction firms exporting bricks to the Eko Atlantic Project and our renewables firms supplying solar panels to Gauteng.
Already this month, 400 firms in my area as Internatinal Trade Director, the South East have chosen to use UKTI to their advantage by flocking to events put on as part of our biggest ever ‘Export Week’. In doing so they sharpened their knowledge in areas from market research to e-commerce. Likewise, a new national campaign, "Exporting is GREAT"has also given us a boost – it will target almost 3 million people with the ambition to generate 3,000 appointments with locally-based UKTI advisers. To book an appointment with your local adviser just fill in the form on the Business is GREAT website and UKTI will be inn touch. If you're in the South East, to find out more call 08452 789 600 or email: info@uktisoutheast.com. Firms in the South East can also follow us on Twitter at @UKTI_LondonSE, or our national feed @UKTI
3 comments
Comment by Alan MacKelworth posted on
Hi! Lewis,
Agree with your comments Trade not Aid - I am working with Simudyne: a British company that provides simulation technology to governments and global corporations across numerous industries. Trade, both imports and exports, increases a country’s prosperity, thereby taking people out of poverty. However, there are many obstacles to trade – poor roads, bans on trading certain goods, complicated documentation, limited border capacity, corruption, and so on. Aid agencies work with the Government and others to grow Trade by cutting these obstacles.See the "Nigeria Simulation" http://www.simudyne.com/nigeria/
Great blog
Alan MacKelworth
Comment by Bess posted on
very interesting blog Lewis!
Comment by Edith posted on
Great blog Lewis. It will be very interesting to learn more about your support during the Pan-African Business Expo on 17th April 2014. Kings College London, The Strand. http://panafricanbusinessexpo.com/