Washington, DC — The Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) will convene its 9th Biennial U.S.-Africa Business Summit at the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago, IL, Oct. 8-11, 2013. The Summit is the premier event for finding and building partnerships with as many as 1,500 government and business leaders from the U.S. and Africa, as well as from Europe, Canada and Asia. Since 1997, CCA’s U.S.-Africa Business Summit has been regarded as an essential conference for anyone looking to do business in Africa.
“As perhaps the last emerging market on the planet, the continent is full of countries with the chance to develop the future, as no country has, through renewable energy, new ways of developing crops and through new infrastructure,” says CCA President Stephen Hayes. “For the United States, the 2013 U.S.-Africa Business Summit is the place to begin to synthesize those ideas into our own thinking and our own future, as new relationships are built in Chicago, and new ideas for the future emerge.”
A packed three-day event, the Summit will include over 32 workshops and plenaries, a trade expo and numerous special round table sessions, highlighting Africa’s most promising sectors, including agribusiness, infrastructure, energy, health, ICT, finance, capacity building and security. The conference will also focus on building new partnerships through exclusive networking events, including a Welcome Reception at the Art Institute of Chicago on Tues., Oct. 8, and a Sunset Cruise on Lake Michigan, Thurs., Oct. 10.
Other unique offerings include country-sponsored Doing Business Forums, which delve into the trade and investment opportunities offered by specific countries. As many as ten countries will be featured, including Ghana, Ethiopia, Mozambique and The Democratic Republic of Congo.
The campaign to host the event in Chicago was championed by Illinois Senator Dick Durbin. The location enables CCA to connect with hundreds of Midwestern companies that are ready for new markets, and are especially strong in the fields that favor American investment. “This region is where the strength of American investment and global agribusiness rests,” says Hayes.
Attendees will meet potential business partners and learn more about the Obama Administration’s new Africa-focused initiatives, as well as details on the continent’s important position in the global economy. Participants will have the opportunity to network with key African and U.S. private sector and government representatives, identify specific growth areas and hear detailed information about projects that are ripe for investment.
The Summit is sponsored by Chevron Corporation; Exxon Mobil Corporation; Dangote Industries Limited; Symbion Power; AllAfrica Global Media; The Boeing Company; General Electric Company; Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold, Inc.; Groupe Jeune Afrique; Heirs Holdings, Ltd.; South African Airways; Acrow Bridge; Black and Veatch; Development Finance International, Inc.; Novus International, Inc.; Philips; U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention; Wal-Mart; Business Books International; Covington & Burling LLP; Dentons; DLA Piper; EMEA Finance; SAP Africa; Africa Agribusiness Magazine; Afropop; Bloomberg Businessweek and FT’s This is Africa.
For more information about the U.S.-Africa Business Summit and to register, visit www.africacncl.org
About The Corporate Council on Africa
The Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) is a nonprofit, membership-based organization established in 1993 to promote business and investment between the United States and the nations of Africa. CCA is the premier American organization devoted to U.S.-Africa business relations and includes as members more than 180 companies, which represent nearly 85 percent of total U.S. 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, healthcare, telecommunications and finance. Learn more at www.africacncl.org.
