Finnish expertise in high demand in Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal – read our article about our Doing Business with Finland seminars in Abidjan and Dakar, and the eLearning Africa conference!
6 November 2019
Finnpartnership organized Doing Business with Finland seminars with its local partners in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire and Dakar, Senegal in late October 2019. The Roving Ambassador of Finland, Ms Seija Toro, also participated in the seminar in Abidjan. Finnpartnership also offered a Meeting Point stand for Finnish education sector companies together with the Education Finland programme at the eLearning Africa conference, which was organized on October 23rd-25th in Abidjan.
Ambassador Seija Toro gave the opening remarks at the Doing Business with Finland seminar in Abidjan
The Doing Business with Finland seminar in Abidjan was organized on October 22nd at the African Development Bank (AfDB) together with the AfDB and Côte d’Ivoire’s investment promotion agency CEPICI. The seminar focused on the sectors of education, ICT and health, as well as on exporting tropical fruits to Finland. The seminar had altogether around 100 participants. Seven Finnish companies and organizations were present, and in addition, Finnpartnership presented 20 Finnish companies that are currently looking for business partners in Côte d’Ivoire. Finnish companies gained a lot of interest during the seminar and the discussions between Finnish and local companies were vivid during the Matchmaking break and the networking lunch.
Côte d’Ivoire offers interesting opportunities for Finnish companies for example in the sectors of education, ICT and health. There are many government-initiated education reform strategies, including the building of new universities in for example Bondoukou, Adiaké, Abengourou and Dabou after 2020. ICT plays an important role in Côte d’Ivoire’s healthcare sector. For example, there is an app called N’Drin, which sends SMS to parents reminding them to vaccinate their children and warning them of diseases such as Ebola. (eLearning Africa Report 2019).
Team Finland stand at the eLearning Africa conference
Finnpartnership also took part in the eLearning Africa conference (October 23rd-25th), where it hosted a Team Finland fair stand together with Education Finland. Finnish education expertise gained a lot of interest among conference participants. Finnish companies present at the conference had the chance to use the “Meeting Point” stand as a small area for introductions and meetings.
Finnish actors also had the chance to meet with the African Development Bank and the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) during their visit.
UN Women’s speech at the Doing Business with Finland seminar in Dakar
After Abidjan, Finnpartnership continued to Dakar, Senegal, where it organized a Doing Business with Finland seminar on Monday, October 28th. The seminar was organized together with Pathfinder Foundation, which works with several networks of entrepreneurs, and UN Women. There were around 60 participants present at the seminar from the sectors of education, ICT, agriculture and green economy. Six companies from Finland were present at the seminar and in addition, Finnpartnership presented 24 Finnish companies. The seminar included interesting presentations from UN Women and the local representative of Wärtsilä, among others.
Senegal offers various business opportunities for Finnish companies. The country’s economy has grown 6.5% in the past two years, and critical reforms have been made to improve Senegal’s competitiveness and to increase private sector investment in Senegal’s key strategic sectors: agriculture, tourism, transport infrastructure and extractives industries. (APIX/www.investinsenegal.com).
Thank you to all partners and participating companies for the events in Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal!