Washington, D.C. — 3rd Annual Conference to Focus on Latest Investment Opportunities in ICT, Transportation, Energy, and Security in Africa
With a subscriber growth rate of 46.2 percent from 2001-2005, Africa's mobile communication numbers continue to rise, making the continent a leading emerging market destination for information communication technology investment. The continent continues to experience significant growth in air travel revenue (12.1 percent in 2005), and African airports had an average annual traffic growth of 5.4 percent between 1995 and 2005. A more stunning reality is that more than 80 percent of Africa's population is without electricity. The lack of electricity stunts the growth of a variety of commercial, social and public-service industries ready for development and investment.
The Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) today announced that in conjunction with its corporate and government partners, it will host the 2008 U.S. – Africa Infrastructure Conference: Connecting the Continent. The conference will be held October 6-8 in Washington, D.C. The conference is expected to attract more than 300 leaders from the private and public sectors in the U.S. and Africa, with a specific interest in infrastructure-related industry investments.
"This conference will provide U.S. companies with the blueprint on how to get the highest return on infrastructure investment in Africa," said CCA President and CEO Stephen Hayes.
Conference participants will obtain information on infrastructure development throughout Africa; network with key African and U.S. private sector and government representatives, investors, capitol market experts, infrastructure providers, and investment bankers; explore new business opportunities by identifying specific growth areas and projects; learn about the latest financing options and available instruments; and meet potential business partners. Topics for discussion include cross-cutting issues such as public-private partnerships; financial, legal, and political risk mitigation; project financing; secure banking and data transmission; ICT infrastructure development; ports and airports; maritime security; energy; electric grids; oil and gas; and much more.
To date, event sponsors include The Boeing Company, DynCorp International, Inc.; ExxonMobil; Marathon Oil Corporation; Motorola; Raytheon Company; and Science Applications International Corporation. The following U.S. corporate and government leaders have committed their support to the conference: General Electric; Lockheed Martin; U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation; Millennium Challenge Corporation; Export-Import Bank of the United States; U.S. Agency for International Development; and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency.
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Established in 1993, The Corporate Council on Africa is a nonpartisan 501 (c) (3) membership organization of nearly 200 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. The organization is dedicated to bringing together potential business partners and to showcase business opportunities on the continent.
For more information on the 2008 U.S.-Africa Agribusiness Forum click here or visit www.africacncl.org
