Calling to “go beyond outdated images of Madagascar”, the speakers of the Madagascar Country Day organized at the end of March in Saint-Denis by the Export Club and the ADIR affirm that the conditions are now met to allow long-term investment in our big neighbor.
The room was full on May 31 to listen attentively to the various speakers who came to plead the cause of investment in Madagascar. Car, for them, and despite frank exchanges which did not obscure the difficulties which persist, there is no doubt : now is the time to go. Another image of Madagascar emerged from this information day. Beyond the situation – the lifting of trade restrictions linked to the Covid crisis – the general climate prevailing in Madagascar would now be favorable to investment. Gone is the time for adventure, “the country is ripe, we can count on the State, the freedom to undertake is appreciable” notably judged Hervé Magnat, since 1991 in Madagascar where he manages service companies, including advice to investors wishing to set up on the Big Island. Nine hundred thousand births per year, 28 million inhabitants (53 million expected in 2050). Four million inhabitants in greater Antananarivo, one of the largest African metropolises. A growth rate of 4% the year before the health crisis. The educated class is increasing, skilled labor as well, the agri-food industry is growing. Driven by multiple projects, the private sector is dynamic, the favorable financial environment, etc. There is no shortage of arguments which seem to indicate that Madagascar, one of the poorest countries in the world, is nevertheless in the process of crossing an economic threshold. The Export Club and ADIR invite us to look at the country and its market differently. Investing also means participating in the development of the country.
What needs and what risks ?
Real estate is currently on the rise in Madagascar. Among the needs and investment opportunities offered by the country, the following sectors were cited : mass distribution, call centers, Training, drilling, transportation, the insurance, agri-food, small mining projects, the blue economy, the pharmacy, cosmetics, le textile, business services, etc. Without forgetting tourism which collapsed with the closure of the Malagasy borders : many establishments are for sale. Lack of skills, source of opportunities for training companies, highlighted. In addition to private opportunities, there are construction and energy production programs where public-private partnerships are sought by the Malagasy State.. As for securing investments, it seems possible within the scope of the formal economic sector. Hervé Magnat nevertheless invited candidates for investment in Madagascar not to start out in isolation and to get closer to the professional unions which have been created to structure and represent the interests of the industrial sector..
What economic relations between the islands ?
The president of ADIR, Daniel Moreau, highlighted how the health crisis, with its consequences on the supply of Réunion, makes the problem of regional supply of raw materials topical. This is a new argument in favor of trade, particularly between Madagascar, large agricultural land, and Reunion. However, if the notion of regional co-development is attractive, the question remains of who would do what in more coordinated development between the islands. Madagascar does not see itself only as a supplier of raw materials, as recalled by the president of the Madagascar Industries Union (SIM), Admiral Hassim. Evoking the “industrial past” of Madagascar in the 1970s, citing import figures for basic foods that could be produced in Madagascar (more than 250,000 tonnes of corn, 150,000 tonnes of sugar, 120,000 tonnes of edible oil), he felt that it was necessary “to talk today about reindustrialization”.
