The African population is growing more than on any other continent. This fact alone is creating many opportunities, especially in the areas of education, finance and new technology applications. At the same time, there is increased pressure to develop infrastructure for better mobility services to serve the expanding population and the growing need for information exchange between people and businesses.
Nordic technologies and business cultures are highly regarded in Africa, due to Nordic business ethics and the quality of the services and products that Nordic countries can provide.
Developing societies in many African countries have created a growing group of wealthy businesses and individuals. There is money and funding available for companies that want to deal directly with African enterprises. Potential funding instruments are provided by organisations such as TEKES and Finnpartnership in Finland, Sida – the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency in Sweden and the Nordic Development Fund in all the Nordic countries.
EU funding for SMEs to enter African markets
The EU-funded growth project SME2GO will run until end of 2018, and aims to increase exports of smart city solutions from the Central Baltic region to new markets. During the coming years, SME2GO will focus on increasing cooperation between growth-oriented SMEs and multinational enterprises with solutions for smart cities to create synergies, new cross-border business opportunities, and exports.
The participants in the growth project have access to networking, international marketing and sales training, matchmaking, market intelligence, and customized support. The project provides its services to SMEs free of charge. It is a unique opportunity for innovative and growth-oriented companies to create business in new markets like Africa.
For additional information, go to www.sme2go.eu.
Matti Herlevi
Business Developer and supporter of African development
Posintra Oy and SME2GO-project