A Fertile Base
Young African living in the Greater Bay Area upbeat on the prospects of the area
By Hu Fan
12 May 2022
Lineo Kobeli speaks during an experience-sharing event in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, on June 19, 2021
Lineo Kobeli’s first impression about China was low-priced Chinese goods brought back to Lesotho by her father from his first trip to China in 2005 when she was 16. At that time, she didn’t know anything else about this country where she will later study and live for years. She now works as an international public relations specialist at the Africa Guangdong Business Association (AGBA) based in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, for the fourth year. She is also an assistant to the secretary general of the association.
She was here when China initiated the plan to build the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in 2019, and has experienced the increasingly dynamic development of the region. She has become fond of the place for its economic dynamics, inclusiveness and special bond with Africa. However, her move to the area was accidental.
A dream coming true
Kobeli said she wouldn’t have come to China if it weren’t for her father. Each year after 2005, she would see her father travel to China four to six times, and soon her narrative changed about China. She was intrigued because not only did her father’s business grow, but he also opened an office in China that would work with his office in Lesotho.
She attended high school as well as university in South Africa, and worked there after graduation. However, she still longed to accompany her father when he traveled to China. That dream came true in 2016 when she was offered a scholarship by the Chinese Government to study for her master’s degree at Zhejiang Normal University.
She cherished the long-awaited opportunity and promised herself to make the most of it. She was active in international students’ activities at the university, participating in business competitions, forums and other conferences. It was in one of these activities that she met an important person who set the stage for her move to Guangdong.
It was a business bootcamp competition hosted by an e-commerce company in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, and Kobeli attended it as leader of a student group from the university with business plans. One of the judges was Tracy Huo, who was the only woman on the panel of judges and knew about Africa more than all others.
“I saw a Chinese woman who spoke of Africa not as a country, not as a place desolate with no future; she spoke of an Africa with opportunities, an Africa she loved and lived in, where she shared food with its people. And she was committed to mentoring the next generation to use their new skills learnt in China back into their continent to enrich it, protect it and harness its richness,” she told ChinAfrica.
Kobeli volunteered and asked her if there was an opportunity to work under her mentee. “I wanted to learn from her; she was fierce. In her, I saw a woman I wanted to become,” she said. She got the chance and Guangdong became a new home for her after graduation.
Lineo Kobeli (fifth right front) with visiting entrepreneurs during the Africa Business Leaders Meeting hosted by AGBA in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, on June 28, 2019
Confidence in GBA
At AGBA, Kobeli’s focus is on establishing and maintaining key partners in Africa to accelerate Guangdong’s business presence in Africa. She is also a project coordinator for major China-Africa activities hosted by the association in China and abroad. Furthermore, she manages relationships and writes reports for the association’s stakeholders both abroad and in China. This experience has allowed her to develop an understanding of both China and Africa, as well as their business ties.
To Kobeli, the establishment of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao GBA is among the most impressive developments in Guangdong. She lauded the initiative for improving connectivity in the region.
She said Africa as a continent can be inspired by the success of this initiative. She believed the key to well-functioning regional value chains is the use of digital technologies that improve information flows, enhance productivity and competitiveness, and streamline cross-border trade procedures.
“The overall aim of the African Continental Free Trade Area is to re-industrialize Africa after more than a decade of deindustrialization. Presently about 16 to 18 percent of the continent’s trade is intra-Africa. This is very low compared to intra-regional trade in Asia, which is 59 percent, and Europe, which is 69 percent,” she said.
In her view, Guangdong as a major participant of the GBA is full of business opportunities. Some of the adjectives she uses for the province are serendipitous and zoetic. “Whatever it is, we make it work here. So, I think the career opportunities in this area lie in how far you can keep your curiosity as an entrepreneur,” she said.
“As part of my work at AGBA we have brought many African delegations to numerous factories in Guangzhou. Many of the businesspeople thought they knew what they wanted; but when they arrived here, they would tell me that they were not dreaming big enough,” she said.
One of the big opportunities she recommends in particular is cosmetology. “Guangzhou hosts the largest beauty and cosmetics fair in China, and I would invite anybody with a business sense to come and learn,” she said.
Special advantages
Kobeli believes that Guangdong enjoys unique advantages and has a special role to play in China-Africa cooperation. “Of all the regions in China, Guangdong understands African business best,” she said, adding that Guangdong can accelerate the success of Africa’s rising middle class.
Though small, Africa’s middle class is made up of young entrepreneurs, educated and skilled in diverse areas. Guangdong has the opportunity to partner with this growing market and provide accessibility to information on areas of partnership, according to her.
“State-owned projects are run by governments and Beijing is an excellent partner for Africa in large infrastructural projects. Guangdong Province can bring a new era of cooperation in this market [of middle class]which will become the most powerful in Africa,” she said, adding that focusing on micro, small and medium enterprises, which make up between 70 and 80 percent of businesses in Africa and employ 70 percent of the population, could be a game changer for the province.
Another aspect she likes about Guangdong is its openness to foreigners, including Africans. The capital city Guangzhou has the largest African business community in China. Although it has become smaller due to the pandemic, business connections are not cut off. One businessman she knows has been stuck in Africa, but has started three business projects while in Africa during this pandemic. He told Kobeli that he can work from anywhere around the globe because he knows everything he needs in China, and has built connections and trust with the companies in China that work to get him all he needs.
“Foreigners in Guangzhou are able to immerse themselves in the working nature of Guangdong people. We build trust among ourselves and maintain business networks with Chinese companies that understand us,” she said.
For those who intend to start a career here, she suggested that they should know about Chinese culture, be brave to face challenges and keep growing. She also suggested that the goal of Africans coming to China should be to give back to Africa.
“The land of milk and honey is in Africa. China is where we come to learn and equip ourselves; but we should go back to cultivate the land in Africa,” she said.
This article was first published in ChinAfrica magazine