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| A 'second wave'? Vasu Reddy, an Indian national, owns a gemstone processing and sales operation in Lusaka, Zambia. Joseph J. Schatz |
On China's heels, India vies for its old edge in Africa
India promised to increase lines of credit to Africa to $5.4 billion during a summit in New Delhi last month.
from the May 5, 2008 edition
Page 3 of 3
India was a key player in South Africa's anti-apartheid struggle, and Indian traders and small-business owners have long been ubiquitous in the region.
The Indian vehicle firm Tata launched its African operations in 1977 from Zambia, where Tata trucks and buses still dot the roads.
"There is a deeper infiltration into the macroeconomic fabric of the continent," notes the World Bank's Broadman. "The Chinese operate as enclaves on the African continent."
But Indians and Africans of Indian descent are not immune to xenophobia and charges of exploitation.
Before the Zambia's 2006 presidential elections, opposition leader Michael Sata lashed out at alleged exploitation by Chinese investors – but also threatened to expel Indian and Lebanese investors.
Indeed, Mr. Seshamani argues that while China likes to gamble, Indians often worry about the potential for another backlash like the mass expulsion from Uganda in 1972.
As India tries to change the dynamic in Africa, it needs to focus on its private entrepreneurs and stress that it is not out to pillage the continent, says Rajan Kohli, deputy secretary general of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry in New Delhi.
"If you try to follow China, you will not succeed. They have more resources to give, and [as a democracy] our decision-making is very slow," he said. "We have to play to our strengths."
Big pledges at last month's India-Africa summit
• India promised to grant preferential market access for exports from all the least developed countries, 34 of which are in Africa.
• India will also increase its lines of credit to Africa to $5.4 billion and its aid to $500 million over the next five years.
• During the past five years, India has extended credit worth $2 billion to African countries.
Sources: Asia Times, the Associated Press
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