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[RwandaLibre] Unheralded, Indians in Africa make good money

 

Unheralded, Indians in Africa make good money (Comment: Special to IANS)


Indians are quietly making good money in Africa. Unlike the Indians in
Britain and the US, they go quietly about it. As individuals or
corporations, Indians rake in the moolah, contribute to the local
economies and national progress. All these achievements hardly ever
make news in India.

The big investors from India are doing very well indeed, thank you.
Competing against global MNCs, the Indian investors have established
themselves in traditional industries, agriculture and new ones like
IT.

Once in a while, the Indian media carries news about Airtel or Tata on
their expansion drives or forays into new avenues/countries. The
profits they rake in are kept under wraps.

One gets a peek at the Indian settlement and contribution in a new
book, "Indians in Emerging Africa" by K. Sital (published by 'The
Indian' magazine in Hong Kong) who covers Indian involvement in nine
African countries: Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Zimbabwe,
South Africa, Rwanda and Burundi. A successful businessman in Hong
Kong, Sital has published and edited an NRI magazine for over 40
years.

Why only these African countries? Because Sital travelled to these
countries where he has good contacts and met the leading Indian
entrepreneurs and industrialists, and wrote their profiles with an
overview of Indian contribution. This personal effort is commendable
instead of researching in New Delhi or even worse, surfing the
Internet.

Indians are not settled in large numbers in all 52 African countries
as some have a few hundred or even less. But in some countries like
Zambia, they have a key presence. However, the inclusion of Rwanda and
Burundi is laudable because very little is known about Indian
activities in these two small countries west of Uganda.

Rwanda has flourished with over seven percent economic growth since
2004 and hailed as the fastest reformer of business regulations
globally by the World Bank. The opportunities for profit could not be
ignored. In May 2013, a delegation of Indian investors visited Kigali
to explore the potential. A top Indian real estate developer has
bagged a $135m township development project. The small 2,500 Indian
community in Kigali is active in many industries, construction,
education and IT.

Burundi is rich in high value minerals like nickel, cobalt, copper,
gold and uranium. Burundi also needs assistance in farming. How can
these opportunities be ignored? The local Indians, originally from
Uganda, are doing what they can and prospering but major Indian
investments could reap rich rewards. Both these countries have their
embassies in New Delhi.

With a population of 1.3 million Indians, South Africa is the most
well-known African nation in India. Since South Africa makes constant
news with cricket, flying there to watch the big matches followed by
safaris comes naturally. Plus, South Africa's aggressive tourism
promotion has made it a top safari destination for Indians, never mind
that Kenya has far better and more extensive safari attractions. But
Kenya does not have the huge funds for massive promotion in India to
tap the outbound tourist market.

Nigeria with 50,000 Indians, mostly Sindhis, shows how traders have
become industrialists. Kenya, with a population of 100,000, largely
Gujaratis, also shows the same trend. After its independence in 1963,
Indians traders were given quit notices to make way for Africans; so
they started factories to provide jobs for Africans and earn profits.
Indian companies have invested in Kenyan horticulture, tea plantations
and agriculture in addition to industries.

The Indian story in Uganda is well known. When dictator Idi Amin
kicked out the Indians, thousands fled to Britain and other countries.
Uganda under President Moseweni started to woo them back in the 1990s.
Forty years later, Indians have notched up great successes in Britain.
Now with about 30,000 Indians, Uganda has substantial investments from
India.

In neighbouring Tanzania, about 40,000 Indians are quietly working as
traders in urban areas while some have ventured in industries. India
is a top trading partner for Tanzania.

Under President Robert Mugabe's rule, Zimbabwe still has a community
of about 10,000 Indians, mostly traders and small scale
industrialists. Most interesting is the minute Indian presence in
Zimbabwe's government and public life as given in this book that
contains profiles and addresses of major Indian businesses in these
countries.

India has sponsored two major India-Africa Forum Summits in 2008 and
2011 to further boost its bilateral ties. The Indian entrepreneurs in
Africa profiled in this book are probably doing more than the efforts
at the government to government level.

(26-12-2013-Kul Bhushan worked as a Business Editor in Nairobi for
over three decades and now lives in New Delhi. The views expressed are
personal. He can be contacted at kb@kulbhushan.net.)

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