zambia hosts agoa

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International Edition

Black Business NewsServing the Global African Economic Community

South Sudan, the newest Nationpage 45

Contents Impact Investmen page 28 Sustainable Energy page 34 Ms. Obama Tours South Africa page 38 The Wealth Report page 48

In The Spotlight 32 Trade Calendar 56 Trade Directory 62

Zambia Hosts AGOA 10

s tory beg ins on page 6

P r e s i d e n t a n d M s . O b a m a w i t h Z a m b i a ’s A m b a s s a d o r M a d a m

S h e i l a S i w e l a

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Black Business NewsInternational Edition • Winter 2011

Black Business News International Edition -3- Spring 2011

www.signafrica.net

Contents5 The Publisher Says...6 Special Feature: Africa

Growth & Opportunity Forum 2011

24 Resources for Going Global

28 Mtanga Farms Investment Deal-Tanzania30 Growing Africa’s Middle Class32 In The Spotlight34 2012 to be “International Year of

Sustainable Energy for All”38 Michelle Obama Tours South Africa &

Botswana43 Tribute to Ms. Albertina Sisulu44 South Sudan - the Newest Nation 48 Top 25 Global Cities - Think Maputo56 International Trade Calendar58 Books to Consider…

Alex: My Life From Sudanese Refugee to International Supermodel

62 Trade Advertisers

Black Business NewsInternational Edition

PUBLISHER/EDITOR-IN-CHIEFEarl “Skip” Cooper, II

PRODUCTION MANAGERNarishima Osei

MARKETING DIRECTORTony Hayward

CONTRIBUTING WRITERSDean Jones • Steven Turner LaSandra Stratton

STORY EDITORSWanda Flagg ▪ J. Elam

CONTENT ADMINISTRATORLaSandra Stratton

LAYOUT/TYPESETTINGLion Communications

Copyright © 2011 by Black Business News International. All Rights Reserved.

The posting of stories, commentaries, reports, documents and links (embedded or otherwise) on this site does not in any way, shape or form, implied or otherwise, necessarily express or suggest endorsement or support of any of such posted

material or parts therein.

Black Business News •P.O. Box 43159, Los Angeles, CA 90043 USA323-291-9334 • 323-291-9234 fax • www.bbala.org • [email protected]

About the Black Business News…The mission of The Black Business News is to inspire and inform public and private sector industry representatives on the impor-tance of smart small business growth. As a versatile source of socioeconomic development activity, the Black Business News imparts current local, national and international industry trends related to small businesses across the United States of America (USA), detailing greater access to fi nancial capital, management effi ciencies, business education, mentors and networks. The goals of the Black Business News include:

• increasing the use of business enterprises owned by USA-based blacks, by advocating for greater access to leading fi nance lenders and successful business managers.

• working to merge resources, values, profi ts, technology throughout the public and private sectors.

• balancing major public and private sector contracting meth-ods with positive outcomes of black-owned and operated enterprises. • providing an affi rmative infl u-ence for emerging entrepreneurs sharing innovative design and cre-ative cultural content that exposes them to the history of black enter-prises and excite them to partici-pate in the USA’s future. • advocating and promoting on behalf of black-owned business-es by promoting the need for ex-panding an economic foundation that supports an unfettered and self-sustained urban society with USA job creation and economic

opportunity, where blacks work, live and operate viable business enterprises.

The Publisher Says...

The Africa Growth and Op-portunity Act (AGOA) has been available as a tool for

trade development between the USA and eligible African nations. AGOA is, however, grossly underutilized.

The act and its features are also underpublized. In fact the AGOA Forum held in Zambia in June was grossly under publicized. The Forum met the attendance goals set for the event but the goals were set very low.

This issue features a broad overview of the forum for your information. We also encourage our readers to investigate the advantages put forth in AGOA for importers and inves-tors. The door of opportunity has been sitting open for a long time, however, Congress may close the door in the next few years. If you have any interest in the sectors supported by AGOA now is the time to get on board.

Take a good look at the wealth of information in this issue including a snap shot of U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama’s visit to South Africa and Botswana; China Looks to the Moon and Away from Africa, and India as an investor in Africa.

We also welcome South Sudan into the community of na-tions. Read the story that starts on page 46 but conduct your own research. South Sudan offers vast investment opportu-nities if you are willing and ready to take the risk.

Earl “Skip” Cooper, IIPublisher/Editor-in-Chief

Black Business News


cover photo: The White House

odsow• enshatithprp• bept

opportunity, where black

Fall 2008USD$5.00


Contents

Corporate Giving: EOY charitable

opportunities in health, education, hous-

ing, and more.

Tourism: Investment in Africa’s tour-

ism industry is active, vital and is evident

all across the continent.

Feature Articles:

“Strategies For Constructisve

Engagement with the

African Diaspora”

“Diaspora Engagement:

Remittances & Beyond”

Investment Pro le: Moyo District

of the Republic of Uganda

Professional Directory

Charitable Investments


Rev. Leon R. Perry, III in Ghana with recently orpaned twins

see Corporate Giving page 21

Ambassador Ron Kirk with Zambia’s President Rupiah Banda and Commerce Minister Felix Mutati Ambassador Ron Kirk

greets Zambia’s Am-bassador to the USA Madam Shiela Siwela

This year marks the 10th annual meeting of the AGOA Forum, which brings together hundreds

of U.S. and sub-Saharan African gov-ernment offi cials, as well as the African and American private sector and mem-bers of the public. The 2011 Forum’s theme was “Enhanced Trade through Increased Competitiveness, Value Addition and Deeper Regional Inte-gration.” United States Trade Repre-sentative Ambassador Ron Kirk and Secretary of State Hillary R. Clinton led the U.S. delegation to the Forum. Other representatives from the U.S. included senior offi cials from various federal government agencies including USTR, the Departments of State, Commerce, Treasury, Transportation and Agricul-ture, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the African De-velopment Foundation and Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC).

During the Forum Ambassador Kirk announced the launch of the fi rst-ever Zambian-American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) see page 17. Among the more than 20 charter mem-bers of the chapter are Citibank, Car-gill, Price Waterhouse Coopers, Free-port McMoran, Pioneer-Dupont, and Microsoft. This new AmCham will com-pliment the work of the newly-formed U . S . - Z a m b i a

Working Group on Bilateral Trade and AGOA, and encourage mutually benefi cial U.S.-Zambia joint ventures.

While in Lusaka, Ambassador Kirk toured FreshPikt, a canning facility. While there, he participated in a signing ceremony to mark a joint venture be-tween FreshPikt and American inves-tor, PS International. PS International is in the process of purchasing a major-ity stake in FreshPikt, valued up to $30 million. This venture will expand the production of tomato paste for local and

regional markets, and will eventually source all inputs from local Zambian farms. Currently, FreshPikt-owned farms supply 50 percent of the fac-tory’s inputs, with the rest coming from nearly 1,200 small-scale Zam-bian farmers.

United States Trade Represen-tative Ron Kirk also announced a new Obama Administration initia-tive to build trade capacity called the African Competitiveness and Trade Expansion (ACTE) initiative. ACTE will provide $120 million over four years to build on the success of Africa’s regional trade hubs and help Af-rican nations to realize AGOA’s full potential.

The announcement came dur-ing remarks at the Forum’s Min-

U . S . - Z a m b i a regiosourfarmfarmtoryfrombia

Utatinetivthanin$brrf

“President Obama and I see

extraordinary promise and

potential in Africa. AGOA has

produced 11 years of positive

results, but we understand

that more needs to be done

to tap into Africa’s great

potential. That is why I am

pleased to announce this new

investment today. ACTE is

the next step in growing and

expanding Africa’s economic

competitiveness.”

isterial Opening Ceremony on Thurs-day, June 9. Present were Zambian President Rupiah Banda and Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry Felix Mutati, Obama Administration offi cials and delegates from over 30 African countries. At the Ceremony, Ambas-sador Kirk delivered a special greeting from President Obama and highlighted AGOA’s success in expanding exports from Africa to the U.S. He also an-nounced the Obama Administration’s intent to work with Congress to extend AGOA’s third-country fabric provision through 2015. This important provision allows eligible AGOA countries to ex-port apparel products made with tex-tiles from foreign countries duty-free to the U.S. In addition, he noted that the Obama Administration will work with Congress towards a seamless renewal of AGOA beyond the current 2015 ex-piration.

AGOA was enacted by Congress in 2000. It serves as a cornerstone for U.S. economic engagement with Sub-Saharan African nations and encour-ages the growth of their economies. AGOA allows duty-free access for Af-rican exports, covering ninety-eight percent of the products the 37 eligible African countries send to the U.S mar-ket.

www.ustr.gov

Zambia Hosts AGOA Forum


Ambassador Ron Kirk


During his trip to Lusaka, Zambia

for the 2011 African Growth and Opportunity

Act (AGOA) Forum, United States Trade

Representative Ambassador

Ron Kirk addressed the

audience at the Opening

Ceremony (see text on this page)

and, during the closing ceremony, announced a new Obama

Administration initiative to build trade capacity called the African

Competitiveness and Trade Expansion (ACTE) initiative. ACTE will provide $120 million over four years to build on the success of Africa’s regional trade hubs and help African nations to realize

AGOA’s full potential (see page xx).

“Good morning, President Banda, Honorable Minister Mutati, esteemed members of the Zambian Government, Ministers and heads of delegation from AGOA partner countries, U.S. Govern-ment colleagues, private sector and civil society leaders, and all friends of AGOA here today.

“It was a pleasure to host many of you in Washington last year, and I am similarly delighted to be with you in Lusaka for the opening of the Tenth AGOA Forum.

“It is my privilege along with Secre-tary Clinton, who will be joining us to-morrow, to lead a U.S. Government delegation which includes senior of-fi cials from a wide variety of agencies

as well as several Members of the U.S. Congress. There are also many U.S. business and civil society representa-tives here in Zambia.

“This high-level dialogue is proof of Africa’s strategic importance to the United States.

“I can assure you that trade and in-vestment are critical elements of Presi-dent Obama’s Global Development Policy.

“At the Millennium Development Goals Summit last September, the President called broad-based econom-ic growth ‘the most powerful force the world has ever known for eradicating poverty and creating opportunity.’

“And he said that moving from pover-ty to prosperity will require ‘all the tools at our disposal -- from our diplomacy to our trade policies to our investment policies.’

“I saw the economic power of trade in action when we toured a local fl ower farm near Arusha on Monday. There, Jacqueline Mkindi and Richard Pluke described an initiative sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International De-velopment (USAID) in coordination with the Tanzanian Horticultural Association

(TAHA) that is helping to develop better air-shipping solutions to make Tanza-nian fl ower exports more competitive in the international market.

“I was pleased to learn that TAHA pri-oritizes the needs of small farms, most of which, are operated by women. I had the opportunity to meet some of these women, and they told me how better transportation links are moving their products to market more reliably and affordably, which is helping to create a better fl ow of income for their small farm businesses.

“Their stories are similar to ones I heard on my last visit to the continent in 2009, when I met with farmers, factory workers, and entrepreneurs in Kenya, Ethiopia, and Senegal.

“The people behind these business-es are real pioneers. In sometimes diffi -cult circumstances, they are competing in the global market, and making better lives for themselves and their children. And AGOA helps make it possible.

“AGOA helps make it possible for Ethiopian factory workers to earn a liv-ing supported by exports of apparel and footwear for sale in the United States.

see Southern Sudan on page 9

Remarks by United States Trade Representative Ambassador Ron Kirk at the Opening Ceremony of the 2011 AGOA Forum

Ambassador Kirk Visits Pendo Coffee Farm

AGOA Opening Address

“AGOA helps make it possible for Ghanaian craftsmen to sell expertly-carved stools, bookends, and statues to U.S. customers seeking the perfect piece at interior design and African art shops across our country.

“And AGOA helps make it possible for HIV-positive single mothers in Swa-ziland to export specialty foods, giving them good jobs and hope for their fami-lies.

“By facilitating trade that supports jobs, AGOA improves individual lives and stimulates development from the bottom up in a way that can lead to greater economic growth for entire countries.

“That’s why Congress passed AGOA, and that is why the Obama Administra-tion is committed to make it work even better.

“Let me say that again: The United States is committed to promoting Af-rica’s economic growth through trade, and AGOA is a critical pillar in growing the U.S. economic relationship with sub-Saharan nations.

