"At one time everyone went to Alaska, but this is the new Klondike!"

Muslim blogger Rasul Tavdiryakov about cheap labor, expensive products and theft on the Dark Continent.

«Europeans are seen as those who enslaved them, robbed them and stole all their natural resources. The French are terribly hated there. All today’s military coups are taking place under the Russian flag,” — Muslim blogger Rasul Tavdiryakov describes Africa’s attitude towards Europe. He studied in Egypt, has been regularly traveling to the hot mainland for 7 years, where he organized a charitable foundation, and is now going to open his own business to create jobs for local residents. About how to overcome the language barrier, whether it is possible to find a partner and investor in Africa, and how the business of a native of Tatarstan develops in Mauritania, — in an interview with BUSINESS Online.

«Some people think that you can live there cheaply. No"

— Rasul Ramishevich, in July the II Economic and Humanitarian Forum “Russia &mdash” was held in Russia. Africa". How can this continent be interesting from an economic point of view? What business niches there are now the most profitable and marginal?

— Africa — a very rich country, but now it acts as an exporter. Uranium, iron ore, and other minerals are exported from there. Niger is one of the top 10 countries in uranium mining and is strategically important for France. Now there has been a military coup, and France may lose its main source of uranium for nuclear energy. There are diamonds there, the De Beers company deals with them. In Mauritania, my friends from Ingushetia and Chechnya are engaged in the extraction of precious stones. They buy or lease large areas, hire miners and mine. Successful and marginal niche.

Africa — This is the new Klondike. At one time we were traveling to Alaska when the gold rush began. If today it is difficult for a Russian businessman to enter the American or European market, in Africa you will be out of competition, because there are few competitors at all.

There are plenty of options for building a business. The simplest thing — buy plots that stand along the road, and put small shops on the right and left. They can be rented out or sold. The second option is related to fishing, which is developed on this continent. Mauritania is home to both Russian and Turkish fish processing plants. You can buy a boat and go fishing. It is no longer possible to get into the processing niche, but fishing can be organized. You buy a wooden ship, it can accommodate 30-40 people. The workers are mostly Senegalese and have an ancient fishing tradition. Every day they bring several tons of fish, hand it over on the shore and pay for it. They take half the amount for themselves, half — to the owner of the ship.

— Are there prospects for agriculture in Africa?

— There are opportunities for agriculture in Africa. The main thing is to solve the water issue. You can install small pumps that will pump out the water remaining after the rainy season from the sand or dig wells to reach artesian waters. If you solve the issue of water and fertilizers, then you can harvest 4-5 times a year. This is a unique place for farming, but you need to make a good investment first. That is why today Africa is called the new China; it is growing rapidly. I saw a lot of foreigners, even in the poorest country. They are building something there, mining something.

— What pitfalls await investors?

— Some people think that you can live cheaply in Africa. No. If you eat the way we are used to, it will be expensive, because basically everything there is imported. But the locals have long had potatoes and carrots in their diet; the domestic market is capable of both producing and consuming food.

"I saw that the world lives in other realities"

— How did you get to Africa for the first time and what are you doing there now?

— I am a public figure, I do charity work, we have the “Caravan of Good” foundation. I ended up in Africa 6 years ago. When there were rallies in support of the Muslims of Burma, I first went there to see everything with my own eyes. I saw that the world lives in different realities, there are entire poor peoples who have nothing to eat in the 21st century. Then I decided to visit Africa at the same time. I had an idea about this continent because I studied in Egypt. My first trip was to Niger — this is central Africa, the poorest country. People live there on half a dollar a day.

I have traveled to many countries. This is mainly West Africa, from Mauritania to Algeria, Morocco, Senegal, Ivory Coast.

There is a theory that former or current French colonies are poor, while the British ones live more or less normally. The policy of Britain was to raise an elite, take the best and send them to English universities, and the policy of the French — send a governor who sits behind walls and has virtually no contact with the local population. His business — carry out the plan to hand over the ore and remove the iron. South Africa is more educated, more prosperous, more economically developed because the British-bred elite care about their people.

«If you see that someone wants something quickly — This means that he either offers a low-quality product or is a swindler”

— Have you had experience in running a business — in Chelyabinsk they developed their enterprise. Would you like to open your own business in Africa?

— There are many different projects and proposals that could be implemented, but this is a different region and mentality. There is no need to rush into development. In Africa there is a desert, you can’t do anything abruptly. If you see that someone wants something quickly — This means that he either offers a low-quality product or is a swindler. A person who plays for the long term will take a closer look and analyze the situation.

We have investors in our fund who help us. They also want to organize something in Africa, build a waqf business (in Islamic law, property transferred for religious or charitable purposes, — editor's note), which will start working, and profits will accumulate there for charity projects. After all, there is a well-known saying: give me no fish — give me the fishing rod. We also have plans to organize some kind of production, either with agriculture or fishing.

— How do the locals react to this?

