Foreign private sector in Africa:

analysis by French investors

2014 Annual Report
Special issue - March 2014 - 25 euros
French Council of Investors in Africa
LE MOCI - Special issue - March 2014 3
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French Council of Investors in Africa
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DES INVESTISSEURS EN AFRIQUE
(French council of Investors in Africa)
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2014 REPORT/CONTENTS
The African dream? 5
Anthony Bouthelier, Executive Chairman of CIAN
Key events in 2013 6
Trade between France and Africa 8
Key figures and trends
An innovative approach to Africa 12
An interview with Henri de Cazotte, Coordinator
of the French government mission for the
post-2015 development agenda 12
Innovative change and French groups 16
2iE, beyond training, a guide to
the continents development 18
Mass consumption 20
How the emergence of the middle class is a
game-changer for CFAO 20
The green click solution to rising electronic
waste, by Les Ateliers du Bocage 22
Africa begins to defend its geographical indications 24
Services 26
When researchers scrutinise job markets 26
Onomo International: betting on a
Made in Africa hotel chain 28
Health: how the Pasteur Institute supports research
by Africans 30
Technical products 32
Prepaid cards: Africas mobile money revolution 32
Telecommunications: user-driven innovation 34
Mobile digital solutions to strengthen democracy 36
Economic analysis by zone and country 38
The results of the 2013 CIAN survey 39
North Africa 46
West Africa 62
Central Africa 102
Southern and East Africa and the Indian Ocean 120
THE CIAN 2014 ACTIVITY REPORT
CIAN initiatives and projects
French Council of Investors in Africa
LE MOCI - Special issue - March 2014 5
Editorial
The African dream?
This CIAN 2014 Report confirms that our companies are prospering but also points
to an inadequacy and even a deterioration in the business environment which is hin-
dering the long-awaited economic take-off.
The 5 to 6 % growth rate, much celebrated in contrast with the sluggish economies
of Northern countries, is not enough to pull Africa out of its rut. Comparison with the
major emerging countries China, India and Brazil is inappropriate as these coun-
tries enjoy political unity and a single currency. The continent dreams about such
unity but let's not forget the existence of 54 countries in an area so vast that it could
hold all of China, India and Europe.
While Africa may be our new frontier and there are positive things happening here and
there the birth of a middle class, fewer armed conflicts, etc. nothing would be
worse than deluding ourselves into believing that development generated by factors
such as population increases and urbanisation will happen automatically.
Every player needs to be ready to take action; the private sector plays an essential role
in creating wealth, and in building the rule of law that will unleash entrepreneurial
forces.
In a difficult African environment, French companies have a major asset experience
as can be seen from the excellent results published in this Report. This compara-
tive advantage needs to be exploited quickly and decisively in what is still a promising
situation.
At the meeting held at Bercy alongside the lyse Summit for Peace and Security in
Africa on 6 and 7 December 2013, the Nigerian Minister of Finance, Mrs Ngozi
Okonjo-Iweala, mischievously advised us to examine examples of success and men-
tioned South Korea. Who remembers that, 60 years ago, its GDP stood at 50 USD
per inhabitant, whereas today it is over 20,000 USD?
Faced with a typically French wave of good ideas and unbridled conceptual thinking,
this attitude of openness and attentiveness to the world was of a pragmatism that
should make the private sector sit up and think.
In a recent colloquium, Lionel Zinsou, speaking of CIAN's evolution, noted that the
companies investing in Africa today are no longer those from the days of colonisation.
These companies are now global; their scope for action is worldwide, making them
the witnesses and even the players in successful development.
In the public-private dialogue so often evoked but so poorly put into action, the private
sector's talent lies particularly in bearing witness to practices that have been suc-
cessful in the light of a results-based culture.
In short, the private sector knows what works or what doesnt work, not through
higher intelligence but through experience in the field and Minister Ngozi Okonjo-
Iweala was right to recommend the modest approach that observing the world
requires.
Anthony Bouthelier, Executive Chairman
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6 LE MOCI - Special issue - March 2014
2013 / Key events
January
Mali. Jihadists took control of the country's northern regions.
Following a request from the interim president Dioncounda
Traor to Franois Hollande and UN secretary general Ban
Ki Moon, a French military intervention began on 11 January
under a UN mandate. Operation Serval, combined with African
Union Forces, halted the rebel advance, enabled the Malian
army to re-establish a foothold in the North and permitted a
return of democratic institutions.
February
Guinea. The peace march organised on 27 February by the
Guinean opposition to demand free, open parliamentary elec-
tions ended in confrontation (130 injured, including 68 police
officers and gendarmes).
Tunisia. The Islamist party Ennahda announced that it would
relinquish its hold on the key State ministries, thereby opening
the way for the constitution of a government of national union.
Cameroon. The French Tanguy Moulin-Fournier family was
kidnapped on 19 February by the Islamist group Boko Haram.
The family was freed on 19 April.
March
Sudan. The two halves of Sudan reached an agreement on
the issue of oil transport to Port Sudan.
Central African Republic. The rebel Seleka coalition took
control of Bangui. The elected president Franois Boziz fled to
neighbouring Cameroon. France reinforced its military contin-
gent to ensure the safety of its citizens.
