INTERVIEW/African entrepreneurs seek closer links with Taiwan's tech sector

Taipei, Sept. 16 (CNA) Seeking to strengthen ties between Taiwan and African nations, a group of young African entrepreneurs visited Taipei last week for talks with government and corporate representatives.

The idea is to "build bridges" between Taiwanese and African economies through private organizations or businesses, Nelly Kambiwa, a member of the delegation from the French-African Foundation, told CNA in an interview on Friday.

In a first, the foundation, composed mainly of French-speaking entrepreneurs promoting ties between Africa and France, sent a delegation to Taiwan for the SEMICON trade show last week.

During their six-day visit from Sept. 7-12, 12 delegates, aged 30-40 and specializing in tech start-ups and other industries, met with officials and corporate representatives in Taiwan to present Africa as the next destination for tech investment, particularly in semiconductors.

African resources

Kambiwa, who started a consultancy firm this year after 15 years of experience in the sector, was quick to point out what Africa could offer to tech companies: a young workforce and raw data.

She said data from Africa's 54 countries remains a relatively untapped resource for artificial intelligence and other emerging tech industries.

At the same time, Africa has the youngest population in the world, with 70 percent of sub-Saharan Africa's 1.29 billion people being under 30, according to United Nations and World Bank data.

"Taiwan is uniquely positioned to collaborate with us," said Joëlle Itoua Owona, founder of a medical technology startup, at a semiconductor forum on the sidelines of SEMICON on Sept. 9.

Owona said the delegation was looking for a way to bring Taiwan's advanced chip manufacturing capacity into African markets and expand its impact there on a large scale.

In spite of the potential opportunities, Taiwanese investors may face challenges in Africa, particularly in the semiconductor sector, which is increasingly shaped by global geopolitics.

Taiwan currently has only one diplomatic ally in Africa -- Eswatini -- and its representative office in South Africa was recently downgraded, reportedly under pressure from Beijing, which has steadily expanded its influence across the continent.

Despite the geopolitical complexities, Kambiwa argued Taiwan and African nations could still forge connections through the private sector.

She said the delegation aimed to explore potential contacts and practical avenues for engagement, particularly in areas where Taiwan's technological expertise could support African development initiatives.

There should be more discussion about "what Taiwan can bring to Africa and what Africa can bring to Taiwan," she added.

Trilateral cooperation

The delegation, which met with Taiwan's Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) as well as representatives from Foxconn Technology Group and Quanta Computer Inc. during their stay, was invited to Taiwan "in the context of France-Taiwan dialogue on Africa," the French Office in Taipei told CNA.

The office, which represents France's interests in Taiwan in the absence of formal diplomatic ties, said it was interested in fostering trilateral cooperation, given France's "geopolitical interest" in Africa and growing semiconductor partnership with Taiwan.

Such cooperation could range from facilitating contacts between Taiwan and African countries to more in-depth collaboration, with France contributing its research expertise to support Taiwanese semiconductor efforts on the continent, French Representative to Taiwan Franck Paris said during a press briefing in Taipei on Sept. 5.

"For us, it would be good news to [see a greater Taiwanese presence] in Africa," Paris said, signaling France's ongoing efforts to maintain its influence in Africa, rooted in its colonial legacy, amid growing competition from China, Russia and other nations.