German companies want to invest more in Africa by 2023

A survey of members of the German-African Entrepreneurs’ Association also showed that 39% of the association’s members wanted to keep their spending in Africa stable.

“Most companies want to expand their operations in the coming year,” association president Christoph Kannegiesser told Reuters. “It makes sense because the continent is still on a growth trajectory.”

German companies invested around 1.6 billion euros in Africa in 2021, of which around 1.1 billion euros went to the sub-Saharan region, according to data from the Ministry of Economy.

Kannegiesser said he sees great opportunities in Africa’s energy sector as Europe’s largest economy tries to reduce its dependence on Russia for gas after the Ukraine invasion.

“The field of green hydrogen and liquefied gas will give new impetus to many countries,” he said, pointing to Senegal, Nigeria and Mauritania as countries with investment potential.

Namibia could also benefit greatly from the production of green hydrogen, Kannageiser says.

The survey found that 56% of companies rated their business in Africa positively in 2022 and another 7% rated it as “very good”.

The association, which claims to represent 85% of German companies in Africa, wants the government to provide more support to ensure African companies are not left to the US through better conditions for export credit insurance and investment guarantees from the German government. China.

The association has criticized the law, which will come into force on January 1, requiring large companies to act against human rights and climate violations.