— There is a village in Mauritania where a famous sheikh teaches, and students from different countries study there. The Mauritanians themselves — a nomadic people, they recently settled in villages. They have no tradition of farming. To teach something new, you need to do a huge amount of work. In this village where visitors live, one French student grew a couple of hectares of watermelons, melons, and grapes. I planted tomatoes and cucumbers there, dug a special well, and installed solar panels to keep the motor running. While I was studying there, I organized everything, and then returned to France. Two years later it all disappeared. Nobody looked after the garden because the locals don’t know how to do it. A person needs to be involved in order for him to become motivated.

It may also be connected to the earth. There is sand there, not soil, and the plants sucked everything up in a year or two, and by the third year they had nothing to eat. If a person who has a goal begins to look for a way out, he will find it. It was possible to buy fertilizers, for example, but the locals did not need it.

— It turns out that Africans themselves are not interested in development?

— Africans — very conservative traditional people. They live in straw or clay houses and honor traditions from generation to generation. Only now they have phones. And it’s so simple: you go into the house — there is nothing, not even the most basic.

They cultivate crops. For example, in Niger there is a crop similar to our millet. During the rainy season, from May to July, the locals go out, take care of it, cultivate it, and then collect everything and store it in large clay pots until the next season. Nigerians eat it all year round.

“IT services are very developed there, but there are some that we don’t have”

— What is important to know before a business trip to Africa?

— The first — get acquainted with local traditions. This is very important because the people are very traditional. For example, as soon as we said hello, we immediately begin negotiations. There you need to say hello, ask: “How are you?” How is your health? How is the health of your loved ones? How are you feeling?” This process sometimes lasts for 5-7 minutes. If you immediately move on to negotiations, they may be regarded as disrespect. European and Russian mentalities are very different from African ones. The process itself is very important for them, even if it is unsuccessful.

IT services are very developed there, but there are some that we don’t have. For example, transferring money from a card via SMS. You just need to enter a certain combination. Many people in villages have push-button telephones, so local IT specialists developed this. Capital of IT technologies — Nigeria. Even many Russian programmers go there.

The closer to the tropics, the more developed agriculture is. Cote d’Ivoire — one of the largest coffee suppliers in the world. There was a phenomenon in this country, like in Malaysia and Indonesia, which took off from poor and undeveloped countries in a couple of decades. This country was also like Niger. But today it is a rich, successful country, there are skyscrapers there. After they kicked out the French colonialists, forces came to power that were interested in the development of society, the state and the economy. Today there is very strong economic activity there.

— What risks do entrepreneurs face?

— There are three main factors: corruption, conservatism and tradition. I'll tell you about the latter. Let’s say I can’t walk around and constantly take pictures with my phone. They constantly shout there, there were even conflicts, they tried to snatch the phone several times, the police were called. For them, a smartphone — This is some kind of sorcerer. I don’t know what this is connected with, but all African countries are afraid of them. In Cote d'Ivoire, I was attacked because of my phone.

Africans live day by day and do not set long-term goals. A man worked part-time today, received half a dollar, bought food, and the family ate in the evening. He doesn’t know what he will eat tomorrow. It happens that he has earned nothing and the family just drinks water.

This affects entrepreneurship. Let's say a business partner sent him 10 thousand dollars to buy goods and send them. He explained: now they will sell this product, and in a year they will become millionaires. The local will answer: “I don’t care, I might not live long enough.” I have 10 thousand dollars, I’ll spend them now.”

— Does this mean that finding a business partner in Africa is almost impossible?

— There are decent ones. I know a lot of guys who give direct feedback, but they are hard to find. When we arrive, we rent a car to drive into the desert. One day we arrived several hours late and the driver asked us to pay for the wait. We replied that we were his regular customers and asked for a discount. He didn't agree. The main thing for him now is to take the extra $100. He doesn’t even understand that we will no longer cooperate with him.

There are those who studied in Europe, Russia, Egypt. They have an understanding that you need to look to tomorrow and, if you grab something today, you may lose more in the future.

"In poor Niger I saw a Maybach"

— Do you know the price of goods and labor in Africa?

— Compared to Russia, food there is 2 times more expensive. If our tomatoes cost 100 rubles, then there will be 200. What grows there, of course, is cheap.

Labor prices are also different everywhere. On average $100 per month. If you take such poor countries as Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, the average salary — it's 70–100 dollars. We have several times more. If you are a good specialist in something, you will be valued higher. Doctors in Africa can open their own clinic or work in a private one. Medical services are very expensive, not everyone can afford them. I got malaria once. The conditions in the hospital are normal, they will put in an IV, they will monitor and care for you, there are nurses, there are air conditioners in the wards.

If a person studied abroad, he lives well, they have villas. Ordinary doctors live like local oligarchs.

— Are these private clinics being opened by Africans or foreign investors?

— And those and others. There are branches of European clinics.

— Are there any local businessmen there who can afford to open?

