South Africa: CCA's South African Business Linkage Program Extended And Expanded Through 2004

6 September 2002
Corporate Council on Africa (Washington, DC)
press release

Washington, DC — The Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) is proud to announce the expansion and extension of its South African International Business Linkages (SAIBL) Program. SAIBL, designed to strengthen trade and investment partnerships between U.S. companies and historically disadvantaged South African businesses, will launch its two new components, the Promoting Agribusiness Linkages (PAL) program and a Regional Trade Pilot Project, for 2002-2004.

The SAIBL program, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is implemented in partnership by CCA and Ebony Consulting International based out of Johannesburg, South Africa. The program has generated more than US$185 million in business transactions for South African and U.S. companies in less than five years and helped create more than 5,000 jobs. As of June 2002, 4,896 firms had accessed SAIBL s services.

The SAIBL program has been a major vehicle for expanding U.S. commercial relationships with smaller sized South African companies over the last several years, said CCA President Stephen Hayes. Its expansion is a testament to its success.

The agribusiness sector is a crucial element of South African economic and private sector development. The new PAL Project will facilitate networks and linkages between historically disadvantaged smallholder farmers and larger, more mainstream, agribusiness markets.

While up to this point SAIBL has covered only South Africa, its Regional Pilot initiative will enable the South African firms and the U.S. private sector entities to capitalize on the ever-expanding business and integration taking place between South Africa its neighboring countries. Botswana, Tanzania and Zambia will be the target countries. SAIBL s focus on AGOA is also highlighted by the recent addition of an AGOA program coordinator to the Johannesburg office.

CCA, established in 1992, is a nonpartisan 501 (c) (3) membership organization of nearly 150 American corporations 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. CCA's website is at www.africacncl.org <http://www.africacncl.org>.

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