“Now, early in the second decade of AGOA, we celebrate its success. Since its launch in 2000, AGOA has provided opportunities for real people and busi-nesses, and contributed to the growth of African economies through expanded and diversifi ed trade. Last year, non-oil imports under AGOA totaled $4 billion, up 18 percent from 2009, and included value-added products such as apparel, footwear, processed agricultural prod-ucts, and manufactured goods.

“We also recognize that AGOA can do so much more. That’s why the Obama Administration will work with the U.S. Congress over the coming months to extend one of AGOA’s most important provisions – the third-country fabric provision. We would like to see it extended to 2015.

“AGOA textiles and apparel have cre-ated new opportunities for investment and trade that benefi t businesses and consumers in both the United States and Africa. This sector remains an im-

from page 8

portant foundation for Africa’s growing industrial base.

“In addition, over the next few months, once South Sudan achieves independence, we hope that Congress will add that new country to the list of those eligible for AGOA benefi ts once it meets the benchmark criteria for inclu-sion.

“Furthermore, the Obama Admin-istration is also committed to working with Congress toward a seamless re-newal of AGOA beyond 2015 to pro-vide the predictability needed for U.S. and African businesses, entrepreneurs, buyers, and investors.

“But we cannot simply seek to extend AGOA. All of us – U.S. and African, governments, farmers, and business – must work closely to make AGOA bet-ter, to fulfi ll its yet unful-fi lled promise and potential. We must get it right and aim to have the impact we’ve always known possi-ble in AGOA’s second de-cade.

“To be sure, the U.S. gov-ernment un-derstands that market access alone under AGOA will not get us the results we seek.

“Over the past eleven years, we’ve learned that AGOA is most effective when Africans interested in exporting are also able to receive technical assis-tance and other support through trade capacity building programs.

“That’s why the United States is help-ing African countries in key areas like infrastructure development and trade capacity building, through the Millen-nium Challenge Corporation (MCC) and federal agencies.

“Nearly $5.5 billion of MCC compacts, about 70 percent of its portfolio, ben-efi t the people of 13 African countries. These projects include building trans-portation networks, increasing agricul-tural productivity, improving water sup-ply and sanitation, expanding health,

education, and community services, and broadening access to fi nance for greater enterprise development.

“Investments like these improve life for millions of Africans and make it easier to produce, sell, and ship goods and services within the continent and abroad.

“At the same time, to support our in-vestments in AGOA, USAID, the Afri-can Development Foundation, and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency provide technical and trade capacity building assistance to help African ex-porters discover and seize opportuni-ties in the U.S. market.

“USAID funds regional trade hubs in Ghana, Senegal, Botswana, and Kenya that work with producers and fi rms that are ready to export in industries rang-

ing from food to fl owers to footwear.“These trade hubs help make African

producers more competitive by tack-ling cross-cutting problems in fi nance, transport, governance, business envi-ronment, and telecommunications.

“And the hubs produce positive re-sults for African farmers, factory work-ers, and families. For example, in 2010 alone, the trade hubs facilitated over $100 million in African goods exports to the world, including $56 million to the United States, and assisted nearly 1,200 African fi rms interested in devel-oping or expanding their capacity to export.

“That is why, today, I am pleased to announce that the United States will support a new trade capacity building initiative, the African Competitive-


see Southern Sudan on page 11


ness and Trade Expansion Initiative, or ‘ACTE.’ Even in a very diffi cult U.S. budget environment, this initiative will put signifi cant resources behind the commitment to expand both U.S.-Afri-can and intra-African trade.

“Specifi cally, ACTE will provide up to $120 million over four years to intensify and focus more sharply the work of USAID’s Af-rican Trade Hubs. Re-sources will be provided to improve Africa’s ca-pacity to produce and export competitive, val-ue-added products and to address supply-side constraints that impede African trade.

“These investments will help to drive eco-nomic development in African countries, and enhance trade opportuni-ties among Africans and Americans alike.

“Because just as pio-neering African entre-preneurs are seeking to sell more to international customers, there are many American businesses both small and large looking toward Africa as the next major frontier mar-ket. And as African economies develop, American producers should be able to fi nd additional African customers more quickly.

“At the same time we all must rec-ognize that private sector leaders want to see a high degree of transparency, accountability, and predictability when making trade and investment deci-sions. That’s why the United States is working with African governments to improve the business climate in their countries.

“Similarly, the United States supports African regional economic integration. Reducing barriers to intra-African trade and investment will improve Africa’s competitiveness, and it will benefi t American exporters as it becomes eas-ier to do business here.

AGOA Opening Address

from page 9

“Many AGOA partners have already enacted far-reaching economic and po-litical reforms that have enhanced the business and investment climate, es-tablished rule of law, improved gover-nance, and addressed barriers such as corruption, lack of capacity, and limited infrastructure.

“The United States will continue to support countries that take such con-crete steps, because we know that when we are focused on ambitious goals, when we demand mutual ac-countability for measurable outcomes,

and when we marshal resources in the right ways, we can do big things to-gether.

“For example, strong partnerships among governments and the private sector have helped us make signifi cant progress in addressing the HIV/AIDS crisis.

“As we meet here today, the UN Gen-eral Assembly is convening a High-Level Meeting in New York to mark 30 years since the fi rst reported case of HIV/AIDS.

“The drafters of AGOA recognized the impact of HIV/AIDS on this conti-nent. In the bill, they affi rmed the Unit-ed States’ commitment to work through public-private partnerships to address the HIV/AIDS crisis.

“And in the decade since AGOA was passed, these efforts have paid off. Working together, African countries and the private sector have developed

innovative and cooperative ways to in-crease access to medicine.

“Though there is still much work to be done, together we have radically changed the situation – millions have access to treatment, HIV incidence rates have dropped, and people are liv-ing longer, healthier lives.

“This is good news, because Africans and Americans all seek the same things – we want safe and secure communi-ties, with good schools and good jobs, so that we can provide for our families, and so our children and grandchildren

have a chance to lead a better life.“So as we discuss AGOA and U.S.-

Africa trade this week, let us remem-ber that the policy we make today will determine the scope of tomorrow’s op-portunities.

“Let us be both ambitious and thor-ough in crafting policies that channel the tremendous power of trade to pro-mote prosperity and create jobs well into the future.

“The challenge for all of us – Africans and Americans alike – is to work to-gether to get it right, so that all of our peoples can compete globally and reap the benefi ts of trade more widely on both continents. President Obama and I look forward to continuing to work with you.”

www.ustr.gov/about-us/press-offi ce/speeches/transcripts/2011/june/

remarks-united-states-trade-represen-tative-ron

Ambassador Kirk at the Solomon fl ower farm

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton posing for a photograph with Africa Women Entrepreneure(AWEP) when she toured their stands which exhibited Art products.

Zambia Reaps Benefi ts from Hosting AGOA 10

WHEN Zambia Women in Mining chairperson Mary Lubemba heard that Zambia was selected to host the AGOA forum nine months ago, she saw count-less opportunities for her association to fi nally access the American markets with their gems and crafts.

Zambian gemstones are rarely pur-chased by Americans, who prefer fi n-ished products, which are mostly made in Asia from African stones.

Expecting big links from America, Lubemba and her group was shocked to learn that actually the big saviour for the association has always been close to them – Malawi.

“The biggest earning we got from the AGOA African Growth and Opportunity Act forum was the link with women in mining from Malawi. We had very pro-ductive talks with them and we have

agreed to meet this August to con-solidate our work,” Lubemba said in a post-forum interview. “We also learnt from our colleagues about business principles and ethics and we will put that into practice.”

According to Lubemba, despite hav-ing some of the best gems in the world, Zambia has not earned benefi ts due to lack of machinery and skills for most small-scale gemstone miners.

“Most of our miners are using pick and shovel on their mines due to lack of machinery,” Lubemba said. “We would like to add value to our products by supplying fi nished goods to the world market that is why we have introduced training programmes for women to de-sign jewellery. At the moment we are selling raw stones to Asia at very low prices and those people get fortunes

for the fi nished products in America. If we are able to do our own cutting and polishing, we will get much more.”

Lubemba said apart from the fi ght to access the lucrative US market, the women miners were also trying to fi nd a way of attracting Asian partners who had the technical knowledge and ma-chinery to boost the sector.

The 2011 AGOA forum in Lusaka awakened the country to the many op-portunities that it was missing out un-der the United States’ most generous preferential law and in the region.

Led by Heealy Mweemba, the Zam-bian AGOA forum organising commit-tee faced months of long meetings, sleepless nights and a K2 trillion host-ing bill. But all that was to be forgotten when, on June 8, 2011, the country got more than it bargained for in invest-ment pledges and agreements.

By the time President Rupiah Banda and the United States Trade Represen-tative Ambassador Ron Kirk offi cially opened the forum on June 8, there were already questions of whether or not hosting the event was worth it.


Hand craft Association Chairperson Angelica Ramsey (r)shows US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and First lady Thandiwe Banda crafts made by Business Women in Zambia at Mulungushi Conference Centre.

It is common knowledge that Africa has not fully benefi tted from AGOA, exporting just 20 eligible products from the more than 6,000 range.

The continent has also failed to at-tract meaningful US investments under the AGOA umbrella blaming the situa-tion on the unpredictability and uncer-tainty of the program.

It was against that background of failed opportunities that Zambia invest-ed so much to host the annual AGOA forum.

Commerce minister, Felix Mutati, as-sured the nation that by the time the forum concluded, Zambia would have attracted more than US$200 million worth of investments.

Mutati got it wrong.The United States African Devel-

opment Foundation (USADF) chief executive offi cer Lloyd Pierson commit-ted US$300,000 in grants for two Zam-bian agricultural businesses, the Zam-bezi Organic Rice Growers Association (ZORGA) and the Chipepo Fisheries Company.

ZORGA and the Chipepo Fisheries Company both received enterprise ex-pansion grants to increase production and improve linkages to local and re-gional markets.

Nearly 1,000 rural Zambian farmers and fi shermen are direct benefi ciaries.

Likando Mukumbuta, Zambia Agri-business Technical Assistance Cen-tre (ZATAC) chief executive offi cer and USADF’s implementing partner in Zambia, welcomed these new grass-roots investments.

“We take pride in cultivating local businesses. USADF invests in people and their ideas for local growth and ex-pansion,” Mukumbuta said on the topic.

Four other American countries an-nounced their intentions to invest in Zambia and signed agreements with the Zambia Development Agency and other private Zambian businesses.

The total investment pledges and grants totalled US$500 million.

Apart from the presence of US Sec-retary of State Hillary Clinton, who led

the negotiations team from her govern-ment, the most colourful group at the forum was the all female shine of the African Women Entrepreneurs Pro-gram (AWEP).

Born from Hillary Clinton, the one-year old AWEP got the corner piece of the cake with its founder announcing a US$2 million grant for its programmes.

AWEP was also planted in Zambia, its new headquarters as on June 10.

Earlier, Lubemba led Clinton on a tour to sample Zambia’s gemstones.

Clinton closed the AGOA forum with a warning to African participants against corrupt practices and a prom-ise that her administration would take to congress the motion to extend the preference law.

When all is said and done, there is no doubt that hosting the AGOA forum 2011 has put Zambia on the spotlight and opened trade doors beyond the American market.

By Mutale Kapekelewww.postzambia.com/post-read_ar-

ticle.php?articleId=21254


Benefi ts from Hosting AGOA

from page 12


A report on how American regional trade offi ces are helping African businesses do business with the

United States.

U.S. trade with sub-Saharan Af-rica has more than doubled. At the same time, American

companies and workers have found new opportunities to do business in Africa - providing inputs and expertise to aspiring African entrepreneurs, par-ticipating in joint-venture partnerships, and increasing American exports and investments.

The United States has helped fos-ter Africa’s expansive trading capacity through the 2000 African Growth and Opportunity Act, or AGOA. The trade growth is being driven by several key economic sectors, including machinery, automotive vehicles and parts, wheat,

non-crude oil products, aircraft, and electrical machinery, which includes telecommunications equipment.

The United States has worked hard to ensure that African nations have the resources they need to seize the ben-efi ts of trade. Trade-capacity-building assistance is a critical element in the effort to help African countries turn trade opportunities like AGOA into ex-ports.