China/Africa. Chinese president Xi Jinping made his first
official visit to Africa (Tanzania, South Africa and Congo Braz-
zaville). Beijing offered loans of 20 billion USD for the period
2013-2015.
April
France/Africa. The White Paper on Defence delivered to Fran-
ois Hollande placed the emphasis on Africa. French troops
should be kept in Africa but allied involvement should be sought.
African Development Bank (ADB). Donald Kaberuka,
chairman of the ADB, unveiled the new 10-year strategy
(2013-2022) which places the emphasis on infrastructures,
economic integration and the private sector.
May
Africa. CFAO, the leading French distribution group in Africa,
joined forces with Carrefour to create 35 shopping malls in
8 countries within the next 10 years.
June
Egypt. Pro and anti-Morsi demonstrators clashed violently in
Cairo and Alexandria after the Egyptian president refused to
hold early elections. He was removed by the army on 3 July,
marking the end of the Muslim Brotherhoods control of power
and the beginning of a new period of transition.
July
United States/Africa. On a visit to South Africa, US presi-
dent Barack Obama announced his 7 billion USD plan Power
Africa aimed at facilitating access to electricity, with General
Electric as the central partner.
Zimbabwe. President Robert Mugabe, 89, was proclaimed
winner of the presidential election with 61 % of the votes and
a two-thirds majority in the Assembly.
August
Mali. Ibrahima Boubacar Keita was elected president of Mali
with 77 % of the vote against Soumaila Ciss.
September
Kenya. Dozens of people in Nairobi's Westgate shopping cen-
tre were taken hostage for four days by a Somali Chabaab
commando, resulting in 67 people killed and 175 wounded.
October
Africa. Growth in Africas GDP was set to reach 4.9 % in
2013 (4.2 % in 2012) and should rise further to 5.5 % in
2015. (Africa Pulse, World Bank).
Central African Republic. The UN Security Council appro-
ved the sending of troops to the CAR.
Madagascar. The first round of the presidential election was
held on 25 October, after four years of crisis. The second
round was held on 20 December. Hery Rajaonarimampianina
was proclaimed victor with nearly 54% of the vote on 7
January 2014.
Mozambique. Renamo (the opposition party) rejected the
1992 peace agreement, leading to thousands of people taking
to the streets to demonstrate for peace.
November
Mali. On 2 November, the RFI journalists Ghislaine Dupont
and Claude Verlon were kidnapped in Kidal and executed.
Cameroon. Father Georges Vandenbeusch was kidnapped
in Cameroon on 13 November.
December
Central African Republic. On 5 December, the UN Security
Council gave MISCA (increased to 3,600 men) the green
light for a one-year intervention and six months renewable for
the French forces. Franois Hollande launched Operation
Sangaris (1,600 soldiers).
France. The Africa-France summit for peace and security in
Africa was held in Paris on 6 and 7 December in the presence
of some 40 Heads of State. Africa needs to be able to manage
its own security and should have a rapid reaction force: 20,000
African soldiers could be trained by France. Paris also wants to
double its trade with Africa over the next five years and launch
a new economic partnership model with the continent, inspi-
red by the main conclusions of the Vdrine mission report, pre-
sented on 4 December.
South Africa.
Nelson Mandela died on December 5. Over
100 heads of state and government attended
a memorial to Madiba in Soweto stadium on
December 10.

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8 LE MOCI - Special issue - March 2014
A painful diagnosis and a
general mobilisation
In France the time has come for a gene-
ral mobilisation: the country has been
losing ground on the continent over the
last ten years, its market share falling from
10.1 % in 2000 to 4.7 % in 2011, noted
Pierre Moscovici, the French Minister for
the Economy and Finance, at the Africa-
France Economic Forum on 4 December
2013, which preceded the Africa-France
Summit of 6 and 7 December. French
companies have won few major contracts
(water, energy, railways) recently, said
Nicole Bricq, Minister for External Trade,
regretting that Frances market share has
clearly eroded over the last 20 years in
countries such as Cameroon (from 36
to 14 %) or the Ivory Coast (from 31 to
13 %) and has not risen much in the
English-speaking countries such as
Kenya (1.5 %) or Nigeria (3.6 %). The
Minister could also have cited Morocco
as an example. In 2012, France was rele-
gated to second in the list of suppliers
to Morocco by Spain, which has worked
hard to boost its exports to make up for
the crisis. Hence the call for a new eco-
nomic partnership model between Africa
and France, the title of the forum that
provided the setting for the presentation
of the Vdrine report on A partnership
for the future. French president Franois
Hollande has set a target of doubling
trade in both directions.
