The Danish Government´s Africa strategy, launched August 26th, 2024

Nordic-African Consultancy´s recommendations to The Danish Government´s Africa strategy. (please click on the image).

Photo credit: NAC

Reaction to The Danish Government´s Africa Strategy 

“We live in Africa’s century.” 

Nordic-African Consultancy welcomes the Danish government’s new strategy for strengthened Danish engagement in Africa: ‘Africa’s Century’. 

First of all, we applaud the adopted approach of strategic partnership – across continents, national borders and sectors – connecting stakeholders, gathering diverse expertise and combining competencies to realise sustainable development. 

We commend the overarching messages of the strategy, emphasising partnerships of equals, strategic and honest collaboration where there are shared interests or common ground, and the importance of regional outlook: 

• What’s required in a changing global landscape are bolstered efforts and renewed, strengthened Danish engagement in Africa. We and our African partners need to listen and understand our respective challenges, needs, interests, opinions or positions – including when and where our views or approaches differ. A common direction and localised ownership are key.
• Our engagement must take Africa’s own visions for the future, e.g. Agenda 2063, as the point of departure. Simultaneously, our efforts should build on our unique national strengths and competencies as well as our core values, the principles of international collaboration and the respect for international law, democracy, freedom, and human rights. 
• Regional coalitions and forums of collaboration, including the neighbouring African and European Unions, are central to successful Danish-African partnership: “Europe should be Africa’s preferred partner – as neighbours, Europe and Africa rely on one another to find solutions to shared challenges”. Coming together and working collectively through the European institutions and Global Gateway strategy are potential cornerstones of European engagement in Africa with unrealised potential. “Nordic collaboration likewise offer opportunities, which we should seize and explore better”, the strategy also states. We agree.

Furthermore, we are delighted that a number of specific elements of the strategy are in line with our recommendations, submitted to the government:  

1. Strengthened Danish diplomatic representations

Among today’s great news are the opening of Danish embassies in Tunisia and Senegal, as well as the upgrade of the Danish Project Office in Rwanda to full diplomatic representation and embassy in 2025. While we regret the closing of Denmark’s embassies in Mali and Burkina Faso, we support the appointment of a Special Representative for the Sahel and Great Lakes region. Finally, we welcome the increase in diplomatic manpower at existing representations, as well as the strengthening of the Ghana embassy, the recognition of the Ethiopian representation’s role as an important regional centre, and the conversion of embassies in South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria and Egypt to regional hubs. We welcome the idea of a contextually fit Danish presence and nationally tailored approach.

2. Attention to both investment, exports and imports

We are pleased that the strategy demonstrates a consistent focus on the promises and potential of enhanced Danish-African investment, trade and commercial collaboration. The unique competences and solutions offered by innovative Danish companies especially in relation to urbanisation, technological development and digitalisation – e.g. in areas of energy, water, agro/agri business, health, environmental and climate solutions – can make a true and lasting positive impact in Africa. Targeted, strategic partnerships building on broader as well as sector specific interests to increase commercial ties and economic integration is the way forward. We fully support the simultaneous focus on strengthening exports to and, especially, imports from African trade partners. We will continue to showcase the innovative solutions often offered by smaller and younger companies with particular needs for internationalisation support.

3. A focus on the needs of Danish companies

The diversity on the African continent is immense. Entering and navigating African markets is a complex task. Strengthening public-private partnership and collaboration is an important task, as is improving the attractiveness and accessibility of African markets for Danish companies – particularly SMEs, the backbone of the Danish economy. We look forward to the upcoming instruments and mobilisation of risk capital announced in the strategy as well as more prominent roles of the Investment Fund for Developing Countries (IFU) and the Export and Investment Fund of Denmark (EIFO). We will continue to work for strong collaboration and coordination between the Danish government, authorities and state institutions, on the one hand, and experienced, specialised players in the private sector on the other. Further, we will work to ensure that recent EU regulation concerning value chain responsibility, due diligence requirements, sustainability data collection and non-financial reporting is understood and implemented to work for the mutual benefit of Danish and African businesses. 

4. An vision for sustainable development

The strategy’s ambition of contributing to sustainable development, including the realisation of the SDGs, Agenda 2030 and Agenda 2063 as well as the promises of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), is fully in line with our mission of fostering sustainable Nordic-African business. Ensuring sustainable urban and rural development, resilient communities, food security and safety, green transition, responsible exploration of critical raw materials, and the move to technologically advanced, digital economies are challenging tasks, which also give rise to new market potentials and offer unprecedented Nordic-African sustainable business opportunities. These also correspond well to many of Denmark’s commercial positions of strength and around which Danish companies have formed clusters, competitive advantage and global excellence. We encourage continued incentives for future-fit Danish companies developing and offering the sustainable solutions of tomorrow, who wish to do business in Africa.

5. Attention to the potential of the youth

All of the above is dependent on due concern and support for the youth of Africa. Indeed, “The Century of Africa” is formed by the younger generations and generations to come. In 2050, one in four citizens of the world will be African, and Africa is projected to host almost one fourth of the world’s working population and one third of the world’s youth. We might add that already Africa is the world’s youngest continent with a median age of app. 19 years. Yet, for a significant portion of Africa’s younger citizens, their qualifications and aspirations are restricted by labour markets unable to absorb a growing workforce and jobless growth. Ensuring local capacity-building and value addition, strengthening local value chains and adopting ecosystem approaches, building on Danish experience in integrating education with practical work experience, and fostering more educational and vocational exchange between Denmark and African partners are all necessary and promising avenues.

We look forward to continuing our work for advancing Nordic-African business interests, seizing sustainable business opportunities, and realising the full potential of strong partnerships in Africa in light of this new strategy. 

In collaboration with our partners, members and clients, we will explore new possibilities created by a stronger Danish engagement in Africa. Stay tuned!

#SDG17 #Agenda2030 #Agenda2063 #partnership #Nordics #Africa 

Nordic-African Consultancy

Flemming Sørensen                Charlotte Gloerfeldt-Tarp
CEO                                               Director
fls@nordic-african.com         cgt@nordic-african.com