In addition to improved trade and in-vestment since the inception of AGOA, the United States has established four regional trade hubs in sub-Saharan Africa with the U.S. Agency for Inter-national Development. The hub in Nai-robi, Kenya, serves all of East Africa, including Uganda. There, Ugandans can receive AGOA-related training and technical assistance. At the center of AGOA are substantial trade prefer-

The Role of AGOA’s Regional Trade Hubs

Regional trade hubs in sub-Saharan Africa. Nairobi, Kenya - East Africa

Accra, Ghana - Central AfricaGarbaronne, Botswana - Southern Africa

Dakar, Senegal - West Africa

ences that allow all marketable goods produced in AGOA countries to enter the U.S. market duty-free. But despite the progress achieved, Africa benefi ts too little from global trade.

Some progress in trade liberalization has been made by sub-Saharan Afri-can nations, but Africa’s overall trade policies remain the world’s most pro-tectionist. Average African tariffs are nearly 20 percent. This is compared to just over 10 percent for the rest of the world, and 5 percent for industrial-ized countries. To change this situation, African nations must continue to adopt broad economic and trade reforms to enhance their ability to attract foreign capital.

New challenges are rising as other nations, especially in Asia, are becom-ing more competitive in the global tex-tile and apparel markets, and with the expansion of bilateral free trade and economic partnership agreements. The situation calls for new trade poli-cies, and the United States is commit-ted to establishing them.

Africa accounts for 2 percent of glob-al trade; an increase of 1 percentage point would generate additional ex-port revenues annually that would be greater than the annual amount of as-sistance that Africa receives.

This podcast is produced by the U.S. Depart-

ment of State’s Bureau of International Informa-tion Programs. www.state.gov

Vice-President George Kunda said the AGOA quotas should be developed in the budgets

of agencies such as the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), United States Africa Development Foundation (USADF) and the United Stated Aid for International Development (USAID).

This will ensure agencies provide measurable support to building produc-

Zambia’s Vice President Kunda Urges AGOA Quotas

tive capacities as well as expanding productivity in AGOA eligible countries.

Speaking at the opening of the AGOA 2011 Trade Expo in Lusaka, Mr. Kunda called on the US government to extend AGOA beyond 2015 on a long and sus-tainable basis.

“This will create an opportunity for in-dustry and other businesses to foster trade relations and secure joint venture partnerships with their counterparts,” he said.

The trade expo this year demonstrat-ed Africa’s ability to explore opportuni-ties for trade and investment.

He said the private sector in Africa should lay more emphasis on exporting manufactured goods and processed foods to the US in order to overcome

sanitary and phyto-sani-tary barriers to trade with the US.

Mr. Kunda said it was important that the United States government played an active role in developing capacities in the Af-rican private sector to meet its required standards.

Airtel Zambia managing director Fahad King, whose company was the main sponsor of the event, said AGOA was a tool that could help reduce the barriers between the US and eligible Sub-Saharan countries like Zambia.

Times of Zambia www.times.co.zm//allafrica.com

Sub-Saharan Africa Ripe for Business - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary R. Clinton

Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton has said the Sub-Saharan Africa is now more ripe for massive

investments and trade but challenged the countries to heighten moves to-wards regional integration to maximise the economic benefi ts.

And Mrs. Clinton, who offi cially closed the African Growth and Oppor-tunity Act (AGOA) forum, said the US government wanted the relationship with developing countries to be based on mutual partnership and not patron-age.

Mrs. Clinton told the delegates to the just-ended AGOA forum at Lusaka’s Mulungushi International Conference Centre that Africa had come a long way but was now ready for increased investments and trade with the US and the entire international community.

”Although it still faces many challeng-es in many areas, the region is unde-niably more stable, more democratic, and more prosperous than adecade ago.”Thanks to the hard work of the African people, productivity has been-rising.

Consumer spending in the region is projected to grow by almost US$600 million and the GDP by US$1 trillion, in less than a decade,”she said.

She said that in 2000, when her husband signed the AGOA into law, the chances of the Act bearing fruit in the Sub-Sahara Africa region were dismal and productivity was declin-ing and there were 10 major confl icts while there were only four leaders who had peacefully handed over power to elected ones.

Both sides, however, worked hard resulting in the quadrupling of exports to the US to US $4 million in the past decade without considering the fi gures from oil.

Mrs. Clinton, who is the fi rst US Sec-

retary of State to visit Zambia since 1976 when her predecessor, Henry Kissinger did so, reiterated that the Obama administration would work with Congress on a seamless renewal of the AGOA beyond 2015.

She said that between now and then, the eligible countries had a duty to help in coming up with scenarios to convince the Congress on the need to extend the Act beyond 2015 when it is scheduled to expire.

Mrs. Clinton said AGOA was all about the people of the eligiblecountries who should be helped to attain better stan-dards of living through empowerment.

Mrs. Clinton said it was for that rea-son that all stakeholders including women and the youths should be ac-tively involved in AGOA issues noting that by 2015, a quarter of the world’s young people would be residing in Af-rica.

She said women were still grappling with various barriers which made them fail to make it in their various ventures and that should be addressed.

”At the State Department, we have made it a priority to help women break down these barriers.

Among our many efforts, we are helping women entrepreneurs con-nect with potential partners around the world,”she said.

She said that last year, the African Women’s Entrepreneurship Pro-gramme (AWEP) was introduced un-

der AGOA and in just a few months the grouping had already made remark-able strides.

Mrs. Clinton announced that her gov-ernment would contribute US$2million this year and next year to the grouping to enable them to continue their work.

On the need for regional de-velopment, Mrs. Clinton said Sub Saharan Africa had the lowest intraregional trade and challenged the countries to en-gage in business between and among themselves before ven-turing out into the US market.

She said that African re-sources should benefi t Africans and emphasized that the US government will elevate cor-ruption as a major focus of its diplomatic efforts.

Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton has said that Sub-Saharan Afri-ca is now more ripe for massive invest-ments and trade but challenged the countries to heighten moves towards regional integration to maximise the economic benefi ts.

And Mrs Clinton, who yesterday of-fi cially closed the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) forum, said the US government wanted the rela-tionship with developing countries to be based on mutual partnership and not patronage.

Mrs. Clinton told the delegates to the just-ended AGOA forum at Lusaka’s Mulungushi International Conference centre that Africa had come a long way but was now ready for increased in-vestments and trade with the US and the entire international community.

Mrs Clinton, who is the fi rst US Sec-retary of State to visit Zambiasince 1976 when her predecessor, Henry Kissinger did so, reiterated that the Obama administration would work with Congress on a seamless renewal of the AGOA beyond 2015.

Although this is Mrs Clinton’s fi rst visit to Zambia as Secretary of State, she has visited Zambia before as First lady of the United States of America.

By James Muyanwawww.times.co.zm/news/viewnews.

cgi?category=4&id=1307786712



Remarks at Launch of U.S.-Zambia Chamber of Commerce - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary R. Clinton

Please, everyone, be seated and thank you so much for the very

warm welcome. We’ve had already a wonderful day yes-terday and today, and I think we will continue that streak. I want to start by thanking our ambassador, who is working very hard to strengthen the partnership between our two countries. And I am especially pleased to be here today – I ran up the stairs – (laugh-ter) – especially pleased to be here with ministers of the governments and so many distinguished business lead-ers here in Zambia to cel-ebrate the launch of the new Zambian-American Chamber of Commerce. I want to thank Ambassador Ron Kirk. No one works harder to promote business and oppor-tunities around the world.

And it is for me an exciting moment because we see so much potential. And by building our relationship, we want a relationship of partnership not patron-age, of sustainability not quick fi xes. We want to establish a strong founda-tion to attract new investment, open new businesses, as the minister said yesterday, create more paychecks, and do so within the context of a posi-tive ethic of corporate responsibility. We think it’s essential that we have an idea going in that doing well is not in any way a contradiction of doing good, that we can do both. We can do well by the people of both our countries. We can do well by creating businesses that will be profi table and therefore cre-ate more jobs. And we can do good by establishing an even stronger base for prosperity.

So I think that as we look forward, certainly I felt a strong sense of com-mitment yesterday from the govern-ment, both from the president, from

Minister Mutati and others. But the real work is done by all of you. You’re the ones who are on the ground making the difference.

And I want to just highlight a few of the stories that I was told. Chris and Agatha Beckett, where are they? Chris and Agatha Beckett. Chris is American. Agatha is Zambian. Together they start-ed an organic fertilizer business that now already employs 80 people here. And since agriculture is one of our tar-gets for working with you through our Feed the Future Program, we think that any investment in value-added prod-ucts and inputs into agriculture is going to be extremely important.

Where is Rashmi Sharma? There she is. She and her brother used – are you her brother? Oh, good. (Applause.) She and her brother used the AGOA trade preferences to expand their local jewelry business all the way to the Unit-ed States. Now, that’s good for Zambia, but it’s also good for American consum-ers who want high-quality, beautiful jewelry, some examples of which I saw yesterday at the exhibition at the con-

vention center.I also outlined a series of steps that

African governments can and I hope should take and will take to unleash the potential of their own people. And I think as we look to the future, there is such an amazing set of opportunities, but business can’t do it without a sup-portive government policy framework, and governments can’t do it without en-trepreneurs and business people who are really going to take advantage of all of these opportunities.

I also want to recognize Joyce-Ann Wainaina. Where’s Joyce-Ann? There you are, Joyce-Ann. (Applause.) As you know, she’s the managing director of Citibank Zambia and she’s helping Citibank expand on its more than three decades of experience in business here and putting fi nancial tools in the hands of small businesses, medium size busi-nesses, families, entrepreneurs. And when a company like Citibank makes a commitment to a country, it’s be-cause they do see an opportunity for growth. But it’s also important to note

see AmCham Launch on page 17

that Citibank is giving back through community projects and scholarships, because we want to seed the ground and we want to fertilize it – (laughter) – with things like scholarships and intern-ships, which I know you are also doing.

The United States will do what we can to help American and Zambian companies do business together. We want to help work toward lowering trade barriers, particularly in Sub-Sa-haran Africa, because, unfortunately, the countries in Sub-Saharan Africa trade at a lower level than any region in the world. And there are so many opportunities for growth just within the region: lower trade barriers; invest in infrastructure, health, health and edu-cation, cut down on corruption, which I addressed yesterday both publicly and privately and I will continue to address across the world, not just here and not just in Africa. Because we know very well that corruption is a hidden tax on businesses, and you can’t expect to be

able to do business if at every stage along the way of setting up and produc-ing and then distributing and market-ing, you have to pay somebody who is not a productive member of your team. So we’re going to do everything we can to try to help on that. (Applause.)

I don’t know how many of you have met the Assistant Secretary for African Affairs in the State Department, but Johnnie Carson, a longtime – Johnnie, why don’t you stand up so that people can – (applause). Johnnie has been working in Africa for a long time and has seen all of the ups and downs. We think we’re on an up. Forty years ago, we had a lot of hope for Africa at the time of independence, and then things didn’t quite move as quickly as peo-ple had hoped for. When AGOA was passed, when my husband signed it back in 2000, we had a lot of problems on the continent – at least 10 confl icts, not a good system of electoral selec-tion for leaders and people then mov-ing on if they weren’t elected, and so many other problems.

But we’ve seen tremendous prog-ress. In these 10 years, American trade with Africa has quadrupled, and that doesn’t include oil. If we take oil out,

AmCham Launch

from page 16

we’ve still quadrupled from 1 to 4 bil-lion, but we want to quadruple again and then quadruple again and keep on going.

The ambassador is very committed, along with his team, to support this Chamber of Commerce. And we want you not only to succeed, we wants you to fl ourish. So I am thrilled to be here. I’m like the parsley on the plate. All the hard work has been done. I don’t pre-tend to be the main course because I come and go. The people who are go-ing to be working will be here tomor-row and the next day. But I am thrilled. I have a deep personal commitment to and belief in the future of Africa. I have absolutely no doubt in my mind. And of course, we do have a President and a First Lady who care deeply about the continent as well. Next week, Mrs. Obama and her daughters and her mother will be in Botswana in South Africa.

So we are going to continue to have a sustained focus on what we can do together. We think we’ve learned a few lessons in our 235 years of indepen-dence that might be of some use to those here and elsewhere, and we are eager to be a friend and a partner.

American Chambers of Commerce Abroad (AmChams)

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce (www.uschamber.com) is the world’s largest business federa-

tion representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, as well as state and local chambers and industry asso-ciations. More than 96% of U.S. Cham-ber members are small businesses with 100 employees or fewer.

The Chamber’s International Divi-sion (www.uschamber.com/interna-tional) works in collaboration with more than 100 American Chambers of Com-merce in countries around the world. The Chamber also runs the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE, www.cipe.org), a program of the National Endowment for Democracy.