Dynamic import markets
While the need for investment in infra-
structures is estimated by the OECD at a
minimum of 50 billion euros over the next
ten years, the financing is not always to
be found. However, following recent
trends in imports on the African conti-
nent, according to the statistics available
in the GTIS* GTA base, a certain num-
ber of countries are continuing to import
in greater quantities. Here are a few
examples of trends in 2012 and 2013:
Key figures and trends
South Africa: imports increased by 10 %
in value in 2012 (79 billion), but the
trend is for a fallback this year (- 3.75 %
over the first 9 months of 2013);
Egypt: although there was a slowdown
in 2013 (+ 0.83 % over 8 months),
imports rose sharply by 17.5 % in 2012
(52.5 billion);
Algeria: Algerian imports are still rising:
+ 12 % over the first 9 months of the
year, after + 15.5 % in 2012 (39.2
billion);
Morocco: also rising with + 6.39 % in
2012 (33.3 billion);
Nigeria: + 5.3 % rise in imports in the
first half of 2013 (15.7 billion), after a
fall of 26.4 % in 2012;
There is no doubt that 2013 was marked, in France, by an awareness at the highest level
that it is time to relaunch economic relations with Africa and try to use innovative
approaches. In the light of business statistics and FDI, France can certainly improve on a
performance that is not up to the level of the know-how it can offer African countries.
TRADE BETWEEN FRANCE AND AFRICA
FRENCH EXPORTS TO AFRICA
THE TOP 20 AFRICAN CLIENT COUNTRIES IN 2012 (IN EUROS)
2011 2012 2012/2011 (%)
Algeria 5 766 549 580 6 360 392 052 10.30
Morocco 4 316 483 311 4 027 964 949 - 6.68
Tunisia 3 610 885 391 3 613 629 441 0.08
South Africa 2 300 210 697 1 882 391 783 - 18.16
Egypt 1 840 588 718 1 720 917 989 - 6.50
Nigeria 1 477 078 484 1 346 052 393 - 8.87
Ivory Coast 739 575 186 999 696 249 35.17
Senegal 889 286 017 827 721 109 - 6.92
Gabon 782 589 824 769 438 394 - 1.68
Cameroon 633 824 653 672 146 173 6.05
Congo 490 644 324 588 983 587 20.04
Angola 585 072 494 543 920 820 - 7.03
Libya 227 400 964 539 999 639 137.47
Togo 249 729 601 366 623 726 46.81
Mauritius 336 661 873 344 564 537 2.35
Ghana 308 665 555 330 358 263 7.03
Mali 311 062 054 301 567 797 - 3.05
Madagascar 278 845 485 298 230 467 6.95
Benin 809 097 049 267 562 794 - 66.93
Burkina Faso 218 698 347 262 641 219 20.09
Total Africa 28 203 607 191 28 191 713 571 - 0.04
Ivory Coast: the trend for 2013 is
+ 21.5 % for the first 9 months of 2013
(6.5 billion ), after a strong recovery
(+ 57.7 %) in 2012;
Kenya: the import trend was + 19.16 %
in 2012 (12.4 billion);
Ghana: progression in imports was
17.4 % in 2012 (10.4 billion);
Mauritius: the islands imports increa-
sed by 9.2 % in 2012 (4 billion).
Frances top 10 trading
partners
French customs data show very large
variations in Frances trade with the Afri-
can countries between one country and
another, and even from one year to ano-
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10 LE MOCI - Special issue - March 2014
TRADE BETWEEN FRANCE AND AFRICA
FRENCH IMPORTS FROM AFRICA
THE TOP 20 AFRICAN SUPPLIER COUNTRIES IN 2012 (IN EUROS)
2011 2012 2012/2011 (%)
Libya 1 997 454 940 4 293 255 995 114.94
Algeria 4 393 127 022 3 918 737 097 - 10.80
Tunisia 4 026 626 321 3 763 215 200 - 6.54
Nigeria 4 345 927 003 3 720 147 339 - 14.40
Morocco 3 148 145 836 3 268 815 407 3.83
Equatorial Guinea 431 716 276 1 944 120 889 350.32
Egypt 1 342 694 623 1 317 670 234 - 1.86
Ghana 1 342 884 771 945 237 524 - 29.61
Angola 1 312 110 423 933 144 517 - 28.88
Congo 527 610 931 868 611 841 64.63
South Africa 959 104 847 839 770 394 - 12.44
Ivory Coast 549 294 592 545 645 782 - 0.66
Niger 287 606 994 428 851 165 49.11
Madagascar 316 671 113 335 791 224 6.04
Mauritius 276 988 102 288 968 904 4.33
Cameroon 293 023 809 217 319 078 - 25.84
Gabon 116 513 940 172 176 034 47.77
Namibia 85 866 132 125 592 232 46.27
Mauritania 193 891 172 110 890 703 - 42.81
Seychelles 72 752 145 97 826 097 34.46
Total Africa 26 807 030 413 28 766 994 994 7.31
DIRECT INVESTMENT FLOWS
FROM FRANCE TO AFRICA BY
COUNTRY (in millions of euros)
2011 2012
World 34 884 28 009
Africa 1 753 1 794
Other African 1 679 1 308
countries
Countries of the - 59 723
Franc Zone
Maghreb Countries 430 674
North Africa 74 486
Angola 651 709
Morocco 162 435
Congo 130 362
Algeria 241 211
Gabon 57 199
Egypt 95 183
South Africa 149 97
Cameroon -140 65
Ivory Coast 10 56
Tunisia 27 28
Kenya 27 14
Liberia - 3 9
Mali 18 2
Senegal - 67 - 3
Chad - 3 - 3
Mauritius 26 - 23
Nigeria 473 - 328
Libya - 451 - 371
Source: Banque de France
NB: no sign = increase in FDI;
(-) sign = decrease in FDI
ther (see charts opposite). This tends to
confirm the potential for real growth and
a need to reinforce regular flows.
