Africa Business and Trade

I had a rare opportunity to participate in a focus group recently with individuals familiar with doing business in Africa both from a US and foreign perspective.

Evident throughout the discussion was that trade with Africa is not without its frustrations.  Also apparent, however, was its great potential for the return on investment there.

Regarding the first point, from physical infrastructure issues to differences in cultural attitudes with respect to work ethic, setbacks to doing cost-effective business are varied and numerous.  Sourcing, quality control, viable transportation to carry cargoes to available ports, and high costs of vessel carriage were also issues raised by participants.

It should be noted however, that these variables change depending on what actual country you are doing business in.  Viable transportation out of a landlocked country for example, would not necessarily be an issue if you are sourcing and exporting from a port city.

There are however, real prospects for growth with profit potential in Africa being better than in other countries as is often the case with emerging markets.

More specifically to textiles and apparel, as pointed out by one participant, Africa has the greatest quantities of fallow land in the world, and has great potential for natural fibers like cotton.

My focus with business in Africa is with the textiles and apparel sectors as it relates to trade and importing into the US.  I have therefore, had the opportunity to speak publicly about the AGOA (African Growth and Opportunity Act) Agreement and plan to attend a conference next month in Washington DC on it.

It is called the 11th Civil Society Organization Session of US-Africa Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum and is hosted by the AGOA Civil Society Network.  For more information about the event, click here.

Questions/comments?  Post below or email me at clark.deanna@gmail.com