The Chamber continues to drive the agenda on job creation through its Campaign for Free Enterprise (www.freeenterprise.com), a comprehensive, multiyear effort to support free en-terprise through national advertising; grassroots advocacy; citizen, commu-nity, and youth engagement; and re-search and ideas leadership.

AFRICA BUSINESS INITIATIVE (ABI)

The mission of the ABI is to engage

the U.S. business community on legis-lative policies that foster foreign direct investment in Africa, to facilitate trade between the United States and African countries, and to introduce U.S. com-panies to the continent’s vast economic opportunities.

The biggest obstacles to economic engagement across Africa are the un-known and perceived risks. The ABI’s job is to help companies mitigate these risks through advocacy and access and by identifying investment opportunities.

Under ABI’s leadership, sector task forces, made up of U.S. corporate rep-resentatives, will engage key members of Congress, the Administration, and foreign governments in strategic dia-logues to foster private sector engage-ment.

AmChamsThe American Chambers of Com-

merce Abroad (AmChams) advance the interests of American business overseas. They are voluntary associa-tions of American companies and indi-viduals doing business in a particular country, as well as fi rms and individuals of that country who operate in the Unit-ed States. Currently, 115 AmChams in 102 countries are affi liated with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

AmChams pursue trade policy initia-tives, make available publications and services, and sponsor a variety of busi-ness development programs. Through four regional organizations in Asia, Europe, the Gulf Countries, and Latin America/the Caribbean, the AmChams represent the concerns and interests of the business community at the highest levels of government and business in trade policy development.

AmChams in AfricaIn addition to the new chamber that

has been established in Zambia, Am-Chams in Africa include:• American Chamber of Commerce in

Egypt - www.amcham.org.eg• American Chamber of Commerce in

Ghana - www.amchamghana.org• American Chamber of Commerce in

Kenya• American Chamber of Commerce in

Mauritius - www.americanchamber-mauritius.org

• American Chamber of Commerce in South Africa - www.amcham.co.zaFor more information on AmChams

call (202) 463-5460 or visit the Am-CHam website at www.uschamber.com/international.

see AmCham Launch on page 19


www.TradeSupportsJobs.comInternational trade supports millions

of American jobs. One in three manu-facturing jobs depends on exports, and one in three acres on American farms is planted for hungry consumers over-seas. More than 95% of the world’s consumers live outside our borders, and their demand for American goods and services is growing every day.

But for too long, it’s been hard to iden-tify the workers, farmers, and ranchers whose livelihood depends on trade.

We hope to change that. The infor-mation you’ll fi nd on this site, which is gathered exclusively from offi cial U.S. government databases, provides an unprecedented amount of detail on the link between American exports and jobs. For every state in the union and all 435 Congressional districts, you’ll see what’s being exported and to what countries. You’ll also fi nd lists of com-panies — from sea to shining sea — that are selling their wares to markets all around the globe.

The conclusion is inescapable: trade supports jobs

www.traderoots.orgTradeRoots is the only sustained,

national trade education program dedi-cated to raising grassroots support and public awareness about the importance of international trade to local communi-ties. Through strong partnerships with associations, local chambers of com-merce, economic development groups, and the business community, Trad-eRoots takes the Chamber’s message of promoting free enterprise and indi-vidual opportunity to local communities across the country.

TradeRoots: Builds and sustains bi-partisan pro-trade coalitions at the grassroots level.

TradeRoots successfully built coali-tions for past pro-trade legislation, in-cluding China Permanent Normal Trad-ing Relations (PNTR), Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), and the numerous trade agreements opening lucrative markets to U.S. business. Thousands of TradeRoots advocates stand ready to act in support of pending pro-busi-ness trade legislation. TradeRoots: Identifi es and mobilizes local leaders as pro-trade advocates in each district.

TradeRoots has trained hundreds of local chamber of commerce executives on how to build strong international support in their communities and help their member companies be strong trade advocates on Capitol Hill. TradeRoots: Facilitates international trade education programs to edu-cate the U.S. small business com-munity.

Using a strong and extensive partner network, TradeRoots has successfully held more than 500 international trade education grassroots programs across the United States to educate the small business community about market op-portunities overseas. TradeRoots: Partners with gover-nors and state leaders to communi-cate the local benefi ts of trade.

TradeRoots partners with governors and economic development offi ces to leverage existing resources and share new ones to help small and mid-size

companies understand international opportunities – and how to use current, pending, and future international trade agreements. TradeRoots: Tells trade success sto-ries through the local media, using a vigorous communications cam-paign.

TradeRoots publishes a series called Faces of Trade®, featuring success stories of small businesses that ex-panded by entering new, international markets. The Faces of Trade stories are featured in the TradeRoots’ news-letter, in the web site, in trade educa-tion programs, and on Capitol Hill when advocating for free trade agreements.

www.uschambersmallbusinessnation.

comBecause of the U.S. Chamber’s key

role in ensuring our country’s growth and prosperity, it has launched U.S. Chamber Small Business Nation.

U.S. Chamber Small Business Nation is a community that was founded on the

open ex-c h a n g e of in-f o r m a -tion and i d e a s , w h i l e creating the op-portunity for small b u s i -n e s s e s to speak with a u n i f i e d

voice.Bringing together America’s small

businesses – the engine of economic growth – will strengthen individual en-deavors while amplifying the collective voice of business.


Background In 2000, the United States Congress

passed the African Growth and Op-portunity Act, to strengthen trade be-tween the United Status and sub-Sa-haran Africa that meet eligibility criteria, which requires countries to attain a certain level of economic, legal and hu-man rights standards. AGOA is there-fore more than just a trade preference program. It provides the U.S gover-nance and African partners a platform to discuss key economic, commercial and political issue that underpin and are affected by U.S-Africa trade rela-tions.Introduction

From 9 – 10 June 2011, the AGOA Forum will take place for the fi rst time on the Africa continent in Lusaka, Zam-bia. The theme will be: “Enhanced Trade Through Increased Competi-tiveness, Value Addition and Deeper Regional Integration”.

As a precursor to the AGOA forum, there will be a pre-forum event hosted by the World Bank Institute and its part-ners – namely: The Africa Respon-sible Business Network (AfRBN); The Young Africa Business Trust (YAfBT); The Young Americas Busi-ness Trust of the Organisation of American Status (YABT); United Na-tions Global Compact; Egyptian Insti-tute of Directors; Private Sector Liaison Network; the Pan African Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Con-vention on Business Integrity.

The theme of the event will be: “Re-

African Growth & Responsible Business - Young Entrepreneur Perspective on AGOABy Abdul Waheed Patel – Managing Director, ETHICORE Consulting and Advisory Solutions

sponsible Business” Principled Col-laborative Engagement to Leverage Competitiveness”. Some questions delegates and participants have been asked to think about includes:• How can AGOA trade support young

entrepreneurs?• How can Young Business Leaders

infl uence and enhance Responsible Business in Africa and beyond?

• In which ways can the Young Af-rica Business Trust (YABT) support Young Business Leaders?

• What immediate follow-up can par-ticipants undertake and what support do they need to do this?As such the event will serve as a

platform for multi-country knowledge-exchange through bringing together business professionals and young Af-rican entrepreneurs to discuss how AGOA can support sustainable devel-opment, youth employment and help enhance investment in Africa through the enactment of responsible business practices. Young business leaders and entrepreneurs will have an opportunity to exchange knowledge and best prac-tices, enabling them to be more effec-tive and competitive. Using technology platforms such as live videoconferenc-ing through World Bank regional coun-try offi ces, the reach of the event will be expanded to localities such as Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, United States and Zambia, as well as other parts of the Af-rican continents and the world through live webcasts.

In an effort to ensure the realization and actualization of the objective, the AfRBN and YABT will also participate in the one-day civil society and private sector forum on 8 June 2011. This will include a breakout session entitled: “The Next Generation”. This session is expected to be an opportunity to learn and join forces with seasoned civil soci-ety and private sector actors taking part in AGOA.

As a member of the Africa Respon-sible Business Network (AfRBN) and a regional World Bank Institute stake-holder in Africa (including the World Bank Innovation Fair and WBI-funded African Network for Social Account-ability), I will be participating in the pre-event entitled: “Responsible Business” Principled Collaborative Engagement to Leverage Competitiveness”.Some critical perspectives

On paper, this ambitious theme and its equally ambitious targeted out-comes resonate poignantly with the ethically focused nature of values and service espoused and held dear by ETHICORE Consulting and Advi-sory Solutions, in the areas of ethical business and economic governance, including trade, sustainable develop-ment, environmental and climate gov-ernance.

As I contemplate participation in this event, the opportunity it represents and the horizon beyond it, a number of criti-cal questions and issues come to mind.A. There must be no illusion that for

the U.S, AGOA is a charitable act of


goodwill towards Africa. In fact, the U.S economy has a defi nite interest in ensuring access to Africa for re-sources and market access for U.S companies and their products and services in Africa to complement its domestic market and increasing competition in global markets from emerging market forces such as China and India. Similarly, African countries seek access for African companies, products and services to the U.S market, including the benefi -ciation of raw materials. As a result, in the AGOA U.S-Africa relationship no one party holds a compelling po-sition. As a result there must at all times prevail reciprocal and mutual respect, trust and prosperity. Else this is one-side relationship doomed to fail.

B. There must be some measure of bal-ance in the approach of both African parties and the U.S. What is mean by this is that, indeed African par-ticipants in AGOA – be they African governments, business and/or civil society must show a commitment to good governance, rule of law and human right. Simultaneously, this must be balanced with corrective, remedial and mitigation measures by the U.S. for its shortcomings in other international and multilateral processes, which effectively con-strain the success of a mutually benefi cial and reciprocal AGOA ar-rangement. For example, the failure of the U.S. to successfully negotiate with developing countries under the DOHA Development Round of in-ternational trade negotiations at the World Trade Organisation, as well as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to mitigate the impact of its interna-tional trade and environmental posi-tion on the sustainable development prospects of developing nations.

C. Africa needs to develop and main-tain dynamic and innovative models of responsible business practices

to pursue economic growth, job creation and employment, wealth creation and prosperity and sustain-able development through building business practices and business organisations that matter and that have a positive impact on broader society (i.e. social businesses or businesses with a social purpose). These are either businesses that provide ethically focused products, goods or service. Or they could be businesses that go about delivering products, goods and services in an ethical manner. In both cases these could be function of: values, strat-egy, business model, business prac-tices, market conduct, corporate behaviour, social responsibility and impact. The fallout from the global economic and fi nancial crisis in the U.S and indeed other developed economies and countries, has dem-onstrated the importance of ethical business practices.

As with forums of this nature, it easy for things to deteriorate into a mere ‘talkshop’ with a ‘wish-list’ actions and activities. This would be an indictment of young African business people and our ability to offer localized solutions to our region based on our depth of knowl-edge and experience of conditions and factors on the ground in doing business in our region. While talking is important, it is often overrated and not the most important aspect in a dialogue of this nature. What get’s spoken is only as valuable as the willingness and ability of the receiver of the message to lis-ten, appreciate and deeply understand what is spoken. This needs to be com-plimented with a well-thought set of follow-up actions for prioritising impact; timeframes within which these need to be undertaken; identifi cation and allo-cation of responsible parties and the allocations of resources to support its pursuit. Only then can there be suffi -cient transparency and follow-through to measure the extent to which African and U.S leaders in government, busi-ness and supporting international de-velopment institutions have suffi ciently understood young African business people and the extent to which our con-cerns and inputs are taken seriously.

Without this kind of approach this

event merely represents another lost opportunity for advancing Africa’s prog-ress and sustainable development and the prosperity and well being of our people. This includes our ability to gov-ern ourselves and determine the man-ner and conditions upon which we con-duct trade and business with the rest of the world in a mutually benefi cial manner.

NOTE: About the Africa Respon-sible Business Network (AfRBN) and the Young Africa Business Trust (YAfBT):

In November 2010, the World Bank Institute (WBI) – in partnership with the World Bank Africa Region, the United Nations Global Compact and various Africa business associations – con-vened a conference in Brussels enti-tled: “Strengthening Responsible Busi-ness and Governance in Africa”. The conference brought together a range of stakeholders, including business and civil society leaders from Africa and across regions, high-level government offi cials, donors and representatives of international organisations.

