The historic US-Africa Summit successfully concluded. Verdict? Well, I have to start by saying that I was absolutely positively surprised to witness yet another high-profile international Africa leader and business event come to an end with…..what seems to be a very strong, optimistic, and shared vision for Africa and its people. And you know what: as much as this event was meant to boost US investor confidence in Africa…..in all honesty, I think it has equally achieved just the same among Africans worldwide who followed the gathering in one way or the other. It was a confidence boost for Africa, too -and on so many counts.
Besides the many challenges we have to tackle (The President of Tanzania tried his best to convince that the conflicts in Somalia, Dafur, and Congo are getting better and that Libya is really the only trouble maker on the continent right now – an assumption that was quickly dismissed by others) Africa overall seems to make steady progress. And it does so in a very visible attempt not to leave anyone behind. Democracy, tolerance, and increased social responsibility are on the agenda as much as trade. And I think for the majority of Africans and luckily an increasing numbers of political leaders that is the only meaningful context for wealth creation. Read my Part I Notes for African Entrepreneurs from the US-Africa Leaders Summit if you have not already done so.
Because it is important that we open our eyes and understand the powerful policy and development context of doing business in Africa, here are my very own business notes I took watching the live coverage of the summit – let me share them with you.
Key Issues for Africa business raised
President Clinton who chaired one of the panel discussions made wonderful points (well I think he is forgiven that he spoke more as a moderator than some of his panelists) – , and it was obvious that he had real insights into Africa, which he gained through his work with the Clinton Foundation. Clinton stressed on one of the major issues for successfully doing business on the continent and fostering economic growth. It is:
Value addition before export !
This has already been a major topic of discussion during the World Economic Forum on Africa and one that you should be fully aware of as an African entrepreneur. It basically means that you process a raw material or agricultural produce inside Africa to add value. Africans can make more money this way, which – in Clinton’s own words – would enable a coffee farmer who roasts the coffee beans in Africa (instead of exporting green beans) to use the extra income and grow his businesses or conserve the top soils of his crops.
Clinton also made the example of cassava production in Nigeria emphasizing that there was a poor local supply chain in place. There are initiatives to grind the cassava locally: “We are trying to replace wheat flower with cassava flour to make bread” said Clinton. Here you go, he just shared an innovative business idea that you can pursue almost anywhere in Africa.
Clinton and another panelists stressed that too many business people operating in Africa are simply not aware of this: There is so much opportunity and money in developing Africa’s supply chain (adding value to products that is)!
Another challenge that was mentioned was that a lot of American companies have no local partners that can support their investment ambitions in Africa on the ground. And here you go, another one…. gap means opportunity…. and potential profit for you if you can do something about it!
We need power & electricity to run businesses
Nigeria’s Aliko Dangote – who is said to be Africa’s richest man – added: We have to solve the problem of power, without that SMEs will not be able to grow. He then pledged some Dollar amount that he would make available to support this, but frankly the figure was so big, that I am not sure I caught all the zeros correctly. For you that can simply mean: Get started in solar power business – start selling energy saving light bulbs and tell Africans how much money they will save each year on the electricity bill- be sure to be in business! It can be all so achievable regardless of the budget you have in hand!
Let’s cut intra-African trade barriers
The US administration made it very clear as much as it focuses to strengthen US-African trade it will also actively support intra-African trade for a more efficient flow of trade and business. And Obama said there was money available to help African governments to achieve just that. Another panelist (I can’t remember his name) summed the problem up in more concrete terms: “There is a lack of regional mobility, I need 39 visas to get around in Africa.” Apparently being Ethiopian will require the most visas on the continent. That just stuck in my head and frankly I am not sure anymore if I heard that during the summit or read it somewhere else.
Africans undermining Africa’s capacities
A lady from the continent presented some figures: Africa looses 60 billion Dollar each year to illicit flows of cash, this is higher than the amount of development aid Africa receives. Now interestingly, according to her: 60% of that illicit flow is sources back to corperations (no details were given) and the rest is based on organized crime and corruption.
Oh, and I like how she put down the next point: “If we do not include women, Africa will only work on half of its capacity”
Including Africa’s women ‘was common sense’ declared also the President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame.
Social Capital – Invest in People!
A lady from South Africa on the panel (ok, I need to do better in scribbling down the names next time, but consider her an important figure anyway) stressed: “US businesses and African businesses should cooperate and push education and training of young people together. This is crucial for Africa’s successful growth. In fact, you have to invest in infrastructure systems and people before investing in your actual business, so it can truly grow and succeed. And that is a tip we hear repeatedly.
A young Zimbabwean entrepreneur who is just starting his third business at 21 (we should get parenting advice from his parents!) and who was given the rare chance to a one-to-one interview with President Obama as the youngest leader of the Mandela Washington Fellows absolutely SPOKE MY MIND when he said to the president:
“What we find are million Dollar investments and that creates a ceiling which the mass of young African entrepreneurs who foster innovation, new products and even jobs cannot break through.”
