What are the success factors for the economic involvement of German companies in Africa? This was one of the key questions at the Africa Forum organised by the Chamber of Industry and Commerce of Bavaria and Upper Bavaria, which took place in Munich at the end of June and met with a very positive response from around 200 participants. As an export country, Bavaria has traditionally maintained good relations with Africa. Nevertheless, many SMEs in particular find it difficult to get to grips with the market, which certainly presents special challenges.
In his keynote speech on the success factors in African business, Africa expert and editorial director of the Africa.Table newsletter, Christian Hiller von Gaertringen, emphasised the need to be on the ground regularly. He recommended that the visits should not only be seen from a business perspective: ‘If you approach the African market in the right way, it's like a seminar or a fresh cell cure. You get new ideas and clear your head. They see their own products and what they do from a completely different perspective. If they use the trips in this way, they gain a tremendous amount from their involvement in Africa.’
As a prime example of this approach, he cites the Chinese smartphone manufacturer Transsion, which is only known to insiders in this country but is the market leader in Africa. ‘Transsion didn't offer what its developers thought was good in Africa, but what the people there wanted,’ says Hiller. It is well known that mobile phones and smartphones are not so much a status symbol or gadget for Africans, but the indispensable key to many services and the most important tool in business. Almost everything works via these little mobile helpers, which, unlike in Germany, score highly in terms of robustness, long battery life, space for two SIM cards and user menus in the most important African languages.
We at EWIA can fully endorse this from our own many years of experience. Applied to the solar market, for example, this means that most entrepreneurs are less interested in whether their electricity is green, yellow or brown. They simply want it to be supplied cheaply and reliably.
Success stories and best practices
A central component of the Africa Forum were the panel discussions and thematic sessions, which focussed on various aspects of economic cooperation. The focus was on topics such as sustainable development, promoting innovation, digitalisation and trade barriers. The opportunities and challenges of the energy transition for Europe and Africa once again attracted particular attention.
The Africa Forum 2024 organised by IHK Bayern und Oberbayern thus provided a valuable platform for dialogue and networking between Bavarian and African companies. The diverse discussions, workshops and networking opportunities helped to open up new business opportunities and further deepen economic relations between Bavaria and Africa.
Comments