Having traveled to 107 countries, the world traveler, Economist, Trainer, Author, Energy and IT Contracts expert and forensic sciences judicial expert, Information Security, Supply Chain Management Chief Auditor, Work Safety and Risk expert, Moderator, Speaker, notary sworn translator, licensed Athlete, trainer and sports coach, Student coach, Mentor, Ethnic Dance Choreographer, performance artist, Africa lover Çiğdem Yorgancıoğlu was one of the guests who attended the event. This name was Çiğdem Yorgancıoğlu, who, in addition to her world around tour program in many countries from Kenya to Sudan, South Africa to Egypt, Libya to Tunisia, also performed safaris in the African world and MIM CHI 360 African tribal dance performances. Yorgancıoğlu also stood out with her visits to elephant orphanages in Africa, Chi Ci Talks Chi Kuna Matata Chats, birthday celebrations with safari programs, Red Sea scuba dives and interviews with African tribe members. Corporate Risk Strategist Çiğdem Yorgancıoğlu, as a world traveler guest on the Seyyah program on TRT radio, shared her African experience based memories for weeks and the sensitivity and subtleties of the culture and communication language of African countries on topics such as life in Africa, culture, art, health, economy, informatics, innovation, entrepreneurship, communication language, risk management, ethnic cultures, family structures,politics and dance theater with a risk-oriented and design-oriented approach suitable for thinking.Yorgancioglu studies Business Administration &Economics at Bosphorus Universty and currently studying 3rd Universty Political Sciences and International Relations Dept.
Turkey-Africa relations are increasing day by day in a multi-layered manner based on equal partnership and win-win. Today, Turkish contractors have signed many investments in Africa from FCMG sector to Energy sector, airports to ports, public buildings to roads and tunnels, including infrastructure projects and various construction projects. Africa is important for Turkey, Turkey is important for Africa. At this point, Çiğdem Yorgancıoğlu published a report in which she filtered her own impressions from the speeches at the AFEX 2024 launch. Here, both the report of her impressions and the information about the launch content are shared.
The AFEX 2024 Press Conference was held at the Taksim Barcelo Hotel in Istanbul. The event was the launch of the AFEX Global Business Forum and Fair event organized by the Turkish-African Businessmen’s Association (TABA) on November 11-12-13 in Istanbul. At the conference, Fatih Akbulut, President of the Turkish-African Businessmen’s Association (TABA), shared his 15 years of business experience on the African continent and provided information on the dynamics of doing business in Africa and some tips that will draw attention to some of its fragile points. Akbulut explained the potential opportunities in Africa to Turkish business people ahead of AFEX 2024 to be held in November, and presented a broad-spectrum vision on how Turkey can strengthen its strategic partnerships with Africa.
AFEX – Africa Business Forum and Fair, which brought together 1270 business people from 49 countries last year, will be held on November 11-12-13 at Istanbul – Pullman Fair and Congress Center this year. AFEX 2024, which will be organized with the theme of Franchise, Distributorship, Strategic Sustainable Partnerships, will host African business people looking for investment and business opportunities in Africa in Istanbul, which is the 1st city in flights to Africa and the 2nd city in the world with the most direct flights to the city.
A Few Words About TABA
Turkish-African Business Association (TABA), which has continued to open the doors of an important market like Africa to Turkish Businessmen with more than 200 investment visits, sectoral and commercial trips, conferences, seminars, B2B and B2G meetings, trilateral forums etc. organizations since its establishment, is an independent organization that pioneers the establishment and strengthening of commercial, diplomatic, social and cultural relations between Turkey and Africa. Since 2012, TABA has been increasing its active activities and undertakes the duty of being an umbrella organization for businessmen, associations and other organizations operating in this field. TABA, which includes many African and Turkish businessmen, continues its organization in Turkey and throughout Africa.