The trend for the first nine months of
2013 (January-December) confirms a
high concentration of Franco-African
trade (import-export) in the North African
countries, the oil and gas producing
countries and West Africa:
Frances top three trading partners on
the continent are in the Maghreb with, in
decreasing order: Algeria (also Frances
15th biggest partner worldwide), with
trade up by 11.8 % (7.7 billion); Tunisia
(25th worldwide), with 5.6 billion
(+ 2.45 %); Morocco (26th worldwide)
with 5.3 billion (- 0.24 %), where
France lost its pace as leading supplier
to Spain in 2012.
Nigeria remains a major partner, in 4th
position (but only Frances 33rd biggest
partner worldwide) with 3.9 billion, up
by 5.27 %, just ahead of Libya, where
trade has tended to stagnate (+ 0.56 %,
to 3.3 billion).
There is a downward trend in trade with
the following two countries: South
Africa, Frances 6th biggest African part-
ner (and 50th worldwide) with 1.9 bil-
lion (- 5.6 %) and Egypt, the 7th, with
1.9 billion (- 13.4 %).
The Ivory Coast, with whom trade has
recovered sharply (+ 16.1 % over nine
months in 2013, 1.2 billion), is Frances
8th biggest African partner and 3rd south
of the Sahara, ahead of Angola, with
whom trade has also increased signifi-
cantly (+ 20.9 %, 1.1 billion).
Ghana is Frances 10th biggest African
partner, with trade appearing to fall
back (928 million over nine months,
- 6.38 %).
Apart from this top 10, trends are very
variable: while trade fell back sharply over
the first nine months of 2013 with several
countries, such as Equatorial Guinea
(- 34.1 %), the Congo (- 15.6 %) and
Senegal (-15.6 %), it has increased in
other countries, such as Gabon (+ 19 %)
and Cameroon (+ 1.8 %).
*Global Trade Atlas (GTA) base run by Global
Trade International Services (GTIS), which
compiles official customs statistics.
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12 LE MOCI - Special issue - March 2014
LE MOCI. Whats your view of the
French private sectors ability to
innovate in order to meet African
challenges?
Henri de Cazotte. The African continent
is in the midst of a far-reaching transfor-
mation as it enters the globalised world.
At the same time, development agencies,
such as the FDA, have a new agenda
based on sustainable development: were
fighting poverty while keeping a close eye
on environmental sustainability. The chal-
lenges (inclusion, solidarity, quality of life,
climate change, urbanisation, etc.) are
such that governments and their agen-
cies are not enough. Today, the private
sectors role is therefore not only crucial
but also recognised and the FDA needs
to support this movement.
In addition, technological upheavals in
communications and information call for
further innovations, especially as many of
the solutions are now coming as much
from the South as from the North: mobile
banking, for example, is a Kenyan pro-
duct. So the old recipes are no longer
necessarily the best. With this in mind,
were looking closely at a major partner-
ship between the development agencies
and the private sector.
LE MOCI. But this partnership with
the private sector isnt new
H. de C. Thats true. Indeed, the FDA was
a pioneer in the field. We set up Pro-
parco, financial instruments operated by
the development banks and focusing on
the private sector. In short, we acted as
bankers. We also created a large num-
ber of public-private partnerships (PPP)
to finance infrastructures and provide
essential services. We encouraged the
financing of small companies.
Today, were looking at the next stage:
are we, together, the private sector and
the FDA, capable of taking risks on behalf
of inclusive development and of facing
the environmental challenges in Africa?
Weve certainly carried out a few experi-
ments with a number of French compa-
nies Danone, Lafarge, Total, Rougier,
etc. But we still need to turn it into a real
focus.
In fact, we still dont have enough incen-
After taking up her duties at the end of May 2013, the new managing director of the French
Development Agency (FDA), Anne Paugam, asked Henry de Cazotte, coordinator of the
French government mission for the post-2015 development agenda, to oversee the major
innovation project at the FDA that was also requested by Pascal Canfin, deputy minister for
Development.
AN INNOVATIVE APPROACH TO AFRICA
tive instruments and need to work on the
structure of relations between the private
sector and the public authorities with
regard to what we call inclusive deve-
lopment. How do we intervene for the
benefit of a wider population living out-
side the market or on its margins? In tea-
ming with companies that want to be pre-
sent in this area and that have the ability
to be effective, we could develop inno-
vative, smart initiatives that lead to new
products adapted to these new mar-
kets.
Despite its interest in this sector, the FDA
has lagged behind American and British
initiatives. The FDA has been very crea-
tive in other areas, such as microfinance,
developing innovative financial tools via
investment funds which themselves have
supported social investment projects.
One example of this is the French Glo-
bal Environment Facility (FFEM), which
has proved highly innovative in its mis-
sion. But today, companies are showing
greater commitment and are asking what
else they can do with us.
LE MOCI. What are your preferred
sectors?
H. de C. City sustainability and, within
this framework, mobility, energy efficiency
to reduce the impact of carbon emis-
sions, resilient infrastructures and food
security. As were used to working
directly with cities, were capable of des-
igning new types of PPP around the idea
of the sustainable city.
