We have been taking a look at alternative destinations for expatriates who are living in Dubai and who now want or need to leave, as well as new locations overseas for those who missed Dubai’s boat. If Dubai’s dead in the water, (at least for the time being), who cares, because there are plenty of other places in the world where you can go and find your fortune.
So far we have covered Eastern Europe and Asia in the first of our three articles, then we went as far as South America and back to the Middle East in part two, and finally we’re going to be taking a look at Africa today. Where can you find emerging pockets of potential in Africa?
If you’re looking for a nation where the boom has yet to happen but where there are fundamentals in place suggesting that it will be a success story, or if you want to find somewhere overseas where there are at least strong employment prospects for expats, we have a couple of suggestions that you may not have thought of. So, you can’t live and work in Dubai anymore because it’s gone broke or you’ve lost your job? No problem, let’s look at where you can live abroad instead…
Whilst South Africa is a stunning nation particularly of potential interest to expatriate retirees, it’s not necessarily the best country to consider in Africa if you want to live and work abroad. So, whilst that may have been the ‘obvious’ choice for us to focus on when centring on Africa for the final part in our ‘Dubai’s dead, where next’ series, we will mention it, but we have instead decided to look more closely at both Rwanda and the Southern African Development Community for those who want maximum exposure to emerging possibilities.
Africa
Rwanda - having endured years of unrest, Rwanda is now very much open for business. In a great effort to transform the nation, bring stability through employment and increasing personal wealth, the government has made a huge effort to reform the business environment. As a result, Rwanda has moved up in the World Bank’s ‘doing business’ rankings and is considered an emerging nation of opportunity by many.
It’s a French speaking country that still has underlying security issues – however, it’s a nation where you can get in at ground level and make your own fortunes. The government and the people are being proactive in the development of their nation as an attractive prospect for foreign investment and business commitment, so at least you won’t be trying to work against people. There are opportunities in mining, construction, large-scale infrastructure development, security, telecoms and logistics for example. Whilst you may not want to move your entire family to Rwanda perhaps, an individual could build themselves a very prosperous future from Rwanda.
SADC (Southern African Development Community) Region - The main advantage with SADC is that the majority of nations are English speaking! This helps enormously if you want to get in quick whilst the nations are emerging and developing, and you don’t want to be restricted by a language barrier. Having said that, you can always get translators, and in countries such as Mozambique, which is Portuguese speaking, there are enough expatriate professionals in-country who could work with you as a translator and facilitator.
One of the fundamental reasons for the development of SADC as a community is for the development of trade links throughout Africa. So, if you consider the EU as a model that is being replicated for trade purposes and you factor in that SADC may eventually be joined by both SACU (Southern African Commercial Union), and EAC (East Africa Community), you can see that there could be huge potential for those who establish a business in one nation in Africa, where it is perhaps tax advantageous to do so, and who can then trade with the entire continent…
In the SADC Region you have the likes of Botswana – an economically stable, peaceful country where there has already been strong development. Botswana has an educated population and it is very easy to invest in the nation as well. Then you have Namibia where there is good infrastructure, and good opportunities for development of business ideas in the tourism, services and construction sectors. South Africa – which is considered the powerhouse of the region is worthy of consideration if you want to perhaps start your own business, again considering tourism perhaps or farming. You have Lesotho for textiles, tourism, hydro electric, farming and even skiing, Swaziland for tourism and also logistics through to the Maputu corridor. Perhaps you could get in on the industrial development that’s taking place all along the corridor. In Zambia there are opportunities in agriculture, mining, logistics, construction and services – then finally there’s Mozambique. Home to the Maputu Port, an incredibly important port in the entire region, Mozambique considers itself open for business too! You might like to consider tourism, agriculture, game farming, infrastructure or mining.
All of these nations have their own brand of opportunity for an expatriate relocating from somewhere like Dubai, or even going overseas for the first time and seeking their fortune. However, unlike a location like Dubai that’s highly sophisticated and polished, Africa is raw and a rough diamond that requires and offers an altogether different approach. If you’re looking for ground level projects and opportunities Africa could be ripe for your consideration…
