Highlights from the Norwegian-African Business Summit 2012

The NABA Summit 2012 proved itself as Norway’s most important forum for Norwegian-African business encounters. Over 350 participants gathered at the Radisson BLU Plaza Hotel to exchange perspectives on the growing ties of Norwegian-African business relations. “The Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide, His Majesty Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, and Joseph Mucheru from Google Africa all gave key insights to a very successful Summit, NABA Managing Director Eivind Fjeldstad says.The Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Espen Barth Eide, opened the Summit by stating that “the image of Africa is changing”. He went on to proclaim Africa as “a continent of opportunities”. Barth Eide explained how Norwegian companies are already significantly involved in African markets. Norway invests 60 billion NOK in Angola alone at present, and interest in other African countries is increasing.The Minister encouraged African government to take advantage of the renewed international interest by ensuring that local content follows from the flow of foreign direct investments. This is the model behind the Norwegian oil adventure, and African countries can stand to gain tremendously if they work to ensure inclusive growth.His Majesty Otumfuo Osei Tutu II from Ghana presented himself as a voice of rural Africa. Although there is a growing urbanisation of African countries, “the rural sector remains the primary pillar of the Africans economies”, the King stated. There is great potential in rural development in Africa, and the King expressed his gratitude towards NABA for bringing this perspective to the Summit.Another perspective came from Head of Google Africa, Joseph Mucheru. He explained how Google is experiencing strong growth all over Africa. One of the primary driving forces is that demographic change is creating the most youthful markets in the world. “More babies are now being born in Nigeria alone, than in the EU and US combined”, Mr. Mucheru said.The new generation have new consumer preferences. People are going for brands. 11 million Africans are on Twitter, and a growing number of people have access to the Internet.Mr. Mucheru said that Google’s digital view of the world could be summed up by William Gibson’s quote: “The future is already here – it’s just not evenly distributed”.Norway has a role to play in this future. Bente Slåtten, from Yara Interational represented the Norwegian Business Community among the key speakers. Yara International is one of NABA’s founding members and remains one of the most important Norwegian companies present in African markets.At this year’s NABA Summit, Ms. Slåtten stressed the importance of African agriculture. Global food supply needs to increase by 20 percent by 2015. For this to happen, a green revolution in Africa has to be put in place. Africa is the only continent in the world not having gone through such a revolution. The potential is tremendous, but productivity must increase.The second part of the main program focused on the African consumer. Arend van Wamelen presented a McKinsey&Co report with optimistic macroeconomic projections for growth in the African consumer base.A panel debate moderated by the renowned editor of the African Business Magazine, Anver Versi ignited an interesting discussion on the sustainability of the growth story in African consumer markets. The founder of SoleRebels, Bethlehem Alemu Tilahun shared the story about her company that is now selling Ethiopian shoes worldwide.Some panel members advised companies to choose a cautious approach when investing in the emerging markets, in due consideration of the risks that remain present. Or as Global Head of Marketing in Nokia, Kenneth Oyolla, stated: “Africa is not for sissies, you need to have a spine when investing there”.In a remark to the panel members, Ambassador of Nigeria, His Excellency Mr. Benedict Onochie Amobi, presented a story that caught everybody’s attention: “Two business men arrive on an island to sell shoes. One calls back and says: Get me out of here. No one wears shoes. There is no market. The other one calls back to report and says: Send me as many shoes as possible. There is no one here wearing shoes”! The response by Dr. Jolyon Ford from Oxford Analytica, may serve as concluding advice to potential investors: “I’m saying go to the island, just be cautious while you are there”.Speaker presentations from the Norwegian-African Business Summit 2012 will soon be shared via the NABA webpage.