Afraid of being stuck in a slow-growth economy and faced with waning demand for trade from Europe, Sweden is targeting Africa to revive trade.

Swedish exports dropped 3.6 percent last year. Sweden needs to sell to more markets outside Europe to achieve economic growth of 3 percent, Swedish Finance Minister Anders Borg said in the Nigerian capital of Abuja, according to an article in Business Day Live. Borg toured Africa last week, travelling from Ethiopia to Cape Town for the World Economic Forum.

“We’re in a tough neighbourhood because the rest of Europe is growing slowly, so we are heavily diversifying our trade towards Asia, but also I think to Africa and Latin America,” Mr Borg said. “We don’t want to be stuck in a low-growth Europe.”

Sub-Saharan Africa’s economy will expand 5.6 percent this year and 6.1 percent in 2014, the International Monetary Fund said last month. The region is outgrowing an estimated global expansion of 3.3 percent this year and 4 percent next year, according to the IMF.

“A main driver of growth in 2014 will be the strengthening of activity in South Africa and other middle-income countries, predicated on improvements in the external environment,” according to the IMF report. “Similarly, some low-income and fragile countries are expected to do better, including those currently experiencing internal conflict.”

Read more at Business Day Live.