Bingo! This is exactly the point that is so dear to my heart! Africa’s and world leaders should channel a big chunk of their investment and energy into these young entrepreneurs, and many of Africa’s economic problems, be it job creation or lack of value addition and innovation – would disappear at a much faster rate. Thanks for bringing it to everyone’s attention at last!
Obama’s agree and his response to the young man was something along these lines: “We need to find ways with all our agencies and even US businesses to spread the engagement and capital …..Our Feed the Future Program is working with SME farmers…”
And THIS is yet to come!
South Africa’s President Zuma promoted the African Union (AU) and I think it is worth sharing some of his insights, which can be summarized as…..: “We work well together at the AU – we take common resolutions….At the AU we have an African Peer Review Mechanism, which is a self-monitoring mechanism – it is discussed at the AU when there is criticism about certain countries. This mechanism is unique to the world, but no-one reports about it.
Zuma also contributed to the discussion about the need of increased security in Africa (again, I am not citing word to word..I am typing as fast as I can while he speaks…): “A new Rapid Response system will be launched in October as an African solution to Africa problems, in this case security. Countries have volunteered for that. We are addressing our own problems and the world should know about this. Africa’s story is changing. A lot of good is coming out of Africa. And we shall tell our story rather than others telling it on our behalf.”
And here is what Obama had to say
We are not looking at extracting natural resources, we want to invest in Africa’s people and create jobs in both in Africa and US. Our trade in Africa only is 1 % of all our trade, so we need to work hard (the Chinese were apparently reporting back home about the summit that ‘the US was trying to catch up’)
Lastly, Obama announced new measures for Africa:
1) We will renew and enhance AGOA – SA, Nigeria, and Angola are actively involved but mostly in regards to the energy sector. We need more Africans, including SME and women to become part of AGOA and we will amend that.
2) We will put more of our teams and trade missions on the ground to promote US companies in Africa and will make an additional 7 US$ billion in new financing available to promote export to Africa (my note: the real issue for Africa however is the export of its own goods)
3) We want to partner with Africa to build infrastructure so economies can flourish . This is starting with electricity , and I have launched Power Africa. $26 billion was raised to power Africa since the announcement last year and we have almost met all of it before the end of the cycle. So we are now tripling our goal, so that 60 Million more Africans can have access to electricity.
4) We will help Africans trading with each other. Through the Trade Africa Initiative we will support our partners to make African goods move faster within Africa
5) We do more to empower next generation of entrepreneurs as we do in the Mandela Washington Fellowship.
6) We will focus on good governance and regulatory systems, so people can do business without bribes. Agriculture is key and so is health. And we will promote peace.
And the Obama told the world a US-Africa success story citing the example of Kenya-born Kusum Kavia; whose family was originally from India, Obama said she is an example of what’s possible – a long-term partnership with Africa.
“Kusum Kavia was born in Kenya; her family was originally from India. Eventually, she emigrated to the US and along with her husband started a small business in California. It started off as a small engineering firm. Then it started manufacturing small power generators. With the help of the Export-Import Bank….they started exporting power generators to West Africa. In Benin, they helped build a new electric power plant,” he said.
“It has ended up being a win-win for everybody. It’s been a win for their company, Combustion Associates, because exports to Africa have boosted their sales, which means they’ve been able to hire more workers here in the US…. It’s been a win for Benin and its people, because more electricity for families and businesses, jobs for Africans at the power plant because the company hires locally and trains those workers… So this is an example of just one small business. Imagine if we can replicate that success across our countries,” Obama said.
“We will continue to empower the next generation of Africa and business leaders, through programs like the Mandela Washington Fellowship, which brought 500 young African leaders to Washington last week. A long-term partnership with Africa — that’s what America offers,” the President said.
“That’s what we’re building. That’s the difference we can make when Africans and Americans work together.”
Obama announced that 33 billion US Dollars would be allocated to support Africa’s development. I am sure much of it will trickle down somehow, but more importantly for us as Africa entrepreneurs and business owners is that we now focus on our own work and contribution. The responsibility we hold and the positive impact we can all make is unique and enormous. The real engine of Africa will be its people – let’s start building better lives for ourselves and our communities. An optimistic vision and the vibrations of hope are our most powerful allies after all!
And what better way than leaving you with a short clip of the Mandela Washington Fellows who too attended the summit. Seeing these wonderful, humble, bright, bold, dedicated, and hard-working young Africans is worth diamonds. Frankly, watching them, brought pride and tears of joy into my eyes…..
And still. Let’s be defined what dosage in this case approaches most of all. There can be it cialis 20mg or something another. To me I think it isn’t necessary to choose for you necessary. Think. Perhaps suits you cialis 20 mg It is much better.
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