D
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An interview with
Henri de Cazotte, Coordinator of the French
government mission for the post-2015 development agenda
The new challenge is to ensure that
this relationship with the private sector helps
to create a renewal
14 LE MOCI - Special issue - March 2014
AN INNOVATIVE APPROACH TO AFRICA
LE MOCI. So, a French city supports
the efforts of an African city with
the support of the FDA?
H. de C. Yes, and potentially with private
partnerships. It's something new that we
could develop. The FDA could work
alongside them on the least profitable
aspects: water supplies for the slums,
incorporating the poorest districts into a
transport project, etc. For projects linked
to rural environments, well focus on
water conservation, catchment basin
management, funding for environmental
services, sustainable forest or biodiver-
sity management, access to energy and
to means of communication, where the
private sector could get involved. So its
a new challenge for the public and pri-
vate sectors.
LE MOCI. Its seems like the private
sector concentrates its investments
on new needs in Africa, to provide
solutions, while the FDA bases its
work on themes fixed worldwide
and tries to apply them to Africa
H. de C. Thats both true and false. Were
driven by local demand as were very
active in the field. But there are also a
number of new worldwide commitments
that France supports: fairness, inclusion,
sustainable development, poverty reduc-
tion, which are shared by the global com-
munity.
LE MOCI. In your opinion, which
areas of expertise in France offer
really innovative solutions for
Africa?
H. de C. Our companies are re-asses-
sing their strategies as the international
competition is coming from China, India
and Brazil, and our African partners are
also offering home-grown solutions. We
need to adapt to Africas market and not
just to the emerging African market. We
need to work with the whole of Africa and
promote innovations that can be distri-
buted to respond to the needs and capa-
cities of populations. We need to make
some very rapid changes. Some of the
major companies understand this. We
need to accelerate innovation, adapt our
products, instruments and financing tools
to ensure that we stay relevant in a fast-
moving world. People are now informed
about everything and we have the impres-
sion that Africa is lagging. But its not that
far behind. The African elite live between
New York, Paris, Shanghai and So
Paulo, and they can see that the world is
on the move. We need to move at the
same speed.
LE MOCI. Is there a new way of wor-
king at the FDA to keep up with
these changing realities in Africa?
H. de C. The FDA has considerably rene-
wed its staff over the last 10 years. Our
employees are young and highly com-
mitted, often with knowledge of all the
emerging countries, the result of a high
level of mobility. We have a more open
outlook and are therefore more inclined to
produce innovation and intelligence and
help to draw out solutions.
LE MOCI. But are your intervention
techniques new?
H. de C. The development financing
industry is a highly competitive world in
which there are now large numbers of
private stakeholders rubbing shoulders
with the established institutions. In addi-
tion, our partners are themselves produ-
cers of solutions and have new demands.
You only have to look at the growing
power of the Southern development
banks. Demand is moving towards more
technology, more know-how, creating
more tools and increasing capacity. Our
working methods are changing against
this highly varied background of deve-
lopment financing institutions, even
though we still suffer from a certain slug-
gishness and over-cautious management
methods. We need to position ourselves
really as producers of solutions. Innova-
tion is audacity.
The new challenge could be to ensure
that this relationship with the private sec-
tor helps to create a renewal for the FDA.
We can solve problems and make an
impact by working through the local
authorities and without short-circuiting
the Government. The global partnership
called for by the United Nations Secre-
tary General between cities, companies
and organised civil society is a major tur-
ning point for the FDA.
Supporting innovation could therefore be
a strategic instrument for the FDA. It
includes technological and financial pro-
jects run by institutions and partnerships
in every field and covering every theme.
Our aim is to offer a fresh look, be pre-
pared to challenge certainties and prac-
tices, take part in collective experiments,
be part of an ambitious project that
values everyones contribution: in short,
to be an innovative FDA facing up to the
challenge of Africa.
Interview by Bndicte Chtel and
Anne Guillaume-Gentil
We need to work with 100% of Africa and
promote innovations there
One of the keys to sustainable development is innovation. Led
by the Minister of State for Development, Pascal Canfin, and
in partnership with the FDA, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
launched Forum Africa 100 innovations for sustainable
development during the lyse Summit from 4 to 7 Decem-
ber 2013.
The aim is to support and help the spread of innovations for
sustainable development introduced by African innovators in
areas such as health, environment, agriculture, food security,
education, gender equality, new technologies and support for
companies.
A first.
African innovators, a preview
16 LE MOCI - Special issue - March 2014
Innovative change
and French groups
director Lorraine Vilgrain. Somdiaa reso-
lutely played the local card: to have a
strong brand, dedicated to promoting
sugar produced and marketed in Africa.
We wanted the brand, on the one hand,
to reflect the idea of local production and,
on the other, to represent a staple pro-
duct at an acceptable cost for all consu-
mers, she said recently to Jeune Africa.
The groups will to reinforce their pre-
sence and proximity in each of these Afri-
can markets, and thereby highlight their
specificity, can also be seen in the recent
decision by the cement producer Lafarge
to appoint genuine country bosses, rele-
gating to ancient history the regional
management of its African markets that
had prevailed until recently.
