Our international business manager Paula Tommila will be touring southern and eastern Africa for the rest of the year. We are sad to see her leave, but as a parting gift, she has promised to write a series of blogs about her travels through the new African landscapes of entrepreneurship.
The many faces of African business
The goal of the journey is to dive deep into the multifaceted business opportunities offered by Africa today, with a special spotlight on sustainable entrepreneurship. Paula will write about companies big and small, old and new to portray six different views to and from modern African business environment, each described in detail in their own blog post.
The countries visited will include South Africa, Mozambique, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia, Rwanda, Kenya and Ethiopia. The travel plan is not, however, set in stone – Paula is happy to hear if you have some ideas or need for services of a designated sustainability pro on the African ground.
Based on our experience, there is demand for business that understands local operational environment and brings along added value through international partnerships.
Growing market demands for advanced responsibility
In Africa, urbanization is speeding up, the standard of living rises constantly, and the population is still growing quickly. Therefore, demand is increasing in all industries present in the market. At the same time, competition is getting tougher and know-how as well as financial opportunities are more easily available.
The substance knowledge of Finnish companies, paired with the expertise of carefully and strategically selected local partners can create the perfect winning formula for success, for example the fields of energy and raw materials or even in commercial services. Or in any sector really.
“Understanding of sustainability and responsibility themes, partnered with knowledge on assessing the societal impacts will create a competitive advantage also in Africa, where in many states the regulation and societal expectations are already quite strict,” says Tommila.
We have been operating in Africa for the last 10 years, helping companies, financial institutions ja public organisations to develop sustainable business models that fit the local and international operating environment.
So, if Africa and the world’s fastest growing markets are essential to your business, don’t hesitate to contact Paula while she is out in the field – she’s happy to talk about forming partnerships, market research, social and environmental responsibility themes, financial instruments and more.
More information
- Paula Tommila, Business Manager, paula.tommila at gaia.fi, +358 40 538 4813
