An international forum opens doors to the world

The participants came into contact with entrepreneurs from numerous countries, including representatives from Nigeria, China and Brazil. Rainer Schwarz, President of the Giessen-Friedberg Chamber of Industry and Commerce, emphasised the importance of this international forum: "We want to offer an international platform for dialogue and cooperation. This is how we build bridges between Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe."

The creative sector is an up-and-coming branch in Nigeria. It comprises 24 sectors, including fashion, music, film, theatre and tourism. According to a report by Jobberman's Research, this sector has become the second largest employer in the country. Alhaji Lai Mohammed, former Minister of Information and Culture of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, shed light on the opportunities for investors. The number of joint projects between Nigerian creatives and international partners has increased significantly in recent years. International collaborations in the areas of music, film productions and fashion events have increased the global significance of the industry: "By harnessing the power of creativity, innovation and collaboration, investors can not only generate financial returns, but also drive positive development."

HUANG Yiyang, Consul General of the People's Republic of China, highlighted the international focus and cooperation with Africa in his presentation: "For China, further development at home is important, but so is development and investment in other countries." An important economic link is BRICS, an association of emerging and industrialised nations. In particular, overcoming poverty, a green transformation and the expansion of infrastructure are key objectives. China has been working with African partners for 70 years. For some time now, there have also been German-Chinese projects to strengthen infrastructure in Africa.

"For our export-oriented companies, driving economic globalisation is a fundamental concern. Open markets, the free flow of capital and fair competition promote growth and prosperity. Foreign markets are a mainstay of our companies' business," explained CCI President Rainer Schwarz. More than every second euro is generated by the manufacturing industry through exports.

Current trends in global trade relations, particularly between Germany and the Global South, were the subject of two panel discussions. Christoph Kannengießer, CEO of Afrika Verein e.V., sees great potential with regard to Africa: "In recent years, Africa has hardly been involved in globalisation. Germany has also focussed more on traditional industrialised countries. However, this is now changing as Africa is pursuing a plan to become more industrialised, for example in the area of food processing." Africa's importance for the German market is therefore increasing. For example, many machines are produced in Germany that are needed in Africa both in agriculture and in the automotive industry. Alhaji Wasiu B. Olaleye, President of the Ogun State Cooperative Federation Ltd. Nigeria, also sees great potential for future cooperation, particularly in the field of agriculture. In the future, Africa would be an important source of global food production.

The renewable energy sector could develop into a strong industry. "It makes sense to produce green energy in Africa and export it to Germany, as it can be produced more cheaply in Africa," emphasised Kannengießer. Erdem Tunçer, Consul General of Turkey, also signalled great interest in the solar and wind industry. "We expect a high level of motivation from German companies in these sectors.

Téhé Léger OUATTARA, Economic Attaché of the Embassy of Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) in Germany, was certain that the German economy would also develop a stronger interest in Africa. "The number of German companies involved in Côte d'Ivoire has doubled in the past five years." However, one challenge is that African countries are very isolated from one another. Travel options between African countries are not very well developed in some cases, and travelling within Africa is not possible without a visa, as is the case in the EU.

The CCI Giessen-Friedberg has been cooperating with African partners for many years. Since 2005, it has been the CCI Competence Centre for Nigeria, Africa's most populous country. The Africa Competence Centre was founded in 2019. In this context, the CCI offers interested companies advice, information events and materials as well as support in establishing business contacts with companies throughout Africa.