Ghana will leverage opportunities at US/Africa Business Summit — Yofi
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Investment Promotion Council (GIPC), Mr Yofi Grant, has said the upcoming US/Africa Business Summit scheduled for next month will provide a “great opportunity” for Ghanaian businesses looking forward to trade and business dealings with players in the United States of America (USA) private sector.
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According to him, this year’s summit which is being organised by Corporate Council on Africa (CCA), a trade association focused on strengthening commercial relationships between the US and the African continent, will have “a Ghana-specific agenda through the Doing Business in Ghana seminar”, a special event that will be held to create the right platform for direct interaction and idea sharing.
The annual event comes off from June 10 to 22, 2017 in Washington DC, the capital of the USA
Mr Grant, who has been instrumental in driving investment into the country to enable him to achieve the $5 billion Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows target into the country by the close of the year, said this in a phone interview on Wednesday, May 18.
He said Ghana was ready for the summit, noting that the Ghanaian delegation to the event would leverage every opportunity that availed itself during the period.
Mr Grant who used the opportunity to brief the Daily Graphic about the courtesy call on him by the President and CEO of the CCA, Ms Florizelle Liser, said the Washington body was looking forward to strengthening mutual business interest between the USA and Ghana.
“The CCA is looking forward to facilitate US private investments into Ghana, especially at the small, medium enterprise (SME) level”, she said.
Expectations
At the forum, there will be access to high-level African government representatives.
There will also be opportunities to meet key African heads of state, ministers and decision makers in one place, at one time.
The forum will provide an unparalleled networking with business professionals. This is crucial because networking is the number one reason the summit participants attend each year. In this case, the platform will be created to connect with more than 1000 business decision makers from C-suite to business development.
Attendees will also take part in dynamic sessions on Business in Africa and hear from leading US and African industry experts on best practices for business, trade and investment.
At the forum, it is expected that business people will leverage the platform to amplify their brand.
Rationale
There have been frantic efforts by the US to increase its stake in Africa, hence a call for greater economic engagement.
The move has become even more relevant in view of the fact that the African market is changing.
For instance, in the last five years, a combination of factors including fluctuating commodity prices, government policy and unprecedented political events have presented businesses and investors in Africa with significant new challenges, as well as new opportunities.
Meanwhile, simultaneously, US policy towards the continent is shifting under a new administration.
CCA brief
CCA is a non-profit, membership-based organisation established in 1993 to promote business and investment between the US and the nations of Africa.
It is the premier American organisation devoted to US-Africa business relations and includes as members more than 180 companies which represent nearly 85 per cent of total US private sector investments in Africa. CCA’s members range from America’s smallest to largest corporations. They represent a diverse pool of industries from more than 20 key sectors, including agribusiness, energy, infrastructure, security, power, health care, telecommunications and finance.
The CCA is a leading source of the most up-to-date information on business across Africa. CCA works closely with governments, multilateral groups and businesses to improve the continent’s trade and investment climate, and to raise Africa’s profile in the US business community.
Most importantly, CCA works with member companies to help them increase their investment in and trade with the nations of Africa. CCA accomplishes these goals through a number of sector- and country-specific working groups, initiatives, research areas, forums, conferences and advocacy programmes.