/biz/ - Business & Finance

>>836353

If you're American, there is opportunity to be taken in exporting American made products to Africa. They use a lot of Chinese made crap right now, or much more expensive European products, in the next decade there will be a market for affordable quality goods, mainly in the manufacturing, service, and Ag sectors.

All those listed countries and others are already getting saturated with foreign development and investment. If you're going to take the risk of investing in a strange land, get risky, and go Namibia or Tanzania.

>>836356
May I ask your background? I don't doubt you I'm just curious.

I'm Israeli (Yes, Jewish) and investing in Arabic countries is a big issue for me.

Investing in Namibia and Tanzania is going to be annoying. I would need a trustworthy team located in the countries in order to conduct business there.

My idea is to invest in small-scale businesses and understand the local economic make-up of specific developing cities in Africa.

>>836364
Do you speak Arabic? Just curious because I did consulting work in Northern Africa on businesses that wanted to move in there.

I got laid off eventually because while I speak really good french (native of Quebec), I don't speak arabic and its becoming more necessary.

Other languages that are good to know are Swahili (obviously), or even Chinese because thats where alot of the money is at.

But I guess this is irrelevant as an investor. You can hire a guy with good language skills and an understanding of the local culture. Pay (relatively) good money for a guy who knows the customs, how to appropriately bribe, and that sort of stuff.

I could offer you some advice but what type of investments are you looking for. Do you want to invest in small businesses that have good growth potential? Large African firms? Do you have a specific industry that you know alot about?

I spent most of my time consulting for clothing makers, artisan leather makers, fruit companies , and seafood. (obviously the industries of North Africa are different than central or west Africa).

I've heard good things about Zambia and Uganda, but these are primarily mining areas. I have no reliable information on a consumption class.

I actually really like the idea of exporting American/European consumer/industrial goods to Africa. There is a lot of potential in catering towards upper middle class African consumers and businesses with reliable products. I know one success story of a guy who brought tons of iphones into Africa and did quite well. You just have to heavily research your market and tally shipments that can earn you high returns, but you can also afford to lose through seized shipments, or sitting stuck in a port somewhere for unexpected amounts of time.

>>836394
I considered low-level businesses but the return would be near nil. The idea of importing American goods into Africa was actually my second idea.

I don't know shit about Africa. I'm going to spend about a year purely on research before I even enter a market.

I speak Hebrew natively, so learning Arabic is just a matter of practice. I know a Chinese person who will work with me closely (American-Chinese) So that will cover the Chinese. I'll hire a translator if needed.

Could you tell me about your experience with North Africa? Particularly Egypt.

>>836394
>really good french (native of Quebec)
Tabernac

>>836353
I've lived in Kenya. It's one of the most corrupt countries in the world (at least in the top 10 of it)

The average citizen pays 18 bribes per month. Also theft is rampant.

Employees will steal your stuff or money and don't return. It happens all the time.

Government employees will try to extort you and blackmail you in order to get money

Also I'm not a racist (as i had a Kenyan girlfriend for nearly 4 years) but people there are incredible lazy and sloppy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txBoK7JnpqU

>>836353
and what I personally would suggest. Go to some of those countries for a couple of weeks. It will gain you 10 times more insight than a year or research.

>>836432
Which is why I'm very worried about investing in low-level businesses. I might just focus on the upper middle and upper classes.

>>836440
I agree. I just need to get a business plan before I go.

and also an outsider/western it's very difficult to get good deal or to get anything done there at all.

Kenyans will always give the cherry of the pie to someone of their own tribe (there are about 50 different tribes in Kenya all with their own language, culture history etc)

>>836444
In Kenya it doesn't matter if a business is low level or high level.. Theft and fraud is everywhere.

At a low level company a construction worker will steal the tools.. at a high class company like an investment firm a manager will simply empty the companies bank account and book a one way ticket to Europe or South Africa.

>>836353
Unless you're planning on reinstating slavery, the answer is no.

Absolutely not. Africa isn't shot because it's in economic depression. Africa is shit because the people are shit. Invest in Ukraine. Those guys are bound to rise again.

>>836402
I'm on mobile atm, Egypt business is a clusterfuck lately and I wouldn't go near it tbh. I spent most my time in Tunisia Algeria and morocco. Good domestic market but high youth unemployment. Pied noir (whites) own plenty of businesses that are inefficient but stable.

A reliable plan in North Africa has always been bringing in us equipment (Algerian concrete companies want CAT equipment, bring in a used model by container, ship back dates from Algeria leather from morocco etc

Import export is honestly probably the way to go but it is risky because of a very weak supply chain. Companies usually set up there own supply chain for a lot of transport and distribution because of stolen goods or shit being left en route for 10 times the estimated time.

