19_05_30_ECO_africa

"Africa was the unknown continent, then it became the continent of the future and now it is the continent of the present". This was stated at the University of Navarra by José Ramón Ferrandis Muñoz, head of area Africa of the administrative office of State for Trade, in his speech at the workshop "Africa as a market: challenges and opportunitieswhich was attended by more than fifty companies from Navarra.

At meeting, organized by the School Economics e ICEX Spain Exports and InvestmentsFerrandis encouraged companies in Navarre to go to the regional Trade Directorates to find out about the possibilities offered by the African continent and to receive advice on the ground. "What we are looking for is to prevent Spanish companies from taking risks due to lack of knowledge," he said.

The expert recalled that "African countries do not resemble each other but, at the same time, Africa has generic characteristics that apply to almost all the nations of the continent". In this sense, he explained that one of the challenges facing Spanish companies is the impossibility of permanently having clean and cheap energy: "One of the biggest problems," he explained, "are the distribution networks that date back to colonial times" and that, in some cases, such as South Africa, there is still a dependence on energy produced by thermoelectric plants. "Since the demonization of coal because of climate change, the productive capacity of South Africa, the most advanced country in the region, has begun to fall," he said.

On the other hand, Ferrandis described how the USSR used African decolonization to create scenarios of conflict with the West and, in turn, to spread communist ideas. Something that, in the expert's opinion, destroyed existing institutions and spurred civil wars in several countries. "Soviet communism is inseparable from poverty in many of the countries of the subcontinent," he said.

In terms of opportunities, he developed the success story of Côte d'Ivoire, "a balanced and sensible country, which is growing and has become the beacon of West Africa". Paradoxically, this comes with greater difficulties in investing. "Sometimes it is better to invest in a country that offers fewer possibilities, but with greater guarantees," he said.

submission During the workshop "Africa as a market: challenges and opportunities", the student Lucía Serrano Arroyo, for her study of the computer market in the United States for business Navarra Sistemas OEE, was awarded the award for the best work Final Degree of internationalization 2019 . As well as two runners-up prizes to students Javier Rodríguez Bacaicoa and Gabriela Arias Machuca for their work for the companies Aceites Urzante and Galeo Enrrollables, respectively.

This TFG modality consists of carrying out a market research on a product or service in the destination country of exchange of student. To date, more than 80 companies have benefited from this program, which, in the last six years, has contributed to more than 200 projects in 40 countries.