Africa offers a huge market for investment

Atalayar spoke with Amani Abou-Zeid, Commissioner of the African Union responsible for Infrastructures, Energy and OECD, on the occasion of the Africa-Spain Cooperation Summit held in Madrid, where the important economic ties between the African continent and Europe and Spain were analysed and where the great potential for investment that Africa offers was highlighted.

Dr Abou-Zeid, what is your opinion of this Africa-Spain Cooperation Summit?

I think this event comes at an opportune and challenging time. It is timely because we know that Spain is now in the presidency of the Council of the European Union, but it is also a challenging moment because the world has been living through a series of crises since 2020, whether it is the pandemic, the war in Europe, and now the energy and food insecurity or crisis. That being said, climate issues also continue to threaten our planet. When times of crisis occur, they are also times of opportunity to build new ways of thinking or rethink what we do. That is perhaps what we hope and expect the world to do. It is Europe in general, but specifically for Spain. Spain and Africa have long ties, historically, but also recently we have seen Spain moving closer and closer to Africa. In February this year we received His Excellency the Minister of Foreign Affairs at the Executive Council of the African Union. We have seen more and more interest from the African business community in the enormous potential that exists in Africa.

What I would like to see is that at two levels. One, at the political level. Spain, in its current role at the head of the European Council, must help in this movement that is taking place towards a new partnership, a partnership between equals, based on justice, equity and transparency. I believe that your country has great potential and the opportunity to do so. That is an important level that we, Spain now has a great opportunity in its role to play. The second is, again, to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the crisis that we are seeing. Whether it is digital, whether it is infrastructure in general, whether it is energy, the whole world knows that Africa is at the centre and is the potential for the whole world today and tomorrow in terms of energy transition or digitalisation, benefiting also from the wonderful resource that we have, and the most important one, which is our young people and their creativity and energy.

So, I think there is a huge market in Africa, supported also by a free trade area that has 1.3 billion people which is a fantastic opportunity for investors from Spain. Economies of scale, because we are driving transcontinental regional projects. We are also harmonising our policies, regulations to make things easier for investors, especially in infrastructure. There are some facilities for the feasibility of project preparation, which is usually a costly phase in project development. And, as I said, opportunities also for new dynamics that will benefit from the green-based technologies and industries of the future.

We have eight or nine African countries already producing green hydrogen, for example. We have four African countries on the way to producing sustainable aviation fuel. We have many more possibilities for a green industry, which is a new multi-billion dollar way of doing business, not to mention, of course, our critical minerals essential for batteries. And there are already countries we are working with in Africa, who are here to invest in the production of these batteries on the ground and in the production even of electric cars in Africa and so on. There are immense opportunities for their investors. They will find a great business area, a young population, but really the greatest potential in whatever sector they choose. And the timing is right because the world is changing and is aware of these opportunities.

And security, I believe that businessmen who go to Africa have legal security to do business.

Africa is not one country. It is 55 countries. Each country is one. So it makes a difference where you are talking about and what you are talking about. But yes, we have American investors, we have French investors, we have British investors massively on the continent. So I don't see why Spanish investors would be any different in that sense. Other investors, even from your continent, are investing massively in Africa. So I think there are some lingering stereotypes that we need to move away from and get down to work.

And in infrastructure, the Spanish experience can be useful.

And it has been for a long time. I have myself contributed to the development of Noor, the solar power plant in Ouarzazate in Morocco. And we use Spanish technology. And in my own country, in Egypt, in railways, we use Spanish technology. And I can go on... And so far, your country is successful, it is a success story and it has a lot to offer. So I am convinced that there are ways to get to a win-win situation, where your investors benefit from the potential that I have talked about in Africa, but also where Africa benefits from the experience and the technical aspects or the know-how of Spain to make things work for the benefit of both sides.