TABA Role, Position and Impact in Africa, Which is Strategically Important for Türkiye
TABA President Fatih Akbulut, in his speech, drew attention to the strategic importance of Africa for Turkey, and emphasized the importance TABA attaches to the issue and the institutional memory it has built. It was stated that Africa offers great opportunities for the Turkish business world with its rapidly growing economies, young population and huge potential. Akbulut stated that long-term, strategic partnerships should be established in order to further expand Turkey’s presence in the African market. It was conveyed that such partnerships are of great importance not only in terms of trade, but also in terms of strengthening diplomatic and cultural relations.
Tips for Doing Business in Africa
Akbulut, in his speech, particularly pointed out the difficulties, fragility, opportunities and advantages of doing business in Africa, as well as the importance of the concepts of Sub-Saharan Africa and Supra-Saharan Africa in the African geography. Akbulut, who spoke about his visits and contacts to 37 different African countries since 2009 and the experiences he gained during this process, provided important data on how the Turkish business world can do more effective and sustainable business in Africa. The critical points Fatih Akbulut pointed out included the unique characteristics of the African market, alternative business habits due to cultural differences and establishing relationships with local business partners as the key to successful initiatives.
Send Money With Dumb Non Smart Phones is possible With African Mobile Money M-PESA
Akbulut draw our attention to M-PESA. M-PESA is a mobile phone-based money transfer, payments and microfinance service launched in 2007 by Vodafone, Kenya’s largest mobile network operator, and Safaricom. Africa’s mobile money doesn’t need a smartphone. It’s a system that has since expanded to Tanzania, Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Ghana, Egypt, Afghanistan, South Africa and Ethiopia. Akbulut also highlighted the insecurity of carrying cash and M-PESA African mobile money in his speech.
A Brief Look Between the Lines at the Basic Principles of Doing Successful Business in Africa
Akbulut listed the distinctive and important characteristics of the successful business style in Africa as follows:
“Determining the right filtering, the right profiling, establishing the right business partners and local and situational connections, choosing the right countries
Understanding cultural differences and sensitivities and acting with this awareness,
Building trust through long-term planning and patience.”
Packaging the work with the right strategy is a must.
Visa is one of the most crucial difficulties
To see the dynamics of Türkiye-Africa trade volume increasing from 5 Billion USD to 34 Billion USD
To see the Turkey of the 1960s, 70s and 80s, the Africa that lived and the dynamics of development and expansion.
Istanbul Heart of Africa
AFEX 2024 will host African business people seeking investment and business opportunities in Africa in Istanbul, the city with the 1st flight to Africa and the 2nd city in the world with the most direct flights. Istanbul is the city most connected to Africa. TABA President Akbulut emphasized the ease of transportation within Africa via Istanbul for some countries and said, “Istanbul is the heart of Africa.” He underlined that it is possible to reach different parts of Africa by air in Istanbul in 3 to 11 hours, and said, “Many international companies are opening their African offices in Istanbul.” One of these examples was the China Shein Turkey Office. Akbulut said that action cannot be taken as fast as China in Africa because they do not have enough money, and stated that Africa offers opportunities for the Turkish world with its rapidly growing economies, young population and huge potential. Akbulut called on Turkish business people to make long-term investments in Africa, stating that permanent and sustainable success across this great continent will only be possible in this way.
Importance of AFEX and Expected Participant Profile: More than 2,000 Participants from 70 Countries
Akbulut pointed out that AFEX 2024, which will be held in November, provides a unique platform for companies aiming to do business with Africa. With the planned expectation of hosting more than 2,000 business people from 70 different countries and various sectors with the contributions of TABA, AFEX 2024 is designed to be a unique event where the foundation of qualified and productive relations will be laid thanks to the leading actors of the business world as well as participants with different profiles.
