Africa is rapidly developing, giving rise to a slew of business opportunities that are ripe for the picking. The obvious thing to note is that the African lands are virtually a treasure trove of untapped resources like minerals, agricultural products, and metals that any manufacturing plant can surely utilize to a substantial extent. The question is, is Africa an exciting opportunity for manufacturers when adding it all together along with the drawbacks?
The general state of the industry is more accessible
Let’s start by stating that the organizational and management side of manufacturing is generally much easier and more user-friendly than before. Thanks to cloud manufacturing solutions like Katana, you’ll be able to track each and every stage and aspect of the process, including stock, production, sales, and delivery to know exactly where you stand every step of the way. By eliminating the guesswork surrounding what steps to take next, you’ll have a strong foundation to start your business in Africa or abroad.
Identifying an opportunity – the production of customer goods
Since the middle class is growing in size in Africa, this opens the floodgates to selling customer goods to an emerging hungry market. Anything from automobiles, appliances, and electronics – it’s all there for a daring entrepreneur to conquer. Another factor that works in your favor as a manufacturer is the fact that urbanization in Africa is a growing trend, which means the demand for housing and various construction materials is sure to be there.
Exporting the goods
If you want to delve into exporting the manufactured goods, you should strongly consider exploring the raw materials route. The natural treasures of Africa like cobalt, diamonds, and gold yield plenty of opportunities to explore for exporting, either in their raw form or processed. In agriculture, you’ve got things like cocoa and coffee. Don’t forget about industrial goods – in this sector, the country offers several tax incentives you can take advantage of as a manufacturer. Tap into it, and the world is your oyster – will you manufacture machine parts for vehicles, equipment, or other devices?
The other side of the coin
As it goes without saying, Africa comes with its own set of challenges for manufacturers as well. Mainly, this boils down to a rather worrying level of corruption, and the infrastructure is lacking to boot. The general poverty of African regions is another force that is not really conducive for business growth, and the fact that Africa’s general level of education makes it harder to find and retain skilled labor isn’t exactly helping either.
The government initiatives
Now for the good news! The African Union has outlined a goal as part of which the continent’s share of global trade is set to rise to 1.5% by the distant 2063. Although this is still far away, a number of initiatives have been put in place that aim to support manufacturing activity, all of which works in your favor. On top of that, investing in human capital development and infrastructure in Africa is already underway, so things are bound to become even better as time goes on.
Conclusion
Although Africa’s landscape has its fair share of challenges to overcome, for the entrepreneurially driven manufacturer, there are a myriad of opportunities to tap into that come in the form of the country’s natural wealth of raw materials and resources. The middle class is growing and there are numerous government initiatives in place to support manufacturers. Everything considered, only you can answer the question of whether entering the market is worth it. Can you overcome the obstacles and make the upsides tip the scale?
