Building relationships is vital for U.S. companies that hope to do business in Africa, said Nabeel Meghji, who founded a company aimed at helping Midwest businesses break into the world’s second-largest continent.

Meghji, a Tanzania-born entrepreneur, said Heartland 2 Africa LLC has a growing network of allies in some of Africa’s largest nations, including Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa.

“Africa is the gold rush right now,” Meghji said, noting that reports of corruption, conflict and unstable regimes often overshadow articles about business opportunities. “A lot of times in the media, you don’t see that.”

Meghji, whose great-grandparents were born in India and immigrated to Africa, said that continent’s agricultural industry is growing rapidly and demand for solar and wind power is soaring in some countries.

Angola, an oil-producing nation in south-central Africa that Meghji said has major infrastructure needs, also has one of the region’s fastest-growing economies. According to a January report in The Economist magazine, Angola’s gross domestic product grew by an annual average rate of 11.1 percent between 2001 and 2010.

In November, the size of Ghana’s economy was revised up by 75 percent, after more complete data sets – including information on industries such as telecommunications – were compiled by government statisticians, The Economist reported.

Technology is a big-ticket item that some Iowa exporters may be overlooking, Meghji said, adding that nearly a half-billion people in Africa have access to mobile phones. “We monitor the markets and determine what the needs are in specific areas,” he said. “When you think about mobile, you never think about Africa.”

Airtel Africa last month announced that it had received two 2011 Global Mobile Awards from the GSA (Groupe Speciale Mobile) Association: Best Mobile Money Product or Solution and Best Customer Care & Customer Relationship Management.

The Best Mobile Money award, which Airtel Africa received for the development of its OnLine Pay product, is intended to recognize companies that reflect the rapid emergence of the mobile banking, payment and other “cashless” mobile services. Airtel Africa is a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel Ltd. of India.

Meghji, 27, returned recently to Des Moines from a two-month trip to his homeland, where he showcased the products of several clients and prospective clients, including an Iowa-based manufacturer of solar equipment.

“Every culture and every tribe is different, so you can see the complexity in terms of culture,” he said. “You really have to understand that to do business, because it’s all about relationships.”

Though political unrest, chronic corruption and poor health in some African countries could impede growth, The Economist reported that the continent’s gross domestic product is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 7 percent during the next 20 years, slightly faster than China’s economy.

Heartland 2 Africa is the second company formed by Meghji and business partner Shane Huston, both of whom are former CDS Global Inc. employees. Last spring, they launched Geosync Global LLC, a technology company focused on augmented reality applications.

Both businesses operate in Alex Grgurich’s Foundry Coworking space in the Chamberlain Building downtown. Heartland 2 Africa employs four people, including an intern.

On March 25, Heartland 2 Africa will present “Iowa to Africa: Advanced Manufacturing Summit” at Foundry Coworking, 1312 Locust St. in Des Moines. The summit will explore emerging markets in Africa and share potential opportunities for Iowa companies involved in the advanced manufacturing industry.

“Expansion of current business requires the tapping of more markets to achieve dramatic growth,” Meghji said. “A rapidly growing middle class with disposable income has created many new markets for consumer goods in Africa.”

Scheduled to take place from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., the free event will include a panel discussion on the history of Africa, a presentation of case studies on African companies, breakout sessions focused on specific strategies for Iowa businesses and a networking session.

The summit is part of Heartland 2 Africa’s “Iowa to Africa” series, which kicked off on Feb. 25, with a focus on emerging technology markets in Africa.

In 2001, Meghji moved to Des Moines from Tanzania to pursue a bachelor’s degree in computer science at Drake University. In January 2010, he earned an M.B.A. from the University of Iowa.

“We are focusing on any businesses that think their products may find a market in Africa,” Meghji said. “Our focus right now is on Iowa in general, but mostly the Midwest.”

Africa’s population is expected to at least double to 2.1 billion people by 2050, according to estimates by the Population Reference Bureau in Washington, D.C

Heartland 2 Africa LLC
Principal: Nabeel Meghji
Founded: May 2010
E-mail: info@heartland2africa.com
Phone: (515) 344.4033