"We promote Guangdong enterprises to invest in Africa by oversea industrial parks, professional training, and agricultural bases," Huo Jiangtao, Vice President and Secretary General of the Guangdong Chamber of Commerce in Africa, told GDToday at the China-Africa SMEs Manufacturing Matchmaking Event in Guangzhou on June 28.
The event was a sub-activity of the 18th China International Small and Medium Enterprises Fair (CISMEF), which was held in Guangzhou, aiming at promoting international exchanges among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
(Kenneth Sentle Rabale, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Lesotho to China/photo by Nina)
Kenneth Sentle Rabale, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Lesotho to China, attended the event and called for further cooperation between China and Africa. "The new trend that we aspire for Africa is to add value to our natural resources," said Kenneth Sentle Rabale.
He elaborated that Africa is rich in natural resources while currently, they are mainly sold as raw materials. "We would like to see ourselves processing it and selling the finished products." He believed that enhancing power, communication networks, transportation, and other infrastructure is compulsory for Africa to get into mass production, which requires more cooperation with China.
In addition, Kenneth Sentle Rabale considered Guangdong to be the hub of technology, industrialization and manufacturing, which is what Africa is looking up to.
Huo Jiangtao introduced that Guangdong Chambers of Commerce have been established in African countries, such as the Republic of South Africa, the Republic of Kenya, and the Republic of Uganda, to promote investment in Africa. She observed that cooperation between China and Africa has turned from traditional trade to manufacturing.
According to Huo, African industrial parks with investment from Chinese enterprises have been constructed in Ethiopian Empire, the People's Republic of Benin, the Gabonese Republic, the Gabonese Republic, the Republic of Namibia, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and the Republic of Uganda.
"We established an industrial park in Nigeria in 2008, covering an area of 100 square kilometers," said Deng Yu, Executive President of New South Group and CEO of Ogun-Guangdong Free Trade Zone. More than 100 enterprises have settled in the park, among which about 30 are from Guangdong, covering construction, daily chemical, furniture, and food industries.
Deng furthered that these enterprises introduced capital, manufacturing technology, and business management experience to Africa, and provided employment opportunities to locals.
