CII initiative in creating cadre of African entrepreneurs

By P. Vikram Reddy

HYDERABAD, MAY 6. The progress made in the pilot project taken up by the international division (Africa Desk) of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and called `Indo African Entrepreneurship Development' holds out hope for a similar initiative on a much wider canvas in the near future.

Supported by the UNIDO and ICAMT (International Centre for Advancement of Manufacturing Technology), the Africa Desk took up a pilot project to train five African entrepreneurs, one each from Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia and Malawi in five different Indian micro or small units based on the actual requirement of the African entrepreneurs.

The objective of the project is to create a cadre of African entrepreneurs and equip them with skills and knowledge on how to go about setting up micro and small industries in their own countries.

Given the fact that there are more than three million registered small scale units in India (never mind the sickness), the country is looked upon by most African countries as a `role model' for development of micro and small enterprises. And one of the basic difficulties for African countries is lack of local entrepreneurs, numberwise as also skillwise.

The Pilot Project-Entrepreneurship Development (PPED), the main aim of which was to address this problem took off in June 2000, after the UNIDO clearance. In the first phase, the task had been to select African entrepreneurs from these five countries, train them here in India, and find Indian partners.

``It is an experiment in cross cultural management, and shifting the mindset (African) from trading to manufacturing, understanding the nuances of setting up small scale units, and nurturing their growth'', says, Mr. D. Srinivasan, Senior Advisor, CII, who is single-handedly working on this initiative.

And what is there in it for the Indian counterpart? Well, they could take it up as joint ventures or participate in technology transfer or even end up in a marketing tie-up to sell their products in Africa.

Potential Indian partners were identified for six projects but one dropped out and another fell sick. Ultimately, four projects have been finalised of which three African counterparts have even completed training.

The four `matched projects' are: a project for processing of gypsum for use in construction industry and medical bandages by Mr. Cuthbert Robery Kajuna, Director of Timber and Furniture Store in Tanzania with Central Building Research Institute providing the technology.

The second proposal involves Mr. Felix Charles Zulu of Computer Connections, Malawi, and Mr. D. Raman, ED of Hyderabad based Strabus Software Solutions for software services.

In an interesting project, Mr. Fisseha Tsegaye, MD of Benyabi Chemical Engineering, Ethiopia, is working with Mr. T. P. Rama Chandra Rao, MD of Coastal Research and Engineering Works, Vijayawada, for a `brick making unit'. It appears there is only one public sector unit in Ethiopia making bricks and the assessment is that given its level of activity upto four such projects would be feasible.

In the case of the fourth project, which is finalised, training of the African counterpart is scheduled for later this month. Mr. Simon Ngeru of Femo Works, Kenya, is looking at making rubber and plastic auto components, with a tie-up with NTTF Industries of Bangalore. Most of the project costs are estimated anywhere from $50,000 to $100,000. Partner identification process for three more are still continuing.

However, it will be another three to four months for details to be worked out like the exact size of these projects and the nature of the tie-ups and shareholding. But basically the project envisages training, technology transfer and equipment transfer, with Indian partners taking only a small stake (of about 10 per cent) more as a moral support. The projects are projected to be launched between June and December this year.

If successful, this initiative could lead to the second phase, where the target is 20 African countries (including five of the first phase) and training of at least five entrepreneurs from each of these countries. This could create 100 India trained entrepreneurs and India sourced projects.

The second phase could take another year to two for completion. The suggested nations in the second phase include Congo, Ghana, Botswana to Seychelles, Madagascar, Burkina Faso and Rwanda.

The value of such a programme is reflected in Mr. Srinivasan's observation that ``There are no small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in most of the African countries, except Tanzania, Kenya and partly Ethiopia''.

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