Business integration key in East Africa: AmCham chief

Executive Editor

Mwananchi Communications Limited

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As US firms' interest in East Africa grows, American Chamber of Commerce Kenya CEO Maxwell Okello says it is more attractive for investors to talk about opportunities available regionally instead of focusing on individual countries.

A quick rundown of how our program has been so far, we have engaged with the deputy minister for Industry, Trade and Investment, and he basically laid open some of the key areas that American businesses can look at in Tanzania. He also talked about government support – that his office, and I suppose other ministries as well, are open to engage because the government would like to drive private sector-driven economic growth, which if you ask me is the right strategy if you want to build any economy within Africa.
Two, as we speak, we have the Tanzania Investment Center (TIC) making a presentation to American companies, and they are outlining the opportunities within those key sectors; health, technology, energy in order to bring some tangibility on what is possible. For example; are there some bankable projects? Together with that, they look at the process of tapping into that opportunity and available support for a company that wants to establish its presence.
Nairobi has traditionally been the economic hub for east and central Africa.

Integration is the way to go. I think we are currently looking at 150 million people in the EAC region. That’s a big market in itself and it has been made possible because it is under the umbrella of the bloc. It is more attractive for investors to talk about the various skills and opportunities available in East Africa as a region instead of focusing on individual countries. Driving integration is not just important for investment, but also for pushing inter-EAC trade. Speaking as an East African, this is a priority to us. We look at trade and investment as tools that will help drive economic prosperity in our region. American investors want to be part of this story, and that’s the reason we are here in Tanzania and hoping that these changes we are seeing in our region will help push forward the business environment.

Private-Public dialogue is critical. I think governments need to look at the private sector as partners in economic development. Being able to come at the table and openly discuss policy issues that are negatively impacting the ability of businesses to be able to flourish. When businesses flourish, jobs and wealth are created which have a ripple effect to the entire economy. So, my answer to you would be we need to see more of that.
We need to see genuineness when government comes to the table so that it is not tokenism, but actually government and the private sector coming together, wanting to resolve those bottlenecks and constraints to ensure we can drive prosperity within our economies.
Secondly, involve private sector in policymaking. Get us in so that the outcome already reflects what was jointly discussed.

We need to resolve policy and regulatory issues so we can truly open up for business and enterprises to take foothold. Secondly, awareness – this is something not talked about as often as it should. For example, American companies need to know what opportunities are available. A mission of 19 companies came to Tanzania to resolve this need.
Local companies need to know that they can have foreign counterparts they can work together with to achieve their objectives from a business perspective. This is something that has worked quite well in Kenya – creating market opportunities.
Thirdly, it is really about building the right relationships so you can take advantage of the opportunities. I strongly believe that to drive the numbers, and bridge that trade gap, there needs to be more integration happening between local and foreign companies on one hand, and then government needs to create an enabling environment to allow that trade and investment to truly flourish.

Business integration key in East Africa: AmCham chief

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