Doing business with Africa

THIS WEEK, the Emancipation Support Committee of TT staged its annual trans-Atlantic trade and investment symposium.

But while the committee has tirelessly put on this event for almost two decades – with support from the Ministry of Trade and Industry as well as corporate sponsors – the temperature has not shifted in terms of trade between the Caribbean and Africa within that space of time. This must change.

The historical and cultural ties that bind us have not translated into booming business.

According to the International Trade Centre, Africa’s exports to Caricom countries and the Dominican Republic represented less than one per cent of Africa’s total exports in 2021.

Caricom’s exports to Africa, as a percentage of total exports, was just 1.4 per cent.

According to Trade and Industry Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon – who spoke at the symposium on Monday at the Hilton Trinidad – exports increased somewhat for 2022, accounting for about three per cent.

However, this was heavily dominated by TT’s energy products. TT’s exports to Africa were valued at US$769.9 million, while Africa exported US$290.6 million.

Some of the reasons why trade is relatively anaemic were suggested at the symposium.

Travel between the regions is convoluted. There are high transport costs and bottlenecks at customs.

Another factor might be the language barrier. Africa is incredibly diverse linguistically.

Nigeria alone has 500 languages, making it one of the greatest concentrations of linguistic diversity in the world. It is estimated that on the continent, 130 million out of one billion speak English.

It is also hard not to conclude that lingering colonial attitudes might play a role. If such attitudes do not directly acknowledge Africa’s wealth of potential, they certainly prioritise the veneration of other trading partners and blocs. The perpetuation of entirely negative narratives about Africa is a long-standing issue which also plays into how people approach the continent.

Of course, Africa is not a monolith. That, too, is a part of the problem.

The visit to TT this month of the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the ruler of Ghana’s Asante people and monarch of the historical Asante Empire, simultaneously underlined the reach of the diaspora as well as specific chapters in its history.

To transform trade, there needs to be a grappling with both the general ties that bind us as well as a focused diplomatic approach in relation to each and every market on the continent.

It is in the interest of both regions to co-operate more and to foster greater business linkages through ventures like the recently opened Africa Export Import Bank in Barbados.

The sick irony is, as noted this week in a message delivered to the symposium, when Europe colonised both regions, trade flourished. It was a trade in which precious human life was treated as mere cargo. For this trade, appropriate reparations have never been paid. Meanwhile, all manner of economic disparities between the developed and developing world persist.

When it comes to trans-Atlantic trade, there is so much more at stake than business.