German companies in Africa undeterred by Ebola'
January 7, 2015
According to a survey carried out by the German-African Business Association (AV), of the 600 companies registered with the association, 56 percent saw no impact of the epidemic on their operations. A third of the companies anticipate minimal impact while 12 percent of the companies are afraid they will be affected by the Ebola outbreak.
"Companies that have been in Africa for a long time are not scared of the epidemic, especially since out of the 54 countries in Africa, only three have been affected by Ebola" said the association's chairman Stefan Liebing on Tuesday (06.01.2015).
However, many German companies interested in investing in Africa have been deterred by the negative headlines and are hesitating.
Retreat from the three Ebola-affected countries
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) more than 8,000 people in the three affected countries have succumbed to the virus. All German companies have withdrawn from the affected countries.
The survey also showed that almost a third of the German companies doing business in Africa anticipate a rise in growth. 53 percent expect stable growth while 15 percent expect a decline.
The most attractive markets for German companies on the African continent are South Africa and Kenya, followed by Nigeria, Angola, Ghana and Ethiopia.
"The choice of Kenya as the most attractive market alongside economic heavy-weight South Africa shows that Germany is now also taking a closer look at smaller economies," said the chief executive of the German-African Business Association (AV), Christoph Kannengiesser. "But there are still many companies that are hesitant and will therefore miss opportunities."