Africa
Expanding a Business in Africa
Africa Business Experts
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Africa Entering the Market
As the world's second largest, and second most populous continent, Africa would seem to be an obvious choice as a trading partner, or as somewhere to do business. Add to that huge wealth in natural resources, a young population and a rising middle class of potential customers and the arguments in favour of doing business in Africa seem obvious.
Yet many companies that have established an overseas presence in various parts of the world have yet to successfully trade in or with the African continent.
And by defining Africa in and of itself as a potential trade partner is one of the inherent dangers faced by companies with this broad agenda. For Africa, as well as being huge, is also hugely diverse.
For simplicity sake, we've chosen here to give generic advice on starting a business in Africa, or on expanding a business in Africa. But in the same way that South Africa is thousands of miles away from Sierra Leone, so culturally, linguistically and economically are the two neighbouring states of Angola and Zambia, or Kenya and Cameroun.
To do business in Africa it is important to follow the normal commercial rules - will my product sell in the African market, is there demand for my services in Africa, is my pricing structure appropriate etc. But there are also different rules of doing business, and indeed those rules will change depending on which part of Africa you choose to do business in.
To do business in Algeria, you may need to converse with potential partners in Arabic but to do business in Zimbabwe then English will be better.
To do business in another part of Africa, religion will play little part in your decision making process, whilst in another it might be the first question you need to ask.
The opportunities to do business in Africa are endless - with key markets ripe for development - agriculture and raw materials through to telecoms and tourism
As with trading anywhere in the world, local knowledge is paramount. Research the market thoroughly, research your potential partners ( distributors, sales agents etc) equally thoroughly. Find yourself a trusted friend who can advise on the complex issue of doing business in Africa. Find an organisation with a network of suppliers, who know the legal issues you may face, and importantly knows which questions to ask - and who to ask.
Below we've put together the headline statistics for the majority of the African countries, but use these pages to find the right suppliers to help your company start trading in Africa.
Country | Capital | Currency | Business Language(s) | |
Algeria | Algiers | Algerian dinar | Arabic | |
Angola | Luanda | Kwansa | Portuguese | |
Benin | Porto Novo | West African CFAfranc | French | |
Botswana | Gaborone | Pula | English, Setwana | |
Burkina Faso | Ouagadougou | West African CFA Franc | French | |
Burundi | Bujumbura | Burundi franc | Kirundi, French | |
Cameroon | Yaounde | Central African CFA franc | French, English | |
Cape Verde | Praia | Cape verdean escudo | Portuguese | |
Central African Republic Bangui | Bangui | Central African CFA franc | French | |
Chad | N'Jamena | Central African CFA franc | French, Arabic | |
Comoros | Moroni | Comorian Franc | Arabic, French | |
Côte d'Ivoire | Yamoussoukro | West African CFA franc | French | |
Democratic Republic of Congo | Kinshasa | Congolese franc | French | |
Djibouti | Djibouti | Djiboutian Franc | Arabic, French | |
Cairo | Egyptian Pound | Arabic | ||
Equatorial Guinea | Malabo | Central African CFA franc |
| |
Eritrea | Asmara | Nakfa | Tigrinya, Arabic, English | |
Ethiopia | Addis Ababa | Ethiopian birr | Amharic, English | |
Gabon | Libreville | Central African CFA franc | French | |
Gambia | Banjul | Dalasi | English | |
Accra | Ghanaian cedi | English | ||
Guinea | Conakry | Guinean franc | French | |
Guinea-Bissau | Bissau | West African CFA franc | Portuguese | |
Kenya | Nairobi | Kenyan shilling | Swahili, English | |
Lesotho | Maseru | Loti | Sesotho, English | |
Liberia | Tripoli | Libyan Diner | Arabic | |
Madagascar | Antananarivo | Malagasy Ariary | Malagasy, French | |
Malawi | Lilongwe | Malawian kwacha | English, Chichewa | |
Mali | Bamako | West African CFA franc | French | |
Mauritania | Nouakchott | Mauritanian Ouguiya | Arabic | |
Mauritius | Port Louis | Mauritian rupee | English, French, Mauritian Creole | |
Morocco | Rabat | Moroccan dirham | Arabic, Berber | |
Mozambique | Maputo | Mozambican metical | Portuguese | |
Namibia | Windhoek | Namibian dollar | English | |
Niger | Niamey | West African CFA franc | French | |
Abuja | Nigerian naira | English | ||
Republic of Congo | Brazzaville | Central African CFA franc | French | |
Rwanda | Kigali | Rwandan franc | Kinyarwanda, French, English | |
São Tomé and Príncipe | São Tomé | São Tomé and Príncipe Dobra | Portuguese | |
Senegal | Dakar | West African CFA franc | French | |
Seychelles | Victoria | Seychellois rupee | English, French, Seychellois Creole | |
Sierra Leone | Freetown | Leone | English | |
Somalia | Mogadishu | Somali shilling | Somali, Arabic | |
Bloemfontein, Cape Town, and Pretoria | South African rand | Afrikaans, English, Southern Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Sesotho, Swati, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu | ||
South Sudan | Juba | South Sudanese pound | English | |
Sudan | Khartoum | Sudanese pound | Arabic, English | |
Swaziland | Lobamba (royal and legislative) | Lilangeni | English, Swati | |
Tanzania | Dodoma | Tanzanian shilling | Swahili, English | |
Togo | Lomé | West African CFA franc | French | |
Tunisia | Tunis | Tunisian dinar | Arabic | |
Uganda | Kampala | Ugandan shilling | English, Swahili | |
Zambia | Lusaka | Zambian kwacha | English | |
Zimbabwe | Harare | United States dollar and South African rand | Shona, Ndebele, English |
Click here to Ask an Expert about Expanding a Business in Africa
Organisations that can assist with Entering the Market
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> Fred-young & Evans LP
Fred-young & Evans LP is a full service commercial law firm in Nigeria dedicated to providing both local and international clients with prompt and effective legal services within the ethical standards of the legal profession.
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> Company formation services.
Need to register a company or setting up a company?
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> Blue Marble Global Payroll
Simplified Global Payroll Managing payroll in multiple countries is complicated with different systems, deadlines, and languages in each country, lack of reporting, and constantly changing laws and regulations. Trying to manage global payroll via fax and email with excel spreadsheets leads to data security issues, fines, and penalties for non-compliance. Blue Marble has solved global payroll challenges with cloud-based technology, customized aggregated monthly reporting, and a hybrid service model in 150+ countries around the world.
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> Nominus.com
When expanding your business to Africa, don’t forget to protect your brand. We provide Trademark Registration services in African countries through the ARIPO and OAPI treaties.
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> TopSource Worldwide
TopSource Worldwide offers a complete range of employer services that allows you to employ and pay people promptly, consistently and compliantly — locally and internationally to suit your business needs. Our systems and processes are designed to work with your technology, and we bring decades of experience and a track record of success to our operations.
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> Business Consultancy Services.
Do you need advice from an expert in your field, on the ground? Need help finding the best route to market for your product or service?