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Cape Town - There is a great value in using French for business in Africa as 30 of the 54 countries in Africa - therefore more than half - are French-speaking.
It, therefore, makes sense to promote the use of French as a business language on the continent.
This was one of the points made at a forum on French for business in Africa, which took place in Cape Town on Friday.
The Embassy of France in South Africa also hosted similar forum discussions in Johannesburg and Durban this week
The purpose of discussions were to bring together business representatives, international cooperation representatives, and professionals in the field of education to discuss French as a language of employment in Africa.
The influence of French on economic and commercial networks and the benefits of effective communication for relationship building and financial success were among the topics discussed.
"Madiba used to say that when you speak to someone in their own language, you speak to their heart. The same goes for doing business. If you can speak to someone in their own language, it is so much better for business," said Victor Kgomoeswana, a consultant on African business development at the opening of the of the forum in Cape Town.
"Africa needs growth and the world needs growth. Africa is the best prospect for companies in the world looking for growth," he said.
"It is important, however, not just to talk, but to create alignments. That is why a memorandum of understanding will be signed today between the French embassy and the Cape Peninsula University of Technology for the promotion of French."
Economic exchange
The French ambassador to South Africa, Elisabeth Barbier, said it is important to promote economic exchange between French speaking Africa and the rest of the world.
"South Africa itself is turning more and more to other parts of Africa for economic interaction," Barbier said in her address at the forum.
"With many French companies already having a presence in South Africa, there is no doubt that the exchange with French speaking Africa will bear fruit. Language and culture has a big influence on negotiations."
She said in a world-in-crisis young people are increasingly choosing studies with practical applications.
"We hope the outcome of forums like the one today will encourage young people to study French, because they realise it is also a good choice from a professional perspective."
Yves Justice Djimi, a representative of the Foundation AfricaFrance in SA, said in his experience French as traditionally been regarded more as a language of culture than a business language.
"It is only more recently that I find French is having more and more practical implementation in the business world," he said.
"South Africans can certainly benefit from a complex environment by using language to interact with French speaking Africa. There is a strong potential for growth economically and demographically in Francophone markets."
He pointed out examples of SA companies which have already had success in these markets, like MTN [JSE:MTN] and SABMiller [JSE:SAB].
READ: Standard to up Francophone Africa footprint
Second language growth
Frank Marchetti, head of cooperation and cultural affairs at the embassy of France in SA, said French is becoming the second language of more and more people in the world.
In East Africa, for instance, it is estimated that 25% of students are taking French lessons for business purposes. In China French is also proving a popular language choice, because of Chinese business activities in Africa.
He said the embassy is playing the role of coordinating and simplifying the various French language instruction options.
Tshiamo Maseko, a consultant in international law, also provided practical examples of how the use of French enabled South African companies to gain trust and speed up deals with partners in French speaking African countries.
She also pointed out the importance of taking into consideration the differences between the codified French civil law and the English based common law principles.
"It is about the mentally one has of looking at the world and how we do business. French is not just a language, but it opens doors to a bigger world for business," said Maseko.
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