Bosch expands Africa operations with new offices in Angola and Mozambique

German auto components and consumer durables major Robert Bosch has opened two new branch offices in Africa – one in Luanda, the capital of Angola, and the other in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, as its steadily expands its presence in Africa.

This brings the total number of African countries in which Bosch has a regional subsidiary or branch office to seven. These will soon be joined by Algeria and Ghana, where the company is opening two new locations by the end of this year, the company stated in a release.

These activities underline Africa's growing significance as an important growth market for Bosch, ''The growing middle class, ever more well-educated young people, the continent's wealth of raw materials – all these point toward positive economic development for many African countries,'' said Bosch management board member Uwe Raschke.

This makes the region attractive for Bosch, he explained. ''We can contribute to improving quality of life for local people with our products and services. In this respect, we are concentrating on the needs and demands of the individual markets and of our local customers,'' Raschke said.

The new branch offices in Angola and Mozambique will initially focus on the sale of automotive spare parts, workshop concepts, power tools, security systems, and thermotechnology.

In the future, though, machinery for the safe and resource-conserving packaging of pharmaceutical products and foodstuffs such as rice and flour will also be offered, the company stated.

''The expansion of local know-how is also an important concern for Bosch. For instance, the company offers training for local automotive workshops. These are often jointly conducted with local partners, such as automobile associations or other institutions,'' the company said.

Bosch has been present in Africa since 1906, with focus on South Africa where it primarily manufactures automotive components and assemble packaging machinery in Brits and Midrand. Bosch has regional subsidiaries and branch offices in Egypt, Morocco, Kenya, and Nigera.

In addition, the company's subsidiary Bosch Rexroth has held a 50 per cent stake in its sales partner Hytec Holding since the beginning of October 2014, making it one of the leading manufacturers of hydraulics and drive and control technology in Africa.

The company's more than 600 associates in Africa generated total sales of some 340 million euros in 2013.