African economy: great opportunities exist for Colombian exporters

Africa’s economy has always been associated with hunger and poverty, but it is a continent that shows great potential. A recent summit of African countries with Russia, the coup d’état in Niger and the participation of South Africa and Ethiopia in the BRICS put Africa back on the world’s radar.

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Although it is associated with shortages and conflicts, in reality Africa’s economy represents a great potential for Colombian exports. The African continent has a large population that demands goods produced by Colombia in international trade, thus offering great opportunities for Colombian exporters.

Opportunities for Colombian exporters: the African population has a significant demand for goods

Africa is made up of 52 countries with full recognition and two territories with limited recognition (Western Sahara and Somaliland). According to the World Bank, Africa’s economy represents 3% of the world’s GDP. The countries with the highest production are Nigeria (USD$477,386 million), Egypt (USD$476,747 million) and South Africa (USD$405,869 million).

The African continent will have around 1.3 billion people in 2023, 16% of the world’s population, according to UN estimates. More than 1 billion of these people live in Sub-Saharan Africa. The countries of North Africa – Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt – account for 250 million people, according to the same international organization.

The most populated countries in Africa today are Nigeria, with 224 million people; Ethiopia, with 126.5 million; Egypt, with 113 million; the Democratic Republic of Congo, with 103 million, and Tanzania with 67 million inhabitants, according to UN data.

The African population may represent a potential demand for goods, especially because it is the continent with the highest proportion of young people. According to the UN, 70% of African people are under 30 years old. By 2033, Africa’s economy will have the highest proportion of economically active population in the world. The biggest barrier is poverty, a situation in which 60% of the population lives, according to the same organization.

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Africa’s economy in world trade

Africa’s imports accounted for 3% of the world’s total imports in 2022, according to the Trade Map portal. 21% of the import basket of Africa’s economy is composed of mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their processing.

They are followed in importance by boilers, machines, apparatus and mechanical appliances, with 9% of total imports from the African continent; machines, apparatus and electrical equipment and recording or reproducing apparatus, with a weight of 7%; vehicles, with 6%; cereals, with 5%, and plastic and its manufactures with 4%.

Colombian exports to the African economy

In 2022, Colombia’s exports to Africa’s economy totaled USD $1,035 million, according to DANE. This means that they only represented 2% of our country’s total exports last year, and that there is a huge potential for growth, with great opportunities for Colombian exporters.

Between 2012 and 2022, the main destination for Colombian exports to Africa was the Ivory Coast. That country accounted for 32% of total exports to that continent during that period. The second destination was South Africa, to which 22% of exports were sent. However, in 2022, only 10% of exports to South Africa reached the African economy, according to DANE.

Between 2012 and 2022, Egypt received 10% of Colombia’s total exports to Africa. This country took special relevance in 2022, when it received 28% of exports to that continent. Between 2012 and 2022, Morocco received 5% of the total, a percentage that increased to 10% in 2022 (DANE).

These and other countries offer opportunities for Colombian exporters that are worth taking advantage of.

Products exported by Colombia to Africa

The main product exported to Africa between 2012 and 2022 was crude petroleum or bituminous mineral oils. This item accounted for 40% of all exports to the African economy. In second place were chocolates and confectionery products, which between 2012 and 2022 were 7.8% of exports, although in 2022 these products weighed barely 2%. In the records of the last 11 years, from 2012 to 2022, the export of hard coal cokes and semi-cokes (6% of the total sent to Africa), cattle (with a weight of 5%), sugar (4%), ferronickel (4%) and coffee (2%) have also been important, according to DANE data.

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