This intrinsic knowledge of the continent
has allowed another major French ope-
rator to generally take a different position
from the rest. Bollor Africa Logistics
(BAL) has been developing the corridor
concept since the early 2000s. Contai-
ner terminal managers generally dont
The major French groups, present in Africa for many years, have sometimes appeared to be
left behind by fast-paced changes in certain African markets. Today, their close knowledge
of the continent has allowed them to become more reactive and develop original strategies,
products and approaches, often in partnership with others, increasingly African.
AN INNOVATIVE APPROACH TO AFRICA
have land. Their strategy ends at the port.
Theyre not interested in what happens
beyond it. Our strength and its what
makes people recognise our expertise
is to work on the in-depth development
of Africa, on opening it up, said Dalila
Berritane, Director of Communication
and Sustainable Development. We
manage corridors that we know by heart
and which go right into the remotest
parts of the bush. Apart from projects,
the major French groups are also focu-
sing heavily on African expertise. The
important thing for the future is to be able
to have young Africans who have trained
in Africa's leading educational institu-
tions, said Benot Coquelet, Somdiaas
deputy managing director. But the diffi-
culty is in finding them. For the last two
or three years, weve been publicising
this using all the modern exchange and
information media so well-loved by Afri-
cans: internet, websites and social net-
works. The group is also developing the
concept of apprenticeship and is sup-
porting schools that include it, such as
the Institut Suprieur Darwin (ISD) in
Douala. BAL over 80 % of whose
managers are African is also concen-
trating on training, with agreements with
the Ecole Polytechnique in Yamous-
soukro and the Ecole Suprieure de
Commerce in Dakar, as well as its own
training centres for technical professions.
Total wants customers in its
petrol stations to be able to
buy their fuel and pizzas and
carry out banking operations
on their mobile phones.
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Total, Lafarge, Bollor, Somdiaa Today,
these major French groups close and
often historic knowledge of Africa has
allowed them to develop new strategies
at a time when competition is fierce on
the continent. They are making more and
better use of increasingly skilled African
human resources. Total, which, unlike its
rivals, is continuing to focus on the dis-
tribution segment, is an example. As the
only major company to operate across
the whole African continent, Total is now
facing a new form of competition that is
very agile, innovative and reactive and
that also offers high-quality service and
facilities, explained Mamadou Ngom,
Sales Development Director for the
Africa/ Middle East Division of Totals
Marketing & Services branch.
Hence the French groups decision to
turn its petrol stations into a sort of one-
stop shop. The customer can not only
buy his fuel, wash his car, buy a hambur-
ger or a pizza and withdraw money from
a standard cashpoint, but can also carry
out banking operations as a result of the
rapid rise in the use of mobile phones in
Africa. In July, Total signed a partnership
with Orange for the distribution of
Orange Money, even in the remotest
petrol stations on the continent. In the
Ivory Coast, a manager explained that
passengers from the bus station near his
petrol station transfer the money that they
dont want to carry on them because of
highway bandits on to their mobile
phones. When they reach their destina-
tion, they simply go to the nearest Total
petrol station to recover their money,
explained Mamadou Ngom.
Its this close knowledge of the continent
and the desire to stick close to the mar-
ket and be closer to our consumers that,
in 2009, led the French agro-industrial
group Somdiaa to launch the Princesse
Tatie brand, explained development
They are betting
heavily on African
expertise
18 LE MOCI - Special issue - March 2014
AN INNOVATIVE APPROACH TO AFRICA
Today, in West Africa, economic growth
rates vary between 5 and 10-15 % from
country to country. In this context, com-
panies have an increasing need for
human resources skilled at an internatio-
nal level, explained Sophie Rivire,
consultant and office manager at 2iE
Paris. Were not content with simply pro-
viding our students with knowledge. We
go further and encourage them to use
their scientific and technological know-
ledge to think about how they could
themselves become providers of solu-
tions.
An original method put forth by an unu-
sual establishment, beginning with its his-
tory. 2iE was the result of the merger, in
2006, of two inter-governmental esta-
blishments in West and Central Africa,
the Ecole dingnieurs de lquipement
rural (EIER), founded in Ouagadougou
in 1968, and the cole des techniciens
de lhydraulique and de lquipement
rural (Etsher) dating back to 1970. Close
to bankruptcy, EIER and Etsher merged
in 2001 to create the Eier-Etsher Group,
which became 2iE in 2006.
Its senior management was initially
entrusted to Paul Ginis, a French engi-
neer with a long career in development
and many years in Africa. He took on the
task of proposing ways of modernising
what had become an obsolete model.
From 2007, he began the construction of
new buildings and embarked on an in-
depth reform of the institution.
The first project was a complete over-
haul of the Institutes governance. We
have four colleges today: the founding
African States plus a few States that
have joined us recently; the technical and
financial partners, including France; the
scientific and academic partners; and the
private partners, mainly companies, said
Sophie Rivire.
The second major project was the intro-
duction of tuition fees. That was quite
difficult to introduce, but families soon
realised that 2iE was a real alternative to
more expensive studies in Europe or
elsewhere and a totally profitable invest-
ment. Today, 40 % of the students are
on grants and two-thirds are from the
middle class; the establishment has
negotiated student loan options with the
Bank of Africa. Of the 30 nationalities
present here, 25 are African.
