Why Trade Matters
Trade and the Canadian Economy
Canada Clearly Seeking to Forge Closer Ties with Africa
Stories of the Week - November 18, 2002:
Over 100 delegates representing Canadian companies and organizations have left on a Trade Mission to Africa that will take them first to South Africa, then to Nigeria and Senegal.
"The interest shown by the Canadian business community confirms Canada's commitment to forging closer ties with Africa," said International Trade Minister Pettigrew, as he was leaving for South Africa. "We want to help create the conditions for sustained economic growth in Africa, and trade is a key ingredient."
During the mission, Mr. Pettigrew will be meeting with his counterparts and with key leaders who have played an important role in the New Partnership for Africa's Development. Efforts will also be made to improve relations in general between Canada and Africa in the area of trade and investment. The Minister will have an opportunity to discuss initiatives that Canada intends to put forward in support of innovation and economic development on the African continent.
This week's Stories of the Week features Canadian companies that have conquered markets in Nigeria, other parts of West Africa, and South Africa with financial support from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) or the invaluable support of Canadian trade commissioners.
Further information on the Trade Mission to Africa is available at: http://www.tcm-mec.gc.ca/africa
Stories of the Week - November 18, 2002
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Producing Schoolbooks in Senegal
Beauchemin International, Laval, Quebec
A Montreal-based publishing house, Beauchemin International, has been producing schoolbooks for West Africa for more than 10 years. Looking to increase its share of the West African market, Beauchemin set out to capitalize on the Government of Senegal's commitment to provide access to education for all Senegalese children. "We saw the increased demand for schoolbooks and teaching materials as the perfect opportunity for expansion," explains Yvan Boulerice, President of Beauchemin International.
In 1999, following a feasibility study that received $99,500 in support from CIDA's Industrial Cooperation Program (CIDA-INC), Beauchemin International became the primary shareholder in Éditions des écoles nouvelles africaines du Sénégal (EENAS), a Canadian-Senegalese joint venture.
By providing Canadian expertise and working with local authors, Beauchemin and EENAS succeeded in producing school books and teaching materials adapted to the culture, context and purchasing power of Senegalese. Since 1999, EENAS - the only publishing house in Senegal that specializes in educational material - has produced more than 16 new French titles, as well as 78 literacy and post-literacy booklets (13 subjects, 6 local languages). "We have also provided ongoing training for EENAS staff and have organized several seminars for local authors," says Boulerice.
Beauchemin's collaboration with EENAS in Senegal is part of its corporate regional strategy for West Africa. With CIDA-INC financial support, the company also has operations underway or planned in Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea and Mali.
The Alberta-Mpumalanga Twinning Project
Daniller + Associates, Edmonton, Alberta
Lindsay Daniller is a key player in promoting sustainable community economic development in the South African province of Mpumalanga. Her Edmonton-based firm, Daniller + Associates, has created a series of education modules that are being used in the Alberta-Mpumalanga Twinning Project, itself part of a larger CIDA-funded twinning project. Topics of exchanges in the initial phase included: legislature operations; economic development policy; business planning; financial management and accountability; teenage street prostitution; and disadvantaged youth.
"The Government of Mpumalanga subsequently expressed great interest in receiving a sustainable community economic development component from Alberta," says Daniller, who is currently carrying out a feasibility study for this second phase of the project. "So now we are looking into how our modules can help develop entrepreneurs and alleviate poverty in Mpumalanga by building capacity for a wide variety of groups, including women. We will be addressing issues such as unemployment, capital investment for the community, business attraction and retention, technology transfer, export readiness, strategic communications planning, and media management."
The firm's educational modules were created jointly with Alberta Economic Development. They teach fundamental business principles, explains Daniller. "Our system is unique in that we give classes to small groups of up to 20 people right in towns and villages, using local facilities such as schools, gymnasiums and community centres, whereas other programs expect people to travel to large centres for training."
Daniller is taking part in the Canada Trade Mission in order to meet with government authorities in a formal setting and develop a wider network. "From my perspective, this mission is about lending Canadian expertise to South Africa," she says. "But more than that, it is an opportunity to create partnerships between our two countries, which is of paramount importance for South Africa."
Well-known for many years in the Alberta business community, Lindsay Daniller is past president of the Economic Developers Association of Alberta. She was also active in the Greater Edmonton Competitiveness Strategy - one of the most comprehensive economic community development projects in North America - and chaired the Edmonton Business Link, which provides assistance to small business entrepreneurs, most of them women.
