Cape Town – South Africa’s Ambassador to Italy, Nomatemba Tambo, says local businessmen are benefiting from bilateral trade agreements between the two countries.
Speaking on the side-lines of a summit hosted by The European House-Ambrosetti – an international think tank – the Ambassador said the interaction of local and foreign captains of industries at such important economic meetings showed that the country has come a long way since the advent of democracy in 1994.
She said there was a lot of deals on the plate that are awaiting businessmen.
“There is a lot to exploit for local businessmen abroad. We have just had a group from the Black Business Council with a lot of back-to-back meetings on agriculture, renewable energy.
“Deals were being signed and joint ventures [were entered into],” she said.
The Ambassador said this when local and foreign CEOs, including government leaders, met behind closed doors at an economic summit to get a presentation of a research that has been done on investment opportunities in South Africa across important sectors.
She said South Africans should, when walking into a meeting to make a business pitch, approach such opportunities with more purpose.
“So I think what is important for us is to change the model that we use when we go out into other countries.
“We need really get to the ground with it, and not go fishing. We need to be specific and focused otherwise it will take a long time.
“When you can speak to people who are passionate about what you are passionate about, distance changes, everything changes and they are much more prepared to receive the information that you are imparting,” she said.
She also said Italian firms were starting to show interest in SA’s soil, which is well-endowed with opportunities in the manufacturing, agriculture and energy sectors.
These have been identified by government as areas that need attention as the state aims to create 100 new black industrialists in three years.
“Historically, their [Italians] natural markets were North Africa. Now that there are problems there and because Italians are good at doing research, they have identified that the Sub-Saharan Africa is the next important place to be and so they are coming.
“They are coming to look … for joint ventures, they are good at joint ventures.
“They are creating jobs for our people in this regard,” she said. – SAnews.gov.za