— Yes. There is a very strong stratification of society there, there is little middle class. Either the very poor who live in the desert, or the very rich who have luxurious villas. In poor Niger I saw a Maybach. There, in order to become a cool businessman, you need to go through fire and water. Therefore, local businessmen have gone through a lot. That is, from a commoner, through all the obstacles, through all the corruption, he found investment somewhere and started with a simple — water sales, for example.

They have everything we have, but not on such a scale. Another 5 or 10 percent — these are the ones who serve French companies. For example, Mauritania has the longest train in the world. Every day he travels from the desert to the port twice. It carries iron ore, which is loaded onto ships, and iron is obtained in Europe or Japan. The colonialists did not even allow the construction of a processing plant that turns ore into metal. Then the processed ore is sold to the same Mauritanians. Can you imagine how they rob and deceive the local population? That's why they don't like them. If other people take the place of the French and say that they are ready to cooperate, they will accept it with pleasure.

— The French will not give up their colonies.

— Naturally, they spread out their tentacles tightly there. But there are revolutions everywhere. In the last year and a half, four countries have rebelled. In Niger and Mali, the French language was immediately banned after the coup. The Africans want to push out the French. The French language has been banned in Algeria for two years now. While the new government is looking for new employees, Russia can take advantage of this and offer its services in the field of business and economics.

«All military coups take place under the Russian flag»

— Are there any entrepreneurs from Tatarstan who are developing businesses in Africa?

— In Mauritania, I know a guy who came from Tatarstan and opened a car service there. He is an ordinary auto mechanic, he started working on his own, everyone started turning to him, because all our services are at a higher level. Today it is quite popular, locals won’t just get to it.

If the rest are making a blunder, then he has already ordered equipment from Russia and Europe. It is several notches higher than its competitors. Accordingly, its price tag is higher and there are more clients.

— Do you work yourself or have you already become a manager?

— He mostly does everything himself, although he has several assistants. Unfortunately, he is just a mechanic, he worked here in a regular service. He doesn't have an entrepreneurial mindset. If it exists, then you understand that it’s easier to recruit a team and find a manager. That's why I say: if a person with such thinking ends up there and starts a business, he will find his own.

We ourselves are planning to go with businessmen in September to study the experience. Now everything favors this. Today's agenda is directed towards Africa. We can discover new opportunities, a new region and benefit from each other.

— What can we export to Africa?

— Cars, agricultural equipment that is needed there today. There are a lot of our cars in Egypt: “fives”, “sevens” and “sevens”. There is. If they also add air conditioning to the car, then there will be no price for it at all.

Russians in Africa have a more favorable attitude. Europeans are seen as those who enslaved them, robbed them and stole all their natural resources. The French are terribly hated there. All today's military coups take place under the Russian flag. This does not mean that Russia organized everything. They see the Russian Federation as an ally. The enemy of my enemy — My friend. Russia is associated as the legal successor of the USSR. If the Europeans only stole, stole and took everything from there, then the USSR built roads, bridges, and a dam there. In almost any city you can meet a person who speaks Russian, because many of the older generation studied in the USSR.

The only thing — I would not recommend taking the older generation who works and knows Russian as a business partner. The older generation thinks that they have a familiar official who will provide protection. The new generation knows how to use the Internet and understands a little about marketing. Telephones have enabled African youth to become familiar with global technology. They still read, many of them know French. In the English colonies they speak this language well, use their phones, and are familiar with the benefits of civilization. Naturally, they also develop ambitions; they also want to live like white people. You need to do business with them.

“It looks beautiful, but life is terrible”

— What is the best currency to use in Africa?

— It’s better to bring euros with you, and change them to local ones in other countries. It must be taken into account that devaluation has occurred in many countries. In Mauritania, the zero was removed five years ago, but the price tags still remain the same. They give 500 ouguiyas, but they say: 5 thousand.

It used to be convenient: if there was no money left, you had the opportunity to withdraw it from the bank. But many banks there are French and do not work with Russia.

It is important to decide today how a businessman will bring money there if the banks do not work. It is possible through Turkey, but all this needs to be thought out in advance.

— What language do they speak there? Is it easy to find a translator?

— I usually speak Arabic or English.

— How well do they speak English there?

— There are few of these in the French colonies, but there are some who know. You can always find a person who knows English, Arabic, French or Russian.

— Where can I find an investor for a business?

— Investor psychology — This means less headaches and more profit. Therefore, to be honest, it will not be easy to find, because it’s still Africa — this is some distant region, incomprehensible.

One of my ideas — organize tourism to Africa. People want something new, to immerse themselves in this atmosphere, to travel around villages, to spend the night somewhere, to socialize somewhere. Every time I go to Africa, people ask me if they can come with me. There are a lot of people who want to see such wildness. Today extreme sports are popular, people climb mountains and go rafting. From a psychological point of view, this is very useful. When you see this poverty, how people live and wake up at 4 o’clock in the morning to go get water and walk many kilometers. It looks nice, but life is terrible. When you see this with your own eyes, you understand how prosperous we live in.