New York — The Corporate Council on Africa's (CCA) aggressive promotion of more than a dozen African countries as attractive investment destinations is bearing fruit.
"There are projects in African countries worth financing", says Stephen Hayes, president of CCA. "There are countless untapped investment opportunities in a country such as Botswana which has a democratic government that has been stable for nearly 40 years. Botswana has an A+ credit rating from both Standard & Poor's and Moody's rating services," says Hayes.
In recognition of this fact, Botswana's president, Festus G. Mogae, has been granted the honor by the New York Stock Exchange of ringing the closing bell tomorrow. Botswana is a shining example of the New Africa. According to the IMF, Africa offers the highest return on investment (ROI) in the world. At 144% ROI, Ghana's Stock Exchange has the highest return on investment in the world for a stock market.
The business climate in many African countries is improving. As the United Nations this week convenes the largest gathering of world leaders in history, nine African countries have qualified for Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) funding assistance amounting to millions of dollars by meeting eligibility criteria that fall under the areas of democracy and good governance, respect for human rights, investing in people, and encouraging economic freedom.
Still, says Hayes, "despite debt relief and aid, if African countries cannot get capital, there will be no real progress in development." Since 2004, CCA has worked at increasing capital flows to Africa by helping the private sector identify safe locations in Africa where money can be invested. CCA provides reliable information on Africa's financial and capital markets so that American businesses can consider long term investment opportunities now available on the continent.
At CCA's U.S.-Business Summit, in June this year in Baltimore, more than one thousand participants including American and African businesses, public officials and international development agencies came together to discuss ways they can jointly create an environment that is conducive to trade and investment in African markets.
"African countries are taking remarkable steps to support their efforts towards full integration into the international trading system," says Hayes. "The high level of attendance by African ministers and diplomats and the variety of African businesses present are a direct testimony to the growing number of African entrepreneurs who want better access to the U.S. market."
During the visits by presidents of several African countries this month, CCA will continue in its unique role of facilitating business partnerships between U.S. and African businesses, working on trade relations, increasing capital flows to Africa and further developing its already successful HIV/AIDS program aimed at businesses in Africa.
In addition, CCA plans five trade missions over the next two months for business people interested in seeing opportunities on the ground in Africa and meeting potential business partners.
