Our latest member poll has identified banking, legal services and infrastructure finance as the main areas of opportunity for UK financial and professional services firms looking to export to Sub-Saharan Africa. The survey also cited dispute resolution and commodities markets as areas of high interest in the region.
Three-quarters (76%) of those surveyed viewed Sub-Saharan Africa as a prime export opportunity for their business and 83% said their business has a high future growth potential in the region. Outside of financial services, oil and gas, minerals and mining and IT and telecoms were identified as the business sectors with the highest growth potential.
Our Sub-Saharan Africa Market Advisory Group was launched in June 2012 to develop and build closer business links between the financial and related professional services sector in the UK and Sub-Saharan Africa. The Group, which includes representatives from Citigroup, DLA Piper and Deloitte, will focus on areas of mutual benefit for the UK and the region.
Speaking at the first meeting, David Cowan, Chief Economist for Africa at Citigroup, said:
“The financial services sector has helped to drive significant growth in Sub-Saharan Africa over the last decade. From informal lending by microfinance organisations to formal lending by international banks, the region is one of the most dynamic markets in the world. The reality remains, however, that to deliver truly transformative growth Sub-Saharan Africa will have to increase investment in core infrastructure and become more closely integrated into the global economy.”
Chris Cummings, Chief Executive of TheCityUK, said:
“Sub-Saharan Africa offers exciting opportunities for UK firms to grow their business. The region is growing faster than almost any other area in the world. Our new Market Advisory Group will help us to identify where we can work together to the mutual benefit of the African and UK financial and professional services sectors. Perhaps most importantly, the Group will identify how we can help ambitious economies to fulfil their growth potential.”
Henry Bellingham MP, FCO Minister for Africa, also attended the first Group meeting and said:
“I applaud the formation of this Market Advisory Group for Africa. TheCityUK is at the heart of UKTI’s financial and professional services strategy for Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in key countries such as South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya. The FCO stands ready to be involved in supporting this important work – there are some exciting prospects to consider.”
We run a number of market advisory groups which work to develop closer business links between the financial and professional services sector in the UK and growing economies such as Brazil, Russia, India and China. We are also developing a network of international financial centres, providing access to wider geographic areas through agreements with cities such as Dubai, Moscow and Toronto.
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