Interlinear Excerpts from Çiğdem Yorgancıoğlu’s Words
Speaking at the AFEX 2024 launch event to which she was invited, Çiğdem Yorgancıoğlu also drew attention to the importance of sector investments, startup/scale-up projects and university collaborations within business and investment opportunities in Africa. One of the questions she directed to TABA President Fatih Akbulut was whether they had any initiatives in this regard. World traveler and economist Çiğdem Yorgancıoğlu emphasized at the conference that she saw these initiatives taken towards Africa as cultural diversity, in addition to information security and energy investments. Another emphasis and question she had was about the impact obtained from the investments made, which could also affect social responsibility projects.
There are mutual investment opportunities in many areas from energy to agriculture, from health to banking system, and innovation. Evaluating the points that will reveal and evaluate the potential in terms of trade, culture, international welfare and peace between Turkey and Africa and addressing the strong aspects of cooperation and all initiatives on this path are extremely valuable. Yorgancıoğlu, who said that he also sees TABA and AFEX within this scope, stated that he will share his views on risks and opportunities regarding possible renewable energy projects, especially solar energy, later on, according to the flow of the meeting.
In addition to the speaker selection and questions at the event, Corporate Life, Innovation and Business World Risk Expert and Strategist Çiğdem Yorgancıoğlu met with Turkish-African Businessmen Association (TABA) President Fatih Akbulut, Egyptian African Businessmen Association President Dr. Yousri El-Sharkawi, and Egyptian African Businessmen Association member Shahab Fekry, the group’s financial and administrative advisor at this event, during and after the event break. Dr. Yousri El-Sharkawi and Yorgancıoğlu also exchanged ideas on the future vision regarding collaborations in universities and start-up projects.
Two Faces of Africa African Prejudice – That Pulitzer Prize-Winning Photo – African Boy and Vulture
In the second part of the AFEX 2024 November event, which took place after the Press Conference and coffee break on September 19, Fatih Akbulut, the President of the Turkish-African Businessmen’s Association (TABA), shared his 15 years of business experience in the African continent with his presentation titled “What Africa Taught Me in 15 Years” and called on Turkish business people to make long-term investments in Africa in his 5W1H analysis, as he put it in his presentation, and stated that permanent and sustainable success across the continent would only be possible in this way.
Aiming to provide guidance to entrepreneurs and investors in their efforts to strengthen relations with the continent, the points raised in Bulut’s presentation were a seminar topic in themselves for Yorgancıoğlu.
During this analysis, in order to draw attention to the perceived perception of Africa in Turkey, the firstslide was a photo taken by South African photographer Kevin Carter, who won the Pulitzer Prize in photography in 1994, in the arid sub-Saharan African country of Sudan. Akbulut chose this photo, that is, the black child who is about to die from weakness and the vulture perched nearby. This was a photo that Çiğdem Yorgancıoğlu mentioned in her UN speech and in her events and speeches regarding the establishment of peace and the elimination of poverty in the world, which she gave on behalf of Turkey in various continents of the world. That photo is the story of the child who became exhausted while walking to the UN camp and the vulture waiting for him to die. It was a photo that reminded the world of the famine and hunger in Africa. The photographer, who was heavily criticized for not directly helping this child who was left alone because his parents had gone to get food from the aid plane, became as much talked about in the world public opinion as the photo itself, after he became depressed and committed suicide.
Akbulut also gave the example of 20 people in the top 500 in the FORBES study on the wealth of the richest people in Africa being African, and he touched on the fact that although there are ample opportunities for agriculture in the region, especially on the Nile River, there are Africans who do not actively engage in agriculture, and that this could be a business opportunity. Another memorable line in his presentation was the words of McKinsey CEO Dominic Barton, “The future CEOs of McKinsey are somewhere in Africa.”
Sustainable Partnership was one of the memorable highlights and the importance of collaborations suitable for different profiles in Africa was also highlighted. In short, the speech pointed out the gains of trying to provide professional services by working in collaboration with local and international experts with unique and strategic partners in a wide network to deliver excellent results to the Clients.
