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Non-formal (additional) Aid resources

“Do not eat on your own”

UK Business (& Foreign Direct Investment)

Africans need jobs. Especially jobs that provide a regular income. A significant part of the
UK population resent the idea of ‘giving aid’ to Africa when the UK government has

problems funding some things ‘at home’. These people can be persuaded that providing

Africans in some of the ‘left behind’ parts of Africa is more acceptable.
It should be UK government policy to increase the involvement of UK businesses in

Africa generally. Africa will soon provide ‘1 in 5’ of the world’s workforce. These create not

just opportunities for UK businesses but also ‘needs’. There will be a greater opportunity for
sales in Africa. But there will also be a greater need to look for African business partners.

And a greater need to identify African based manufacturing possibilities.

There are reasons why Africa can be a good place for UK businesses to trade there. In
many of the UK’s ex-colonies, ‘company law’ is almost identical to UK ‘company law’.

(I once was tasked to help rescue a ‘maize-milling’ business in Zambia, where maize is a major business.
Local lawyers explained to me that at the time of independence there were other priorities and existing
‘company law’ was, for the most part, ‘carried over’ unchanged.)

If UK businesses are to take full advantage of the long-term growth in African economies,

they need to develop ‘first-hand’ practical experience of what operating there will mean.
Everybody can gain from DfiD/FCDO making a much greater use of UK businesses in

Africa. Some left behind African communities can be helped along a path of long-term

economic development. Some local Africans can start to get the regular income that
allows them to make long-term plans for their families. UK businesses can begin to acquire

the experience they will need if they are to develop their own operations in Africa. And

DfiD/FCDO can increase both their ‘spending power’ and their record of ‘achievement’.
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“ Helping African SMEs to flourish is crucial not only for Africa but for the global economy,
because it creates a growing middle class with disposable income, in tandem with market

opportunities for new investors. As China's manufacturing output slows and the sanctions on
Russia impact EU exports, Africa's increasing population and consumption may fill the gap left

by stagnant wages in Europe and the US.“
"Why SMEs Are Key to Growth in Africa." 496
World Economic Forum. (August 2015)
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