Volvo 2012 Annual Report Download - page 57

Growth boom
There are a number of explanations for the
upswing in recent years. The conflicts have come
to an end in many countries, and the excessive
lending of the 1980s and 1990s has now been
rectified in a growing number of African states.
The external factors include a more accommo-
dating international climate, with different pro-
Africa initiatives, and the appearance of new eco-
nomic superpowers, China and India in particular.
The emerging countries are playing a particularly
critical role in infrastructure financing that is
essential in order to harness Africa’s potential.
This has helped to boost the demand for African
raw materials.
For a number of African countries, the world’s
hunger for oil, gas, metals and precious stones
has resulted in a jackpot. After 27 years of war,
Angola began its journey from poverty thanks to
oil exports. Between 2001 and 2010, the coun-
try’s GDP grew by an average of 11.3% a year.
This gave Angola a very close victory over China,
in the rapid expansion league. In recent years,
African countries have experienced success in
turning their export revenue into investments in
the future in the form of infrastructure and more
diversified trade and industry. This often involves
contracts with foreign companies that are given
access to natural resources in return for con-
structing roads and railways, schools, hospitals
or oil refineries.
Not everything is, however, linked to black oil
and sparkling diamonds. The internet and mobile
telephony have given the African farmer or busi-
nessman new opportunities to find information
and do business. Industries such as tourism,
banking and telecommunications have also
expanded more rapidly than those based on raw
materials. Taken together, all these factors have
created a growing middle class which is con-
suming and drives growth further.
Enormous differences
There is no doubt that double-digit growth figures
are good news. However, this growth has taken
place from very low levels and it is distributed une-
qually. From a business angle, there is no point in
talking about Africa as a cohesive market.
− If you are going to generalize, you can talk
about three areas. North Africa has gas and oil.
Provided that the political climate is stable in the
future, growth is going to continue in countries
such as Algeria and Libya. Unfortunately, Cen-
tral Africa still has a long way to go. The poverty
is still enormous. The largest potential for
growth can be found in southern Africa: from
Angola down to Namibia, Botswana and South
Africa and then up again to Mozambique, Tanza-
nia and Kenya, says Anders Petersson, Manager
Transport Industry Analysis at Group Trucks
Sales & Marketing EMEA, in response to the dif-
ficult question: Can you describe in simple terms
how things look in Africa?
He is, however, quick to stress that anyone look-
ing to sell a product in Africa should not simply
study the growth figures. It is also necessary to
11 12
12.2
11.4
Volvo Group sales
in Africa
SEK bn
A new Africa
s
The roar from the Lion Economies in Africa is becoming ever
louder. In the Volvo Group, many people are listening. After
several decades characterized by war, weak economic growth
and a decline in productivity, developments gathered speed at
the beginning of this century.
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