The first stop for Investment South Africa=20 is South-East Asia and interest is strong,=20 Rafiq Bagus tells Madeleine Wackernagel
RAFIQ BAGUS’S new job is persuading=20 foreigners to invest in South Africa. No=20 easy task given the fear of crime, but in=20 his previous incarnation at Wesgro, he was=20 instrumental in bringing Levi Strauss to=20 the Western Cape. Now, if he could only=20 persuade his wife to move to Johannesburg=20 …
But as chief executive officer of=20 Investment South Africa (ISA), newly=20 launched by Minister of Trade and Industry=20 Alec Erwin, Bagus is looking beyond the=20 headlines.
“It’s all relative,” he says. “For Asian=20 companies, crime is not an issue when=20 compared with Latin America, for example,=20 whereas Europeans do worry about it. But=20 the more foreign companies – big and small=20 – we can encourage to set up shop here, the=20 more others will follow.
“Obviously, there’s no point in denying the=20 problem. We have to be realistic and=20 upfront, and the sooner we are seen to be=20 tackling crime effectively, the easier my=20 job will be. There is an enormous amount of=20 interest in South Africa – it’s just a=20 question of being able to harness it=20 productively.”
ISA operates under the auspices of the=20 Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), in=20 close harmony with the department’s other=20 development agencies, including Khula,=20 which provides financing, and Ntsika, which=20 offers technical assistance, in a bid to=20 include small, medium and micro-enterprises=20 in building backward linkages. It’s not=20 just about the Fortune 500 companies – they=20 come anyway; the smaller businesses are=20 equally important.
Communication, stresses Bagus, is vital if=20 his venture is to succeed. There is no=20 point in going on a roadshow if the=20 participants are not informed and co- ordinated.
“Before we can start talking to the South- East Asians about inward investment, we=20 have to find out what should be done, where=20 the gaps are, and how best to tap their=20 expertise.
“So we called on the South African Chamber=20 of Business, the Afrikaanse=20 Handelsinstituut, the National African=20 Federation of Chambers of Commerce, various=20 government departments and labour=20 representatives to give us their views. The=20 government is always blamed when people=20 complain that nothing is being done to=20 boost investment. But it is up to the other=20 constituencies to get involved and make=20 their voices heard. We may not agree=20 politically but if this country is going to=20 work, we have to work together.”=20
Getting the private sector on board is a=20 priority – “preferably done yesterday”, he=20 says. “We’re looking at ways of involving=20 their expertise – is it a matter of=20 seconding someone, for instance? We can’t=20 do the job on our own, so building=20 coalitions and networks is paramount.”
By the same token, developing foreign=20 networks is also important. Bagus points to=20 the international figures who are already=20 au fait with South Africa, such as Richard=20 Branson of the Virgin Group. “Our top-level=20 politicians and business figures should=20 leverage those relationships to encourage=20 more people to invest here. That way we can=20 build a network of the top foreign=20 companies, which in turn bring others in.”
Bagus is accompanying the president as part=20 of the DTI and business delegations on a=20 trip to the Philippines, Malaysia and=20 Singapore at the end of this month.=20
“South-East Asia is enjoying a boom period=20 – the potential investment opportunties are=20 enormous. The Asean countries are also very=20 keen on building South-South relations and=20 they are keen to expand in Africa.”
With an annual budget of R5-million for the=20 next five years, Bagus has sufficient funds=20 to tap that goodwill. The organisation is=20 not as unwieldy as some foreign=20 counterparts, with a staff of only 16, but=20 it intends to expand into branches abroad=20 when the need arises and the interest=20 justifies it.
Bagus, for one, is optimistic – always=20 something new into Africa could well become=20 its motto.