At the conference, the WBI, the AfRBN, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, the Young Americas Business Trust (YABT), the Egyptian Corporate Responsibility Centre (ECRC) and the U.S. State De-partment – in an effort to support entre-preneurship and promote responsible business practices across the conti-nent, joined forces with African busi-ness leaders and created the Young Africa Business Trust (YAfBT). The AfRBN and YAfBT are networks of Afri-can business professionals working to-wards combining efforts for responsible business and governance with a partic-ular emphasis on job creation and sus-tainable economic development. The AfRBN espouses environmental and sustainability best practices to meet lo-cal demand and development goals.

PS: I hope to write a follow-up blog post refl ecting on this knowledge-exchange events and some further thoughts on the critical issues and key questions raised herein

www.ethicore.co.za/2011/06/07/afri-can-growth-responsible-business

AGOA Perspective

from page 20



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Notes on Zambia, the AGOA Host Nation

Zambia’s Investment Climate from StrategicShift.net.

Strategic Shift has developed a periodic news-letter to share investment highlights from Zam-bia. These excerpts are a compilation of invest-ment activities directly or indirectly affecting the investment climate in Zambia. The Zambian economy continues to exhibit signs of contin-ued growth. Whether you look at conventional methods of economic evaluation such as GDP or the size and type of foreign direct investment, the economy is growing and the world is notic-ing. The information contained here comes from various sources. Visit www.strategicshift.net to

read the full stories.

Konnoco Begins Development of its $400mn Konkola Copper

Mine Project inZambia Konnoco Mining Limited commenced

development of its Konkola North Cop-per Mine in Zambia with plans to pro-duce more than 2 million tonnes of copper ore upon commencement of production next year, expecting to em-ploy 1,500 people. The development of KONNOCO has begun at a cost of US$ 400 million and it is projected that the mine will have an annual produc-tion capacity of 2.5 million tonnes of ore when it starts operating next year.

Zambia Increases Net Capital Inflows from Direct Foreign

InvestmentsZambia reportedly increased its net

capital inflows, chiefly from direct for-eign investments with mining pour-ing in about USD 2 billion because of increased investor confidence in the national economy. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), Zambia’s part-ner in economic development having assisted the country through various instruments including balance of pay-ment support, stated that Zambia has in recent years improved in net inflows because of its resilience in growing the economy. Citing the lender’s World Economic and Financial Survey for Sub Saharan Africa economic outlook on recovery and new risks April 2011,

reports stated that while some coun-tries have recorded no signs of recov-ery from the global financial crisis in terms of capital inflows, Zambia has posted notable strides especially in FDI. The economic growth in Zambia has been strong, boosted by the rising prices of the main export product, cop-per, on the international market. Zam-bia has recorded a modest pickup of net capital inflows, mainly in the form of FDI. This reflects increased confidence in the Zambian economy and privatiza-tion related inflows.

Growth has been strong and copper prices have recovered sharply. - http://www.steelguru.com.

Zambia 2011 GDP Likely to Grow Above 7%

Zambia’s economy is likely to grow beyond 7.0% in 2011 largely driven by investments in mining and infrastruc-ture, Finance Minister Situmbeko Mu-sokotwane said on Saturday. “We are set to have very good growth in 2011. The numbers will be revised around July-August and I expect a very good number, even above 7%,” Musokot-wane said. He added that Infrastruc-ture development is going to be part of the growth process for Zambia. Zambia has planned to invest 1 trillion kwacha (US$216.7 million) in the rehabilitation of urban roads and the money would come from a US$500 million interna-tional bond and additional tax revenue from the mines, Musokotwane said. The International Monetary Fund in March projected Zambia 2011 growth at 6.8%. Zambia’s economy grew 7.1% in 2010. Musokotwane also said that inflation was not likely to exceed the 8% end-year target following Zambia’s bumper maize harvest of over 3 million tonnes. Zambia’s headline consumer inflation slowed to 8.8% year-on-year in April, a rare example of easing price

pressures in Africa caused in part by a drop in the cost of basic food - http://af.reuters.com.

Tourism to Mint US$412 MillionZambian President, Rupiah Banda,

said the direct contribution of tourism to Zambia’s gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to reach US$412 million this year. This is about 2.3% of the country’s total GDP. The President said according to the World Travel and Tourism Council, tourism is expected to directly support 22,000 jobs. He said he was confident that by 2015, the country will meet the target of attracting four million international tourists yearly, by which year tourism is expected to con-tribute about eight percent of Zambia’s GDP. The President said the 2011 na-tional budget has allocated K76 billion to various empowerment programmes - http://www.lusakatimes.com

ZAMTEL Optic Fibre Joins Namibia Network

ZAMTEL has completed putting up the optic fibre network from Kazungula through Katimamulilo to the Namibian optic Fibre network, Chief Commercial Officer Amon Jere said. Jere said what had remained was to switch on the op-tic fibre network. He said this would al-low access to the under sea cable with high internet and data capacity. The in-tegrated Zesco/Zamtel network has ad-vanced and the 3G network equipment has started arriving in Zambia. He said Zamtel would start switching on the 3G sites next month to give customers ac-cess to affordable broadband internet line. This will give Zamtel competitive edge in the mobile internet service in-dustry. Jere said Zamtel wanted to play a role in prosperity on the Copperbelt by enabling its customers to do busi-ness cost effective and efficient - http://www.times.co.zm.

www.strategicshift.net

Resources for Going Global

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contact information.ᏊᏊᏊᏊᏊ

Event: Export Controls: Application and AwarenessVenue: Microsoft Conference Center, Redmond, WADate: July 12-13, 2011Cost: $195Learn more/register: https://emenuapps.ita.doc.gov/ePublic/newWebinarRegistration.jsp?SmartCode=1Q69

Do you need a fi rmer grasp of export controls and regulations to ensure your company is doing everything it can to comply with them? Join us for a July conference on export controls, hosted by Homeland Security Investigations, Microsoft and the U.S. Department of Commerce, Seattle U.S. Export Assistance Center. Raise your awareness of export controls and regulations and learn techniques to apply in your processes to help ensure you can avoid violations.Webinar: Doing Business in TurkeyVenue: Your ComputerDate: July 14, 2011Time: 11:00 AM estLearn more/register: https://emenuapps.ita.doc.gov/ePub-lic/newWebinarRegistration.jsp?SmartCode=1Q9J

The U.S. Export Assistance Center in Baltimore, MD will host this webinar on short and medium-term export sales opportunities in Turkey, focusing on the renewable energy and energy efficiency sectors – an industry poised for sharp growth in the coming years and with major opportunities for American export sales. Access one of the world’s dynamic markets – with a special presentation by U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Francis J. Ricciardone (TBC) and a presentation by Commercial Counselor, Michael Lally, U.S. Embassy Commercial Service Ankara, Turkey. Turkey’s rapidly ex-panding economy, the growing purchasing power of industry and consumers, and its effort to join the European Union have attracted the increasing attention of American export-ers. The Webinar will feature a brief overview of the Turkish commercial environment, a review of hot sectors in Turkey, and a focus on specific short and medium-term business op-portunities in the renewable and energy efficiency sectors. The webinar will also cover specific case studies in success-ful U.S.-Turkish energy business partnerships. Participants will be able to ask live questions of U.S. Commercial Ser-

vice staff during the webinar. In addition, U.S. Commercial Service staff in Turkey will highlight a U.S. Department of Commerce Executive-Led Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Trade Mission to Ankara, Istanbul, and Izmir, Tur-key, to occur later this year.

For more information please visit www.buyusa.gov/fres-no/105.html, or contact: [email protected], tele-phone: 410-962-4576, [email protected], telephone: 410-962-4581, [email protected], telephone: 661-637-0136.Webinar: Taking American SMEs Global With Google Venue: Your ComputerDate: July 19, 2011Time: 10:00 am PST/1:00 pm ESTLearn more/register: https://emenuapps.ita.doc.gov/ePub-lic/newWebinarRegistration.jsp?SmartCode=1Q9T

Google Directors Alan Moss and Aliza Knox will present this one hour free webinar on the web tools that are available to help American small businesses expand internationally. Dur-ing this webinar, you will hear just how big the global online opportunity is for your company and discover how Google clients have significantly expanded their businesses by sell-ing to the world. You will learn how to use innovative tools, such as Google Global Market Finder which uses data from Internet searches conducted around the world to show the number of times people search for your keywords in Arabic, Chinese, English, or one of 56 languages; Google Translate Web Element which can translate webpages (or parts there-of) to help foreign customers navigate your site; Translator Toolkit , an online tool that allows you to potentially reduce your translation costs and lag times by providing an auto-matic machine translation of your website as well as allow-ing you to share your files through a web portal. Finally, you will learn how you can leverage Google AdWords to take your business global with a few clicks of a button.

Event: Export Compliance Workshop – Bureau of Industry & SecurityVenue: LAX Gateway SheratonDate: August 10-11, 2011 More information or to register: http://www.buyusa.gov/pacifi csouth/bis.html

The U.S. Commercial Service - Your Global Business Partner. With offi ces across the United States and in more than 75 countries, the U.S. Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration uses its global Network and international resources to connect U.S companies with international buyers worldwide. If you have any questions about these initiatives, please contact your local U.S. Commercial Service trade specialist. To fi nd the trade specialist nearest you please visit http://www.buyusa.gov/home/us.html.

Event: Business Development Mission to Peru and ChileDate: August 21-27, 2011 Learn more/register: http://www.buyusa.gov/newor-leans/78.html



Registration Deadline: June 24, 2011Discover the opportunities that exist in these two vibrant marketplaces. This U.S. Department of Commerce Certi-fied Business Development Trade Mission to Peru and Chile organized by LeCentre International will provide an excel-lent opportunity for U.S. firms to initiate or expand their busi-ness and exports into the Peruvian and Chilean markets by providing business-to-business introductions, meetings and networking with selected foreign participants as well as ex-tensive market access information. Best prospects for U.S. exports to Peru and Chile include: Mining equipment, oil and gas equipment and services, marine, environmental, con-struction equipment, transportation, industrial and electrical machinery, pumps, valves and compressors, refined petro-leum products, plas-tics, computers and telecommunications equipment, Electric power, power gen-eration and trans-mission, renewable energy equipment, Construction equip-ment, Machinery and Supplies, Mining Equipment, Pollu-tion Control Equipment, Water resources equipment and technologies, water and wastewater treatment equipment and technologies, engineering, and consulting services, De-salination equipment/technologies, Healthcare and Medical Equipment; Computer Hardware and Software; Food Pro-cessing and Packaging; Travel and Tourism, Franchising, Consumer oriented products for retail. All U.S. companies are encouraged to apply. For more information, please con-tact: [email protected]; [email protected]; or [email protected].

Event: Discover Opportunities in South AfricaVenue: Johannesburg and Cape Town Date: September 19-23, 2011Learn more/register: http://www.export.gov/trademissions/southafrica2011/ Registration Deadline: July 18, 2011

The United States Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration, U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service (CS) is organizing this trade mission. Led by a senior Department of Commerce offi cial, this trade mission will introduce U.S. businesses and service providers to key business contacts and allow them to explore new business opportunities. South Africa represents the largest economy and most sophisticated and diversifi ed industrial and services sectors in Sub-Saharan Africa. The country also stands to benefi t from rapid growth anticipated in many of its Sub-Saharan African trading partners. The mission will visit both Johannesburg and Cape Town, allowing participants to access two of the largest markets and business centers in the country. The itinerary consists of customized one-on-one business appointments with potential agents, distributors and partners, market briefi ngs, and meetings with key government offi cials. For more information, please contact

[email protected] or telephone: 202-482-5496.Event: Watch Videos on some of the National Export Initiative Priority MarketsWatch videos on these markets to discover why they are im-portant and to learn about a few of the many sectors where U.S. companies are competitive. 58 percent of U.S. export-ers export to only one market, mainly Canada. Many small and midsized companies that work with the U.S. Commer-cial Service have found new customers in dozens of mar-kets. Among the best prospect markets for U.S. companies are Vietnam, India, Indonesia, China, Taiwan and Thailand. From these short videos, you’ll learn why these markets are important. You’ll also learn about a few of the many sectors where U.S. companies are competitive. Importantly, you’ll also meet the top U.S. commercial diplomats in these mar-kets who, along with their staff of local market and industry experts, will help you evaluate, enter and succeed. Please visit http://export.gov/nei/eg_main_033266.asp Activity: Commercial News USA Offers Free Korean TranslationCommercial News USA, the official export promotion maga-zine of the U.S. Department of Commerce, offers exporters an inexpensive way to promote their products and services in 178 countries worldwide. Now, you can take advantage of a special offer: Buy two ads and get the third ad for free (Based on one-time rates. This does not include the Show-case section). Moreover, advertisers in the September-Oc-tober issue will receive a free listing ad online in Korean. Commercial News USA reaches more than a quarter-million buyers worldwide. Reserve your space in the next issue to-day. For more information, call 1-800-581-8533, x 822, or visit www.thinkglobal.us, or e-mail [email protected]: Sell Your Products Worldwide in the USA Product ShowcaseCommercial News USA, the official export promotion maga-zine of the U.S. Department of Commerce, offers exporters an affordable way to promote their products and services in 178 countries worldwide. Now, you can advertise in the USA Product Showcase section of the magazine for just $499. Commercial News USA reaches more than a quarter mil-lion buyers worldwide. Reserve your space in the next issue today. For more information, call 1-800-581-8533, x 822, go online to www.thinkglobal.us/499, or send e-mail to [email protected]: Promote Your Company on the New Com-mercial News USA WebsiteThe newly redesigned Commercial News USA website makes it easier for buyers around the world to find Ameri-can companies with products and services ready for imme-diate export. Commercial News USA features hundreds of products and services from U.S. exporters. Participants in the current issue of the magazine are featured in a rotating carousel at the top of the page. Now, international buyers can search the site by company name or industry category. There also is a search box at the top of the page that enables searching by keyword. The site currently attracts 23,000 in-

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ternational buyers per month. Advertisers in the print maga-zine are included for free on the website. For more infor-mation and/or to review the current issue of the magazine, please visit www.thinkglobal.us.

