Western Cape exporters achieve success in Angola

RAY SMUTS
WESTERN CAPE products were in high demand at the recent Feira Internacional de Angola (FILDA) trade fair when three of nine participating companies secured orders to export to the oil-rich West African country. The volume of business conducted through FILDA is estimated at around US$300 million and the event provided an opportunity for local companies to showcase their products to more than 80 000 people, says Michael Gamwo, Africa desk manager at Wesgro, the province’s investment and trade promotion agency. Ambico Trading, a company specialising in importing and exporting general consumer goods, secured an order to supply wine to an Angolan catering company. Malibongwe Import/Export, a recent graduate of Wesgro’s Export Development Programme, received an order from an Angolan importer of safety wear, while electronics manufacturer, Falcon Economics, won a brief to export electronic products to a distributor of IT equipment. Due to low production levels, Angola is dependent on services and products from other countries and Gamwo has urged local companies to capitalise on the current situation. Business opportunities abound in the engineering, building, construction, manufacturing, services and tourism sectors, he says. But in order to make the grade, perseverance is necessary as clinching a deal on the first trip is an exception rather than the norm, past experience proving many follow-up visits are often required before a deal is struck, according to Gamwo. Wesgro will embark on a second mission to Ghana later this year to seek ways of further increasing two-way trade between the Western African coastline and the Western Cape.