West Africa Business Association
Southern Africa Business Forum

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THE WEST AFRICA BUSINESS ASSOCIATION (WABA)

A PARTNERSHIP IN DEVELOPMENT

The West Africa Business Association believes that a successful business sector in West Africa creates wealth and plays a crucial role in the region's economic and social development.

The First Fifty Years
By Gordon Hutt

The First 10 Years- Establishing a Foothold in the Region

In early 1956 a group of businessmen working for major British companies with interests principally in Nigeria, Gold Cost and Sierra Leone combined to form the West Africa Committee (WAC). The aim was "to aid and stimulate the economic development of West Africa through business". It was a time when major political changes were beginning to emerge. The "twilight of colonialism" and the "dawn of African independence". Just a year later Ghana became the first country in sub-Sahara Africa, apart from Liberia, to gain independence. It was followed by Nigeria in 1960 and Sierra Leone in 1961.

From its inception, the WAC aimed to have an inclusive and fully representative membership. A system of eligibility was adopted to ensure that the major manufacturing and service industries, together with trading companies, agriculture and mining, were balanced, and a permanent resident representative was established in Lagos. The aim of WAC was to create a clearing house for trade information and intelligence on import and exchange controls, taxation and economic planning by developing close contacts with British and West African governments to establish a business environment which would facilitate trade and encourage investment.

During the first 10 years membership of WAC rose from the original 31 companies to 148. To maintain a balance of interests, and to operate effectively in the rapidly changing political situation in West Africa, an Executive Committee was formed in 1961 with 10 members representing oil, mining, shipping, banking, accounting, plantations and traders. By 1966 new technologies and indigenous industries were becoming established and new members included computer firms and property companies.

1966 and the New Era of Independence

In its third decade WAC became truly international. As the rest of West Africa gained independence the activities of UK based multinationals caused WAC services to expand into the major Francophone countries of the region. Correspondents were established in Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon and Senegal. This also widened the membership, which rose to 210 by 1976 with companies from France, Netherlands and the United States recognising the benefits of the service, especially for new service companies such as airlines. These developments, and the economic and political developments in the period also caused WAC to respond by amending its objectives to read that "through contacts and representations the aim is to facilitate effective contributions by members towards the economic development of West African countries" - a significant shift of emphasis. In its work on behalf of industrial and commercial enterprises WAC had always been pragmatic and the personal experience of members who lived and worked in the region kept it attuned to the needs of the region on which it is focused.

The Difficult Years - and the Years of Emerging Multinationals

The decade of the 80s was made difficult by the political upheavals which affected many countries in West Africa at that time, worsened by economic difficulties. Nevertheless the membership continued to develop and in 1986 included several of the new electronics companies like Plessey, Binatone, and Rank Xerox, along with pharmaceutical companies like Roussel and Wellcome.

Through the 90s WAC recognised the beginnings of the globalisation of trade and the increasing maturity of many local enterprises in West Africa. The UK office was involved closely with Tropical Africa Advisory Group and the UK Department of Trade and Industry concentrating on trade and investment promotion work as well as links with the Overseas Development Division of the European Commission in Brussels. Contacts were also developed with the World Bank and USAID as well as ECGD and ODA.

The Executive Board and WABA Staff

With the arrival of the millennium there was a major change as a result of a far-reaching review of the Organisation, the environment in which we were operating, and the needs of members. A management group set up by the Executive Board developed a comprehensive business plan. WAC became the West Africa Business Association (WABA) and the Mission Statement recognised the present era by "promoting business links and encouraging the development of business opportunities both in and with West Africa". At the same time, bearing in mind the development of The Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS), WABA recognised its need to develop its Francophone links and expertise and continues to take steps to increase its Francophone resources.

WABA is a completely independent organisation and is funded entirely by membership subscription and any small income it generates from the events it organises.

The success of any organisation depends on the qualities of the people leading it. WAC/WABA has always been fortunate in both the stature of Directors, staff, and a number of enthusiastic volunteers and the service they have given. Their wide experience of West Africa and their understanding and appreciation of the needs of business together with their contacts and business experience all contribute to the continuing effectiveness of the services provided to members.

The WABA Organisation Today

Now, at the 50th anniversary, WABA is looking again at ways to improve further its services. It is actively encouraging the involvement of the younger generation of executives and entrepreneurs from UK and West Africa to carry the association forward. There are regional representatives in 10 countries and sister Associations have been formed in Nigeria, Ghana and Cameroon. The well-respected Monthly Newsletters have been supplemented by networking meetings, e-mail reports, news flashes and frequent high-level briefings with British, West and Southern African, High Commissioners and Ambassadors.

Since the year 2000, Africa has moved up to the top of the global agenda. WABA is fully aligned to, and has made significant contributions to, many of the key Africa initiatives which include the development of the Millennium Development Goals, the New Partnership for Africa's Development, the Commission for Africa, and the Gleneagles' commitments made by the G8. WABA is currently a co-sponsor of Business Action Africa, which is the successor to the CfA. WABA's main aim within these is the active promotion of "Capacity Building".

WABA also accepts its social responsibility to the communities within which its members live and work and supports several humanitarian initiatives especially Sight Savers International which operates extensively throughout West Africa.

Linkages and Formation of the Southern Africa Business Forum (SABF)

In 2005, in order to widen the network, WABA established SABF as a successor to the defunct Southern Africa Business Association thus giving WABA/SABF an unrivalled pan-African dimension enabling it to keep in tune with the rapidly developing trade links between West and Southern Africa.

As a member of the British African Business Association (BABA), WABA is linked directly into the European Union (EU) and the influential, 2,000 member strong European Business Council for Africa and the Mediterranean (EBCAM) which is the principal private sector interlocutor of the EU institutions and African countries on matters affecting the interests of the private sector in Africa.

Effective communications between all these organisations are enhanced by the fact that in UK, WABA, SABF, BABA and the Eastern Africa Association (EAA) locate within the same premises in Vincent St, SW1 in Westminster.

The Future

In common with current policy, WABA believes that a responsible and profitable private sector has a crucial role to play in the development process. Thus, as far as the future is concerned, the WABA organisation, being the only organisation promoting business links across the whole of West Africa, with strong European linkages and developing links into Southern Africa, believes by promoting the interest of its members it can play an important role in the economic development of Africa, especially within the ECOWAS (Economic Community of West Africa) region. The combined WABA and SABF organisation now has over 350 members, all committed to this end.

Gordon Hutt is an Honorary Adviser to WABA. He was a Director of WAC from 1993 to 2000 when he retired from SGS Inspection Services, where he had been responsible for services to many countries in Africa, particularly Ghana, for 24 years, and had worked in both West and East Africa. He is also involved in a charity which supports primary education and work experience for a village in the Gambia.