Nineteen South African companies supported by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic) will get an opportunity to explore trade and investment opportunities in Angola when they participate in the 37th edition of the annual Feira Internacional de Angola (FILDA) trade exhibition that will take place in Luanda from 12-16 July 2022. The companies are from six of the country’s provinces and are operating in the agro-processing; chemicals; plastics; electronic; capital equipment; mining and metals; and clothing and textiles sectors.
the dtic assisted the companies to showcase their products and services in the exhibition through its Export Marketing and Investment Assistance (EMIA) Scheme. The objective of the scheme is to develop export markets for South African products and services, and to recruit new foreign direct investment into the country.
FILDA is one of the largest and most popular multi-sectoral trade exhibitions in Africa. Last year, even in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, 750 exhibitors from almost 18 countries participated in the exhibition, with almost 20 000 visitors passing through its turnstiles.
According to the Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Ms Nomalungelo Gina, South Africa’s participation in FILDA will contribute in increasing trade and investment, and strengthening bilateral economic relations between South Africa and Angola.
“Participating in FILDA will provide our companies in particular, and South Africa in general with a good opportunity to showcase the best of what South Africa manufactures, as well as services that we offer. But beyond that, it will go a long way in enhancing our economic relations and boosting trade and investment between our countries. These are the kinds of platforms that will enable South Africa and Angola, as Southern African Development Community members, to contribute in increasing intra-African trade and investment in order to achieve the objectives of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement. We expect the interaction amongst companies from across the continent in particular, to result in trade, partnerships and joint-ventures that will see trade and investment flows moving in different direction in Africa,” says Gina.
She adds that the participation of the SA companies will contribute to the dtic’s mandate of increasing the value of the country’s exports through exports sales which the companies are expected to make by securing deals.
“The variety of products offered by the companies we are assisting to showcase in Angola, and the composition of the exporters, also speak to our objectives of diversifying our export basket, providing opportunities to small and medium enterprises, as well as black-owned and women-owned companies, to access export markets, and ensuring that various provinces are represented,” stresses Gina.
She adds that the return on investment for the dtic will be seeing these companies returning from Angola with deals. It is envisaged that export orders will assist in them employing more people and investing in growing their businesses to increase production in order to service the new export deals, thereby contributing to job creation, increased export revenue and growing the economy.
Bilateral trade between South Africa and Angola stood at just above R10 billion in last year, with South Africa exporting goods worth R4.8bn to Angola, and importing goods to the value of R5.3bn from the country during the period.
Enquiries:
Bongani Lukhele – Director: Media Relations
Tel: (012) 394 1643
Mobile: 079 5083 457
WhatsApp: 074 2998 512
E-mail: BLukhele@thedtic.gov.za
Issued by: The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic)
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