Digging for Gold in Africa: Start Your Journey Here | Overseas Business Practical Training Camp
Africa, with its youngest population structure, fastest urbanization rate, and richest mineral resources, is becoming a new blue ocean for global economic growth.
The median age in Africa is only 19.3 years old. The rapid urbanization process and continuous growth of consumer demand have provided a broad market space for the construction of consumer goods, digital economy, and infrastructure fields. Abundant mineral resources, such as manganese and chromium ores in South Africa, and coffee and cotton in Uganda, are waiting to be developed, which also provides opportunities for Chinese enterprises in raw material cooperation and industrial chain extension. At the same time, there are more than 600 million Internet users in Africa. Mobile payment and e-commerce platforms are also rapidly popularizing, and the demand for online services has surged. It is still a typical seller's market. For Chinese enterprises, going global to Africa is not only a response to the "Belt and Road" Initiative but also a practical choice to explore the market and optimize the layout.
However, the unfamiliar legal environment, weak infrastructure, and complex cultural differences have also made many enterprises shy away from Africa. Instead of going it alone, it is better to work together. As the "first stop" for going global, a mature industrial park can not only provide relatively complete hardware facilities and policy incentives but also serve as an "ecosystem" for industrial collaboration, information sharing, and risk sharing. It is becoming a choice with lower risks and higher success rates for more enterprises.
When enterprises choose a suitable park, the key lies in clarifying their core demands for going global. This article lists four major China-Africa cooperation industrial parks for you. They each have different advantages in location, resources, and models, and can serve as the "first stop" for Chinese enterprises of different types and with different demands to go global to Africa.
01 Belt and Road China-Africa Cooperation Industrial Park
The Belt and Road China-Africa Cooperation Industrial Park is located in Qiantang District, Hangzhou, China. The Africa headquarters reception hall overlooks the Qiantang River. There is a 270-degree panoramic aerial exhibition hall on the top floor of the park's tower. The enterprise logo can be engraved on the glass curtain wall and framed with the takeoff and landing flights at Xiaoshan Airport. It is suitable for China-Africa multinational enterprises to set up their international headquarters and financial centers here, leaving a deep impression on customers who come to China for inspections at first sight.
The industrial park is only a 10-minute drive from Xiaoshan International Airport. After the high-speed rail hub is completed, it takes 32 minutes to reach Hongqiao Airport and 37 minutes to reach Shanghai Pudong International Airport. It takes two hours to reach Beijing and Ningbo Zhoushan Port. Enterprises going global can use this place as a springboard to transport photovoltaic, agricultural machinery, and medical equipment to Africa. It is also convenient to deeply process and brand-pack coffee from Kenya and ores from Nigeria in the park's workshops and then distribute them globally. Relying on the locational advantages of the superposition of the Zhejiang Free Trade Pilot Zone, the Cross-border E-commerce Comprehensive Pilot Zone, and the Comprehensive Bonded Zone, goods can be directly shipped to Africa and arrive the next day. Funds can be cross-border settled and arrive in seconds.
In addition, professional service platforms can also set up their regional headquarters operation centers or super liaison points here to have close contact with enterprises going global that have international financial planning and cross-border tax compliance businesses.
In summary, the Belt and Road China-Africa Cooperation Industrial Park integrates the triple functions of corporate headquarters, in-depth processing, and service trade. It enjoys the policy superposition advantages of the free trade pilot zone, the cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zone, and the comprehensive bonded zone, providing convenience for cross-border settlement and rapid customs clearance. It is suitable for enterprises that need to establish a window for connecting with Africa in China and those that hope to brand and deeply process African raw materials in China and then sell them globally. It also matches professional service providers proficient in overseas laws, finance, and taxation.
02 Wanbangde Burgersfort Industrial Park in South Africa
The Wanbangde Burgersfort Industrial Park in South Africa is located in Burgersfort, the mining core area of South Africa, and is built by Wanbangde Group. Wanbangde Group is a private enterprise established in 1978. It mainly engages in four major industries: pharmaceuticals, medical devices, aluminum, and engineering, and is also involved in investment business. Wanbangde Group began to explore the African market in 2015. After acquiring two South African enterprises in 2016, it has been deeply involved in South Africa and has built the Wanbangde China-Africa Medical Science and Technology Park in Wenling, Zhejiang, and the Burgersfort Industrial Park in South Africa, forming a "two-park in two countries" industrial park system.
