‘Investors beware shortcuts in Africa’

There is only one rule to doing
business in Africa and that it
to avoid the ‘sho’t left’ business
shortcut and to follow the right
path.
This was the message from the
SA high commissioner to Uganda,
Lekoa Solly Mollo, speaking
at a recent
Johannesburg
Chamber of
Commerce
and Industry
business
breakfast on
opportunities
for trade and
investment in
Africa.
He pointed
out that
while trade
and investment opportunities
abounded in East Africa, and
in Uganda in particular, the
“minefield of challenges” had to
be navigated carefully.
“There are many con artists
who take advantage of an investor
or trader’s lack of knowledge
of the country or the region
by exploiting the situation to
their advantage,” said Mollo,
noting that this often entailed
commodities traders offering
to trade a customer’s money in
exchange for a higher payoff on
commodity futures or options.
“Or to pool
your money with
other customers
offering to
trade your
money for you
in commodity
futures or
options,” he
said.
Furthermore
the “trade
facilitation
fees” were
often extremely high and
didn’t include any assistance
or support that couldn’t be
obtained through a legitimate
trade office or via the High
Commission. “This is why we
have established the Forum for
South African Businesses in
Uganda (Fosabu), to help cut
down on red tape and fast-track
the process of investing and/or
trading in Uganda.
“We also work closely with
a number of local government
departments, such as the
Department of Trade and
Industry (dti) and the
Department of Home Affairs
(DHA) and various trade
associations to ensure we are
up to date with all the trading
regulations so we can assist
businesses,” he said.
Mollo added that the High
Commission would also be
lobbying for SA investors who
were facing challenges with
the Ugandan government. “But
trying to circumvent rules and
regulations to get your product
to the market faster or establish
a business in the country is
dangerous and often leads to
businesses paying a much higher
price by being defrauded or
having to pay high fines for noncompliance,”
he said.
INSERT & CAPTION
There are many con artists
who take advantage of an
investor or trader’s lack of
knowledge of the country
or the region.
– Solly Molly