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Africa 2030: Points of viewAfrica is closer than we think...William PollenWilliam Pollen is Program Director of Invest in Africa, a partnership working together to address thecross-sector challenges of doing business in Africa.That coffee you had this morning, did you happen to notice wherethe beans were from?Italy, Brazil or perhaps Indonesia, but what about Uganda or Coted’Ivoire?The shirt on your back and that new Benetton jumper you likewearing so much, where was the cotton they’re made from picked;China, India, America or possibly Zambia?And those fine leather shoes you wear to important meetings, haveyou ever noticed that on the sole there’s a tiny inscription thatreads ‘made in Ethiopia’?But what’s more impressive is that you didn’t use any cash or a cardto pay for any of them. No. Instead you used your mobile phonewith its new Kenyan powered technology.Africa and the resources it has to offer are closer than we think.My ‘vision’ for Africa in 2030 is that the continent can move froma net importer, to a net exporter, so that we live in a world whereAfrica’s goods and services are no longer just occasionally part ofour lives but are around every corner, on every high street, so thatyou couldn’t imagine life without them.To achieve this the private and public sectors must work togetherto turn Africa’s much touted potential to be a global manufacturingpower house, the world’s bread basket and a provider of highquality services and ITC, into reality by 2030.Local content for global growthVisions and potential is one thing, what matters more is the abilityto deliver on them.In this regard, I firmly believe that the issues we currently framein language of ‘Local Content’ are critical to achieving this vision.Progress on local content holds the key to ensuring Africancompanies consistently deliver to international standards, enablingthem to compete on a level playing field, and then in time goingonto become global exporters in their own right, just as today,China is in manufacturing, Turkey is in clothing and India is in ITCservices.No matter how you define local content, a commitment from largerinternational and domestic companies to build on the capacityand capabilities of local people and businesses is fundamental toAfrica progressing from a net importer to a net exporter. Howeverthe private sector cannot do this alone. Governments must be thedriving force by creating a transparent framework, in consultationwith the private sector, which creates accountability and a levelplaying field for all.Without this legitimate framework even the best intended localcontent legislation is open to abuse and will be misinterpreted byinvestors as an additional cost of doing business. Instead, it shouldbe seen as a huge opportunity to localise your entire businessmodel, better understand local cultures, practices and consumers,whilst also reducing your operating costs and political risk.62