The third project and certainly not the
least was the total redesigning of the
course and concept to resemble the
business world as closely as possible.
An increasing number of courses were
offered in English, as well as in Chinese
and Arabic.
Other major innovations have been adop-
ted this year. Alongside the teaching is
the Technopole, or Technology Park,
which is used to support entrepreneur-
ship. It includes a company incubator and
nursery, backing the Institutes two sha-
red research centres, which enables
companies to validate scientific models
and benefit from the support of tutor-
researchers.
Until recently they were intended for 2iE
graduates. But, as of this year, anyone
with an innovative project can join. This
follows on from the international compe-
tition that 2iE launched in June, the Green
Start Up Challenge, with the aim of rea-
ching people who are looking to set up
an innovative company in the green
growth sector in Africa.
2iEs technical excellence and pragma-
tism were further illustrated this year by
the inauguration of the Total Anac labo-
ratory, a first in Sub-Saharan Africa. In
an original approach, the laboratory
consists of a mobile container used for
the qualitative analysis of the fuels and
lubricants supplied to Total petrol stations
in Africa. It is open to 2iE partner com-
panies and organisations and to students
for their practical work.
Another innovation in 2013: the Low-
cost Bush Taxi training scheme. Anyone
who is looking to learn a specific skill can
register for a certificate and make up his
own training programme. These certifi-
cates are short and affordable and the
learner chooses his own course, said
Sophie Rivire.
The founders vision was to make 2iE
not just a training centre but an institute
to support the development of a conti-
nent, said the consultant.
2iE, beyond training,
a guide to the continents development
2iE? In the training world, the reputation of the Institut international dIngnierie de lEau
et de lEnvironnement (International Institute for Water and Environmental Engineering)
is already well established. Its very different concept is now shared with some 2,000 stu-
dents on its campus in Ouagadougou and 1,500 others via e-learning.
Innovative initiatives, from the Green Start
Up to the Low-Cost Bush Taxi
Today, 40 % of students have grants and
two-thirds are from the middle class.
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20 LE MOCI - Special issue - March 2014
CFAO, the leader in distribution in Africa,
has been operating on the continent for
the last 125 years. Carrefour, which
ranks second in food distribution world-
wide, has just celebrated its 50th birth-
day. It took no less than the alliance of
the two French groups to make the most
of the current drastic turn in the
consumption market in Africa and
embark on reinforcing a genuinely
modern distribution network in Africa.
Even so, the modern network's level of
penetration averages only 5 % on the
continent.
African growth is a reality. It can be seen
in the emergence of a middle class that
allows us to see a number of large coun-
tries as being highly attractive, said
Xavier Desjobert, recently appointed
managing director of CFAO Retail.
When we talk about distribution, and
particularly food distribution, the tradi-
tional market in Africa accounts for vir-
tually 100% of sales. The whole popu-
lation goes to these traditional markets,
apart from the 1 or 2 % of the upper
class, including expatriates, who have
always bought differently. The emer-
gence of the middle class is a real game-
changer! said Xavier Desjobert who
was, before he joined CFAO, the former
head of Les 3 Suisses and Lapeyre, and
also served a period with Casinos inter-
national management. And these mid-
dle classes are people who are now ear-
ning 150 euros a month, which enables
them to consume in different ways.
This middle class represents between
12 and 20 % of African countries and
is starting to adopt another way of thin-
king: wanting to eat differently, taking an
interest in food safety, wanting to have
a means of transport, etc. Thats who
were aiming at.
To take advantage of this rapid rise,
CFAO, with the benefit of its experience
of African markets, has chosen to join
How the emergence
of the middle class is a game-changer for CFAO
forces with Carrefour to move quickly
and capitalise on its know-how. A whole
concept specific to African markets has
had to be designed and produced, with
the food supermarkets or hypermarkets
as the driving force behind the shopping
malls that CFAO intends to set up in
partnership with other major chains.
First of all, theres the offer in these
supermarkets: the buying power of these
targeted populations is increasing fast
but is still low compared to other major
emerging regions; national dietary habits
and, more widely, in general consump-
tion mean that the same things can't be
sold in Douala as in Abidjan.
On the other hand, the standards are
very similar to those used in mature
countries. Middle-class Africans occa-
sionally travel to Europe. They may have
family in France, the United Kingdom or
the United States. Through television,
the Internet and mobile phones, African
populations also have a fairly accurate
view of whats on offer in the major deve-
loped markets. Its what we want to offer
them through the one-stop shopping
concept: standards in terms of services,
food safety, cleanliness, catchment area,
product ranges and merchandising that
are on a par with international standards.
Other specificities of Africa: problems
linked to security which are totally dif-
ferent to Europe and even Asia and
the limited size of the catchment areas.
In large African cities, its often extre-
mely difficult to move around, so the
catchment areas are relatively small.
Weve built this into the project defini-
tion and sized the shops accordingly.
On a human scale, more compact,
more human than in the vastness of a
shopping mall like Vlizy with its
300,000 m2, these shopping centres
will contain 20 to 50 shops and inevita-
bly some food and drink outlets. One of
the features specific to Africa compared
to the rest of the world is the desire for
conviviality. These places which will
have to be air-conditioned, secure and
modern will clearly have to be dedica-
ted to consumption, but must also be
places where people go for pleasure, to
meet each other and talk, explained the
head of CFAO.
