Renasce o interesse pelo mercado da Costa do Marfim

A FNAC, cadeia francesa de produtos e bens culturais, está a reforçar sua expansão internacional. Na Europa esta empresa já possui estabelecimentos na Bélgica, Espanha, Portugal e Suíça, depois de há cerca de 3 anos ter encerrado as suas operações na Grécia. Na América, dispõe de 12 lojas no Brasil. Em África, e depois do investimento realizado em Marrocos,  a FNAC decidiu agora realizar uma nova aposta na Costa do Marfim,a primeira na África Subsariana, em parceria com um grupo empresarial local.

A aposta que esta empresa francesa faz no mercado da Costa do Marfim é justificada pelo facto da situação política do país ter “estabilizado”, mas também por se tratar de um país com grande potencial económico e que integra o grupo de países africanos francófonos. Mas não é apenas a FNAC que mostra interesse pela Costa do Marfim. Outros grandes grupos internacionais estão também a implantar-se neste mercado da Costa Ocidental Africana, como pode ver aqui. E para além das razões já apresentadas pela FNAC, outros investidores consideram também que o regresso do Banco Africano de Desenvolvimento à sua sede em Abidjan, depois de ter estado "deslocalizado" durante 11 anos em Tunis, constitui "per si" um forte sinal de confiança no país e até de abertura para a realização de negócios.

Investidores estrangeiros apostam em escolas e universidades privadas em África

A área do ensino privado em África está um suscitar um interesse crescente por parte de algumas multinacionais e fundos de investimento europeus e norte-americanos. Bill Gates e Mark Zuckerberg investirem recentemente na Kenya's Bridge International Academies, no Quénia, que tem mais  de 100 000 estudantes. A Laureate International Universities, que em Portugal é proprietária da Universidade Europeia, IPAM e IADE, adquiriu, em Marrocos, a Université Internationale de Casablanca. O fundo de investimento norte-americano TPG, liderado pelo multimilionário David Bonderman, comprou uma posição minoritária nas Ecoles Yassamine, em Marrocos. Estes são apenas alguns exemplos de investimentos com capitais estrangeiros realizados recentemente no sector da educação em África, mas existem muitos outros, sobretudo em países africanos anglófonos e francófonos.

O Continente Africano têm a maior proporção de população jovem do Mundo, estimando-se que cerca de metade da sua população total (1, 16 mil milhões de habitantes) é constituída por crianças e jovens. Existe, por isso, uma grande variedade de oportunidades de negócio (também) na área da educação, e também nos nos países africanos lusófonos, que deverão vir a ser analisadas, com mais atenção e a curto-médio prazo, por parte de investidores internacionais.

A Turquia e a África Subsaariana

O "think tank" londrino Chatham House (The Royal Institute of International Affairs) acaba de publicar um estudo da autoria de David Shinn sobre o envolvimento político e económico da Turquia na África Subsaariana, designado por "Turkey's Engagement in Sub-Saharan Africa: Shifting Alliances and Strategic Diversification".

Da leitura deste trabalho (que pode ver aqui), destacamos as seguintes principais conclusões:

- "Turkey’s engagement in sub-Saharan Africa in recent years has been driven by the region’s growing economic importance to Ankara; its interest in diversifying away from the Middle East; and the apparent desire for influence among sub-Saharan Africa’s large Muslim population.

- Turkey’s increasingly strained relations with traditional partners in the Middle East suggest that it will continue to expand its Africa strategy. The number of Turkish embassies in the region has risen, as have the number of high-level bilateral visits. The Second Turkey–Africa Partnership Summit was held in Equatorial Guinea in late 2014.

- Trade with sub-Saharan African countries represents only a fraction of Turkey’s global trade, but foreign direct investment is increasing, and a number of free trade agreements are being negotiated. Turkish businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, are carving out a niche in construction and in information and communications technology, and Turkish Airlines is becoming prominent as a carrier to the region.

- Turkish aid to sub-Saharan Africa has grown. The Turkish International Cooperation and Development Agency (TIKA) has expanded its presence, and there has been significant growth in the number of Turkish scholarships available to African students.

