Editorial
Doing Business with Africa
In the week of September 16, various African governments and their business executives made presentations to various Washington, DC audiences. These 5 days were presentation galore! An African Minister here; an expert panel of those keen on reducing hunger over there. At the St. Regis Hotel – less than half a mile from the White House – Mr. Dangote himself graced an event with his presence.
Rumor has it that in the week of September 23, President Museveni of Uganda will speak to an intimate group of people in the City of the Powerful – taking this business thing by its horns, so to speak. His bedfellows from Chad, Kenya, Zambia and everywhere else will festoon New York City on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly slated for the same period. Welcome to the epitome of commercial diplomacy, and more importantly, the new era of doing business with Africa.
Without a doubt, the continent has not received as much attention or even as much love as it is currently garnering from the United States of America. On the block is over a billion people. While mostly engaged in agrarian lifestyles, the burgeoning African middle class is expanding much faster than mushrooms. China was red hot in its heyday, but that will be replaced with the white heat from liberalization of Africa’s communication sector, rapid urbanization and quintessential demographics listing towards those below the age of 18. In fact, while Tunisia and Egypt grab the headlines in the western media, the real change is happening in consumption patterns.
Many Africans would rather walk to work – saving money instead for cellphone airtime scratch cards. Perhaps, a phone call or text message will bring food for their family next week. This mutation is indicative of Africa’s ‘germs, guns and steel’ epoch; where Africa’s proverbial rubber meets the murrum road before taking off.
But perhaps, only by juxtaposing the inverted economies of China and various African countries can one fully fathom the essence of Fareed Zakaria‘s ‘illiberal democracy.’ Somehow, because the African countries are not as efficient as the Chinese have been in corralling their people, there is a semblance of real growth of social, political, economic, and religious rights – the kind that not only turn the word ‘democracy’ into a real badge of honor but translates into economic benefits to The People.
Invariably, because China galloped, leapfrogged and overtook the U.S. as Africa’s most important trading partner in 2009, one could argue that America’s pivot towards Africa is a reaction to the delicate plexus on which hegemony depends. This latter premise would be wrong especially because America suffers greatly from one malady: The U.S. Government accounts for less than 23 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and so, President Obama’s 2012 strategic vision for Africa, for instance, is just that. Ultimately, America’s private sector will do what it wants and will lead in putting the boots on the ground, making for one hell of a foreign policy hodgepodge.
And like is currently happening, the hustle and bustle of brisk business is, apparently, being done at these conferences, summits and presentations. There’s a whole host of specialists keen on leveraging their access to decision makers and those decision makers’ influencers; experts providing strategic support to the African delegation or whichever doyen is headlining an event. A riveting atmosphere, it is; full of hope, potential, dreams – money.
