Africa might become a turf for business schools and MBA candidates in the near future as the image of the “hopeless continent” is changing. The African economy is growing, many regions and sectors are booming. With the exception of 2009, Africa’s economic output has been growing by 5 per cent annually for years and for 2010 the IWF expects a surplus of 4.3 per cent for the continent and 5.3 per cent for 2011. Investors are queuing to bring in more foreign capital, not only from Europe or America but also from Brazil and China.
There are numerous examples of the growing interest in Africa: AirFrance-KLM has upgraded their schedule and now fly between Paris and Ruanda's capital Kigali, servicing 43 destinations on the continent. Germany's biggest carrier Lufthansa added a route to Pointe-Noire in Kongo and currently services 39 destinations in Africa; passenger numbers are growing by 6 per cent annually.
So far it has been the lure of rich resources that has brought foreigners into Africa and the commodities boom has triggered a lot of interest in local mines. But today in a developing economy it's also services, retail and communications that are growing fast. That attracts business consultants. Ernst & Young for example invests heavily: out of the 53 African states the company opened offices in 30; meanwhile the American firm has 200 partners in Africa.
German weapons producer Rheinmetall started investing in the South African ammunitions company Denel in 2008 and is today pitching for the production of 4,000 heavy duty vehicles for the South African army. Also bidding are Daimler and a joint venture between the British BAE and Iveco.
Swedish company Elektrolux bought a majority stake in the Egyptian producer of white goods, Olympic Group. The Russian telecommunications company Vimpelcom is in the middle of take over negotiations to buy the Egyptian competitor Orascom and the telco branch of Naguib Sawiris.
Indian conglomerate Essar Steel plans on setting up supermarkets for steel in Africa where small companies and builders can buy steel products by the kilo - following a successful business model in India. Essar also already owns 50 percent of an oil refinery in Kenya and plans to build another one in Uganda. The company's prospectors are searching for oil and gas all over Africa.
http://www.ftd.de/unternehmen/industrie/:ansturm-der-investoren-afrika-eifert-china-nach/50182467.html