Joel Popoola, a British citizen of Nigerian descent is an ambassador of the Institute of Directors North East Branch in the United Kingdom. Popoola, who is the founder of the digital democracy project app, Rate Your Leader, is also Chair of the IoD’s Special Interest Group Africa. He speaks in this interview on…
There is a huge cachet to buying British in Africa, meaning billions of potential customers for British businesses, many of whom have the products and services African nations’ companies and growing population needs. Britain has a lot to export – clean energy expertise, professional services, education, advanced manufacturing products, media, even football – and Africa is ready to buy.
More needs to be done on both sides to take advantage of the opportunities on offer. That’s where the special interest group comes in – we aim to stimulate business opportunities, increase networking and grow awareness of British businesses in Africa – and African businesses in Britain.In September 2021, the UK became the first country in the world to sign a memorandum with the African Union’s 54-country Continental Free Trade Area – the first step towards a UK-Africa free trade deal.
The IoD has also helped me to connect with business leaders across Britain who I would not otherwise have met. Networking is everything in business and through the IoD, I got immediate access to over 20,000 British business leaders.