WHAT could a tiny patch of desert in the Middle East have to offer Africa, an area many times bigger, with every type of resource one could imagine? The question arose at the annual investment forum of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) hosted by Dubai in April where the tiny emirate pledged to assist the regional bloc with its growth and development.For one, Dubai is a highly organised, nimble economy with an eye on the chance — something African countries have failed to achieve thus far.

Despite producing little of its own, Dubai’s balance of trade with the 19- country Comesa bloc is in favour of the city state. The volume of non-oil trade between Dubai and Comesa in 2009 was about R18bn, while exports and re-exports to Comesa countries were valued at R32bn.

Dubai has a (mostly foreign) population of less than 2-million people; Comesa is a region of 430-million people that stretches from Egypt and Libya in the north down the east coast of Africa right down to Swaziland. And Dubai is not just trading with African countries, it is also a growing investor along with the rest of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which it dominates in terms of gross domestic product (GDP) and population numbers.

UAE investment in African countries, including Comesa states, totalled $5,5bn last year, up from $4,7bn in 2009. Since 2003, 67 UAE companies have invested in 115 projects in Africa. The biggest investor by far has been Dubai World Africa with about 30 projects in Africa, including port investments in Senegal, Algeria, Mozambique and Djibouti, made before the western financial crisis almost topped the state giant. Last year, there were 16 investments from the UAE, mostly in Egypt, Libya and Sudan, in real estate, oil and gas, the financial sector and consumer goods.

Dubai’s GDP makes up the bulk of the UAE’s of nearly $239bn. The closest Comesa country in GDP terms is Egypt at about $163bn. Dubai’s GDP per capita is R40000 — much higher than any African country.

Dubai, like Singapore, continually reinvents itself to ensure it remains a global hub and tourism attraction. Instead of being beaten down by the drubbing it took from the financial crisis, it is planning greater diversification of the economy and is reviewing all laws that affect the private sector to ensure it remains a cutting edge business environment.

It has made a great success of free zones, its international financial centre and IT cities and it rates highly in global surveys of the best cities in which to live and work.

Of course, it has some benefits that African countries do not. One is a lack of nationalism due to its large foreign population. It is also not encumbered by the demands of democracy, being effectively run by the ruling families and political structures established by them (which is, of course, not far from the model in some African countries) and it is unfettered by labour laws.

But it has also focused on a few areas of excellence to build itself. One of these is a world-class logistics backbone, which has enabled the hub development to succeed. It is trade, not oil, that has put Dubai on the map.

The UAE is increasingly focusing on Africa and Dubai’s hosting of the Comesa event provided a perfect launchpad to leverage more opportunities in Africa.

Dubai has positioned itself as an international gateway to Africa, challenging SA’s ambitions to capture this role for itself.

But with all the hype these days about it being the land of opportunity, Africa remains a difficult place in which to do business, hampered by inefficiency, lack of political will to build world-class economies and a surfeit of politics. The continent is awash with plans and dreams but progress is slow. Regional blocs such as Comesa are not quickly seeing the benefits of creating economies of scale.

 Despite the size of Dubai and its unique economic structure, there are lessons for African countries from the model created by this desert city. Chief among them is to identify core areas of advantage and excellence and leverage them to the hilt. Another is to move beyond endless discussion of grand ideas, plans and potential and make African economies productive and globally competitive