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Corporate
Council Africa
Travel Contacts |
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Corporate
Council on Africa CCA programs
are designed to bring together potential business
partners and raise Africa's investment profile in
the US by developing critical contacts and business
relationships and providing a forum for the
exchange of information and ideas. The membership
of the Corporate Council on Africa includes more
than 170 US companies doing business in Africa.
CCA's members range in size from large
multinational corporations to small and
medium-sized businesses. CCA members vary in size,
sector and experience, but are joined by a
commitment to strengthen business ties between the
US and Africa. NEPAD
Business Group Steering Committee Names Corporate
Council on Africa as U.S.
Representative WASHINGTON, D.C. -The
Washington-based Corporate Council on Africa (CCA)
has been named the U.S. Representative for the
Steering Committee of the NEPAD (New Partnership
for African Development) Business Group. The
coalition of international business groups will act
as an intermediary between NEPAD and private
business companies who support its aims. This
steering committee will include the Paris-based
International Chamber of Commerce, the Commonwealth
Business Council headquartered in London, Conseil
Francais des Investisseurs en
Afrique
(CIAN), the French
counterpart to CCA, and the African Business
Roundtable, based in South Africa. More than one
hundred national and international business
organizations are expected to join the NEPAD
business group. The NEPAD is a development
plan by the African nations that aims to attract
some $64bn in investment for African countries from
the US, Canada, and European and Asian nations. The
plan is the cornerstone of the new African Union,
formed July 9 in Johannesburg. The African Union,
whose members include all nations of Africa,
replaces the Organization of African
Unity. CCA President Stephen Hayes
praised the ideas of NEPAD, commenting, "NEPAD
represents the best hope that Africa will evolve
into more democratic models involving freer
economies." In addition to its role on the steering
committee, CCA will work with the U.S. government
to support the objectives of the G8 Africa Action
Plan, while actively guiding the American business
sector in its work with the African Union. In
support of the NEPAD, the G8 nations have committed
to increase Overseas Development Assistance to
Africa by $12 billion per year by 2006. "We believe
we can and will play an important role in promoting
U.S. economic interests in Africa in concert with
the African goal of greater economic freedom," said
Hayes. The concept of the NEPAD is
largely credited to four African presidents, Thabo
Mbeki of South Africa, Olusegun Obasanjo of
Nigeria, Abdelaziz Bouteflika of Algeria, and
Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal, as a plan for Africa by
Africans. One of the most significant elements of
the NEPAD is its peer review component. As a
fundamental principle, the NEPAD gives Africans the
opportunity to work collectively to address the
continent's issues and to determine the appropriate
penalties should such sanctions be
necessary. The NEPAD focus areas
promote democracy, foster trade and investment,
facilitate financial growth, support education, and
combat HIV/AIDS. "All of these areas are in tandem
with CCA's vision of a better Africa," said Hayes.
"There will be significant obstacles to be
overcome, but this is a plan around which progress
is possible." CCA, established in 1992, is
a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) organization of nearly 170
American companies dedicated to strengthening the
commercial relationship between the United States
and Africa. CCA members represent nearly 85 percent
of total U.S. private sector investments in Africa.
The CCA website is at www.africacncl.org The Corporate
Council on Africa U.S.
Africa Business Summit in Washington,
DC The Summit
was the largest U.S.-Africa business conference
ever held in the United States. The goals of the
Summit are to promote foreign direct investment in
Africa and facilitate trade between the U.S. and
the African continent by identifying agents and
distributors and building joint venture
partnerships. Key private and public sector
representatives with the common goal of increasing
business ties between the U.S. and Africa will
attend. Approximately 2,000 participants
attended. This year
(2003)special emphasis was placed on linking small
and medium sized enterprises. The scope of
companies in attendance ranged from Fortune 500s to
individually owned businesses. Over fifty workshops
covered a broad range of topics related to business
opportunities between the U.S. and Africa. Workshop
tracts include Agribusiness, AGOA, Finance, Health
Care, Oil & Gas, Transportation &
Infrastructure and Travel, Arts & Entertainment
as well as regional and country specific panels. To
ensure that private sector partnerships are forged,
an array of networking opportunities were available
and facilitated as a crucial element of the
Summit. The Summit
included a U.S.-Africa Trade Show featuring up to
120 booths. The diverse displays ranged from large
U.S. corporations to local African handicrafts and
everything in between. The exhibition introduced
participants to opportunities for inter and
intra-continental partnerships as well provide
individuals with a meeting space to begin
talks. For
information on next year's Summit, please visit
CCA's website at
http://www.africacncl.org CCA,
established in 1993, is a nonpartisan 501 (c) (3)
membership organization of over 160 U.S. companies
dedicated to strengthening the commercial
relationship between the U.S. and Africa. CCA
members represent nearly 85 percent of total U.S.
private sector investments in Africa. CCA's website
is at http://www.africacncl.org/. |
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The
Corporate Council on Africa (CCA), established in
1992, is at the forefront of strengthening and
facilitating the commercial relationship between
the United States and the African continent. CCA
works closely with governments, multilateral groups
and business to improve the African continent's
trade and investment climate, and to raise the
profile of Africa in the US business
community. CCA
members believe that Africa's future success
depends upon the ability of its entrepreneurs and
business people to create and retain wealth through
private enterprise. American corporations and
private individuals can contribute most effectively
by building partnership and reaching out to the
African private sector in the areas that America
knows best: private enterprise, investment capital,
technology transfer and management.
WASHINGTON,
D.C: The fourth biennial U.S.-Africa Business
Summit, hosted by the Corporate Council on Africa
(CCA), was held June 24-27 in Washington, D.C. The
Summit's theme was "Building Partnerships" between
U.S. and African companies.
