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22 JUNE 2013
WRITTEN BY BRUH YIHUNBELAY
AFRICA: POLAND'S NEXT TARGET
‘Go Africa’
Little more than a decade ago, the London-based weekly news and international affairs
publication, The Economist, printed an article titled ‘The Hopeless Continent’.
It featured Africa and the problems that the continent was facing. Now the rhetoric has changed, and all eyes are glued
on Africa. 'Africa Rising', 'Lion Economy' and 'Africa's Century' are some of the titles printed by major international
publications.
In recent years China, India, Japan and other countries from the Orient have entered the African market. Still, for many
years, Europe's presence in Africa has been significant. Now the latest European country to show an interest in Africa is
Poland.
“Polish and African countries have a lot in common: they put on a dynamic development, consistently build human
capital and attract an increasing number of foreign investors,” Deputy Prime Minister Janusz Piechociński said during
the inauguration of the Economic Cooperation Forum Africa-Central Europe.
Piechociński pointed out that rich deposits of raw materials and minerals, social change, and improving infrastructure
investment are factors directly affecting the attractiveness of African countries. “The countries of this continent are a
huge market, with a growing middle class and a young society, which is a big challenge for our business,” he stressed.
In his opinion, the key to success in building relations between Poland and Africa is to co-operate in the construction of
knowledge-based economies and human capital. “We want to encourage Polish companies to enter the African markets,
as well as to build the image of our country among the local entrepreneurs. We have created a program, ‘Go Africa’,
which aims to increase trade and investment between our two countries,” he added.
At the opening of the "TOP 10: the most promising markets for Polish exports in the years 2013-15" conference, deputy
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minister of the economy, Ilona Antoniszyn, indicated that in 2012 Polish exports increased by nearly four percent,
reaching a value of nearly 142 billion euros. And one reason is the rapidly increasing trade with developing countries
and the least developed countries. “Exports to these markets increased last year by as much as 19 percent,” she added.
The under-secretary of state at the ministry said that countries like Algeria, Brazil, Canada, Kazakhstan and Turkey are
the most promising for the expansion of Polish exports.
Recently, the Polish Ministry of the Economy launched the project ‘Go China’, which facilitates entry of Polish companies
into the Chinese market, and ‘Go Africa’, which will assist entrepreneurs in starting up in Angola, Kenya, Mozambique,
Nigeria, and South Africa.
It seems that Poland is ready to promote itself and its products to the world, and recently the Polish Ministry of the
Economy and the Nigerian Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment signed a declaration of co-operation during the
official visit of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. The trade mission to Africa at the beginning of April was part of the
‘Go Africa’ project.
According to the declaration, Poland and Nigeria agreed to consult on the level of business investment plans by the
ministries of the two countries. The Polish delegation also informed of their interest in the African business market and
the planned implementation of the project ‘Go Africa’. It is an initiative of the Ministry of the Economy, which, in
collaboration with other government agencies, has proposed a coherent strategy for the development of relations with
African markets.
During his visit to Nigeria, the Secretary of State at the Ministry took part in the Polish-Nigerian Economic Forum,
attended by 190 representatives from Nigerian companies and 30 companies from Poland. Representatives from the
petroleum industry, armaments, energy, transport, food and finance participated in the forum.
Tomasz Ostaszewicz, director of the Promotion and Bilateral Co-operation department at the Polish Ministry of the
Economy, told The Reporter that his country is willing to share experiences and learn from Africa.
“We have experience on how to establish successful Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs),” he said.
“We want to focus on IT companies, advanced services and other investments.”
In the period 2001-2010, six of the ten fastest-growing economies in the world were from sub-Saharan Africa. Forecasts
for the next decade show that economic growth in this part of the world will be in excess of seven percent per year.
The Polish economy
According to data from the World Bank, Poland is a high-income economy and the sixth largest in the EU. It is one of the
fastest-growing economies in Europe, with a yearly growth rate of more than three percent before the late-2000s
recession. As the only member country of the European Union to have avoided a decline in Gross Domestic Product
(GDP), in 2009 Poland had created the most GDP growth in the EU, according to a report by Eurostat. As of December
2009, the Polish economy had not entered recession or contracted. According to the Central Statistical Office of Poland,
in 2010 the Polish economic growth rate was 3.9 percent, which was one of the best in Europe.
The Polish state has steadfastly pursued a policy of economic liberalization throughout the 1990s, with positive results
for economic growth.
In the 1990s the government began a comprehensive reform program, to replace the centralized command economy
with a market-oriented system, and overall results have been impressive.
In 2012, the GDP of Poland stood at USD 799.2 billion on a Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) basis. Agriculture accounts
for 3.5 percent of GDP, while industry and services account for 34.2 percent and 62.3 percent of the GDP respectively.
Polish companies eyeing Ethiopia
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Currently, Polish companies are planning to enter the Ethiopian market. One of them is Asseco, the largest corporation
in the Polish information technology sector. Established in 1991, Asseco Group is a federation of companies engaged in
information technology. They operate in most European countries as well as in Israel, the US, Japan, and Canada.
Asseco Group companies are listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange and the American
NASDAQ Global Markets.
Asseco Group offers proprietary IT solutions for all sectors of the economy, and is placed among the top ten software
vendors in Europe ("Top 100 European Software Vendors" ranking published by Truffle Capital in December 2012).
Asseco has a wide range of global clientèle including Volkswagen, Orange, Adidas, Toyota, Honda, Mazda, Nestle,
Unilever, Panasonic and Renault among others.
Another company that is also eyeing the Ethiopian market is Ursus, a publicly traded company listed in the Warsaw
Stock Exchange (WSE), and the oldest Polish trademark of vehicles, machines and agricultural equipment.
The company's primary focus is the production and sale of tractors and agricultural machinery. Krzysztof Sekuła, deputy
commercial director, told Ethiopian journalists that the company is scheduled to take part in the Ethiopia Food and Pack
Expo to be held in Addis Ababa from June 20-24.
In Africa, Ursus has already invested in Algeria, Angola, Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, and South Africa.
The company has a production capacity of 1,000 to 2,000 units per year, and by the end of this year the capacity,
according to the company's officials, will grow to 5,000 units.
The company is currently looking for partners in reference to the sale and distribution of tractors and agricultural
machinery. According to officials from the company, joint venture is also possible if a sound and feasible business plan is
put on the table.
Lediko, a LED lighting manufacturer, is another company that wants to spread its wings to Africa and Ethiopia. They
focus on producing energy efficient and durable LED lighting. Industrial and street LED lights are the major production
lines of the company.
MFO Steel Profile has been operating in the steel market since 2000. Currently the company exports its products to the
EU, Russia, Ukraine, South America and Australia and is set to make its debut on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. The
company believes that Africa is the next stop, and is eyeing Ethiopia.
Around 40 Polish companies are interested in investing in Ethiopia, and representatives from the companies met with
Ambassador Fesseha Asghedom, chief of mission and plenipotentiary to Germany, in Warsaw last week. Companies
from the software industry, pharmaceuticals and infrastructure construction
are also interested in investing in Ethiopia.
With the ‘Go Africa’ project going at full speed, Polish companies seem keen to invest in Africa and Ethiopia in particular.
According to officials from the companies, the strong Chinese presence in Africa is not a threat.
“Our products are way superior to what Chinese companies could offer, and we are confident that clients will go for our
products,” Adam Kawka, manager of at MFO Special Profiles, said.
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