非洲投资之路 Investment Net: A Gateway to Invest in Africa

Hello and welcome to this edition of  Africa Express on China Radio International. I'm your host, Wei Tong.

William Wang, founder of Africa Investment Net, the first enterprise in China providing consultation for Chinese entrepreneurs launching businesses in Africa. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com]

At present, China and Africa have conducted considerable economic and trade cooperation. At present, China has invested 7 billion US dollars in Africa. Bilateral trade reached 55 billion dollars in 2006, a nearly 30 percent increase from the previous year.

More ambitious Chinese entrepreneurs have brought homemade products and technology to Africa and launched businesses in the fields of natural resources exploitation, medical care, manufacturing, architecture, telecommunications and real estate. Plenty of African merchants are eager to access the Chinese market, too. However, many of them have little idea about the potential market and hope to learn more about it before starting here. Africa Investment Net was set up in 2000 to solve the problem. Recently, I met its founder and president, William Wang.

In 1997, William Wang resigned from his post as an official at China's Ministry of Commerce. He was dedicated to establishing a network that offers consultation for ambitious Chinese entrepreneurs to invest in Africa. After three years of efforts, the network was established and became the first to link Chinese businesspeople and African investment projects.

"At the very beginning, I just wanted to set up a platform for Chinese investors and provide information about Africa's investment environment because at that time, China already adopted the policy of market diversification and encouraged enterprises to go abroad. I believe investing in Africa is a win-win solution. It not only brings in capital, but also more employment and technologies to the African continent. In this regard, the Internet could not be a better way as a bridge."

William Wang said such institutions offering investment services with regard to Africa are rather insufficient in China, probably due to the difficulty in handling them. However, he thinks Africa is a potential market for China and he believes he has made the right choice.

So far, Africa Investment Net has offered business consultation to one-quarter of the 800 Chinese enterprises in Africa.

Some Chinese entrepreneurs regard Africa full of "gold" or only consider it a place where they can simply take a slice of the pie. William Wang warned that this view misunderstands certain facts about African investment conditions.

"If you think everywhere in Africa is full of gold, you have a short-sighted view about the continent. You should learn about investment environment policy, economic conditions and the legal system and can't be too hurried. You have to stay there and study carefully to find your advantages and disadvantages. You have to work hard to make things reality."

On the contrary, other businesspeople think the continent has little investment value and people are liable to suffer certain diseases and fall victims of violence. William Wang pointed out that view goes to another extreme, which hampers business development.

"This is also a big misunderstanding. Most of the 53 African countries are very beautiful. They are safe and people are kind, friendly. There are a lot of opportunities. It is not like the way most of the media describe Africa. So we need to have correct ideas about the African continent."

Chinese and African cultures share many similarities, featuring respect for the elderly, filial piety, diligence and optimism. But they also have differences. Only through following African traditions and customs can Chinese investors operate their businesses successfully. Next time, Africa Investment Net president William Wang will share with us more experiences on how to integrate with African culture.