(5 Minutes Read)
www.trendsnafrica.com recently engaged in a candid and insightful conversation with Ameya Prabhu*, Co-Chair of Confederation of Indian Industry’s (CII) International Council, Former President of Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Calcutta, and Chairman of Aarna Holdings and the Founder CEO of NAFA Capital. Below are the excerpts from the discussion.
Ameya Prabhu emphasised the growing importance of India’s engagement with Africa, pointing to the deep-rooted historical, cultural, and diaspora connections that give India a distinctive edge. He advocated for a tailored, country-specific approach that fosters mutual growth—one built on skill development, sustainable growth, and strong partnerships with local stakeholders. For long-term impact, Prabhu underscored the need for patience, inclusive development, and close collaboration with grassroots African institutions and enterprises.
Africa – focus is the keyword in the economic and diplomatic engagements of major economies. Among them are China, the US, the EU, Russia, and, not to be left behind, India. There can be many reasons for the renewed global interest in Africa: strategic, economic, and political, depending on the importance of Africa as a potential market, a destination for sourcing raw materials, and a land of endless opportunities.
Where does India stand in the pecking order in striking bonds with Africa? Opinions differ. There is a perception that India’s focus on Africa has come too late and too little. A young entrepreneur and business leader, Ameya Prabhu, has a different take. “India has a strong historical, cultural, and economic ties with Africa, which is much stronger and endurable than the countries claiming to have strong footprints over there”, says Ameya Prabhu, adding that “Indian Diaspora’s contributions to Africa’s economic landscape have been significant and that stretches over centuries; but may not be mapped as it should be.”
Engagement with Africa is a national priority as much as that with the US, China, and the EU. “I can go a step further by advocating for a policy apparatus that gives primacy to Africa, since we have strong social, cultural, and business linkages built over centuries that can address the trade and investment issues more meaningfully, particularly de-bottlenecking issues in a more meaningful manner,” says Ameya Prabhu, who is now the Co-Chair of CII’s International Council.
As a young businessman having interests in diverse fields, such as finance, asset management, and a distributor of a famous Indian automobile company, Ameya has been scouting various countries in Africa regularly and has an insight into how to go about engaging the continent. “For any sustainable model of engagement, it should be mutually enriching and not one-way traffic: we have to evolve models that are beneficial to both Africa and India,” he avers.
Africa is resource-rich and has deposits of rare earths, including cobalt, lithium, etc, which are used for making batteries for electric vehicles and other digital equipment. These rare earths are mined out of there and converted into end products elsewhere in the world, raking in huge profits for corporations operating outside Africa. What does Africa get in return? There is widespread poverty, a skill gap, and poor infrastructure – physical, digital, and social. With a colonial past, India can understand these problems and work out solutions in a comprehensive manner since India’s involvement in Africa is diverse. “We have presence in skill development, healthcare, water management, education, and highly employment-oriented sectors like MSMEs”, he adds.
Ameya suggests that India’s Africa policy should be well-crafted, and a lot of planning and careful execution is needed. The continent has 55 countries of various hues and sizes. Some of them are middle-income countries, and yet, most of the least developed countries are in the continent. “The engagement should be country-specific since their development needs are different and the level of engagement differs from one another; he adds. The development strategy to be deployed in Northern Africa should be different from the large number of countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Yet, India has an advantage that no other country possesses. That is the presence of a large number of Diaspora, who have been there for centuries. They may not hold Indian passports but have deep-rooted emotional attachments to India. Some of them are doing good business over there and have become a part of the citizenry of that country. “They can be India’s Goodwill Ambassadors in Africa, playing the role of catalysts, Ameya says, adding that; “When Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently visited Namibia and Ghana, he addressed a group of Indian diasporas in those countries who have shown great enthusiasm in helping the Indian administration in conjunction with the Indian diplomatic corps there. Should we not have one such representative of Indian Origin or a local person who has a stake in boosting trade relations with India as the key catalyst in each country? “Goodwill Ambassadors whom we select need not be an Indian or people of Indian origin; they can be African businessmen who have an interest and stakes in furthering economic engagement with India,” says Ameya Prabhu
India-Africa engagement should be a dynamic one, and newer paradigms should be explored to add value to it. He welcomed the initiative taken by Japan at the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9), wherein it was suggested to have a trilateral engagement among Japan, India, and Africa for carrying out Africa-focused programs. It envisages a common ground for India and Japan to conceive, implement, and execute programs in Africa. “I am happy this is taking concrete shape now, and has been a subject of bilateral discussion between Indian and Japanese administrations; he says, adding that Japanese capital can blend with Indian expertise and skilled manpower to give a new dimension to Africa-focused programs.
Ameya strongly advocates that engagement of India with Africa should take into consideration the ground-level realities in that country. There should be a few criteria to be laid down. Foremost, it should be mutually beneficial, and that way, a two-way traffic. Models of engagement purely based on asset creation and the selfishness of the donor countries will lead only to deepening the debt trap of Africa, as has been happening now in certain pockets, he said, without elaborating on the details.
The second principle should be to close the skill gap on the continent by empowering local people to get jobs and enhance their economic well-being. Coupled with this is the importance of giving sustainable development so that progress permeates across the continent. Creation of more employment opportunities is equally important, since unemployment is a major concern for almost all countries in the region. “Should the first level of processing of rare earths, metals, or food products take place in Africa to guarantee local employment and income?” Ameya suggests.
Africa also needs to strengthen its institutions, be it social, educational, economic, or cultural. Countries like India, having a common colonial legacy, will be better able to carry out that work. Areas that need very active involvement are healthcare, education, and skill development. “These are activities that an Indian company can undertake while investing in a particular place or location without much additional investment, which can strengthen the bond with the local population.
Ameya has a word of advice for the Indian industry, which touches upon his familiar ground: the Chamber of Commerce. Because of years of neglect, some of the business associations may not be as vibrant as in India or elsewhere in carrying out their day-to-day activities. They have to be empowered, and their activities have to be diversified and strengthened. “We have decided that the Annual Africa Summit will be held alternatively in India and a select country in Africa, which can be a platform for business associations to understand how to organize big-ticket programs, speaker selections, fundraising strategies, get mileage in media, and other related works,” he says.
Patience and expectation management are other pillars that determine the success of engagement. Ameya has a story to narrate, as retold by a Chinese friend. Once, he was travelling to one of the remotest areas in Africa in a car, which was located far away from the nearest airport, negotiating rough terrain. He happened to meet a fellow Chinese man along with his wife and little kid in a hamlet selling tea. In his brief conversation, he found out that the Chinese fellow had started a tea shop in anticipation of good business in the future because of the large-scale development tempo that was taking place in that region, and not the present level of business, wherein visitors are seldom and too few. Is he throwing a pointer to some of the employees of Indian companies who list out innumerable reasons for not getting moved into an African country? Yet, Ameya says, he likes staying in African cities and towns, particularly in Ghana, where he has strong business interests because of its clean sky, natural settings, and not to fall behind, the diverse cuisine.
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Ameya Prabhu is the Managing Director of Aarna Holdings, the Founder and CEO of NAFA Capital & a Partner in UAP Advisors LLP. Ameya has been designated as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. He has formerly served as the President of the Indian Chamber of Commerce, Calcutta for the year 2023-24. He is currently the Co-Chair of CII’s International Council. He is a columnist and his writings are published in the Huffington Post, The Quint, Business Today etc…