Doing Business in Africa // ESB Business School, Reutlingen University

📣 DBA: Not at all in Slumber! 📣 Dear members, you may have noticed that we have been quiet for some time and wonder why. Keep calm, and be rest assured that we are busy behind the scenes working on many research papers, including;   💡 International B2B partnerships and sustainable development in Africa 💡 Resources and capabilities in Agribusiness in Sub-Saharan Africa 💡 Innovation hubs in Africa 💡 Third market cooperation and business potentials for non-Chinese multinationals in the Belt and Road Initiative in Sub-Saharan Africa 🎬 Stay Tuned and get ready for the exciting insights from DBA! #b2bpartnerships #sustainabledevelopment #SDGs #resources #capabilities #subsaharanafrica #innovation #techhubs #beltandroadinitiative * The picture in this post is taken from www.freepik.com

+++++ Academic Paper on China in Africa Published +++++ Recently, the academic paper “China in Africa: companies as enablers and beneficiaries? An empirical evaluation of state-business relations in the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation” authored by Dr Simon Züfle, Philipp von Carlowitz, and Joerg Bueechl was published by the Business and Politics Journal , the premier journal for research on the relationship between firms and public governance institutions. The abstract and the link to the paper can be found below: China’s strong economic presence in Africa has resulted in an increased interdisciplinary debate. Our contribution is the incorporation of a business perspective by uncovering the prominence and role of business in China’s diplomatic Africa engagement. Our theoretical contribution by applying the state-business relations (SBR) literature is to examine whether established frameworks can be expanded by an international dimension through intergovernmental initiatives like the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). The paper conducts a document analysis of all declarations and Action Plans of all FOCAC conferences in the period 2000–2021, combining both a content and a thematic analysis based on an explorative and iterative coding process. Our data suggests that the prominence of businesses has increased while the scope of their activities and the number of focus sectors (especially infrastructure) has risen particularly since 2012. Companies are considered as enablers for political and economic goals in the state-driven FOCAC. We find that SBR frameworks are applicable to international contexts and propose an expanded SBR approach integrating transnational intermediary institutions like the intergovernmental FOCAC and transnational business platforms which facilitate positive state-business relations across countries and a conducive business environment. https://lnkd.in/ezHHjJT2   The authors are thankful to the Editor-in-Chief, Vinod K. Aggarwal, Managing Editor, Margaret Kenney, and the two anonymous reviewers for their valuable and constructive comments and suggestions during the review process. #Africa #China #FOCAC #research #publicgovernanceinstitutions #ESB

🌍+++++ Over 200 Mails and Many Calls to Organize the Research Trip to Tanzania +++++ 🌍   Researching business activities in Africa using a qualitative approach implies travelling to Africa to conduct the interviews in the relevant business environment: Seeing is Believing! Therefore, researchers at Doing Business in Africa // ESB Business School, Reutlingen University regularly conduct fieldwork-trips to Africa. This time, starting from 15.9.2024, our head of the research group, Prof. Dr. Philipp von Carlowitz, travelled for one week to beautiful Tanzania to conduct expert interviews in Dar es Salaam, talk to the locally present business community, and build up DBA’s network in Tanzania. The topics under investigation were threefold: 💡 Change of Mode of Operation: What accounts for international companies’ decision to switch from an export business to a localized set-up of a subsidiary? 💡 How is the relationship between the African subsidiary and its headquarter organized? How does it work? Where doesn’t it function? What are the Do’s to facilitate communication? 💡 How do international companies organize their last mile distribution and what is the rationale for the choice of the specific model? Very constructive and interesting expert interviews were held and a great hospitality extended. Thank you to all the experts. 💐💐💐 In addition, Philipp was invited to join a very friendly and interesting Rotary meeting as a guest of Marloes Hamelink, executive director of the European Business Group TZ. Here he had the opportunity to interact with all kind of managers, lawyers and other professionals, helping to deepen the understanding of business and social life in Tanzania. As already reported, Philipp gave a presentation on China’s impact on businesses active in Africa to a large, diverse, and curious crowd attending the event organized by EUBG. Our appreciation goes to Marloes Hamelink, Dennis Ott and Ilse Boshoff for their immense support for this trip   #Tanzania #Business #subsidiary #export  #multinationalcompanies #distribution #logistics #China #intercompanycommunication #interviews #ESB

