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July 2012
EDA Office of Foreign Trade • Riverside County, California • USA
S
ince the beginning of the
great American recession, many
businesses have failed and many
still face slow death. What is the
current status of your business? Are
you posed for growth and how do
you plan to grow? Will domestic sales
provide the growth necessary to keep
your business in the black?
In this climate of globalization, the
question is, “what is your global
strategy?” Who else in the world
uses your product and how can you
profitably sell to them? The economic
slowdown of the last recession is
what prompted President Obama
in January 2010 to set a goal for
America to double exports over the
next five years. Over the last 30 years,
most American businesses have
been able to grow by selling only
to domestic markets. However, the
American consumer is only 5% of the
world’s potential market. So if you
are ignoring the 95% of the world
market, you may be doing so at your
own peril.
The question now is how do you
identify export markets that need and
want your product? Your first step
may include contacting the Riverside
County Economic Development Office
of Foreign Trade.
Most Americans are familiar with
the export markets of Europe, Asia
and Latin America, however, there
is a new economic power house that
has been billed the fastest growing
economy in the last 10 years with
growth rates of 8-12% in some
countries. This economic power
house is the continent of Africa with
its 54 countries.
“Africa is the ‘Land of Opportunity’,”
said African Development Bank’s
President Donald Kaberuka at the
G20 Summit, “and Africa can help the
world return to growth.” Kaberuka
also stated that the G20 agenda can
unlock the potential of Africa for the
good of Africa and for the good of the
world. A developed Africa can open
up new export markets for the West’s
saturated and stagnated economies.
The economic and export opportuni-
ties of Africa are very compelling giv-
en the population’s current size, the
emerging middle class and consumer
demand of almost a billion people.
Over the next 30 years, Africa needs
to build a minimum of 2 million
homes per year, provide computers
to over 200-300 million consumers,
500 million smart phones, build
over 200,000 megawatts of power,
thousands of roads, infrastructure in
an effort to develop their economy.
Africa imports almost 98% of its
need. No matter what product your
company makes, Africa needs it. So
while you are looking for export,
make sure you don’t overlook a
market where you can still be the
market leader rather than continue to
struggle as in a saturated market.
Toyin Dawodu is the Managing
partner of Capital Investment
Group, a California based Diversified
Investment Company focused on
Infrastructure development in Africa.
By Toyin Dawodu
Algeria Angola Ascension
Benin Botswana
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cabinda Cameroon
Cape Verde
Central African
Republic
Chad Comoros
Congo Cueta Djibouti
DR Congo
Egypt Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea Ethiopia
Gabon Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau
Ivory Coast
Kenya Lesotho Liberia Libya Madagascar
Madeira
Malawi
Mali Mauritania
Mauritius
Mayotte Melilla Morocco Mozambique
Namibia Niger Nigeria Republic of the Congo
Réunion Rwanda
SADR/Sahrawi Arab
Dem. Rep.
Saint Helena
Sao Tome & Principe
Senegal
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Somalia Somaliland
South Africa
Sudan Swaziland
Tanzania
Togo Tristan da Cunha
Tunisia Uganda Western Sahara
Zambia Zimbabwe
African Nations