Research

Wars, corruption and diseases – these three factors still dominate the public image of Africa. Yet this is only one face of Africa. The continent holds great opportunities and future markets with a growing middle class, increasing urbanisation, high economic growth in numerous countries, a promising level of regional economic integration and, most recently, the continental free trade area.

However, German trade with Africa has stagnated in recent years. For the past ten years German exports to Africa have contributed a maximum of 2 percent to Germany’s global exports, with a recent downward trend of 1.7 percent of German exports in 2020. The number of direct investments is also very low and not very dynamic, with currently approx. 850 companies in the 54 countries of Africa.