In an interview with The Kenyan Wallstreet, Edith Predorf, Commercial Counsellor of Austria to Eastern Africa noted that Kenya and indeed the Eastern African region still has numerous opportunities to collaborate and foster trade with Austria. Currently, the Africa region accounts for 2% of Austria’s total trade numbers, presenting a large space for partnership.
“…So far, we see a lot of room to grow in that area and I am very happy some companies are putting more focus into investing in Kenya,” said the commercial counsellor.
Edith Predorf said her office is committed to boosting trade between the two countries, through business introductions to both Kenyan and Austrian companies in addition to exploring innovative project financing tools to grow the trade numbers.
Some of the potential areas of partnership between the two countries include the construction and medical devices, areas close to the Big Four agenda, which Austria is leading in. Further, Kenya’s prowess in mobile payments, and its positioning as the second-best startup ecosystem in the continent poses opportunities for partnerships between startups from the two countries, and attract venture capital funds.
Austria, a formidable export country globally, is still establishing its footprint in the continent. Ranked at 7th in the world in terms of exports per capita, the country is a leader in machinery and chemicals and construction materials like iron, steel and metalware. Its exports to Africa accounted for approximately 2 billion Euros in 2019, compared to 12.9 billion euros to North America and 14 billion Euros to Asia.
Listen to the full Interview:
