The Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) has received a three-year, $2.2 million grant from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to establish The U.S.-Africa Business Center (USABC). The USABC’s operations will increase two-way trade between the United States and sub-Saharan Africa, with a focus on small and medium-sized enterprises and on U.S. investment in Africa’s burgeoning agribusiness sector.
“Over time, the USABC could well become the heart of CCA”, said Stephen Hayes, president and CEO of CCA. “The center provides CCA for the first time with a vehicle for leveraging our partnerships with public and private sector entities across the U.S. and the African continent to make business happen.”
The USABC will serve as a one-stop shop for information and technical assistance to American and African companies interested in regional and international trade and investment. The USABC will also have a particular expertise in strategic agricultural value chain analysis to identify opportunities for U.S. investment and mechanization and will promote business between U.S. and African firms. An early focus of the center will be to develop a searchable database of American and African businesses seeking to do business with each other with a special focus on Africa’s largest and most dynamic economies. The project’s ambitious agenda also includes organizing seminars in the U.S. to examine opportunities in Africa’s most promising business sectors, including agriculture.
According to Hayes, CCA plans to work closely with chambers of commerce, U.S. government agencies and state economic development offices across the U.S. as well as with CCA member companies. A USABC advisory committee consisting of representatives of many of these groups will hold its first meeting today at CCA.
The USABC is directed by CCA Vice President for Business Development, Tim McCoy, who brings to the project more than 15 years experience in managing commercial and political development projects focused on Africa. The center is based in CCA’s offices in Washington, D.C., and will have an initial operating period of October 2010 through September 2013.
About The Corporate Council on Africa
Established in 1993, The Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) is a nonpartisan 501 (c) (3) membership organization of more than 150 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 Corporate Council on Africa, visit: www.africacncl.org.
This press release is made possible by the support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the sole responsibility of CCA and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.
About USAID
USAID is the lead government agency providing development and humanitarian assistance to people around the world. The agency's Global Development Alliance (GDA) links U.S. foreign assistance with the resources, expertise and creativity of the private sector as well as nongovernmental organizations. Since its launch in 2001, GDA has changed the way U.S. international development projects are financed and implemented. By cultivating more than 900 public-private alliances with over 1,700 individual partners, it has allowed USAID to leverage an additional $9.6 billion in resources for development. For more information about USAID and its programs around the world visit www.usaid.gov
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