Doing Business in Africa There is often a perception that doing business in Africa is difficult. Uninformed comments include "nothing works", "communication is difficult" or "inexperienced". Yet nothing could be further from the truth. Some of the world's biggest events have been held on the continent including the Rugby and Cricket World Cups (with the Soccer World Cup awarded for 2010), the World Summit on Sustainable Development (20,000 delegates) , the World Aids Congress (12,000), the World Conference against Racism (14,000) and the World Diabetes Association Congress (10,000) booked for 2006. All the events held have been hailed as major successes. This is not by accident. Parts of Africa have extremely sophisticated communication and IT systems. WIFI, ASDN - it's all available. Labour is unionized, certainly in South Africa, but the impact on doing business is nothing like that experienced in many parts of the western world. There are fantastic facilities - rated amongst the world's best, and experienced service providers. The "value for money" is immense compared to many parts of the world. The secret is - work with the right people and suppliers - and that is where your ICCA Africa members can help!