Oct. 03—Delegates highlighted the areas of focus for the future of business in Africa; mainly connectivity, infrastructure, education and macro-economic policy challenges.
Dubai: Tourism and trade topics were the key discussions on the second day of the forum in Dubai on Thursday and speakers highlighted challenges and opportunities in Africa.
The forum also focused on a series of discussions about the immense and diverse opportunities that the African continent provides. Delegates highlighted the areas of focus for the future of business in Africa; mainly connectivity, infrastructure, education and macro-economic policy challenges.
The second day of the forum debuted with heated topics focusing on connectivity in the context of tourism, multinationals and trade.
Sir Tim Clark, president of Emirates airline, led the conversation on “Connectivity and Trade” discussing the contributions of Emirates airline in Dubai’s role as a hub to Africa. He said: “Dubai was amongst the first to recognise all that South Africa has to offer and moved quickly to set up operations into the country. What may have seemed like a risky move at the time, has paid immense dividends with time and is testament to the strategy that has made Dubai one of the fastest growing markets, soon to be the single biggest hub on earth.”
“Capturing the Potential of African Tourism” was the first session on the second day in conversation with Tom Barrack, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Colony Capital, who commented on Africa’s tourism industry and his perception on future investments in the sector. He explained: “Growth in Africa is only limited by what we can define and what public-private partnerships can drive. Africa can jump start 100 years of development, however the enormity of bureaucracy and red tape for businesses entering Africa are its biggest restriction factors. Privatisation and building relationships with strong local partners are the way forward to help overcome the bureaucratic barriers of development and encourage overall business growth.”
“Having a strong brand is also another important step to consider alongside investment in education and power in Africa. Countries should take a look at Dubai, which has all the central ingredients for growth, including tourism, transparency, capital, transport system, and infrastructure.”
Providing insights on the new generation of African companies was Mohammed Dewji, Group CEO of Mohammed Enterprises Tanzania. In the session titled “Africa’s New Multinationals”, Dewji commented: “Bureaucracy is a big problem that needs to be addressed in Africa and there is a strong political will to do so.”
Vimal Shah, CEO of Bidco Group, further offered insights on the competitive advantage of local companies, and added: “Private equity funds or foreign investors come to Africa with a harvester mentality, that is a short term attitude. To come to Africa, you have to come with a planter mentality, looking at a 10 year time frame minimum, so your multipliers are larger.”
Commenting during the session, Igho Sanomi, CEO of Talaveras Group, stated: “The oil and gas industry in Nigeria is at a defining moment and there is a drastic change in how Africa is doing business. That change and evolution is moving toward local and in house growth and building local capacity.”
Leading the conversation around “Leveraging the Dubai Ecosystem”, Ashish Thakkar, Founder and Chief Executive of Mara Group and Mara Foundation, said: “The UAE is a fantastic hub because first, Dubai connects the world so well from Asia to Africa to Europe and the US. Second, operating a business out of Dubai provides convenience in terms of migration and ease of travel.”
Anand Kapoor, Founder and Vice Chairman of MiDCOM Group, added: “The operational convenience of Dubai is unparalleled; you can raise capital from institutional investors from Dubai while being listed in the LSE. However, you must also operate locally and cannot generalize Africa as one country.”
Roland Agambire, Group Chairman and Chief Executive of AGAMS Holdings, said: “Dubai offers access and flexibility in terms of operations, transportation, and distribution. Furthermore Dubai is unique in that it is a place where you can find the right talent and exemplary working conditions that should be replicated in Africa.”
Goolam Ballim, Chief Economist and Head of Standard Bank Research, highlighted the business outlook in Africa and said: “Africa is the only region in the world that offers accelerated growth at every subset of industrial or consumer type.”