AccessAmerica – Reach Chinese Investors and Clients“AccessAmerica” is our online Chinese-language directory of U.S. fi rms that provide customized services to Chinese investors and fi rms that want to do business in the U.S. The “AccessAmerica” Service Provider directory gives U.S.-based companies and economic development agencies access and exposure to Chinese clients who seek U.S. expertise in global logistics, trade fi nance, HR, site selection, tax, insurance, legal and regulatory issues, marketing, and other support related to investing in the U.S. AccessAmerica is promoted extensively throughout China, featured on the U.S. Embassy Chinese webpage and featured at all Invest in America programs here and in China. Your listing will include company information, company logo, and contact details, all translated into Chinese, for a one-year subscription fee of $400. Increase your visibility in China and boost your service exports. Learn more: http://www.buyusa.gov/china/en/access_america.html. For more information, please contact [email protected].

Export Promotion Magazine Rolls Out Redesigned Website

Exporters can take advantage of the newly redesigned Commercial News USA website to help them connect with buyers worldwide. The new website fea-tures a rotating carousel that highlights advertisers in Commercial News USA. International buyers can now search the site by keyword or by industry cat-egory. The site currently attracts more than 23,000 visitors per month. For more details and/or to review the cur-rent issue of the magazine, visit http://www.thinkglobal.us.

ᏊᏊᏊᏊᏊThe U.S. Commercial Service - Your

Global Business Partner. With offices across the United States and in more than 75 countries, the U.S. Commer-cial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Ad-ministration uses its global Network and international resources to connect U.S companies with international buyers worldwide.

If you have any questions about these initiatives, please contact your local

U.S. Commercial Service trade specialist. To find the trade specialist nearest you please visit www.buyusa.gov/home/us.html or contact Bobby Hines at [email protected].

Resources for Going Globalfrom page 25

Black Business NewsInternational Edition

To be added to the International Edition

mailing list or to advertise in the publication send an

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ContentsCorporate Giving: EOY charitable opportunities in health, education, hous-ing, and more.

Tourism: Investment in Africa’s tour-ism industry is active, vital and is evident all across the continent.

Feature Articles: “Strategies For Constructisve Engagement with the African Diaspora”

“Diaspora Engagement: Remittances & Beyond”

Investment Pro le: Moyo District of the Republic of Uganda

Professional Directory

Charitable Investments


Rev. Leon R. Perry, III in Ghana with recently orpaned twinssee Corporate Giving page 21

years, with no new potato varieties reg-istered in Tanzania and no clean seed available for farmers for decades.

Integral to this effort is Mtanga’s part-nership with TransFarm Africa, a non-profi t initiative established to enhance the link between commercial farmers and smallholders, to promote agricul-tural growth corridors and to unblock barriers where they arise for the farm-ing sector.

What makes the deal so crucial as an impact investment is this that its operations are focused on delivering commercial returns while also deliver-ing development benefi ts to local farm-ers and communities. Further, the farm is operated at the highest standards of environmental sustainability for soil and water management. Mtanga inter-acts closely with local farmers by shar-ing equipment, collaborating with the government to grow seeds and provid-ing access to markets for local cattle herders.

“Mtanga Farms is an example of how responsible foreign investment in ag-riculture can be commercially viable, environmentally sustainable, and also create substantial social impact through


Mtanga Farms Limited is a mixed arable farming business operating in the Southern Tan-

zanian Highlands. MFL owns approxi-mately 2,200 hectares under long-term lease and is currently planting wheat, barley, maize and certain oil crops. It has further established a livestock op-eration consisting of local cattle for fat-tening and a herd to cross breed higher quality cattle for premium meat. The Southern Tanzanian Highlands are the focus of Tanzania’s effort to promote agriculture, are a cornerstone to Tanza-nia’s ‘Kilimo Kwanza’ (agriculture fi rst) initiative and have signifi cant potential to improve Tanzania’s food security. All of MFL’s crops, including livestock, are for domestic consumption and will sub-stitute imports, thereby contributing to Tanzania’s emergence as a major food commodity producer.

The deal marks the fi rst time an Afri-can philanthropic organization and in-vestment fi rm have engaged together in impact investing, an approach that, unlike traditional grant-making, uses for-profi t methods to solve intractable social and environmental problems – in this case agriculture development.

“With this deal, we hope to set a new standard for both philanthropy and in-vesting within Africa,” said Founder and Chairman Tony O. Elumelu. “Through impact investing, we seek to drive Af-rican economic growth from within by investing in businesses that generate social, environmental, and fi nancial re-turns. This can also change the para-digm of how development takes place on the continent.”

The deal was made jointly by two partner institutions: TEF, a newly estab-lished “catalytic foundation,” and Heirs Holdings, a principal investing com-

pany with a long term in-vestment h o r i z o n . Both TEF and Heirs Holdings, promoted by the for-mer CEO of United Bank for Africa ; one of Africa’s largest fi nancial servic-es instructions, are based in Nigeria, where some of the continent’s most innovative fi nancial deals have been struck in the last decade. London-based Lion’s Head Global Partners acted as fi nancial adviser to Mtanga Farms. The deal was the fi rst outside of Nigeria for Heirs Holdings.

Aside from the broader, continent-wide implications of the investment, the Mtanga deal will touch the every-day lives of hundreds of thousands of low income people in rural Tanzania, improving farmers’ access to inputs and technology, creating infrastruc-ture for farmers to bring their products to markets and contributing to the de-velopment of the Southern Tanzanian Highlands, one of the most promising untapped areas of agriculture produc-tion in East Africa.

Specifi cally, this deal will help Mtan-ga establish a seed potato industry, which will signifi cantly benefi t more than 125,000 local smallholder farm-ers who have proven able to increase yields threefold when provided with clean seed potatoes. The effort is re-markable in that it unblocks a market that has been neglected for the past 30

Tony Elumelu Foundation Announces Impact Investment Deal with Mtanga Farms in Tanzaniaby the Tony Elumelu Foundation

see Global Trade Conference on page 29

Mtanga Farms, Tanzania

Mtanga Farms Deal


the benefi ts to small holder farmers and the contribution to food security. These are the kinds of sector specifi c criteria TEF considers when making impact investing funding decisions,” said Dr. Wiebe Boer, the Foundation’s chief executive. “This is a great example of why impact investing is such a power-ful concept – in this case because the fi nancial return potential was attractive, we were able to catalyze private funds into an effort that has a substantial de-velopment impact.”

Impact investing is TEF’s primary tool for supporting Africa’s small and growing businesses. Unlike most phi-lanthropies, TEF sees grants as a last resort, and believes impact investing is a much more sustainable means of capitalization because of the entrepre-neurial rigour that comes with requiring a fi nancial return. When impact invest-ments also attract traditional private capital, the impact goes even further. Any proceeds from an eventual exit from the investment on the part of TEF will be put back into the endowment of the Foundation for additional impact investments and other Foundation ac-tivities.

Dr. Boer noted that the Mtanga in-vestment is a prime example of African investors reaching across borders to inject capital into other economies, fa-

cilitate trade, and deliver new or improved products and services.

TEF’s strategy mirrors Heirs Holdings, which is based on a conviction that Africa’s economic prowess rests not only on much-needed infrastruc-ture development but also on a vibrant private sector operating in key develop-ment sectors, represented in Tanzania by the Mtanga deal.

Mtanga Farms was set up in 2008 by a group of Tanzanian business people and a local farmer, and has since re-ceived investments from Lion’s Head Global Partners, a UK merchant bank focused on Africa, and the Calvert Foundation.

About The Tony Elumelu Foundation

www.tonyelumelufoundation.orgThe Tony Elumelu Foundation seeks

to contribute to the economic transfor-mation of the African continent through fostering Africa’s business and entre-preneurial leadership. It is focused on building and engaging the African pri-vate sector to take the lead in driving Africa’s equitable economic transfor-mation. Prior to establishing the Foun-dation, Tony O. Elumelu led United Bank for Africa, one of Africa’s leading fi nancial services groups, through its transformation from a single-country focused bank to a diversifi ed business,

from page 28

operating across Africa and the world.

About Heirs Holdingswww.heirsholdings.com

Heirs Holdings Limited is a principal investment company with a diversifi ed portfolio, including interests in the fi nan-cial services, real estate, infrastructure, resources and other key sectors critical to Africa’s economic development.

Mtanga Farms Limited (MFL)Located in the Iringa Region of Tan-

zania, MFL is a for-profi t agricultural business that strives to increase crop production through improved farming methods and technology, share crop-ping, and farm contracting. Bolstered by investment dollars, MFL plans to start a seed potato business in which they will produce genetically stronger potato seeds to sell to farmers. Furthermore, MFL is starting an Outgrower Program that builds connections with local farm-ers by contracting parts of its 1,600 hectares of land for local farming. This program also provides advanced farm-ing techniques, technology, and items such as fertilizer that are necessary for local farmers to thrive.

The Missing Middle Initiative was launched at the World Economic Forum in Davos, January 2010, part of the Young Global Leader´s Global Redesign Initiative.

Issue: The “Missing Middle” refers to the

gap in capital in emerging markets, which is larger than microfi nance and smaller than traditional institutional fi -nancing. In the developed world, this segment of capital exists and sup-ports small-medium sized enterprises (SMEs), but in developing economies it is largely absent, creating a fi nancing hurdle for establishing a robust SME base. The issue of the Missing Middle extends beyond just a lack of capital; and includes the lack of support, infra-structure and overlaying networks of intermediaries, institutions, and inves-tors.

Opportunity: The Missing Middle presents a

unique opportunity for emerging market investors to achieve both competitive fi nancial returns and signifi cant social impact, addressing some of the larg-est income and wealth gaps faced by developing countries and communities around the world. Closing this funding gap is the next stage of capital devel-opment after microfi nance, completing the fi nancing food chain throughout a business’s life. While microfi nance typically does not scale beyond local markets nor aimed at job creation out-side an immediate group, small-me-dium sized capital targets larger and more sustainable economic and social growth opportunities.

The Missing Middle InitiativeMission:

The purpose of the Missing Middle Initiative is to put a spotlight on the gap in capital in emerging markets, accel-erate the momentum of SME Venture Funds, and showcase best practices of fund structures, intermediaries and in-stitutions. At the center of the initiative is an investment philosophy focused on investing in emerging markets and industry sectors that are ready for capi-tal, not just in need, supporting a trade vs. aid strategy and taking a no com-promise approach on fi nancial returns and social impact.

