Infrastracture
therefore also back the information the
AOE has released. UN WESP says that
Africa’s growth is projected to accelerate to 4.7% in 2014 and 5% in 2015. This
follows an estimated gross domestic
product (GDP) growth of 4% in 2013.
Opportunities and initiatives
According to Mbendi Information
Resources based in South Africa,
Africa’s industrial opportunities
include:
• infrastructure and
transport (pipelines, roads,
telecommunications);
• oil and gas (Angola and Libya);
• mining (West and Central Africa);
• international trade (oil producers
and SADC)
• Mbendi states that currently the
following initiatives are taking place
in Africa:
• Projects in Africa (758)
• Companies and Organisations in
Africa (167 714)
• Products, Services and Suppliers
for Building, Construction and Civil
Engineering in Africa (818)
Pervasive challenges
Against this encouraging backdrop are
however numerous challenges, such as
under-developed financial sectors, political risks and instability, bribery and
corruption, issues pertaining to public/
private co-operation, and lack of first
world technology and trends, to name
but a few. More general issues are inadequate knowledge about Africa and
understanding of its culture.
Tielman Nieuwoudt, Principal of The
Supply Chain Lab based in South Africa,
which focuses on supply chain solutions
in emerging markets, comments: “Words
like inefficiency, bottlenecks, bureaucracy, corruption, poor infrastructure
and even ‘chaos’ tend to be used when
African supply chain management is
being discussed.” ²
Dianna Games, an executive member
of the Nigeria South African Chamber
of Commerce in Johannesburg, and
Chief Executive of business consultancy,
Africa At Work, is familiar with the complexities and pros and cons of business
in Africa. She points out some of the
challenges the continent faces.
She refers to World Bank’s Doing
Business index which tracks ten business indicator sets: “starting a business;
dealing with construction permits; getting electricity; registering property;
paying taxes; trading across borders;
getting credit; protecting investors;
enforcing contracts; and resolving
insolvency.”
It is clear from the following comment