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The South African business delegation that took part in the Outward Trade and Investment Mission (OTIM) to Ghana and Nigeria from 19-24 March 2018 hailed the mission as a success.

The mission, which aimed to promote bilateral trade and exploring investment opportunities was undertaken by 18 companies, and revealed the countless mutually beneficial business opportunities that exist in Ghana and Nigeria.

The majority of the SA business delegation said their objective was to penetrate the West African market and identify gaps for their products and services.

The Executive Chairman of Lithon Project Consultants, Mr Adriaan Grobler, said they received an impressive response from government and businesses and managed to make leads which will be considered upon return to South Africa.
 
“Firstly I wish to thank the dti for the opportunity granted to our company to participate in this outward selling and investment mission to Ghana and Nigeria. This gave us great entry to new markets, which would have been difficult to do on our own. In Ghana four private construction companies requesting for joint venture on turnkey projects and discussions are continuing to finalise areas of interest. In Nigeria, companies in the service of market research, oil and gas, mining and construction were interested in partnering for long-term projects,” said Grobler.
 
The President of Built Environment Export Council (BEPEC), Mr Cornelis Hugo Korsten, said for them what stood out was the site visit to the Meridian Port Service (MPS) Tema’s port expansion project where they learnt about the state of the ports and rail infrastructure as well as the upgrades that the parastatal intends to undertake.
 
Mr Korsten said the port expansion project presented opportunities for SA businesses and that there was a lot they could do for the Tema port to be revived.
 
“We will encourage our members to get involved in Ghana and Nigeria because for the continent to succeed globally, we have to improve infrastructure. Africa is endowed with resources and the best way to move these resources is through improved infrastructure networks across the region to fully exploit our economic potential,” said Mr Korsten.
 
The Chief Director of Trade Invest Africa at the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) Ms Zanele Sanni said: “South Africa is intimately linked with our partners on the continent, hence we ensure that our developmental agendas are interwoven as this relates to market integration as well as industrialisation.”
 
In addition, Sanni said companies needed to take a long-term view, especially when it came to undertaking business exercises in Africa.

Issued by Department of Trade and Industry