Corporate
Council Africa Trade
and Africa
Travel Contacts
U.S.
Africa Business Summit 2003.
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1
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2 WASHINGTON, DC - The West
Africa International Business Linkages Program
(WAIBL) brought U.S. and West African companies
together last week to discuss business potentials
in the shea butter industry. The conference served
to educate participants on the shea industry as
well as create an environment for U.S. buyers and
West African sellers of shea to meet. WAIBL is a
program of the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA).
The conference featured industry experts from
Technoserve, Association for Sustainable Natural
African Plant Products (ASNAPP), International
Business Initiatives (IBI), Aubrey Organics and the
American Shea Butter Institute. U.S. government
representatives addressed U.S. regulations relating
to shea importation. Allfirst Bank and First
International Bank led investment and trade finance
discussions. There were 70 participants at the
conference. U.S. companies included Organics and
Nature, Grand Bassam Trading Company, The Shea
Butter Company and The Epicurean Soap Company.
Eight West African shea butter producers from Mali,
Ghana, Burkina Faso, Benin and Senegal traveled to
the U.S. to meet with the American
buyers. The shea butter industry is
quickly gaining wider recognition as shea is
increasingly used in cosmetics, hair, and baby care
products. Currently gearing up to utilize shea are
the pet and automobile industries. The butter's
potential for wealth has even earned it the
nickname "Liquid Gold"; in 2001 more than 800
metric tons or $13 million worth of butter was
imported into the U.S., an increase of 11% from
2000. While a large portion of those U.S. imports
were from Europe, U.S. companies are now looking to
trade directly with the West African producers.
Currently, these direct imports are estimated to
grow to at least 500 metric tons or about $500,000
worth yearly. The WAIBL Conference aimed
at facilitating this direct trade between U.S.
importers and West African exporters. As a result
of the conference, new partnerships were discussed;
there were discussions between West Africans and
Americans as well as intra-regional collaborations
between shea butter producers in West Africa.
Participants hailed it as a great success. One
Ghanaian participant, Samuel Owusu, Managing
Director of ECOSAFE Ghana Limited, was impressed by
the diversity of people brought together by the
meeting. "When trying to establish trade, the key
is to bring people together under one cohesive
goal. After this conference, I am excited about the
future." As follow up to this first
endeavor, WAIBL will hold a second shea butter
conference in Bamako, Mali. This will give
companies on the continent the opportunity to learn
more about how to do business in the U.S. as well
as network with U.S. companies. Upon return to the
U.S., WAIBL will work with participating companies
to find partners in the shea industry, continuing
to promote U.S.-West Africa shea butter
trade. WAIBL, funded by the U.S.
Agency for International Development-West African
Regional Program (USAID-WARP), links U.S. and West
African companies in order to generate trade and
investment opportunities between the U.S. and the
region. Sector specific conferences are held to
facilitate linkages and create business deals. To
date, the program has generated more than $34
million in business transactions and has been
involved in 56 trade deals. CCA, established in 1992, is
a nonpartisan 501 (c) (3) membership organization
of over 150 American corporations dedicated to
strengthening the commercial relationship between
the United States and Africa. CCA members represent
nearly 85 percent of total U.S. private sector
investments in Africa. CCA's website is at
www.africacncl.org The Corporate Council on
Africa 1100 17th St.,
N.W. Suite 1100 Washington, D.C.
