The United Nations projects that, by 2050, more than a quarter of the world’s population will live in Africa. Leaders in St. Louis have taken notice.
Earlier this month, representatives from World Trade Center St. Louis, BioSTL, the St. Louis Integrated Health Network, and Nexus Group visited the Rwandan capital, Kigali, on a fact-finding mission that the St. Louis delegation hopes will lead to a future trade partnership between the cities.
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“We need to be looking at Africa,” says Tim Nowak, executive director of World Trade Center St. Louis. “For far too long, it has been overlooked. It’s going to be the fastest growing continent, population-wise. When you talk about East Africa, GDP-wise, it’s going to be the fastest growing economic area. For St. Louis and for our companies, it’s a market that needs to be considered.”
A partnership would only formalize some of the work that is already being done in Africa by St. Louis organizations. The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center is playing a role in an international public-private partnership focused on developing high-yielding pest-and-disease-resistant potatoes, maize, and cassava in Rwanda. Fresh Harvest 365, a locally-based company that turns shipping containers into hydroponic farming environments, is also doing work in the country. The Missouri Botanical Garden has a research presence in Madagascar, where it leads a community-based conservation program.
During this month’s visit to Rwanda, the St. Louis delegation met with Kigali Mayor Samuel Dusengiyumva, the country’s economic development agency, and local leaders in the corporate, higher education, and innovation sectors. The message to their African counterparts was simple: We want to be here.
“From a geographical, geopolitical, economic, and strategic standpoint, it’s going to be a very important part of the world,” Nowak says. “I think the U.S. needs to be engaged. Likewise, in St. Louis, we’ve got to be engaged. We have a special opportunity to do just that.”
Why it matters: The data analytics firm Euromonitor International predicts that, during the next 15 years, East Africa will produce a GDP compound annual growth rate of 6.1 percent, outpacing similarly developing markets in Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Africa.
“There are going to be opportunities for companies to explore,” Nowak says. “It can be a little bit daunting to think about that and do it from [St. Louis]. But now we’ve got important connections and very willing partners to help a company do that. We want to find opportunities for St. Louis companies to sell their goods and services in Rwanda and Africa. We want our universities to build on these connections. … I think we’re on to something.”
What’s next: A St. Louis–Kigali Sister Cities exploratory committee has been formed to create a framework for a formal partnership that local leaders hope to finalize later this year. (St. Louis already has an African Sister City partnership with Saint-Louis, Senegal.) This fall, the annual Growing Global event, a luncheon hosted by World Trade Center St. Louis, will also focus on how and why St. Louis can and should further connect with Africa.
