African countries sign up for Madrid Protocol
19-12-2014
Adams & Adams expands African offering
01-02-2012
Anton Balazh / Shutterstock.com
The EU’s Africa IP SME helpdesk aims to support economic growth in Africa while presenting new economic frontiers for EU businesses, finds Muireann Bolger.
Ties between European Union (EU) countries and Africa have strengthened in recent years, and the unveiling of an Africa IP helpdesk for European businesses aims to cement them.
The launch of the initiative during October’s EU-African SME Summit 2021 in Rome comes when small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have emerged as the backbone of economies in the EU and Africa. And IP has become central to the future success of Africa-EU trade relations.
The move is a timely one. In 2020, the EU was Africa’s largest trade partner, accounting for 31% of Africa’s exports and 29% of its imports. Meanwhile, most African countries enjoy duty-free and quota-free access to the EU market, and manufactured goods represent 70% of EU exports to Africa.
The rest of this article is locked for subscribers only. Please login to continue reading.
If you don't have a login, you will need to purchase a subscription to gain access to this article, including all our online content. Please use this link and follow the steps.
For multi-user price options, or to check if your company has an existing subscription to us that we can add you to for FREE, please email Atif Choudhury at achoudhury@worldipreview.com
IP, SME, Africa, EU, EUIPO, trademarks