- Turkish humanitarian organizations are prominent in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in those countries with significant Muslim populations. However, organizations linked to Fethullah Gülen have found their operations under increasing pressure from the AKP government following the rift between Erdoğan and his former ally – although some African governments have apparently resisted pressure from Ankara to close down Gülenist-run schools".

Este crescente protagonismo de empresas turcas em mercados da África Subaariana, tem sido também bastante notoda em algumas iniciativas comerciais realizadas em alguns paises africanos de língua oficial portuguesa, sobretudo em Angola e em Moçambique, e nomeadamente nas edições anuais da Feira Internacional de Luanda (FILDA) e da Feira Internacional de Maputo (FACIM).

Turkey’s engagement in sub-Saharan Africa in recent years has been driven by the region’s growing economic importance to Ankara; its interest in diversifying away from the Middle East; and the apparent desire for influence among sub-Saharan Africa’s large Muslim population.

Turkey’s increasingly strained relations with traditional partners in the Middle East suggest that it will continue to expand its Africa strategy. The number of Turkish embassies in the region has risen, as have the number of high-level bilateral visits. The Second Turkey–Africa Partnership Summit was held in Equatorial Guinea in late 2014.

Somalia has been central to Turkey’s Africa strategy. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s visit to Mogadishu in 2011 was the first by a non-African head of government in almost 20 years, and Turkish business and humanitarian agencies and NGOs are increasingly present in the country.

Trade with sub-Saharan African countries represents only a fraction of Turkey’s global trade, but foreign direct investment is increasing, and a number of free trade agreements are being negotiated. Turkish businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, are carving out a niche in construction and in information and communications technology, and Turkish Airlines is becoming prominent as a carrier to the region.

Turkish aid to sub-Saharan Africa has grown. The Turkish International Cooperation and Development Agency (TIKA) has expanded its presence, and there has been significant growth in the number of Turkish scholarships available to African students.

Turkish humanitarian organizations are prominent in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in those countries with significant Muslim populations. However, organizations linked to Fethullah Gülen have found their operations under increasing pressure from the AKP government following the rift between Erdoğan and his former ally – although some African governments have apparently resisted pressure from Ankara to close down Gülenist-run schools.

- See more at: https://www.chathamhouse.org/publication/turkeys-engagement-sub-saharan-africa-shifting-alliances-and-strategic-diversification#sthash.f1HdYEXA.dpuf

Turkey’s engagement in sub-Saharan Africa in recent years has been driven by the region’s growing economic importance to Ankara; its interest in diversifying away from the Middle East; and the apparent desire for influence among sub-Saharan Africa’s large Muslim population.

Turkey’s increasingly strained relations with traditional partners in the Middle East suggest that it will continue to expand its Africa strategy. The number of Turkish embassies in the region has risen, as have the number of high-level bilateral visits. The Second Turkey–Africa Partnership Summit was held in Equatorial Guinea in late 2014.

Somalia has been central to Turkey’s Africa strategy. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s visit to Mogadishu in 2011 was the first by a non-African head of government in almost 20 years, and Turkish business and humanitarian agencies and NGOs are increasingly present in the country.

Trade with sub-Saharan African countries represents only a fraction of Turkey’s global trade, but foreign direct investment is increasing, and a number of free trade agreements are being negotiated. Turkish businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, are carving out a niche in construction and in information and communications technology, and Turkish Airlines is becoming prominent as a carrier to the region.

Turkish aid to sub-Saharan Africa has grown. The Turkish International Cooperation and Development Agency (TIKA) has expanded its presence, and there has been significant growth in the number of Turkish scholarships available to African students.

Turkish humanitarian organizations are prominent in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in those countries with significant Muslim populations. However, organizations linked to Fethullah Gülen have found their operations under increasing pressure from the AKP government following the rift between Erdoğan and his former ally – although some African governments have apparently resisted pressure from Ankara to close down Gülenist-run schools.

- See more at: https://www.chathamhouse.org/publication/turkeys-engagement-sub-saharan-africa-shifting-alliances-and-strategic-diversification#sthash.f1HdYEXA.dpuf