📣 Presentation on “China’s Big Appetite in Africa” in Tanzania 📣 What impact do China’s activities in Africa have on non-Chinese businesses and how can they react? This was the guiding question of the presentation given by Prof. Dr. Philipp von Carlowitz to the European Business Group TZ (EUBG) Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on 18th September 2024. 🔎 The key messages were: 📍       Despite the presence of other foreign business activities in Africa, China has the strongest engagement. 📍       China plays different roles for non-Chinese businesses as competitor, partner, customer. 📍       China is in Africa to stay so non-Chinese companies need to embrace the situation. 📍       Non-Chinese partners can engage with Chinese companies active in Africa in a number of ways, including via headquarters in China, leveraging Chinese trading and store structures in African countries, and networking with local governments for high quality standards. 📍     The source of financing largely determines the chances of non-Chinese businesses in a tender: purely Chinese-funded projects are nearly impossible to win. The discussion after the presentation was very lively and the relevance of the issue could be felt among the European business community in Tanzania. Thank you to the EUBG board and team, especially Marloes Hamelink for organizing this wonderful event. 💡 Do you have any comment to share on the contested issue of China in Africa? We would appreciate your thoughts 💡 #Africa #Tanzania #China #EUBG #business #finance #competition #partner #ESB

+++++ Successful African KIEL-CEPR African Economic Development Conference ++++ 📣 📣 Last week, on 12 and 13 September 2024, our colleague Richard Adu-Gyamfi, PhD attended the conference on Africa's economic development t the German Federal Ministry of Finance. The Kiel Institute for the World Economy and the CEPR - Centre for Economic Policy Research organized the event. The theme of the Conference, “Tackling constraints to economic development,” was well captured in the keynote address by the 2023 Global Economy Prize winner, leonard wantchekon, Professor at Princeton University, Founder and President of the African School of Economics. He highlighted the need to uncover the strength of home-grown African institutions as change agents to ultimately empower the state's capacity to roll out development. Other topics of critical importance that were concurrently discussed include peace promotion, tax compliance, access to finance, conflict, trade, and FDI, small and medium-sized enterprises; natural resources and the political economy; entrepreneurship, and finance. 🎆 One pulsating note from the entire conference was clear— Africa's human and resource capital must be used for the benefit of Africa! This is a call to action for Africa's partners to contribute to the continent's economic development. Many thanks to the organizers for such a successful and well-organized event. #Africa #Economicdevelopment #Policyresearch #ESB #DBA Rainer Thiele Tobias Heidland Janin Berntien Federal Press Office – German Government

📣 Prof. Dr. Philipp von Carlowitz, the head of the research group Doing Business in Africa // ESB Business School, Reutlingen University has been invited to speak on the topic of China in Africa on 18 September 20024 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. He will unpack the facts about China in Africa and the implications for European businesses. We are thankful to the European Business Group TZ for the invitation! It promises to be a worthwhile and exciting event. Please check the link below for details. #ChinainAfrica #Europeandafrica #ESB #EUBG https://lnkd.in/eSEeBPQW

Podcast Interview – CHECK IT OUT! 🎧 🎙 📻 📢 Business meets Science - On Africa’s business environment and opportunities   In an interview organized by corporAID in Austria, Prof. Dr. Rainer Thiele from the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW) and Prof. Dr. Philipp von Carlowitz, Head of the research group, Doing Business in Africa // ESB Business School, Reutlingen University talked about how business research can support business activities in Africa and what the success factors for business in Africa are. In the podcast, they touched upon some very interesting topics: 🗣 Knowledge sharing between business practitioners and researchers. This was discussed in reminiscence of the Conference Doing Business in Africa – Business meets Science which DBA organized with IfW and IHK Reutlingen in April 2024. 🗣Issue of shortage of skilled workers in Africa and Europe and in how far skilled workers from Africa can mitigate Europe’s shortage in skilled labor. 🗣Findings from the research project on business and economics in Africa with IfW and DBA collaborating, supported by the @German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action. 🗣China in Africa and what this means for the private sector activities. 🗣Geopolitical turbulence and whether that puts Africa more on the Western business radar. 🗣Current status and developments (potential and success factors) on doing business in Africa with reference to a previous study on Austrian companies’ business activities in Africa 🗣 Assessment of the role of private sector in German official development aid policy compared to other countries. Thank you to Frederik Schäfer for interviewing and producing the podcast. It is available in German.    #Podcast  #Business #Sales  #CorporAid #ChinainAfrica #Skilledlabour #Geopolitics #Africa #Research #Businesssuccess #Privatesector #ODA #Africastrategy 