Promoting Agricultural Exports in Africa
Geomar International Inc., Montreal, Quebec
Geomar International is a multinational group that specializes in developing international activities for its private and institutional clients, primarily in agriculture, energy, land transportation, financing packages and information technology.
In 1988 the firm developed Promex, a new system for promoting and diversifying agricultural exports. To date this concept has been introduced in 24 projects worldwide. An integrated process of financing, production and international marketing, the system can be adapted to the operations of exporting companies of all sizes and in all sectors, on any market whatsoever.
Promex is suited primarily to the major needs of the private sector in emerging countries. It was successfully introduced in Côte d'Ivoire between 1993 and 2001 as part of the project to promote non-traditional agricultural exports (PPEA). The initiative was co-funded by CIDA, the World Bank, the European Union, the government of Côte d'Ivoire and local private operators. The results have been a net annual increase in exports of non-traditional products, and creation of a professional exporters' association (PROMEXA) along with specialized exporting networks. In addition, recurrent profits have increased among small and medium-sized exporters, while a very large number of middlemen have been dispensed with, making it possible to deal directly with major European importers and supermarket chains. In 1999, Geomar International won a Canadian Award for International Cooperation for its project in Côte d'Ivoire.
Promex has since become a model for the entire West Africa region. Geomar International has carried out or is currently undertaking similar projects in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, and Senegal. The project under way in Senegal is financed by the World Bank and valued at $20 million; it includes construction of a freight station at Dakar International Airport and the FELTIPLEX packaging and shipping centre, two facilities using the latest shipping and receiving technology. The Promex concept is used in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Morocco, Paraguay, the Philippines, Samoa, Tonga, Tunisia, Uruguay, the West Indies and elsewhere.
Since 1985, Geomar has helped more than 450 companies to prepare their international plans, their start-up activities, their establishment and growth on national and international markets in 65 countries, both industrialized and developing. "Our experience in both geographical areas, North and South, is very valuable to our clients," says Jean-Pierre Mathieu, President of Geomar International. "Companies of all sizes penetrating international markets need to better understand the North-South dynamic, which determines the way of doing business, expansion and success for all the players involved."
Solar Energy Solutions for Africa
Glenergy Inc., Piper's Glen, Nova Scotia
A small Cape Breton company is exploring new energy solutions for Africa as the result of a recent partnering agreement with Telecom Techniques of South Africa.
Glenergy Inc. designs and manufactures white LED (light-emitting diode) systems-which consume as little as ¼ watt of power - and specializes in identifying sensible applications of alternative energy. The company hopes to bring its expertise to remote areas in Africa, such as the Hluleka Nature Reserve in the Eastern Cape, which Telecom Techniques is currently outfitting with a solar and wind power and water purification/heating system. "The scope for our technology in the Eastern Cape alone is enormous," says Glen MacGillivray, President of Glenergy. The partnership with Telecom Techniques - which was facilitated by the Canadian Alliance for Business in South Africa - is expected to open doors for Glenergy to the rest of the continent, where hundreds of millions of people could benefit from low-powered solar lighting. "We plan to introduce a suite of solutions for African physical and socio-political conditions related to water pumping, purification, heating and desalination, in addition to lighting and battery charging," says MacGillivray.
Glenergy is currently promoting a prototype reading light, called the Edulight, designed to serve the estimated 2 billion people on the planet without access to sufficient light in the evening. "The Edulight, which is powered by a small solar panel, will replace candles and paraffin lamps that are harmful to the eyes," explains MacGillivray. "Furthermore, there would be reductions in consumption of flammable liquids and fewer accidents caused by fuel-powered lamps-as well as the obvious potential long-term benefit of an increased literacy rate." A related product uses the same housing but relies on a central solar-charging station that would be sited, typically, at a school. "Thousands of schools in the Eastern Cape are installing solar systems that could easily incorporate such stations," notes MacGillivray. An important feature of the Edulight is the longevity of the components, he says: "Other than battery replacement every two to five years, the systems will last for 30 years or more with essentially no maintenance other than occasional cleaning of the solar panel surface."
During the Trade Mission to Africa, Glenergy hopes to develop relationships and partnerships that will help it introduce the reading lights in Nigeria. "We are interested in meeting with governmental and non-governmental organizations who want to bring lights and other sensible energy alternatives to cities and remote areas," says MacGillivray. "We intend to make Nigeria a centre of activity in Africa."
Glenergy's wind-powered pilot plant in Cape Breton focuses on development of a low-power light assembly facility, while product development and administration are carried out at its Petawawa, Ontario, office.
