On the occasion of the India-Africa summit, key findings from the Emerging Economy Report were released today, which foreground the role of Indian corporations in driving new technology usage in Africa.

According to the Emerging Economy Report, Indian companies will have a far more prominent role in Africa's economic development than China, even though China has been a far more aggressive investor into Africa over the past decade.

The Report came to these findings after studying seven economies in all corners of the world, including India, China, Indonesia, South Africa, Kenya, Egypt and Brazil. It also examined the inter-relations between these economies and projected these trends outwards 3, 5 and 10 years into the future. The Report was executed and funded by the Center for Knowledge Societies.

Chinese corporations have made significant investments in Africa over the past decade, and this has worried Indian industry as well as Indian strategists about having to 'catch-up' in terms of an organised engagement with diverse African nations. In the city of Rwanda, for example up to 80 per cent of all new roads have been built by Chinese companies. And China's Civil Engineering Construction Corporation is building the $8.3 billion railroad linking Lagos and Kano.

However, the report also points out that Indian entrepreneurs have long enjoyed trading relations in Africa, particularly along the continent's east coast, running from Kenya down to the tip of South Africa. In the early part of the 20th century Indian engineering and consumer brands were considered as reliable as those coming from Europe.

Bilateral trade between India and Africa increased from less than $1 billion in 1991 to over $9 billion in 2005, with the Indian government aiming to achieve a trade turnover of $500 billion by 2010 with Africa.

One of the key trends identified in the Strategic Forecasts section of the report is called The Tata-fication of Africa.  Tata Motors was a well known truck brand in Africa well into the 1960s, when it was finally supplanted by European competitors. Now, the resurgent Tata Group has been making strategic investments around the world, including Africa.

Other regional Indian multinationals, Videocon and Suzlon, are similarly driving innovation for consumers as well as businesses. The Indian Hotels Company is making multimillion-dollar investments in three locations across the continent.

By contrast, the Chinese presence in Africa relies either on state-partnership or else operates in the informal sector. This makes them vulnerable to market forces as the middle-classes of Africa become more and more powerful.

Dr. Aditya Dev Sood, one of the authors of the report, explains, "In every part of the world that CKS researchers visited, they discovered Chinese products replacing traditional local handicrafts. But these products were often viewed by local populations as 'fake goods.' They were neither intrinsically local, nor did they have the values of a brand attached to them."

Dr. Sood argues that there is an extraordinary opportunity for Indian corporations to capitalize on the new infrastructure generated in certain parts of Africa by Chinese companies: "Anyone who has lived in both India and China will agree that the Chinese have been far more successful at creating mass urban and cross-country infrastructure. On the other hand, just having quality infrastructure is not enough for Africa - the continent needs jobs, and that's something Indian service sector companies can provide." For Africa, then, working with India as well as with China would appear to be a win-win proposition.

Nevertheless, the report concludes that it is India and not China that will create Asia's first global innovation economy. "I think the edge is definitely with the Indian managerial classes, who have already demonstrated their ability to build global brands, nurture existing brands, and command global consumer markets. Their next step is to invest adequately in innovation processes that can ensure their products truly meet the needs of untapped markets in other Emerging Economies" said Dr. Sood.