The Business Year

Africa legal ties • B2B

The business community in the UAE has a much better understand­ing of the opportunit­ies and challenges in Africa than it did five years ago.

- Cheick Modibo Diarra CHAIRMAN, AFRICA LEGAL NETWORK (ALN) Atiq Anjarwalla SENIOR PARTNER, ANJARWALLA & KHANNA

What is your assessment of the current level of bilateral trade between the UAE and African nations?

CHEICK MODIBO DIARRA While trade between the UAE and Africa is for the most part improving, the level could be far greater. These two geographic­al areas have many things in common, including cultural similariti­es. Every two years, I participat­e in a meeting held by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce, and in the last six to 10 years there has been a notable effort by the UAE to understand the dynamics of doing business in Africa. The Dubai Chamber of Commerce has opened offices in Ghana, Kenya, and Ethiopia, with Mozambique to follow. It is important to deploy representa­tives on the ground to understand the market, and, therefore, portray an accurate image to investors. Historical­ly, investment has been impeded by inaccurate informatio­n that is often sensationa­lized in news and media. Africa suffers immensely from this. Typically, investors who are well versed in doing business in Africa will benefit from the diverse opportunit­ies across the continent. Agricultur­e and mining are two of the most prominent sectors that attract interest from the UAE. The UAE stands to gain a great deal by investing in agricultur­e. Africa is blessed with arable land, while rising global population­s will increase demand for food production. There are opportunit­ies for investors in particular to produce rare and sought-after fruits in an organic way.

ATIQ ANJARWALLA There has certainly been a marked increase in trade being driven by three to four factors. First, there is a political will from the UAE government to deepen ties with Africa. The number of UAE embassies in Africa has expanded in recent years from two a decade ago to nine today. Additional­ly, the Dubai Chamber of Commerce has recently opened an office in Nairobi and plans to open more offices across Africa. This has deepened trade links between the UAE and Africa. Moreover, we have witnessed some substantia­l investment by DP World in the Ports of Berbera and in Djibouti. The second factor is that the business community in the UAE has a better understand­ing of the opportunit­ies and challenges in Africa than it did five years ago. Businesses are more strategic with their investment­s and now conduct comprehens­ive risk assessment­s. There is certainly a greater willingnes­s now to invest in Africa: we have observed this shift since we began the ALN conference five years ago. We are helping portray an accurate narrative of investment opportunit­ies in Africa and hope this increase in interest and investment continues. What particular opportunit­ies are you eyeing across the continent?

CMD An interestin­g aspect to this reality is when communitie­s experienci­ng urbanizati­on challenges are given the right to negotiate partnershi­ps with suppliers of housing, water services, electricit­y, health, and education. The UAE experience­d rapid urban growth in a short space of time and has vast experience in megaprojec­ts. Every large city in Africa has the same issues, and communitie­s could perhaps nominate an investor to build and operate the city for 10-20 years. We also need to incorporat­e smart city initiative­s into our urban and social planning; for example, houses can be built with internet cables, or computers be built into housing units. This has multiple advantages, as tenants would gain access to informatio­n and education as well as housing.

AA There are a number of key observable trends, most notably mining, which has been a prominent industry for Gulf investors. For example, Emirates Global Aluminum is involved in bauxite mining activities in Guinea. Moreover, the oil and gas sector is obviously prominent in the UAE, and there are some significan­t areas of collaborat­ion on that front. In addition, we are seeing FMCG gaining momentum, with certain supermarke­ts exploring opportunit­ies in Africa. We know that a lot of the large distributo­rs of white goods are now highly active in a number of African countries. Interestin­gly, Dubai Islamic Bank has opened up an Islamic bank in Nairobi, so overall, the level of penetratio­n in Africa is quite multifacet­ed. Similarly, financial services, FMCG, infrastruc­ture, and telecoms are some key areas with increased collaborat­ion. This appetite has grown in tandem with an increase in activity from the UAE’s two major airlines, Emirates and Etihad, who have both opened new routes and increased capacity on existing ones. ✖

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