15 Jun 2023

Eleven heads of state from across the continent have confirmed their participation at the US-Africa Business Summit scheduled for July 11-14 at the Royal Aria Conference Centre in Tlokweng.

 The summit is held in the quest to bolster US-Africa business ties and economic development.

It is expected to bring together more than 1 000 US and African public and private sector participants, including African Ministers and senior government officials, entrepreneurs, international investors, and multilateral stakeholders for participation in select plenaries and engagements.

In an interview with BOPA Wednesday, Botswana Investment and Trade Centre (BITC) executive director - brand management, Ms Kutlo Moagi said the summit would spotlight the next phase of growth in the US/Africa economic partnership.

She said the focus would be on key strategies including health security, US/Africa trade, agribusiness, the future of energy and digital transformation.

This year’s summit themed: Enhancing Africa’s Value in Global Value Chains, will explore a renewed commitment by public and private sector stakeholders to building stronger US/Africa trade, investment, and commercial ties as the region emerges from unprecedented health and economic challenges,” she explained.

Further, she said the delegates would engage in discussions through plenaries such as Sector Focused High-Level Dialogues, Doing Business in Africa Business Forums, Thought Leadership Sessions, as well as Business to Business (B2B) and Business to Government (B2G) fora.

Ms Moagi said the local business community had been mobilised to participate in the summit through business associations among them Business Botswana, Women in Business Botswana, Botswana Exporters Manufacturers Association and HATAB.

She reiterated that efforts were ongoing through targeted stakeholder engagements, including media campaigns to reach more local business participation.

Ms Moagi emphasised that registration for the summit was ongoing and encouraged the business community to log into the portal and register at Registration: U.S-Africa Business Summit 2023 (usafricabizsummit.com).

Ms Moagi urged the local business community to harness opportunities presented by the summit, saying that the value and experience derived would certainly enthuse businesses to revamp internal processes for increased trade and investment.

Moreover, she said through the exchange of knowledge and expertise, attendees would learn about latest trends and developments in various sectors and gain insights into the business environment in different African countries.

The US/Africa Business Summit is organised by Corporate Council on Africa (CCA), which is the leading US business association focused solely on connecting business interests in Africa.

CCA aims to promote business and investment between the US and African nations and serves as a neutral, trusted intermediary connecting its member firms with the essential government and business leaders they need to do business and succeed in Africa. ends