Entrepreneurial Activity in Africa

Here’s a recent link to an article picked up by the Nyasa Times about my experiences working with entrepreneurs in Malawi and South Africa. http://www.nyasatimes.com/Business/265.html

Another link here from the Center for Global Development  http://www.cgdev.org/content/publications/detail/12095/ provides some insight into the research question “Why are there so few black-owned firms in Africa?”.

I am currently writing my Master’s thesis on Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) in South Africa and its impact on entrepreneurship in the informal and formal sectors. One of my fellow peers at the Whitman School of Management here at Syracuse has told me its a bit of poetry but I am really trying to make the paper as empirical as possible to get an idea of how government policy can either lift constraints or create new contraints for the micro- small- and medium-sized enterprise (SMME).  I am looking at separate industries’ codes to meet empowerment criteria, the level of government vs. private sector spending on empowerment deals, training and procurement and I am trying to find data that might suggest more informal business entry into the formal sector and see whether or not empowerment transactions or transfers might be correlated to entrance of black buisness owners into the formal sector and/or growth in firm size of black owned businesses.

It is an interesting time in South Africa with the World Cup around the corner in 2010 and there will be a huge window of opportunity for small and medium sized business owners to capitalize on the increasing number of tourists and business partners now looking towards South Africa’s markets for investment.  Who are the entrepreneurs who will or perhaps who can, really make the most of this opportunity given the distribution of business/capital ownership and constraints across different demographics in modern-day South Africa remains to be seen (and predicted)?

Arcelor Mittal makes another West African project investment

After all of the controversy surrounding and now subsiding with regards to the giant steel company’s (claiming to produce 10% of total world output) dealings with Liberia’s transitional government and newly elected government of President Sirleaf, Arcelor Mittal has announced a similar $2.2 billion mining project in Senegal.  As in the case of the Liberia project, Arcelor Mittal has placed emphasis on railway and port construction but this time, instead of rehabiltation of exisitng infrastructure, will build a new 750 km railway linking the mines to a newly developed  port near Dakar.  See Arcelor Mittal website http://www.arcelormittal.com/ and recent articles on the Liberia and Senegal projects http://allafrica.com/stories/200702090922.html and http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6389237.stm.

Actis Africa Agribusiness Fund Pumps money into GBHL in Mombasa

Tom Mogusu from The Standard Reports:

Actis, a private equity investor in emerging markets, has invested Sh1.05 billion ($15 million) in the Mombasa-based Grain Bulk Handlers Limited (GBHL).

The firm on Tuesday announced that it had made its first investment in the agri-business infrastructure in Kenya since it was launched in April 2006.

The new funding will go towards putting up what it described as state-of-the-art integrated grain terminal at the Mombasa port.

“This investment makes Actis a significant minority shareholder in GBHL,” said Mr Andrew Tillery, an Investment Principal at Actis.

Hu’s Natural Resource Safari

China’s Hu Visits S. Africa After Criticism in Zambia (Update2)
The Chinese leadership has made its way through the continent brokering deals with African leaders willing to take on a new stakeholder in Africa’s economies. Allen Cheng and Karl Maier from www.bloomberg.com write of the recent Sino-African relationship: Also see Dr. George Ayittey’s remarks on China’s increasing involvement in Africa.

By Allen T. Cheng and Karl Maier

Feb. 6 (Bloomberg) — China’s President Hu Jintao arrives in South Africa today near the end of a 12-day, eight-nation tour which has attracted more scrutiny of how China is using its clout on the continent than his previous two visits.

South African President Thabo Mbeki, who last month warned against China developing a colonial relationship with Africa, is scheduled to sign agreements with Hu that will boost fruit and other exports and on mineral and energy cooperation.

Ag exports from Kenya gain access to US market

 Standard Reporter

http://www.eastandard.net/hm_news/news.php?articleid=1143964448The United States Congress has approved three Kenyan horticultural products for export to the American market beginning this month.

The Chairman of the Fresh Produce Exporters Association of Kenya (FPEAK) Mr Hasit Shah announced that the congress last month allowed Kenyan exporters to market peas, carrots and corn to the lucrative US markets.

Tiku was speaking during a cocktail hosted for agricultural experts from the United States Department of Agriculture and Animal Plant Health Inspection Service who were in the country to evaluate Kenya’s preparedness and capacity in meeting US conditions for horticultural exports.

The FPEAK boss said Kenyan exporters are diversifying from the traditional European Union markets to the US and South East Asia due to competition posed by emerging exporters like Egypt, Morocco and Central America on EU markets.

Discussions continue on private capital flows from the U.S. to Africa

Article from Panapress. 

African, US executives promote investment in Africa

Published: 01-FEB-07

Nairobi – At least 500 African and American business executives are expected to meet in Houston, USA on February 7th to promote foreign direct investments into Sub-Saharan Africa.

Organisers said the executives will be participating in the first US International Investment and Finance Forum for Projects, Trade, Development and Capital Equipment.

The forum is being hosted by a US-based equipment company, EquipXp in conjunction with Nigeria Community and Friends/NCF Investment Inc., an organisation of Nigerian businessmen and women based in the US.