U.S.-Africa business summit to host African leaders, CEOs in Ethiopia

Some heads of governments and top business leaders worldwide are expected to participate in the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA)’s U.S.-Africa Business Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from February 1 to 4.

Confirmed speakers include Chief Executive Officer of Zenith Bank, Peter Amangbo; Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, Oscar N. Onyema; Chief Executive Officer of Seplat Petroleum, Austin Avuru; and Co-Founder, AACE Foods, Ndidi Nwuneli.

CCA, the premier American organization devoted to U.S.-Africa business relations, is holding its 10th biennial U.S.-Africa Business Summit for the first time in Africa, since 2007, at the United Nations Conference Centre in Addis Ababa.

The summit will bring together more than 1,000 private sector and government representatives, including heads of states, 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.

President Muhammadu Buhari, along with several members of the Federal Executive Cabinet, has been invited to attend the summit. Other African heads of state expected at the event include the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Hailemariam Desalegn and Liberian President, Mrs Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

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 President Buhari on his inaugural visit to the United States to discuss Nigeria’s economic growth and strategy.

Besides, 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 Nigerian Economic Summit Group summit in October 2015, featuring leading American businesses, including Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Gilead Sciences.