South Africa is firmly established as a business aviation centre with international FBO brands such as ExecuJet having a strong presence, yet in 2012 more executive aircraft were purchased in Nigeria than the southern region.

While growth in Sub-Saharan business aviation activity is wel-comed, there remains an absence of infrastructure to support expansion. Few FBOs exist to handle private jets – passengers often have to pass through customs and security used by scheduled carriers, and handling can be less than refined. Yet there is huge potential and a number of African companies are beginning to exploit this. In December, Angola's Bestfly opened its own FBO at Luanda International airport, while in 2011, at Lagos' Murtala Mohammed airport, Evergreen Apple Nigeria (EAN) established the first fully integrated FBO and MRO facility in Nigeria with plans to roll out more across the continent.

Such success stories demonstrate demand for these services, and that it can be done, but not without the right investment, local government support and a lot of determination. Nuno Pereira, Bestfly md, says one of the greatest challenges is institutional: "It took us almost two years to make official entities aware of and understand the advantages of a facility like our FBO for the local economy." He adds that Bestfly has to thank Angola's minister of transport for understanding the value the FBO brings.

The African Business Aviation Association (AfBAA) was launched in May 2011. AfBAA's first White Paper published in January 2013 states that there is a need to increase the number of FBOs and facilities for private jets and that the first hurdle is to convince airport authorities about the benefits of identifying business aviation and its support services as a market sector they should embrace. It argues that FBOs will create jobs and support inward investment. Yet this in itself brings its own challenges, as Pereira says: "Manpower is a big challenge; following 40 years of war where education was not always a priority, there is a lack of qualified people."

Pereira also stresses that African FBO companies cannot survive alone in a globalised world, which is why Bestfly became a founding member of AfBAA. Working with other business aviation experts can only be advantageous and Bestfly has worked closely with ExecuJet's South African md Ettore Poggi and his team to develop its offering.

Likewise EAN, also an AfBAA member, partnered with Banyan Air Service in Florida, USA, in a skill sharing agreement. Segun Demuren, ceo, says: "We are a fledgling business and the first in the market to respond to the needs of a growing business aviation fraternity. We are delighted to start sharing knowledge and resources with Banyan."

Through close collaboration, Demuren anticipates that EAN will improve its systems and processes which will refine its service offering. EAN's team of over 40 is as varied as the services it provides, with a good mix of various Nigerian ethnicities complemented by employees from Europe and North America.

African pan-continental FBO structural development faces many challenges but with visionaries such as Demuren and Pereira, active lobbying associations such as AfBAA and the dynamism of the African continent supporting activity, this time next year a number of African FBOs could be contenders for places in the annual EBAN survey.