New action plan will increase trade with Africa
In connection with Minister for Trade Ewa Björling's visit to Angola, Botswana, Zambia and South Africa, the Government is presenting a new action plan for work on increasing trade with southern Africa.
"This is the first time we have produced a plan of this kind. It demonstrates the Government's interest in the continent from a trade perspective," says Marie Andersson de Frutos, business promoter at the MFA.
Marie Andersson de Frutos wants to present a more positive picture of Africa to Swedish companies. She also says that Swedish companies are good at taking responsibility, something that produces competitive advantages. Photo: Ellinor Lundmark/MFA
The idea is for the new action plan to serve as a framework for the Government's work with supporting companies that want to do business with Africa.
"Unfortunately, a negative picture presented by the media has affected many companies' perception of Africa and they have hesitated to do business there. Developments in Africa have moved forward in many areas and the image of Africa must be modulated to better correspond with reality. This is one of the issues that the Government wants to work actively with. One of the priorities of the action plan is thus to work to provide companies with a modern and realistic picture of Africa," says Ms de Frutos.
However, it is not just a matter of marketing Africa to Swedish companies; it is also about promoting Swedish companies in the African countries. In this regard, the Government wants to emphasise that Swedish companies are good at CSR - Corporate Social Responsibility. This means that in their work, they take responsibility for complying with regulations on human rights, working conditions and the environment, and that they care about the community they operate in. For example, it might mean that they have a workplace programme for working with HIV/AIDS, something that is highly topical in Africa. Ms de Frutos maintains that active CSR activities produce competitive advantages and should be emphasised in contacts with representatives of both African governments and business.
"From a Swedish perspective, it is not simply a matter of selling base stations for mobile telephony, but also of having respect for human rights and democracy and combating corruption, something that Swedish companies in general are very good at," says Ms de Frutos.
Today, many actors are already working for increased trade between Sweden and Africa. Apart from the MFA, these include the Swedish Trade Council, the Swedish Export Credits Guarantee Board, Swedfund, the Swedish Export Credit Corporation, Sida, Open Trade Gate Sweden and many others. Ms de Frutos hopes that the action plan will lead to good coordination and to better results for Swedish trade promotion as a whole.
"It involves coordinating the various actors who are responsible for promoting trade and at the same time contributing to development in Africa. We must also become better at making use of the possibilities that are created through our development cooperation. This is particularly important in Africa, where historically we have had, and still have, a great deal of development assistance and where Sweden has a very good reputation. Taken together, this improves our prospects for succeeding in increasing both exports and imports," says Ms de Frutos.
Swedens exports to Africa
Exports to Africa have increased by nearly 200 per cent since 2000, and in 2007 amounted to almost SEK 16 billion. South Africa is the largest market at just under 50 per cent, followed by Nigeria at just over 15 per cent and Ghana at 6 per cent. Sweden has experienced the strongest growth in exports with countries such as Angola, Tanzania, Uganda and DR Congo. The primary export products are mining machinery, telecommunications equipment, heavy vehicles, and electrical and other kinds of machinery.
