REPORT
INTERNATIONAL
BUSINESS
March 2014

1
International business
1217 African business professionals did participate in the survey. They are working in Nigeria (23%),
South Africa (19%), Kenya (14%), Ghana (6%) and other African countries (39%).
59% of African companies are involved in international business in Africa, 44% are doing business
outside the continent.
Europe is a business partner of 75% of the African companies doing business outside the
continent, followed by Asia (60%), North America (47%), South America (33%) and Australia
(26%).

2
Business confidence
Business confidence in Africa is high: 51% of African businesses realized higher turnover in 2013 as
compared with 2012, 15% of African businesses realized lower turnover.
The expectations of 2014, as compared with 2013, are even higher: 82% of African companies are
expecting turnover growth, 5 % expect a decrease.
Asked about their expectations of the African economy as a whole, 88% foresee growth in 2014 and
2 percent expect a decline.

3
Interesting is to determine local differentiation. Highest business confidence is amongst Ghanaian
entrepreneurs: 94% is expecting turnover growth for their companies in 2014. Ghana is followed by
Nigeria (89%), Kenya (86%) and South Africa (77%).
All in all, these results reflect very high business confidence amongst African business professionals.
Asked about elements most needed in order to let business grow, A Strong Network was mentioned
by 35% of the respondents, followed by Knowledge (29%), Capital (22%) and Qualified Staff (13%).

4
Doing business with the Dutch
38% of African companies are somewhat or very familiar with Dutch organizations, 41% are not
familiar at all.
14% of African companies have done business with Dutch companies. Of the African companies
having done business with Dutch companies, 47% have been importing from the Netherlands, 32%
have been exporting to the Netherlands and 37% have a joint venture with a Dutch company.
Asked about the sectors the Dutch are strong in, highest score is for Logistics (42%), followed by
Agriculture (41%), Water Management (40%), Maritime (37%) and Food & Beverage (34%).
Remarkable is the relatively low position of Banking (19%).
Dutch companies have a good name in Africa. 88% of the respondents would do business with Dutch
organizations if they would get the chance.
Africa Business Panel
The Africa Business Panel is a cooperation of Africa Business Communities and market research firm
MSI-ACI. Africa Business Panel is a strong research tool with members who work in the private sector
for companies registered in and operating out of Africa. They are the senior managers, entrepreneurs
or professionals that form the backbone of the business community throughout Africa.
With over 11,000 members the Africa Business Panel is the largest Pan-African Online B2B Market
Research Panel worldwide.