Global investors are being enticed by bountiful opportunities to do business in Africa, as the continent arises. The Chairperson of African Union Commission (AUC), H.E. Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, joined Uganda's President, Yoweri Museveni, South Sudan's Vice President James Wani Igga and H.E. Maged Abdelfatah Abdelaziz, Under-Secretary-General and Special Adviser on Africa, to woo delegates at the "2013 CEO Institutional Investment Summit," held at the New York Stock Exchange, New York, to promote investing in Africa.
"Available data positions Africa as a new growth pole where returns on investments in virtually every sector - from infrastructure to ICT, and from retail, health to manufacturing - are higher than any other part of the world," Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma told the investors. She projected that, "Africa's population is set to double in the next few decades, its middle class is growing exponentially, it is rapidly urbanising and it has a young population."
Dr. Dlamini Zuma pointed to the revolutionary growth of ICT on the continent having a tremendous impact in numerous other areas. Africa is the second largest consumer of mobile telephones.
The ICT revolution demonstrated that other areas such as agriculture, infrastructure and energy have the potentials of experiencing exponential growth on the continent. Investment in these areas is of critical importance. It will spur intra-African trade and consequently advance the AU's integration and prosperity agenda.
In his opening remarks, Hubert Danso, Chief Executive Officer and Vice President of africainvestor (Ai), the host institution, pushed for, "An investment Pact and a Call to Action, with the African Union, to prioritise and pursue a 10-year intra-African investment growth target." He noted the abysmally low intra-African trade which currently stands between 12-15%, compared to intra-European investment sitting around 82%.
The AUC Chairperson outlined a number of key factors that make business sense to invest in Africa. The AU's commitment to accelerate continental integration will create one huge market. This will result to increased trade, strong regional value chain and boost economies of scale. An eventual increase in the middle class will also equally mean increased purchasing power.
Africa still has over 60% of unused arable land. Increased agriculture and agro-processing will not only produce food for the continent, but it will supply the rest of the world. Meanwhile, the deficit in transport, energy, ICT infrastructure and the service industry provide enormous opportunities in themselves.
President Yoweri Museveni and Vice President James Wani Igga were in consonance weighing in with specific examples and opportunities in various countries, Regional Economic Communities and the continent as whole.
After an interactive session with the delegations, Dr. Dlamini Zuma was later treated to a guided tour of the over 200 years of history of the NYSE and EURONEXT (Euro-American multinational financial services corporation that operates multiple securities exchanges). She visited and interacted with agents on the busy floor of the NYSE EURONEX, and rang the Closing Bell to trading for the day.
