The Bharti lesson

Yes,we know that China and India are growing. But what we might have missed is that some other parts of the world,traditionally thought of as places where good policy goes to die,are growing too. Like Africa. Over the first eight years of the millennium,for example,Angola in the south grew at 12.4 per cent. In the northeast,Ethiopia grew at nearly 7 per cent,as did Rwanda and Tanzania in the centre. And in the west giant Nigeria grew at a steady 8.4 per cent. In commercial capitals far from Mumbai and Shanghai,another growth story is being played out. And the completion of the Bharti-Zain deal this week marks how quick-growing India should respond to it.

So far,analysis of the interaction between India and Africa has focused essentially on two things: how to make the continents vast natural resources available to the ever-hungry Indian industry,and whether China is stealing a march on us. But this deal the second-largest cross-border deal by an Indian firm,worth 10.7 billion,making Bharti the fifth-largest mobile phone operator shows how myopic that vision is. There is much more that India can be doing in Africa. And,unlike Chinas engagement,which is driven by the state and its over-riding sense of the strategic interest,Indias presence in Africa will be corporate-led,with all the sensitivity to local needs that the private sector is required to display. What are the sectors that,in particular,India could look at? There is infrastructure: Indian firms are building roads in Ethiopia,laying fibre-optic cables in Ivory Coast,constructing railways in Mozambique,and selling buses to Guinea. There is,of course,mining: ONGC is looking for oil in Nigeria,and pretty much everyone Tata Steel,Jindal,Coal India,NTPC,Ispat has joined the rush to explore coal deposits in Mozambique. But most intriguing are the investments that are being made in skill upgradation,which builds soft power through people-to-people contact and enduring cross-country links. In diamond-rich Sierra Leone,India is building a gem-cutting and polishing training centre. In agrarian Ivory Coast,food processing institutes to train local entrepreneurs are being setup,to aid their exports. NIIT has entered low-cost computer training in Africa in a big way. And,of course,theres the visionary pan-African e-network,which will wire the continent,connecting five universities,51 learning centres,10 super-speciality hospitals and 52 patient-end locations in rural areas.

What is needed for Indias private-sector led presence in Africa is better synergy in Delhi between corporates and government. Our presence in Africa must be long-term and sustainable.