Municipal Services Management in Lejweleputswa
Informatique D.B.D. Inc., Laval, Quebec
Informatique D.B.D. Inc. is currently working on a complex project for the Municipality of Lejweleputswa in South Africa. This new urban community of 1 million inhabitants was created from the merger of 18 cities within a 150-kilometre radius.
"This is a challenging project," says Henri Guindi, president of the Laval-based company, which specializes in managing information technology projects. "It involves the complete integration of several databases, with the goal of improving the management of municipal services such as tax assessment and collection, billing, and health services." In collaboration with its local partner, MIIB Business Technologies, Informatique D.B.D. conducted a feasibility study on configuring and implementing a wireless network to link 124 municipal buildings, installing 2,000 locally assembled computers and related software, and delivering technical support training for municipal staff.
Several federal government agencies have been actively involved in this venture, adds Guindi. "We have used the services of Export Development Canada, the Canadian Commercial Corporation, CIDA and Canadian Trade Commissioners. The Embassy in Pretoria is providing us with excellent services and we work closely with trade commissioner staff there."
Informatique D.B.D. provides clients with turnkey solutions that encompass needs assessment, system design, solution development, network integration and implementation, financing, end-user training, and support. Its diverse client base includes municipalities, governments, hotels, financial institutions, educational institutions and multinational corporations in countries such as Algeria, Bulgaria, France, Morocco and Tunisia.
Born to Export
Mammoth Trucks, Penticton, British Columbia
Mammoth Trucks is dedicated to exporting. In fact, company president Geoff Gogle is so adamant about the importance of selling outside Canada that his motto is "Export or die."
Mammoth has established a unique niche in converting North American built cars and trucks to right-hand drive and selling them to Australia, New Zealand, and countries in Southern, Central and East Africa, where driving on the "wrong side" is the norm. "If you don't export, you won't make it in today's world," says Gogle, "and with the low dollar, Canadian businesses have a real competitive advantage." Gogle can be considered an expert in international business: he imported trucks to his native South Africa before settling in the heart of British Columbia's Okanagan Lake District and setting up Mammoth Trucks. As he puts it, "I've worked both sides of the fence."
In joining the Canada Trade Mission on its South African leg, Mammoth Trucks is on a mission of its own. "With Durban as our port of entry, South Africa is currently serving only as a transit point for the rest of the continent," explains Gogle. "We have every reason to believe that the high profile of the trade mission will help open doors for doing business with South Africa, where the import of used vehicles has been prohibited for the last several years. There is strength in numbers, and the Park Hyatt in Johannesburg will be an excellent venue for discussions."
Gogle says that he regularly consults with Canadian embassy staff wherever he does business. "They always keep us in the picture about tenders coming up," notes Gogle, who adds that fully 40 percent of all the reconfigured vehicles sold to Zambia, Tanzania, Mozambique, Botswana and Malawi were financed by CIDA. "We have also supplied the United Nations with vehicles through contracts that were facilitated by the Canadian Commercial Corporation (CCC)."
While in South Africa, Mammoth Trucks will be taking the opportunity to promote business on behalf of another Penticton-based company that manufactures truck trailers.
Affordable Housing for South Africa
Terra Housing Consultants Ltd, Vancouver, British Columbia
With more than 20 years of experience in developing housing for low- and middle-income households, Terra Housing Consultants Ltd. is taking on the South African market. Under a partnership agreement with Powerhouse Utilities (Pty) Ltd. of Johannesburg, the Vancouver-based company is about to tackle seven key projects in Gauteng Province. The agreement, which was signed in September 2002, was facilitated by the Canadian Alliance for Business in South Africa.
"This is an exciting opportunity for Terra to apply its management skills in South Africa," says Stuart Thomas, President of Terra Housing, who is joining the trade mission to Africa to further establish Terra's profile and secure contacts with other South African and international players. "Our partnership with Powerhouse, a competent, credible local company, is the necessary ingredient in realizing the possibility." Together, the companies will pursue commercial opportunities in the areas of developing and managing land, infrastructure and housing in both South Africa and the region. To help in the development of its market strategy, Terra received a grant from the Program for Export Market Development.
Since 1982, Terra has completed more than 200 affordable housing projects for non-governmental organizations and municipalities in and outside Canada, providing services such as proposal development, financial packaging, project management, property management and capacity building. Working with Rooftops Canada, Terra has provided technical assistance to the Philippines' national cooperative sector to manage all aspects of the co-op housing development process, and it assisted a local organization in Zimbabwe in managing its housing projects in a mortgage-financing environment. Terra's work in the Philippines is ongoing.
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