India needs to consider Africa as a single market: Envoy

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SME Times News Bureau | 31 Jul, 2015
India needs to consider Africa as a whole and not simply focus on individual countries as places for investment, the Ghanian envoy to India said here on Thursday.

"India needs to look for strategic investment in Africa and consider the entire continent as a single market," Ghanian High Commissioner Samuel Panyin Yalley said at an event organised by CII.

While Indian companies can look into areas like infrastructure, manufacturing, technology, mining and other areas for possible opportunities, the continent with a 200 million strong population can also be a potential market for the companies undertaking investment, he said.

"Africa will be the the next frontier in economy," Yalley said.

Indo-African trade is expected to touch $90 billion in the current year. Between 2005 and 2011, trade between India and African countries has grown 32 percent annually with Nigeria, South Africa, Angola, Egypt, Algeria and Morocco constituting 89 percent of total African exports to India.

The major import components for India comprise oil and gas, ores and gold.

Yalley said land is readily available and is cheap in the continent and the firms will not face challenges in sending profits back to the home country.

"Profits can be sent back home without any concern," he said.

Yalley opined that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Make in India' campaign is interlinked with investments in Africa.

"After you make things in India, where are you going to sell them? Africa can be a choice for the market then," he said.

An Indo-African business seminar has been scheduled in India in October this year to explore areas of cooperation.