He “A big business MEETING between Africa and France”, enthuses Marc Cagnard, Sub-Saharan Africa zone director at Business France. The government body is organizing the 7th edition of the Africa Ambition Expo 2025 this Tuesday and Wednesday under the Ministry of Economy and Finance. 1,900 participants attended the Pierre-Mendès-France center in Bercy, including 1,100 African figures. In addition to conferences and speeches, all the slots offered for “B2B” meetings between French and African companies have been reserved, namely no less than 1,400 interviews.
Despite the post-Covid increase, French exports to Africa have not yet returned to pre-2014 levels. This does not prevent Paris from becoming the continent’s fourth investor country. Therefore, the forum in Bercy bears testimony to this “the strength of relations between France and Africa”, underlined the Minister Delegate in charge of Foreign Trade and Attractions, Nicolas Forissier. However, as the new director of the North Africa Business zone has recalled in the column TribuneFrance wants to go further.
“In the tortured world of international trade as we know it today, supporting mutually beneficial partnerships between African countries and the European Union is more important than ever”the minister urged.
New partnership model
“Win-win”: this is the motto of Paris. Because, if at the political level, France is faced with increasing anti-French sentiment in many African countries, then at the economic level, another trend is added and challenges Paris. First, the increasing power of foreign players (in particular China, India, Turkey, the Gulf states, and European countries) means that France faces increasing competition for certain markets. The 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Dakar (Senegal) are the first witness of this: Vinci won a major contract to build the Olympic swimming pool, while the Léopold Sédar Senghor stadium will be completely renovated by a Chinese public construction company.
Another challenge for Paris: the emergence of a strong economic sovereignty. At the end of September, in a business forum in the Senate, Senegalese figures came to present to French companies the new “business” model, favored by Dakar since the election of sovereign president Bassirou Diomaye Faye. “This is not about saying come and invest in Senegal, but saying come and understand Senegal”explained the CEO of Global Mind Consulting, Seynabou Dia Sall, at the Palais-Bourbon.
Therefore, in this context, France is counting on new partnerships, “win-win”, hopes to meet African demand and differentiate itself from its competitors. Regarding knowing which economic model will be proposed for this new partnership, the Minister Delegate in charge of foreign trade and attraction, Nicolas Forissier, stated: “I don’t like any model. (…) There are all kinds of hypotheses, you have to believe in the capacity of the initiative.”
“We cannot limit ourselves to French-speaking Africa”
Marc Cagnard
In the various hypotheses considered, local production is a constant. “Local content is increasingly becoming a topic (…). Being identified as a local business opens you up to more local markets,” analysis Marc Cagnard of Business France. Co-industrialization is underway, and the African Union is at the same time developing a “made in Africa” label for products designed primarily on the continent.
“France is exporting less and less finished products to Africa, and instead more and more raw materials and semi-finished products”explained Philippe Garcia, Business France North Africa zone director.
Trade with English and Portuguese speaking countries
Another goal of France was to develop trade with less exposed regions in Africa. Therefore, English and Portuguese speaking countries were examined in a new light by Paris, “we cannot limit ourselves to French-speaking Africa”, emphasized Marc Cagnard. In Bercy, Angola, there was a large delegation this week. In the near future, another forum will be attended by business promoters: for the first time, the Africa-France summit will be held in an English-speaking country, in this case in Kenya on May 11 and 12. “Africa Forward: a partnership between Africa and France for innovation and growth”the event “is part of the renewal of relations between France and African countries, based on mutually beneficial partnerships”, according to his presentation.
According to Éléonore Caroit, Minister Delegate responsible for the Francophonie, international partnerships and French communities abroad, “This choice was not made because the country is an English-speaking country. It is important to say that the Francophonie is not an opposition to the English language.” However, French companies still face certain obstacles in establishing themselves in these countries. Brakes above all culture: language, Anglo-Saxon way of doing business that might scare them a little », according to Marc Cagnard.
