Cape's focus on West Africa paying off

Western Cape exporters are making
strides in the West African market,
which has been promoted as the
“West African Trade Corridor”
by the Western Cape Destination
Marketing, Investment and Trade
Promotion Agency (Wesgro) since
2004.
“Promoting intra-African trade is
an important and on-going project
that is not only conducive to business.
It also promotes the strengthening of
political ties and stability,” says the
agency, which hosts regular meetings
of the Western African Business
Networking Forum.
The forum is aimed at bringing
together Western Cape businesses
with West African business people
operating in the province,” says
Wesgro.
It hosted a trade mission to Ghana
from June 9-12.
Bilateral trade between Ghana
and South Africa has increased from
US$32 million in 2008 to some
US$60.9 million.
Exports from the Western Cape
include fittings and supplies for the
large number of hotels being built in
the West African region, as well as
consolidated cargo from suppliers
around the world.
“Many Western Cape exporters
have demonstrated enthusiasm
in taking advantage of business
opportunities throughout Africa,
while many African buyers are also
interested in sourcing products from
the Cape.
“We have identified the following
crucial markets, to focus on in the
medium to long term: Angola,
Nigeria, Senegal, Ghana, Cameroon,
DRC Congo, and Cote D’Ivoire,” says
Wesgro.