If we were delivering pieces of equipment to someplace shit like Mali we would fly in crewmbers from a western country because they actually know how to do everything and won't steal.

>>836407
Yea haha I know i sound like a mongrel québécois but the pied noirs and Tunisians don't care as much as Parisians would throw a shit fit about it.

>>836506
Is this a joke? Russia will complete turkish stream by 2016, and Germany already ordered Nordstream 2.0 just for themselves. Once that happens, bye bye gas transit moneys for Ukraine. What prevented it from rising for the past 20 years? MSM will say "Russia", anyone with a brain will say "warlordism and gansterism". 10M emigrated from Ukraine in the last 20 years, supposedly the best and the brightest. You're betting on whats left.

>>836353
>>836432
This is so correct and applicable anywhere.
I personally lost $150,000 in Cambodia with a building supplies business. Other partners lost far more.
The corruption sucks any profit from the model, and theft is unbeliavbly out of control.
We were selling and for a short time hiring mechanical equipment, parts would be stolen if the equipment was even returned at all. But worse still fuel was constantly being stolen back at the depot by staff.
The worse thing is that the clientele we were doing business with with mostly family members of the ruling elite and would just shrug their shoulder if our equipment was stolen from their property developments and if we pressed harder legally we'd suddenly get a 100 brushfires from statutory authorities starting everywhere.
>>836444
Some advice I have for OP is unless you have a very strong connection to someone copnnected to the ruling elite, don't bother ever- invest in shares in your own country its safer and will provide better returns.
exploitong the 3rd world is a bit of a leftie myth to be honest.

>>836461
this is also very true

>>836506
Ukraine. Lol no

>>836838
>Ukraine. Lol no
Ukraine should prove to be a great investment opportunity.
Maybe not right now, but it's moving to the west and corruption will decrease as reforms occur in order to meet Western economic business standards.

Look up Bill Browder and how he made tons of money in Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union.
Ukraine reminds me very much of that, except it's headed towards a safer Western integration rather than the quasi-Soviet authoritarianism of current day Russia (which is why Browder got screwed in Russia).

>>836860
Пpивiт, я пpoвiв чac в Укpaїнi i нeмaє, я нe згoдeн.
Пoлiтикa є зaнaдтo кopyмпoвaнi.
Кpaїнa нaвiть нe лeгкo пoчaти пepвиннy пpoдyкцiю тaм чepeз виcoкi пoдaткiв i кopyмпoвaнoгo ypядy, i тoдi вaм дoвeдeтьcя мaти cпpaвy зi злoчинцями.
Гpoшi мoжyть бyти зpoблeнi в бyдь-якoмy мicцi, якщo y вac є пoтpiбнi зв'язки.

>>836364

I work for a company that develops specialized agricultural solutions. Israelis are really big right now in importing Chinese junk (in my sector) to the third world, you could probably find some leads.

>>836461

is her name emma?

her name is emma. of course it is.

stay out of africa, will forever be too unstable to invest in unless you outright buy the government and shoot anyone that steps onto your properties or projects like the chinese or israelis do.

Even the more stable countries like kenya are horribly unreliable for investment, corrupt everything and if it's not bolted down it gets stolen.

>>836353
Would you consider doing business with Ethiopia as a starting point?

>>836353

South Afrifag here. We're experiencing pretty slow economic growth atm however we have some of the best financing systems and professionals in the world (I think our CA's are ranked second only to Scotland) the labour unions and infrastructure issues in some parts make getting established problematic but there are definately budding centres where you would be safe to start in, Cape Town has a huge tech startup culture and Johannesburg is pretty much the financial epicentre of Africa. There are barriers to entry however and with That said Nigeria is growing much faster atm and starting the right kind of business there could be highly lucrative.

>>836353

>>836353

South Afrifag here. We're experiencing pretty slow economic growth atm however we have some of the best financing systems and professionals in the world (I think our CA's are ranked second only to Scotland) the labour unions and infrastructure issues in some parts make getting established problematic but there are definately budding centres where you would be safe to start in, Cape Town has a huge tech startup culture and Johannesburg is pretty much the financial epicentre of Africa. There are barriers to entry however although the infrastructure issues (i.e electricity shortages etc don't affect business much save for some heavy manufacturing and mining sectors). That said Nigeria is growing much faster atm and starting the right kind of business there could be highly lucrative although many companies prefer SA as an entry point because the culture is more familiar and western. Also just read the newspaper, economic reports McKinsey quarterlys etc and you'll get your 'objective information' anon.
.

>>839268
This is good. Stick around ITT it'll be good to have African voices to offer wider perspective.