Abuja — Top Nigerian business leaders will participate in The Corporate Council on Africa (CCA)'s U.S.-Africa Business Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on February 1-4, 2016. Confirmed speakers include, Peter Amangbo, CEO of Zenith Bank, Oscar N. Onyema, Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, Austin Avuru, CEO of Seplat Petroleum and Ndidi Nwuneli, Co-Founder, AACE Foods. CCA, the premier American organization devoted to U.S.-Africa business relations, will hold its 10th Biennial U.S.-Africa Business Summit for the first time in Africa, since 2007 at the United Nations Conference Centre in Addis.
The Summit will bring together more than 1,000 private sector and government representatives, including heads of state, from all parts of Africa, the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. This year's Summit will feature insightful plenary sessions, sector-focused panels, country-specific forums, peer-to-peer roundtables, site visits, exhibitions and networking opportunities.
The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency Muhammadu Buhari, along with several members of the Federal Executive Cabinet, has been invited to attend the summit. The Summit, which will be attended by other African heads of state including the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, H.E. Hailemariam Desalegn and Liberian President, H.E. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, and senior government representatives from across Africa, will immediately follow the African Union's Annual Heads of State Summit in Addis Ababa.
According to CCA's President and CEO, Stephen Hayes, not only is this the first time the African Union and the Ethiopian government will co-host such an event with an American business association, it is also the first time CCA is hosting its Summit in Africa since 2007. "We are the only U.S. business organization that enjoys the confidence of the African Union as exemplified by our MOU. So it seems most appropriate that our 10th U.S.-Africa Business Summit, the largest of its kind, will be taking place in Ethiopia." said Hayes.
Nigeria is a priority country for CCA members and the organization has worked to promote U.S.-Nigeria trade and investment for over a decade. In July 2015, the council hosted H.E. Muhammadu Buhari on his inaugural visit to the United States to discuss Nigeria's economic growth and strategy. Additionally, CCA's Vice President, Ambassador Robert Perry, led a 14 person delegation from the United States for a trade mission to Nigeria aligned with the NESG Summit in October 2015 featuring leading American business including Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Gilead Sciences.
The 2016 Summit is proudly sponsored by leading American and African businesses and organizations including: Chevron, Exxon-Mobil, Symbion Power, Acrow Bridge, AGCO Corporation, AstraZeneca, Gilead Sciences, Petrolin Group, USAID, Zenith Bank, Boeing Company, Development Finance International, John Deere, Microsoft, Mota-Engil Africa, Varian Medical Systems, Ford Motor Company and International Green Structures to mention a few.
The Corporate Council on Africa's 10th Biennial U.S.-Africa Business Summit will be hosted in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on February 1-4, 2016 at the United Nations Conference Centre. To attend the Summit and for more information, please visit www.summit.africacncl.org or e-mail summit@africacncl.org.