Africa attempts European business partnerships

The continent of Africa is becoming more and more modern and attractive for business. However, it requires not only a purely business approach but also a humanitarian one – the speakers of the Forum Afryka-Europa Centralna explained, the investments that took place as part of the European Economic Congress.

The Forum Africa-Central Europe

During the Forum Africa-Central Europe, the speakers talked about the opportunities and challenges of investing in Africa.

Robert Zduńczyk from the Poland-East Africa Economic Foundation admitted that many entrepreneurs from Poland are not ready to start projects in Africa. There are many opportunities there, but there is a mental barrier.

“First of all, you have to start. When we start, as with any business project, there are problems. If we manage it properly, identify risks, take our time, gain knowledge, we will manage it. Of course, in Africa some things take longer,” he admitted.

The project in Tanzania

The speaker talked about the project implemented in Tanzania, in the Kilimanjaro region, involving several thousand farmers and milk processors, with the participation of Polish entrepreneurs. The project is going to finish in two years’ time.

“We want to involve local farmers in Tanzania to develop dairy production. This is an opportunity for the Polish business,” said Zduńczyk.

As he added, it is not only the implementation of a given project that counts in running a business in Africa but also cooperation with the local population, assistance in their development and acquiring new skills. In Africa, you have to combine your own business goals with local ones. By developing one’s own companies, one can simultaneously create a future there.

“Economic assumptions are not everything. Business development in Africa is more than just management by Excel.” he stressed.

Investments in Africa

Krzysztof Zamasz, a member of the board of Luma Holding, talked about his investments in Africa. As he mentioned, for the last year he worked in Rwanda, Congo, Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya for an investment fund. Love for Africa appeared a few years ago when with Adam Mokrysz from Mokate company they said that they want to expand to Kenya and South Africa.

“Having a very comfortable life in Poland, I decided to prove to myself and my surroundings that being on the top is not everything. I went to the conference and became a metallurgist, I resigned from the metropolis and took an unpaid leave at the university of technology. In Rwanda, we bought a tin mill. We made a project together with a state-owned company,” the speaker recalled.

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(Featured image by John-Mark Smith)

First published in wnp, a third-party contributor translated and adapted the article from the original. In case of discrepancy, the original will prevail.

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