20036 Tel: (202)
835-1115 Fax: (202)
835-1117 Archives WASHINGTON, DC - The
Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) will host the "West Africa
Oil & Gas Forum" in Houston, Texas from November 19-20
at the Westin Oaks Hotel. The Forum will focus on oil &
gas production and opportunities for the U.S. petroleum
industry in West Africa. Assistant Secretary of State for
Africa, Walter Kansteiner, will open the conference. West
African petroleum ministers, senior level executives from
major U.S. petroleum companies and other U.S. government
personnel administering African policy will also attend the
conference. The audience will include government and
national petroleum company representatives from Angola,
Cameroon, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea,
Gabon, Ghana, Mauritania, Nigeria and Sao Tome &
Principe, as well as U.S. oil and gas executives from
throughout the nation. Interest in West African
oil and gas as a major source of energy for the United
States continues to grow as national planners look to
decrease dependence on Middle Eastern supplies. The region
is vital to businesses in the U.S. petroleum industry as
production, new discoveries, and exploration develop at a
fast pace. Currently, the region supplies almost 15 percent
of U.S. energy needs and imports are expected to rise to
nearly 25 percent by 2005. The "West Africa Oil &
Gas Forum" will provide U.S. companies accurate guidance on
the political and economic situations in the region as well
as direction on related U.S. government policy. Plenary
sessions will include: "Energy, Infrastructure and Economic
Development: A Public-Private Partnership for Economic
Growth," "African Oil and U.S. Priorities," and "Risk
Management in African Oil Investments." Individual country
workshops will address petroleum and energy priorities;
upcoming procurement and bloc biddings; and the regulatory
environment. Registration for the Forum
is $500 for members of the CCA and $950 for non-members. For
more information contact Christopher Alion at 202-835-1115
or by email at calion@africacncl.org. Online registration
for the Forum can be found on CCA's website
www.africacncl.org. The Corporate Council on
Africa, established in 1992, is a nonpartisan 501(c)(3)
organization of nearly 160 American companies dedicated to
strengthening trade and investment ties between the United
States and Africa. CCA members represent nearly 85 percent
of total U.S. private sector investments in Africa.
CCA's
South African Business Linkage Program Extended and Expanded
through 2004 WASHINGTON, DC: The
Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) is proud to announce the
expansion and extension of its South African International
Business Linkages (SAIBL) Program. SAIBL, designed to
strengthen trade and investment partnerships between U.S.
companies and historically disadvantaged South African
businesses, will launch its two new components, the
Promoting Agribusiness Linkages (PAL) program and a Regional
Trade Pilot Project, for
2002-2004.
The SAIBL program,
funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development
(USAID), is implemented in partnership by CCA and Ebony
Consulting International based out of Johannesburg, South
Africa. The program has generated more than US$185 million
in business transactions for South African and U.S.
companies in less than five years and helped create more
than 5,000 jobs. As of June 2002, 4,896 firms had accessed
SAIBL's services. "The SAIBL program has been
a major vehicle for expanding U.S. commercial relationships
with smaller sized South African companies over the last
several years," said CCA President Stephen Hayes. "Its
expansion is a testament to its success." The agribusiness sector is
a crucial element of South African economic and private
sector development. The new PAL Project will facilitate
networks and linkages between historically disadvantaged
smallholder farmers and larger, more mainstream,
agribusiness markets. While up to this point
SAIBL has covered only South Africa, its Regional Pilot
initiative will enable the South African firms and the U.S.
private sector entities to capitalize on the ever-expanding
business and integration taking place between South Africa
its neighboring countries. Botswana, Tanzania and Zambia
will be the target countries. SAIBL's focus on AGOA is also
highlighted by the recent addition of an AGOA program
coordinator to the Johannesburg office. CCA, established in 1992,
is a nonpartisan 501 (c) (3) membership organization of
nearly 150 American corporations dedicated to strengthening
the commercial relationship between the United States and
Africa. CCA members represent nearly 85 percent of total
U.S. private sector investments in Africa. The Corporate Council on
Africa, 1100 17th Street, NW
on Africa
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CCA
Program Promotes West Africa's
"Liquid Gold" in the U.S.
The
Corporate Council on Africa to Host Major African Oil and
Gas Forum in Houston,Texas
CCA's website is at www.africacncl.org
Suite 1100 Washington, DC 20036
Tel. (202) 835-1115 Fax (202) 835-1117
www.africacncl.org