13th U.S.-Africa Business Summit: Corporate Council Welcome Global Business Leaders

Preparations for the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA)13th U.S.-Africa Business Summit being held virtually on July 27 – 29, 2021 are well under way. The Summit is CCA’s flagship conference that is considered essential for those doing business on the continent as well as the U.S. and African leaders shaping U.S.-Africa economic engagement. The theme of this year’s Summit is “New Pathways to a Stronger U.S.-Africa Economic Partnership” and will focus on the unique opportunity for the new U.S. Administration and its African partners to reset and redefine their relationship, working together to shape the path for economic recovery needed as a result of the COVID pandemic. The Summit will host African Heads of State and key ministers, USG Cabinet and senior officials, and more than 1,000 private sector executives and stakeholders from across the United States and the African continent.

The Summit opening plenary will be a high-level dialogue between H.E. Filipe Nyusi, President of the Republic of Mozambique, and SADC Chairman, H.E. Pravind Jugnauth, Prime Minister of the Republic of Mauritius, the Hon. Gina Raimondo, Secretary, U.S. Department of Commerce, and Al F. Kelly, Jr. Chairman and CEO, Visa.  Over the Summit’s three days, participants will hear from other African leaders, including H.E. Felix Tshisekedi, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and AU Chairman, H.E. Mokgweetsi Masisi, President of the Republic of Botswana, H.E. Uhuru Kenyatta, President of the Republic of Kenya, H.E. Paul Kagame, President of the Republic of Rwanda, and H.E. Prof. Oluyemi Osinbajo, Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. African Ministers of trade, energy, agriculture, investment, ICT, and infrastructure from across the continent will participate in the Summit, and will engage the audience on sector and country specific issues.

In addition to Commerce Secretary Raimondo, U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Katherine Tai, Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate Hon. John Kerry, U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Samantha Power, and U.S. International Development Finance Corporation Chief Operating Officer David Marchick are among the U.S. Cabinet officials, agency heads, and other senior executives from the Biden-Harris Administration who will participate in the Summit.  And White House Senior Director for Africa Dana Banks will be making an exciting announcement on the next chapter of the U.S. Prosper Africa initiative.

The Summit is known as the premier business event bringing together captains of industry from the United States and Africa. We are delighted to announce that among the more than 500 CEOs and senior private sector executives at this year’s Summit, we will hear from Visa Chairman and CEO Al F. Kelly, Jr.; Bruce Cleaver, CEO, DeBeers Group; William Killeen, CEO, Acrow Bridge; Tewolde GebreMariam, CEO, Ethiopian Airlines; Karan Bhatia, Vice President, Government Affairs & Public Policy, Google; Angela Hwang, President, Biopharmaceutical Group, Pfizer; Admassu Tadesse, President, and CEO, Trade and Development Bank; Bassem Bibi, Divisional Vice President, Middle East, Africa, and Global Accounts IDEM/ARDX, Abbott; Vilo Trska, Senior Vice President for Sub-Sahara Africa, Procter & Gamble; Olugbenga Agboola, Founder & CEO, Flutterwave; and Akin Dawodu, Head, Sub-Saharan Africa Cluster, Citi.

This year’s Summit is specifically designed to facilitate and elevate business-to-business and business-to-government engagement, and provide a platform for U.S. and African business and government leaders to engage on key sectors including agribusiness, energy, health, infrastructure, ICT, finance, and more. The Summit’s nearly 1500 private sector and government decision makers registered to date will be able to network, meet potential business partners and explore new business opportunities.

CCA’s U.S.-Africa Business Summit is regarded as one of the essential conferences on doing business and investing in Africa. The virtual event will address today’s most important challenges to investors in Africa by facilitating high-level roundtables, sector-focused discussions, as well as breakout sessions, and three country-focused sessions on doing business in Botswana, Angola, and Liberia.

Much has happened since the last U.S.-Africa Business Summit held in Maputo, Mozambique in 2019.  As countries and companies look to recover from the health and economic impacts of the COVID pandemic, 2021 presents a special time and opportunity to relaunch and even redefine the commitment to developing and, more importantly, implementing business-friendly initiatives and policies that foster a stronger U.S.-Africa economic partnership.

The 2021 U.S.-Africa Business Summit is proudly sponsored by leading global businesses and organizations including Abbott, Acrow Bridge, All Africa Global Media, Caterpillar, Chevron, Citi, Computer Frontiers Inc., Covington & Burling, Creative Associates International, Development Finance International (DFI), Inc., ExxonMobil Corporation, Fayus Inc., Flour Mills of Nigeria PLC, Flutterwave Inc., General William, and Joyce Ward, Gilead Sciences, Google, Jean Boulle Group, Jeune Afrique, Pfizer Inc., Prosper Africa, P&G, Rabin Martin, Sun Africa, Trade and Development Bank, Visa, and Vulcan.