Laudemir Muller, president of ApexBrasil (left), Benedicto Fonseca Filho, Brazilian ambassador to South Africa (middle), and Mauro Vieira, Brazilian minister of Foreign Affairs. Photo: Courtesy of Brasil 247

From August 26 to September 2, 2026, the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (ApexBrasil), in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MRE), will hold the Business Mission to Southern Africa, bringing together Brazilian businesspeople and government representatives for an agenda focused on strengthening trade relations, attracting investments and expanding the presence of Brazilian companies in strategic African markets. According to Brasil 247, the program includes business seminars, business matchmaking meetings, institutional visits and Brazil's participation in the Maputo International Fair (FACIM 2026), where Brazil will be the Guest Country of Honor.

The program begins in Johannesburg, South Africa, continues to Lusaka, Zambia, and Maputo, Mozambique, and concludes outside Southern Africa in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where ApexBrasil will open its new international office. The new unit expands the agency's institutional presence on the continent and reinforces a strategy of closer engagement with priority markets, connecting commercial intelligence, institutional relations and direct support for Brazilian companies.

Southern Africa, also known as Southern Africa or Southern African region, comprises the southern portion of the African continent. According to the United Nations' official geopolitical division, the region consists of five countries: South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland.

The initiative will receive on-site coverage from journalist Leonardo Sobreira of Brasil 247, who will join the press delegation throughout the journey through Johannesburg, Lusaka, Maputo and Addis Ababa.  

The 2026 mission is part of a broader movement to resume and deepen Brazil's presence in Africa. In 2023, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva visited Angola, marking the resumption of an agenda aimed at strengthening ties with Africa. Since then, a series of initiatives have reached different parts of the continent, including business missions, bilateral forums, participation in trade fairs, business matchmaking meetings and trade promotion activities.

Engagement with Africa is not a one-off movement by ApexBrasil. It is part of a Brazilian foreign policy orientation that, since 2023, has made the restoration of ties with the continent one of the country's diplomatic and commercial priorities. In 2024, then-ApexBrasil President Jorge Viana summarized this approach with the phrase: "we came from Africa and we will return to Africa." The view treats the continent not as an emerging destination, but as part of a historic relationship that Brazil has decided to rebuild with greater intensity.

As Brazil returns to Africa, the country is continuing this process by bringing the diplomatic agenda closer to trade promotion and business generation, while reinforcing a South-South cooperation strategy developed continuously in recent years.

ApexBrasil has already operated in the markets included in the current program and is returning with greater knowledge of business environments, mapped opportunities and ongoing trade promotion projects. The mission therefore continues work that has been developed in recent years in coordination with Brazilian institutions and local partners.

With around 1.5 billion inhabitants, an expanding consumer market and significant opportunities in sectors such as agribusiness, food and beverages, infrastructure, energy, health, technology, machinery and equipment, Africa offers conditions for expanding the presence of Brazilian products and services.

Africa currently has around 1.5 billion inhabitants and is expected to reach 2.5 billion by 2050, making it one of the world's consumer markets with the greatest growth potential. Bilateral trade already totals $23.7 billion, while ApexBrasil's Opportunities Map has identified 5,309 export possibilities for Brazilian products on the continent. Nearly 3,000 are in machinery and equipment, chemicals and manufactured goods, indicating that Brazil's strategy goes beyond commodities and seeks to add value to its export portfolio.

To support this strategy, ApexBrasil maintains 20 sectoral projects with a priority focus on 16 African countries, covering sectors such as agribusiness, food and beverages, machinery and equipment, and health.

Although agribusiness remains the main component of Brazil's exports to the continent, there is room to increase the share of higher-value-added products. ApexBrasil studies point to significant opportunities for industrial goods, including generators and electric motors, auto parts, medicines, specialized machinery, paper and paperboard. These segments have recorded consistent growth in Brazilian exports and have the potential to expand Brazil's share of African imports.

Major Brazilian exports to Africa are sugars and molasses (25.6%), unmilled corn, excluding sweet corn (11.8%), iron ore and concentrates (8.0%), poultry meat and edible offal, fresh, chilled or frozen (7.4%), soybeans (7.3%), fuel oils from petroleum or bituminous minerals, excluding crude oils (7.0%), fresh, chilled or frozen beef (4.4%), live animals, excluding fish and crustaceans (2.9%), aircraft and other equipment, including parts (2.1%).

While Brazil mainly exports food, agro-industrial products and manufactured goods, it imports strategic inputs from the continent, including fertilizers and oil, which are important to Brazilian industry and agribusiness. This trade dynamic strengthens bilateral commerce and expands possibilities for economic cooperation and investment between the two sides of the Atlantic.

By bringing companies, governments and local partners closer together, the mission seeks to expand Brazil's presence in the continent and create new opportunities for exports, investment and long-term partnerships.

(Reported by Brasil 247 on August 26, 2026)