Turkey's Limak sees big future in Africa

Making even a small step in Africa provides a big change as the emerging continent still needs infrastructure and superstructure investments, the head of Turkish group Limak Yatirim Holding told Anadolu Agency on Nov. 16.

Ebru Özdemir, chair of Limak Investment - an investment arm of Limak Group Companies - said the firm would like to be part of Africa's development process.        

"We have been doing business in Africa for six years and Limak currently has operations in five different African countries. We are very eager to work in Africa and hope that we can grow our business in some other countries," Özdemir added.        

Özdemir said Limak was the second biggest cement producer in Turkey, and the company needed to grow and expand in different countries.        

The company has started two new investments, one in West Africa in the Ivory Coast and the other in East Africa in Mozambique, worth $40 million.        

"What [Africa] needs of course is cement, infrastructure, ports,

 airports and energy. Whatever you do in Africa, even a small investment, is going to make a big change," said Özdemir.

Commenting about the risks of doing business in Africa in terms of its unstable political and economic environment, Özdemir said: "We are long-term investors. If you are an entrepreneur, then you have to take some risks. We really work hard and intensely in Africa to accommodate any kind of risk possible.  
      
"We would like to really be part of African development by showing them our best practices in businesses, in PPP [public-private sector partnership] contracts, in everything that we have done in Turkey successfully," she added.        

Özdemir said Limak differentiates itself from...