The team leading the initiative in-cludes:• J. Skyler Fernandes – COO of

The South African Chamber of Commerce in America and venture capitalist at Centripetal Capital Partners

• Euvin Naidoo – co-President of The South African Chamber of Commerce in America

• James Wanjohi – Managing Director; The Branson School of Entrepreneurship

To contact and/or get involved please send an e-mail inquiry: [email protected]

To learn more about the initiative view the Global Redesign Initiative at http://redesignourworld.com

To view other documents on the Missing Middle Initiative access: • www.sacca.biz/backend/

media/2272010113630PM/Missing-MiddleInitiativeWEFJan.10.pdf

• www.sacca.biz/backend/media/2272010113630PM/Missing-MiddleInitiativeYGLGRI.pdf

A 2011 study by the Economist found that over the last 10 years, no fewer than six of

the world’s ten fastest-growing economies

were in sub-Saharan Africa. Even more optimistically, the IMF forecasts that

over the next 5 years seven of the world’s

top ten fastest growing economies will be in

Africa and will include countries like Ethiopia,

Tanzania, Congo, Ghana, Zambia and

Nigeria.What is fueling Africa’s rapid growth? An emerging middle

class driving domestic demand and a host of

other issues have placed Africa on the verge

of a new era where it can it transform the

livelihoods of millions if its inhabitants and alter its perception in the global community.



The Kaufman iStart Business Idea Competition Site Collects More Than 1,200 Business Ideas Worldwidewww.iStart.org.

iStart, a customizable Web-based platform that simplifi es how organi-zations market and administer busi-

ness competitions worldwide, is picking up speed as students access the site to fulfi ll their dreams of becoming suc-cessful entrepreneurs.

iStart.org is a single resource that allows student entrepreneurs to share ideas and gain access to an interna-tional network of competitions and mentors. For administrators, the plat-form helps with complex tasks, includ-ing managing and monitoring applicant entries, establishing judging criteria and conducting online judging.

Since its launch in 2010, the website, hosted by the Kauffman Foundation, has gathered more than 1,200 busi-nesses ideas from 44 countries, includ-ing Albania, Kenya, Afghanistan, Israel and Ukraine. Business idea categories include Internet (websites), Information Technology, Life Sciences, Social En-trepreneurship, Services, Green, Mate-rials, Consumer Goods and Energy.

“We believe experiential opportuni-ties are important for entrepreneurs to network and learn - especially for students and others in the idea phase. iStart creates a network of opportunities for student and aspiring entrepreneurs to get global exposure, make connec-tions and learn through competitions,” said Lesa Mitchell, vice president of

Advancing Innovation at the Kauffman Foundation. “With their ideas acces-sible to mentors and investors and po-tential teaming partners, entrepreneurs can more quickly gain momentum in their business planning process.”

Some 40 different competitions hosted by businesses and universi-ties globally are currently using iStart. Rice University utilizes the platform for its annual intercollegiate business plan competition, which has the largest judging panel and distributes the most prize money of any such competition in the world. Other competitions include the Harvard College Innovation Chal-lenge, Emerging Postdoctoral Entre-preneur Award and Kellogg Cup.

“Business plan, pitch and idea com-petitions play a key role in entrepre-neurial education and often kick-start an idea for an aspiring entrepreneur. That’s why we want to make these competitions more accessible to stu-dents and easier for administrators,” said Katie Petersen, who manages the iStart program for the Kauffman Foun-

dation. “Our customizable platform is one-of-a-kind, and we hope becomes the go-to site for entering business plan competitions around the world, brows-ing abstracts and networking with in-novative, energized entrepreneurs. We want to help make dreams a reality.”

To learn more and take part in the iStart program, visit: www.iStart.org.

Some 40 different competitions

hosted by businesses and

universities globally are

currently using iStart.


In the SpotlightFilm Festivals

The 6th Annual Kenya Film Festival will be held in October 2011 from the 21st to the 30th in Nairobi, Nakuru, Kisumu, Mombasa, and Eldoret. The festival

theme is “Leadership”. The Call for Entries is 30 June 2011. Visit the festival website at www.kifftrust.org for details.

The festival is a robust event with a mix of cultural, artistic expression through film, and an intellectual discourse through workshops and seminars geared towards the development of

a vibrant film industry on the African continent. It aims at showcasing the creative and artistic talent that abounds on this continent, which is crying to be seen and heard.

Recent film festivals include the Zanzibar International Film Festival that was held from 18 to 26 June 2011. Review the festival at www.ziff.or.tz.

Ethiopian Airlines gets Boeing award

Ethiopian Airlines has been awarded the 2010 Silver Boeing Performance Excellence Award for its outstanding performance in manufacturing aircraft

body parts.

The airline has been manufacturing and supplying Boeing aircraft wiring from its Wire Kits Harness plant in Addis Ababa since July 2009.

The plant manufactures certified seat to seat aircraft interior wires of different types for Boeing 737, 747, 767 and 777 – 200LRs jet aircrafts.

Ethiopian Airlines Wire Kit Harness Manufacturing Plant is one of the only 417 suppliers that were chosen among thousands of suppliers to receive the Silver level of recognition.

Ethiopian Airlines is one of the most successful carriers in Africa currently operating four of the latest Boeing 777 – 200 long range planes which were acquired early this year.

Boeing issues the award annually to recognise manufacturers and suppliers of its aircrafts’ body parts who have achieved superior performance.

www.boeingsuppliers.com/recognition/cur_year_win.html

The Global African Diaspora Summit Consultative Process to ContinueThe 16th Ordinary Session of the African Union (AU) Summit took note of the Assembly Decision and of the Report on the Diaspora Initiative and the Global African Diaspora Summit; reiterated its request for the Commission to continue to work together with Member States to ensure the successful preparation and conduct of the Diaspora Summit and the advancement of the Diaspora initiative in general; requested the PRC and the Commission to support efforts aimed at the successful outcome of the programme leading to the African Global Diaspora Summit; further requested Member States, leaders of the Caribbean Community, South America, and the African Diaspora population worldwide to continue to support the implementation of the Roadmap and processes leading up to the Global African Diaspora Summit.

The African Union preferred definition of the African Diaspora encompasses the following:(a) Bloodline and/or heritage: The Diaspora should consist of people living outside the continent whose ancestral roots or heritage are in Black Africa;

(b) Migration: The Diaspora should be composed of people of Black African heritage, who migrated from or are living outside the continent. In this context, three trends of migration were identified - pre-slave trade, slave trade, and post-salve trade or modern migration;(c) The principle of inclusiveness:The definition must embrace both ancient and modern Diaspora; and(d) The commitment to the African case: The Diaspora should be people who are willing to be part of the continent (or the African family).

www.afrik-news.com/pressrelease2423.html

Worst Drought in 60 Years Hitting Horn of Africa - ReutersThe worst drought in 60 years in the Horn of Africa has sparked a severe food crisis and high malnutrition rates,

with parts of Kenya and Somalia experiencing pre-famine conditions, the United Nations said on Tuesday.

More than 10 million people are now affected in drought-stricken areas of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Uganda and the situation is deteriorating, it said.

“Two consecutive poor rainy seasons have resulted in one of the driest years since 1950/51 in many pastoral zones,” Elisabeth Byrs, spokeswoman of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, told a media briefing.

“There is no likelihood of improvement (in the situation) until 2012,” she said.

Food prices have risen substantially in the region, pushing many moderately poor households over the edge, she said.

A U.N. map of food security in the eastern Horn of Africa shows large swathes of central Kenya and Somalia in the “emergency” category, one phase before what the U.N. classifies as catastrophe/famine -- the fifth and

worst category.Child malnutrition rates in the worst

affected areas are more than double the emergency threshold of 15 percent and are expected to rise further, Byrs said.

High mortality rates among children are reported, but she had no figures for the toll.

Drought and fighting are driving ever greater numbers of Somalis from their homeland, with more than 20,000 arriving in Kenya in just the past two weeks, the U.N. refuge agency UNHCR said on Friday. It voiced alarm at the dramatic rise, noting the average monthly outflow had been about 10,000 so far this year.

Almost half the Somali children arriving in refugee camps in Ethiopia are malnourished, and those arriving in Kenya are little better, Byrs said.

U.N. humanitarian appeals for Somalia and Kenya, each about $525 million, are barely 50 percent funded, while a $30 million appeal for Djibouti is just 30 percent funded, she said.

Approximately one-sixthpopulation currently liveriver basins where popuprojected to increase, pasuch as the Indo-Gange

Hydrological disasters accounted for 86.7% of economic damage from natural disasters in Africa in 2009.

rain-fed. 0% , while

0 years, category 5 hurricane sulted in an average loss of of 10% in the coastal states year, effecting mostly

ly on a single crop.

In South Asia, where the most vulnerable people live in the river deltas of Myanmar, Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, population growth has contributed to increased farming in the coastal regions most at risk from flooding and sea-level rise.

1 - 5 %

5 - 9 %

9 - 20 %

20 - 35 %

35 - 70 %

Percentage of population undernourished

low

medium

high

very high

very low

Hunger and Climate Vulnerability IndexSources: FAO (2009) The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2009 and FAOSTAT


The United Nations Declares 2012 the “International Year of Sustainable Energy for All”

About 1.5 billion people have no access to electric power—whether clean, dirty

or somewhere in between. So in declaring it the “International Year of Sustainable Energy for All,” the United Nations gave 2012 a very tall order. To help fi ll it, they’re encouraging governments worldwide to join forces with the private sector.

At a UN Summit Meeting in New York recently, a group of 12 big electric companies announced plans to bring cleaner power to people living in far-fl ung, often off-grid places. In their report, the Global Sustainable Electricity Partnership (previously dubbed e8 - www.e8.org/en) laid out guidelines for creating private-public partnerships. They call for governments, private companies, academic institutions, international organizations and local communities to come together to develop energy projects with low-to-zero carbon emissions.

Where reliable sources of electricity are hard to come by, so are the standards of living that come with them. Without clean energy to cook meals, for instance, people burn wood, charcoal, peat and other biomass. They often do it indoors. Such daily doses of air pollution can lead to serious health problems, which cause a reported 2 million premature deaths each year, mostly women and children.

What is the e8?Created in the wake of the 1992

Rio Summit, the e8 is a non-profi t international organization, composed of 10 world leading electricity companies, whose mission is to play an active role in global electricity issues within the

international framework and to promote sustainable energy development through electricity sector projects and human capacity building activities in developing and emerging nations worldwide.

The strategic objectives are to:• Develop joint policy frameworks and

implement related initiatives in both domestic and international markets.

• Engage in the global debates on electricity-related issues, taking joint positions.

• Provide information and expertise on the effi cient generation and use of electricity to assist developing countries in strengthening their human capabilities.

Organisation Structure of e8The e8 operates with a minimal and

fl exible organisational structure, under the principles of shared and rotating responsibilities. The e8 General Secretariat is located in Montreal, Canada. To learn about our structure, click here.

Each year, one of the member companies assumes the Chairmanship of the organisation. The Chair company chooses a theme for the year around which to focus the organisation’s activities. The e8 member companies translate their experience on this relevant global energy theme into policy opinions that are shared with policymakers, electricity providers, international partners, and civil society

at large. Each rotating year culminates in an annual e8 Summit, where the Chairmen meet to exchange opinions in view of advancing the debate on such key issues as the role of the global electricity sector in climate change mitigation, technology cooperation, security of supply and sustainable development.

The 2010-2011 e8 Chair is American

Electric Power and the theme advanced by the e8 is “Strengthening Public-Private Partnerships to Accelerate Global Electricity Technology Deployment”.

e8 projects in progressWater shortage is an issue with

dramatic consequences in the Maghreb region of North Africa. Desalination and water purifi cation constitute one of the main sources for the production of fresh water, especially in southern desert regions.

The e8 initiated the Maghreb Water and Electricity Project with the objective to demonstrate the feasibility of addressing fresh water shortage issues in Africa in a sustainable manner. By powering desalination plants with locally available renewable energy sources, fresh water can be made available to even remote villages with limited access to grid electricity. The e8 conducted an extensive survey across several North-African countries to assess the replicability of the project

see Energy For All on page 35


in rural areas based on local needs and suitability. Twenty six villages in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia were identifi ed as potential implementation sites.

The area in the proximity of the drought-stricken village of Kebili in southern Tunisia was selected as the pilot site for a wind powered

desalination unit, a reverse osmosis system (ROS) of about 600 m3/day capacity. Once completed, the plant will meet up to 10 % of the village’s daily fresh water demand.