+++++ Successful Roundtable in Brussels about Financing Africa’s Development +++++ On July 8th and 9th, 2024, our colleague, Richard Adu-Gyamfi, PhD was invited by the Africa-Europe Foundation in Brussels to participate in a workshop and roundtable discussion about Financing the Future: Africa EU Dialogues. In the talks, Richard pointed out that firms must be a pivotal component of the Africa-Europe relationship. He added that African youth must seize any opportunity offered by Africa-Europe relations to engage in businesses that will add value to Africa’s agricultural and mineral resources. The revenue generated from local value-additions can be an important source of income for African governments to finance Africa’s development. The Roundtable discussions also explored approaches to addressing finance, domestic resource mobilization, and illicit financial flows. The Roundtable partnered with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and The ONE Campaign. What's your take on African firms' potential to shape Africa’s development? Your unique perspective is valuable to us, and we'd love to hear your thoughts. #Africa #Europe #Brussels #finance #resources #illicitfinancialflows #roundtablediscussions #DBA #ESB Mo Ibrahim Foundation #nowgenerationnetwork 

+++++ DBA connects with Mo Ibrahim Foundation +++++ The DBA researcher Richard Adu-Gyamfi, PhD was featured in the Mo Ibrahim Foundation’s annual forum report. The report’s theme was “Financing Africa: Where is the money?” Richard is quoted on how African financial institutions can support businesses in Africa to increase value addition in Africa:   “I strongly believe that Africa’s success is tied to unity. The existing continental financial giants such as the @African Development Bank, the @African Export and Import Bank (AFREXIM), and others could create an African Consolidated Investor Fund to finance African multinationals and small and medium-sized enterprises for value-adding projects. When this works, as was the case of Japan, African countries will receive a boost in investor confidence, despite increasing debt to GDP ratios.” Page 91. Download the report at https://lnkd.in/eaK3d74G Do you think businesses in Africa could be directly supported to build value-addition to the raw materials in Africa? Please share your thoughts #finance #Africanmultinationals #investment #money #DBA #ESB #AfroChampions #AfCFTA

!!!High Recognition!!! 🎉 🎊 🎉 Head of Doing Business in Africa Research Group named one of the Top 100 Voices of Africa   Prof. Dr. Philipp von Carlowitz, Head of the Doing Business in Africa // ESB Business School, Reutlingen University, was named one of the Top 100 voices on Africa in German-speaking countries. Experts from politics, business, NGOs, think tanks, and science, amongst others, were chosen by the editorial board of the media platform Africa.Table. He was named one of the 10 scientists in the category of science & research. This is a recognition of his long-term commitment to applied research on doing business in Africa. In the applied research scene, he has introduced business-oriented research on Africa to complement the excellent existing development economic and policy research in Germany. He says: “It is not one person who is promoting the firm perspective in applied research but many people together, starting with the DBA research fellows Dr Simon Züfle and Richard Adu-Gyamfi and extending to our colleagues in Africa and across the globe that share the belief in the importance to understand private sector engagement in Africa better.” This recognition validates our efforts and encourages us to continue the applied research on doing business in Africa. We are committed to extending the topical scope, engaging increasingly in communication and discussions with academics, policy-makers, the private sector, and civil society. Thank you to Christian Hiller von Gaertringen and his Team at AfricaTable for this recognition and encouragement. The official text on AfricaTable reads (translated): The ESB Business School professor is one of the few academics in Germany to deal with an entrepreneurial and business perspective on Africa, with questions relating to developing a successful African business. The ESB Business School at Reutlingen University has thus acquired a renowned name.   #Africa #business #ESB  #AfricaTable  #research #privatesector   https://lnkd.in/e3n43NdB