Minister Virolainen to make a Team Finland visit Ethiopia and South Africa

NordenBladet — Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Anne-Mari Virolainen will make a Team Finland visit to Ethiopia and South Africa from 12 to 16 March. She will be accompanied by a delegation representing 30 Finnish companies and other stakeholders.

”This in my first opportunity to see what happens when I sink my teeth into the business sector in Africa,” Anne-Mari Virolainen says.

“We will visit places that are very different from each other. The Ethiopian economy is in the vanguard of development but the country also receives more development cooperation assistance than any other country in Africa.  South Africa, for its part, is by far the most important trading partner for Finland in Sub-Saharan Africa,” Virolainen continues.

In the recent years, the Ethiopian government-led economy has experienced a 10 per cent growth rate. The trade between Finland and Ethiopia is still modest, but there are opportunities for expansion in particular for companies in the agriculture, water, energy, cleantech, education and consultancy sectors. 13 companies representing these sectors will   participate in the visit to Ethiopia (12 and 13 March). In Ethiopia, special emphasis will be paid to the potential for Finnish companies offered by international development finance institutions, such as the World Bank and the African Development Bank, which provide billions of euros to finance acquisitions from companies in the country.

In Ethiopia, Minister Virolainen will also visit the Amhara region, where Finland is engaged in bilateral development cooperation projects.  Finland’s development cooperation has been exceptionally successful in Ethiopia. For instance, thanks to the support, approximately 4.5 million Ethiopians have now access to clean water.

In South Africa (14 to 16 March), Minister Virolainen will be accompanied by a delegation representing 18 companies and other stakeholders, such as educational institutions, which specialise in health technology, education and ICT.

The Republic of South Africa with its market of 55 consumers is the most developed economy in the African continent. In 2017, Finland’s exports to South Africa amounted to EUR 293 million and imports reached EUR 118 million. Examples of large local employers include Kone, Konecranes, Nokia and Outotec. In addition, nearly 100 Finnish companies are represented in the country.

The business delegations are coordinated by Business Finland.

Companies taking part in the visit to Ethiopia from 12 to 13 March:
Aimo Kortteen Konepaja Oy
Econonet Group/Dewaco Oy
FCG International
Finnfund Oy
PEL-Tuote Oy
Sampo Rosenlew Oy
Simosol Oy
Soprano Oyj
Vaisala Oy
Vakava Technologies Ltd Oy
Valoe Corporation
Wärtsilä Corporation
OmniAgria Ltd
Companies taking part in the visit to South Africa from 14 to 16 March:
BEAM Innovation Funding Program
Bittium
Commit
David Health Solutions Oy
elfGroup Cyber Security Services
Fiare
Finnfund
Genano Oy
Goodmill Systems
Granite
Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences
JAMK University of Applied Sciences
Nokia Solutions and Networks SA
Prodiags Oy
Rugged Tooling Oy
Skhole
Soprano Oyj
Tecnotree Oyj

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