If an enterprise targets the abundant mineral resources in Africa, the Wanbangde Burgersfort Industrial Park in South Africa can be regarded as one of the "optimal solutions". The greatest advantage of the Burgersfort Industrial Park is that it has 5.07 square kilometers of land with permanent property rights and is located in the core mining area of South Africa. The reserves of minerals such as manganese and chromium in the surrounding area account for more than 80% of the world's total. It is suitable for Chinese industrial product manufacturing enterprises such as those in mineral equipment, medical devices, bearings, and aluminum products to settle in, which helps to relocate production capacity to South Africa and radiate the entire southern African market.
The Wanbangde Burgersfort Industrial Park in South Africa also has complete infrastructure such as water supply, electricity, and sewage treatment, which can meet the production needs of enterprises. The park has a superior geographical location, is adjacent to important ports such as Maputo, and is efficiently connected to southern African countries such as Zambia through a developed road network. Logistics and transportation are very convenient.
It is worth noting that the park is actively promoting negotiations with the South African government and is expected to be approved as the 12th free trade zone in the country, thus providing more policy incentives for enterprises settling in.
03 China-Uganda Mbale Industrial Park
As one of the 22 national-level industrial parks approved by the Ugandan government, the China-Uganda Mbale Industrial Park can serve as the "gateway" for Chinese enterprises to enter the market of 200 million people in East Africa. It was launched and constructed by the Chinese private enterprise Tiantang Group in March 2018 and is located in Mbale City in eastern Uganda, which is the必经之路 to Mombasa Port in Kenya.
In terms of hardware facilities, the park has built a clean water supply system and a sewage drainage system. The standardized workshops are suitable for the needs of various industries such as building materials production. The supporting storage area and truck parking lot can meet the logistics needs of large-scale production. In terms of taxation, enterprises entering the park can enjoy a 10-year exemption from corporate income tax, a full exemption from import tariffs on raw materials and machinery and equipment, and an exemption from the 6% prepaid income tax. The local government will also bear the stamp duty on legal documents within ten years.
The park is positioned as a mature manufacturing and processing center. Relying on the local abundant agricultural product resources (such as coffee and cotton), it focuses on developing industries such as agricultural product processing, textile and clothing, wood processing, and building materials. It has flat terrain, sufficient labor, and well-planned infrastructure. It is suitable for labor-intensive light manufacturing industries such as textile, clothing, food processing, and furniture, as well as enterprises that hope to use Uganda as a base to export products to various countries in East Africa.
04 Shengfei Integrated Industrial Park
The Shengfei Integrated Industrial Park is not a single park but a service platform supported by shareholders such as AMC Africa Financial Corporation. It adopts the PPP model of joint ventures with governments of various African countries. By the end of 2025, it is expected to be deployed in 19 African countries, with a total land area of more than 20,000 hectares and an investment scale of more than $2 billion. Its largest shareholder, AMC Africa Financial Corporation, is a sovereign wealth fund covering 43 African countries. It has invested in more than 36 African countries, with a total investment scale of more than $13.2 billion.
In terms of park layout, the Shengfei Integrated Industrial Park is currently deployed in Nigeria, Benin, Ghana, Togo, Sierra Leone in West Africa, and Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda in East Africa, and is gradually expanding to South Africa. The key parks are all located close to economic centers, ports, or resource core areas.
The Shengfei Integrated Industrial Park is relatively more suitable for enterprises that lack local experience in Africa and need full-chain support. In the early stage, it can help enterprises analyze the countries suitable for investment, such as recommending enterprises to develop agricultural product processing in Nigeria or textile and clothing in Benin, and provide economic data such as customs data, analysis of local competitors, and product price trends. After entering the park in the middle stage, it provides on-the-ground guidance to enterprises, including assisting in connecting with local partners and establishing joint ventures, while ensuring hardware facilities. In the later stage, through the ATDC distribution platform jointly built with the African Export Promotion Fund, it helps enterprises sell products to various African countries.
This article is from the WeChat official account "Hangzhou Qiantang Enterprise Going Global Service Base", and is published by Qiantang with authorization.