Türkiye – Egypt and African Countries
TABA President Akbulut expressed his pleasure in working with the Egyptian side, and expressed his strong desire for the Turkish private sector community to get closer and cooperate with their counterparts in Egypt and Africa. He stated that TABA has connections within Africa and has contacts with more than 7,000 Turkish companies, and that they want to make Egypt a strong manufacturing base, and that the movement between Egypt and Turkey can yield serious results for both countries in the African and European markets. He expressed his hope that the upcoming AFEX event in November will witness momentum, rapprochement and prosperity, and that positive agreements, figures and results will be achieved between the three parties as “Türkiye – Egypt – African countries.”
Dr. Yousry El-Sharkawy, President of the Egyptian African Business Association, at the Launch of “AVEX 24”
(International Investment Consultant & Economic Development Expert.
EABA – HOC Chairman) International Investment Advisor & Economic Development Expert. EABA – HOC Chairman Dr. Yousri El-Sharkawi, was another architect of this year’s AFEX 24, along with TABA Chairman Akbulut. To be launched in Istanbul, among a large exhibition, bilateral meetings, roundtables and workshops, this year’s version of AFEX 2024 was launched under the joint auspices of the Turkish-African Businessmen’s Association and the Egyptian-African Businessmen’s Association.
Dr. El-Sharkawi said, “We are starting the largest comprehensive economic event from Istanbul, the “Turkish-Egyptian-African AFEX2024” next November. There should be joint cooperation between the Egyptian African Businessmen Association (EABA) and the Turkish African Businessmen Association (TABA) to develop African cooperation. Dr. Yousri El-Sharkawi also touched upon the issue of organizing it under the joint sponsorship of the Turkish African Businessmen Association and the Egyptian African Businessmen Association in his speech and said the following;
This version of AFEX will be launched under the joint sponsorship of the Turkish-African Business Association and the Egyptian-African Business Association. For the first time, the organization was assigned to two companies, one of them Turkish, Kian Predixion Company and the other Egyptian, one of the Egyptian MHZ International Group companies headed by Eng. Mohamed Ali Saad, one of the various trade, investment and technology groups and one of the members of the Egyptian-African Business Association. He was represented at this event by the financial and administrative advisor of the group, Shehab Fikry, a certified public accountant.
Dr. Yousrey El-Sharqawi, President of the Egyptian-African Businessmen’s Association, in his speech at the conference, told members of the Turkish and international press and media that they were very happy with this cooperation, that the Turkish and Egyptian private sectors were able to expand joint work, trade and investment, that the rapprochement and understanding between the two countries was the most important motivation for the leaders of the two countries to demonstrate and mobilize all our capacities to achieve the goals they wanted to achieve, that the dream of reaching a trade volume of 15 billion dollars was not difficult, that they were eagerly waiting to reach a goal of 150 billion dollars in Africa together in 3 years, that they were representatives of a large private sector in two countries that shared the tools of economic success, shared the same destiny and faced the same challenges together. El-Sharkawi added that the association has become one of the most important organizations and groups in the African financial and business community, that they have adopted a new approach in coordination with business partners outside the African continent, that Turkey has always been one of the countries they aim to cooperate with to integrate joint African efforts with its private sector, that the association has distinguished members and various elite groups of investors and traders, and that they are ready to cooperate in a way that will ensure the interests of everyone. El-Sharkawi also stated that the continent is a continent of opportunities and that our presence is necessary for all of this. Dr. El Sharkawi is also the President of HOC. HOC is one of the largest, specialized and comprehensive consulting firms in the Middle East and the Gulf Cooperation Council. It provides integrated consulting services through a team of experts and multinational consultants. They have expertise in many areas to serve all different investment sectors: These include food and catering, medical, industrial, investment agriculture and food security projects, contracting, construction, real estate investment, water business, logistics and transportation business, education and training sectors. At the end of the session presentation, a participation and appreciation plaque was presented to Sharkawi by Akbulut.