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The Gateway for the African Market

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The largest economy of the African continent, South Africa offers a favorable environment for businesses that are establishing themselves in the continent.

Maior economia do continente africano, a África do Sul oferece ambiente favorável para empresas que se instalem no continente

This article has been translated from Portuguese. Click here to read the original article from Jornal de Hoje

Headquarters of the last BRICS summit, which took place in March 2013 in Durban, and of the last World Cup in 2010, South Africa was the last country to join the group, in 2011. It was when the BRIC acronym gained the "s" on the end.  Despite being the smallest economy between the other members (Brazil, Russia, India and China), South Africa has the largest Gross Domestic Product (GPD) in Africa and is the only country on the continent who is a member of the Group of 20.

"The strategic setting of South Africa to participate in the group was much more geopolitics than economics, considering that the BRICS are a more economic association," evaluates the president of the Brazil-Africa Institute and international consultant, João Bosco Monte.

"When the then-president of Russia, Dmitri Medvedev, invited South Africa, it was because the country had a political relevance on the continent, as its economic importance was and is irrelevant compared to the other countries."

With a developing service sector, a secure environment for investors, largest producer and consumer of energy on the continent, and which offers good logistical infrastructure, compared to its neighbors, South Africa can be the gateway for the BRICS countries. According to Bosco Monte those factors are attractive to Brazilian businesses.

However, the superintendent of the International Center of Business of Ceará (CIN), Eduardo Bezerra, says that despite already having a commercial agreement between Brazil and South Africa, the relations between the two countries did not grow at the velocity that was expected. But Bezerra believes that that scenario could change after the conference of next week.

"South Africa invited the other 16 African countries to attend the meeting in Fortaleza, to negotiate here," he says. "Business is only made face to face. So the BRICS conference is going to be a great opportunity."

Although South Africa provides economic advantages to enter into the African market, Bosco Monte emphasizes that the admission to the BRICS countries does not signify that the other members will have ease in exploring the potential of business on the continent, which has 54 countries and more than one billion inhabitants.

In 2013, the [Brazilian] National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) inaugurated its first desk in Africa, in Johannesburg, South Africa. "Symbolically, the headquarters being there demonstrates that there is a preoccupation of Brazil with the continent."

Article translated by Erica Kliment, Staff Intern with the Brazil Institute at the Wilson Center

Photo Credit: GovernmentZA via Flickr

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