On the food side, the two groups
clearly intend to work on building up
local agri-food chains. At the moment
we can source between 15 and 20 %
of our products locally.
Eight sites have been chosen for the first
store locations Cameroon, Congo,
Ivory Coast, Gabon, Ghana, Nigeria, DR
Congo and Senegal with the first ope-
ning planned for the Ivory Coast in 2015.
Historically, CFAO knows these coun-
tries very well. Theres a real strategy
that ensures that our know-how which
is the very essence of the group is
based on our knowledge of the African
world. And it had to be shared with a
group like Carrefour. Were totally com-
plementary to each other, said Xavier
Desjobert.
Urbanisation, the rise of the middle class and growth have led CFAO, one of the
long-standing pillars of distribution in Africa, to launch into the creation of one-stop
shopping malls.
MASS CONSUMPTION
CFAO has chosen to join forces with
Carrefour to move quickly and capitalise
on its know-how
22 LE MOCI - Special issue - March 2014
MASS CONSUMPTION
The green click solution
to rising electronic waste, by Les Ateliers du Bocage
The computer revolution in Africa is giving rise to a real electronic waste problem. Les
Ateliers du Bocage, a member of the Emmas community, has built up an effective and ori-
ginal operation.
Somebody needed to think of it! We can
all remember the thousands of plastic
bags hanging from trees, polluting the
African landscape and killing livestock.
What we have less in mind, but which is
much more polluting, and increasing fast,
is electronic waste. Everyone applauded
the generational leap in telephony and
electronics driving Africas economic
growth, boosting the middle classes and
bringing Africa firmly into the globalised
world.
But what should be done with that mobile
phone or computer when it is beyond
repair? And worse still, what should be
done with the thousands even millions
of used mobiles sent in whole cargoes to
Africa to be re-used, in theory, but that
dont work? Apart from South Africa, the
continent doesnt have any recycling
plants, which is a concern to many
players, particularly in the private sector,
as this is bad for their image, but also to
public authorities: the Economic Com-
mission for Africa has written a whole host
of reports on a key issue for Rio +20.
Faced with this dilemma, Emmas came
up with an ingenious answer early on. In
the early 2000s, the movement founded
in France by Abb Pierre in 1949 set up
an Economic Support branch within its
organisation and adopted the concept of
an integration company. The association
Les Ateliers du Bocage was one of the
very first.
We started working with Africa a long
time ago and when we wanted to intro-
duce some support projects, we contac-
ted Burkina Faso, where wed already
helped set up dispensaries, build wells,
etc., explained its founder and director
Bernard Arru. As one of our main activi-
ties is recycling computer equipment, we
suggested supplying this equipment to
students.
There was no question, however, of the
support organisation being likened to all
those that send ships full of so-called
used equipment, that are in reality a mix
of waste and used equipment! From the
project's inception, Les Ateliers du
Bocage undertook to send only equip-
ment in working order and to repatriate
the waste once the computers were at
the end of their life cycles, not just those
sent initially by Les Ateliers but also those
that embassies and companies in Africa
wanted to throw away. Alongside our
stores and after-sales service workshops
in Deux-Svres, we set up a workshop
for dismantling computer equipment so
that we could repatriate cathode ray
tubes, batteries and electronic cards for
which there was no outlet in Africa, apart
from South Africa.
The operation was repeated for the
mobile phone sector, in partnership with
the French operator Orange. As part of
an eco-citizen policy launched amongst
great advertising fanfare, Orange encou-
raged users, firstly in France, to discard
their old mobile phones in an Emmas-
Orange collection bin. These phones are
then sent to Les Ateliers du Bocage,
whose employees give them a second
life and send them to Africa. At present,
an average of 40,000 mobile phones are
processed every month. Five years ago,
Les Ateliers du Bocage and Orange joi-
ned forces to set up a similar operation
Green Click in Africa. This quite
unique operation began in Burkina Faso
with our first dismantling workshop.
Today, were in Benin, Madagascar, Niger
and the Ivory Coast with Orange: we col-
lect all the mobile phone waste, separate
it by materials and regroup it. Then, what
can be treated locally is treated locally,
but most of the waste including pollu-
ting waste (batteries, electronic cards,
plastic shells and chargers) is repatria-
ted to our site in Deux-Svres, which has
all the authorisations required to treat
waste and recycle it, explained Bernard
Arru.
Les Ateliers du Bocage are obviously not
the only ones doing this in Africa. But
they were pioneers. HP and Dell have
also set up an IT waste collection, but in
East Africa. We had the idea at roughly
the same time, but they took longer to
set up the legal arrangements; wed star-
ted repatriating containers when they
were still at the study phase. The Chi-
nese and the Indians are also very active
today, but are only interested in waste
that contains precious metals.
And Green Click results? Over 40,000
tons of electronic waste was collected in
2012 and, of this total, 33 tons of locally
non-treatable waste was sent to France.
South-to-North trade exists too!
Green Click is
present in Burkina
Faso, Benin,
Madagascar, Niger
and the Ivory Coast.
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