Swiss Companies Have Invested USD 1.6 Bn In Africa’s Gateway Market
Courtesy of the General Authority For Investments and free zones (GAFI), we’ve learned that 462 companies from Switzerland are operating in Egypt. All of these account for a total USD 1.6 Bn investments in the North African country.
Per an exclusive document revealing this, a more substantial portion of the Swiss companies in Egypt is working in the services sector, comprising around 206 businesses. These companies have a total of USD 0.503 Bn investments in the sector. In the manufacturing sector, 89 Swiss companies operate and are worth USD 0.670 Bn in investments.
Tourism, Africa’s new gold, has seen tremendous upheaval in the continent in the last few years. This sector in Egypt plays host to 82 Swiss companies, all of which make up USD 133 Mn in investments. The North African panhandle’s construction sector has so far received a USD 268 Mn boost from 89 Swiss companies.
Marwa Taher, the Executive Director of the Swiss-Egyptian Business Association (SEBA), said in an interview last week that the Swiss business community reckons the enormous potential of the Egyptian economy, citing that it is ideal for more investments and business expansion.
In many cases, Egypt has been described as the gateway to Africa’s market. With the continent’s demonstration of resilience and growth experiences which outperforms the global average and the performance of emerging markets.
Egypt is in its prime to play a significant role in leveraging synergies and harnessing efforts towards holistic continental economic integration, according to Hassan Abdalla—CEO of the Arab African International Bank (AAIB).
Iterating the North African country’s role in the development of the African economy, Taher said that discussions had been opened in order to assess potential opportunities for Swiss investments in Africa.
From the time of the continent’s decolonization, however, Switzerland has been giving financial and infrastructural aid to several; Africa countries. According to Taher, more bilaterals are visible via the Swiss’ current presence in the Egyptian market.
In March this year, Swiss foreign direct investments in Egypt reached USD 1.6 Bn. Egypt Today reported that the figure signified an increase of USD 400 Mn during the last two years, as explained by Investment Minister Sahar Nasr. She also revealed that Swiss investments take place in the fields of industry, energy, pharmaceuticals, financial services, and food.