Following the signing of a Letter of Intent (LOI) by the e8, ANME (Tunisian National Agency for Energy Conservation) and SONEDE (Tunisia’s National Water Authority), a technical survey of the Kebili site was completed in November 2009 to validate the acceptability of the site proposed by the local partners. A Steering and Technical Committee was then created to follow-up on the development of the project and under their supervision, a wind measurement mast will be installed in May 2010 to fi nish compiling the wind data needed to complete the feasibility

study.The fi nancial structure of the €2.5

million project is under development and is expected to be fi nalised by September 2010. The project is then scheduled to enter the implementation phase in late 2010/early 2011.

The Maghreb Water and Electricity Project will:• Provide a replicable model for

renewable energy-based fresh water production;

• Contribute to addressing drinking water shortages in drought-stricken regions of Africa;

• Help improve rural populations’ health and general living conditions;

• Promote the use of locally available renewable energy sources for fresh water and electricity production;

• Enhance local players’ know-how and capacity to design, operate and maintain wind-based power supply units integrated with ROS systems;

• Help avoid 1,000 to 1,800 tons of CO² emissions per year.

About the e8 Education Scholarship Program?

The purpose of the e8 scholarship is to support outstanding students pursuing advanced studies in

Energy For Allfrom page 34

sustainable energy development and to encourage meaningful contributions to the collective body of knowledge about this subject.

The e8 considers an outstanding student to be one• who graduates with excellent grades

in the top 20% of her/his class• who is determined to advance her/his

knowledge and understanding• who has a history of community

involvement

• who is committed to sustainable energy

• who is committed to return and contribute to her/his home country

Who is eligible? To be eligible to apply for this

scholarship, students must• plan to undertake studies at the

Masters level in areas directly related to sustainable energy development

• be citizens of the developing countries and territories identifi ed for OECD offi cial development aid in the DAC List of ODA Recipients effective as of 2006While the application period for 2011

has passed the details of applying for 2012 may be found at www.e8.org/en/index.jsp?numPage=195.

Light bulbs aglow around the world


With its growing infl uence as an ICT development hub and its leaning towards innovative

use of technology - is gaining currency as the venue of choice for companies that are keen to use the city as their hub to reach other parts of Africa.

In the last six months, fi rms such as Airtel, Comviva, Samsung, IBM and Google have moved to strengthen their regional headquarters as they gear up for a push into the continent.

“Over 30 per cent of our revenue now comes from the African continent. We are in the process of expanding our pan-Africa operations signifi cantly and as part of this further expansion will create 200 jobs across the region,” said Manoranjan Mohapatra, CEO, Comviva.

A growing number of multinational companies has selected Nairobi as their centre of operations in the conti-nent as multinationals seek physical presence and local intelligence in mar-kets where they previously relied on representatives.

Research house IDC says the main driver for this impetus is the conti-nent’s Sh527 billion IT market, which is creating new competitive fi elds for in-ternational fi rms who are keen to gain a piece of the emerging opportunities within the region as they seek new grounds for growth.

IDC says that it expects regional IT spending to rise by 10 per cent this year, mainly driven by increasing trust and confi dence in the public sector, where the revamping of “outmoded regulatory regimes” will spur invest-ments in e-government.

“Information and Communication Technology (ICT) will be increasingly recognised as a key driver of economic growth and productivity across the Mid-dle East and Africa,” said Mukesh Chu-lani, senior research analyst at IDC.

Mr. Chulani said regional govern-ments see ICTs as a means of support-ing innovation through more effi cient utilisation of capital and labour.

In particular, one major deal has been pivotal in attracting the interest of several fi rms in the sector. Last year, when Indian mobile fi rm Bharti Airtel

Technology Companies Plot Assault on the African Continent

allAfrica.com

bought the 16 African operations of Zain Africa, its lean operational model created new opportunities for compa-nies who are keen to capture a share of its outsourced operations.

So far, the deal has spurred fi ve com-panies - Comviva, IBM, Ogilvy, Ericsson and Huawei - to realign their operations in order to handle demand of the contract.

Comviva recently won a land-mark deal with Airtel Africa to provide end-to-end management of the mobile fi rm’s VAS services. As part of the fi ve-year deal, Comviva will man-age all VAS nodes across Airtel’s 16 operations in Africa. Earlier this year, Comviva partnered with leading con-tent aggregators to further strengthen its content portfolio offering in the re-gion.

Last November, American technol-ogy fi rm IBM won the opportunity to handle Airtel’s IT systems.

“Africa is in a period of transition. Banks, telecommunications fi rms, and governments are all investing heavily in solutions and our role as an enabler becomes even more critical during this period. It is now essential for us to be in these markets physically,” said Tony Mwai, general manager of IBM Kenya.Expansion programme

IBM recently announced that it was embarking on the second phase of its Africa-wide expansion programme as it seeks new opportunities in emerg-ing markets where it sees potential for growth.

The fi rm, which already runs a 20 country operation from Nairobi, said it intends to increase the number of of-fi ces in Africa to 40 within the next four years.

“While older markets are squeezing value out of their legacy IT installations, markets like Africa have the fl exibility to leap-frog to the technologies that are more relevant to their needs. The growth opportunity in these markets is

especially attractive at this time,” said Mr. Mwai.

IBM is banking on a strategic mix of products to reach a growing number of clients in the country that will see it shed its more familiar role as a hard-ware provider to become a fi rm that provides customised solutions for its clients, ranging from software suites to specialist consulting services.

A large part of this growth will be made possible by partnerships with higher education facilities, which the fi rms hope to mine to tap into the grow-ing number of partnerships between IT fi rms and universities.

“We plan to create jobs for 200 people in the fi rst phase, creating em-ployment opportunities for talented in-dividuals and providing all necessary training for those recruited directly from schools and colleges. We have already made over 35 offers to fresh technical graduates in East Africa,” said Sandyp Bhattacharya, Vice President - HR, Comviva.


Hedge Funds Create Volatility in Global Food Supply with Land Grabs Across AfricaFinancial backers – including U.S universities and pension funds – are lured by high returns and turn a blind eye to theft of land, displacement of people

Hedge funds and other foreign speculators are increasing price volatility and supply insecurity in

the global food system, according to a series of investigative reports released today by the Oakland Institute. The reports are based on the actual materi-als from these land deals and include investigation of investors, purchase contracts, business plans and maps never released before now.

The “Understanding Land Invest-ment Deals in Africa” reports also reveal that these largely unregulated land purchases are resulting in virtually none of the promised benefi ts for na-tive populations, but instead are forcing millions of small farmers off ancestral lands and small, local food farms in or-der to make room for export commodi-ties, including biofuels and cut fl owers.

“The same fi nancial fi rms that drove us into a global recession by infl ating the real estate bubble through risky fi -nancial maneuvers are now doing the same with the world’s food supply,” said Anuradha Mittal, executive director of the Oakland Institute. “In Africa this is resulting in the displacement of small farmers, environmental devastation, water loss and further political instabil-ity such as the food riots that preceded the Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions.”

Mittal added that for people living in developed countries, the conversion of African small farms and forests into a natural-asset-based, high-return in-vestment strategy can drive up food prices and increase the risks of climate change.

“The research exposed investors who said it’s easy to make a land deal – that they could usually get what they want in exchange for giving a poor, trib-al chief a bottle of Johnny Walker,” Mit-tal said. “When these investors prom-

ise progress and jobs to local chiefs, it sounds great – but they don’t deliver, which means no progress and relocat-ing people from their homes.”

New reports and materials on these deals examine on-the-ground implica-tions in several African nations includ-ing Ethiopia, Mali, Sierra Leone, Mo-zambique, Tanzania and South Sudan – and expose contracts that connect land grabs back to institutional inves-tors in these nations and others. In ad-dition to publicly sharing – for the fi rst time -- the paperwork behind these deals, the reports demonstrate how common land grabs are and how quick-ly this phenomenon is taking place. In-vestors in these deals include not only alternative investment fi rms like Emer-gent Asset Management – that works to attract speculators, but also univer-sities including Harvard, Spellman and Vanderbilt.

Contracts also reveal a bonanza of incentives for speculators ranging from unlimited water rights to tax waivers.

“No one should believe that these investors are there to feed starving Africans, create jobs or improve food security, Obang Metho of Solidar-ity Movement for New Ethiopia said. “These land grab agreements – many of which could be in place for 99 years – do not mean progress for local people and will not lead to food in their stom-achs. These deals lead only to dollars in the pockets of corrupt leaders and foreign investors.”

In 2009 alone nearly 60 million hect-ares – an area the size of France – was purchased or leased in these land grabs. Most of these deals are charac-terized by a lack of transparency, de-spite the profound implications posed by the consolidation of control over global food markets and agricultural re-

sources by fi nancial fi rms.“We have seen cases of specula-

tors taking over agricultural land while small farmers, viewed as “squatters” are forcibly removed with no compen-sation,” said Frederic Mousseau, policy director at the Oakland Institute. “This is creating insecurity in the global food system that could be a much bigger threat to global security than terrorism. More than one billion people around the world are living with hunger. The majority of the world’s poor still depend on small farms for their livelihoods, and speculators are taking these away while promising progress that never happens.”

These reports, as well as briefs on other aspects of land grabs, are avail-able at http://media.oaklandinstitute.org.

The Oakland Institute is an indepen-dent policy think tank whose mission is to increase public participation and promote fair debate on critical social, economic, and environmental issues (www.oaklandinstitute.org). The Oak-land Institute, P.O. Box 18978, Oak-land, CA 94619, [email protected]

reported by: Liam O’Donoghue, [email protected], (415) 901-0111; Brad Tucker, btucker@fenton.

com, (212) 584-5000

...Investors in these deals include not only alternative

investment fi rms like Emergent Asset Management – that

works to attract speculators, but also universities including Harvard, Spellman and Vanderbilt ...

seum in Johannesburg. The First Lady, along with daughters Sasha and Malia, read “The Cat In The Hat” to children at the Zandspruit Township Daycare Cen-ter during an event at the Emthonjeni Community Center in Johannesburg.

Before the museum tour, the First Lady met the 75 young women Youth

Leaders she will be adressing later. These women came from across Africa and are the reason we are here. These women have personal and professional stories that will blow you away - there

Inte

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iona

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First Lady’s Tour to Southern Africa

The United States First Lady Michelle Obama today visited the Nelson Mandela Centre

of Memory in Johannesburg on the fi rst leg of her trip to South Africa and Botswana.

Accompanied by her mother Marian Robinson, her daughters Malia and Sasha and her niece Leslie and her nephew Avery, Mrs Obama met members of Nelson Mandela’s family and his wife Graca Machel.

Sello Hatang and Sahm Venter, the co-editors of the soon to be released book Nelson Mandela By Himself: The Authorised Quotations Book presented Mrs Obama with an advanced copy.

Mr Hatang and the head of the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory Verne Harris showed the First Lady a display of archival items housed in the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory including prison desk calendars, notebooks and draft letters. She was introduced to Senior Archivist Razia Saleh.

Mrs. Obama expressed appreciation for the display, and said “You are doing very important work”.

US First Lady Michelle Obama and her daughters met with 9 2 - y e a r - o l d Nobel Peace Prize winner

Nelson Mandela after a visit to the M a n d e l a Foundation.

M r s . Obama, her daughters, mother, a niece and n e p h e w were all wel-comed into Mande la ’s home in the H o u g h t o n neighbour-hood of Jo-hannesburg. Visits are increasingly rare since M a n d e l a was hospi-talised with an acute respiratory infec-tion in January.

First Lady Michelle Obama, along with daughters Sasha and Malia, toured the exhibits at the Apartheid Mu-

ABOVE: Ms. Michelle Obama with former President Nelson Mandela at his home.BELOW: South African First Lady Ms Nompumelelo Ntuli-Zuma welcomed First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama at Mahlamba Ndlopfu in Pretoria on a visit to South Africa

First Family arrives in South Africa



become a role model for the rest of the world. Obama said through hard work the youth of today could achieve their dreams. “There is no magic dust that helps students achieve at a place like this, now-a-days it is more how hard you can work and more importantly it’s about believing in yourself every step of the way.”

She said even after getting accepted at a top school, despite her disadvan-taged background, she still had doubts she could succeed, until she began seeing that she was performing just as well as others.

Ms. Obama and her family started

First Family at the Apartheid Museum

was a lot of mutual-admira-tion in the room, and the First Lady made sure to tell them how inspiring these women were to her!

Speaking at Fuller Hall at the University of Cape Town (UCT) to over 50 pupils from fi ve schools across the city, Michelle Obama said people of the world were looking to South Africa to become a world leader and that many Americans were behind the country.

US First Lady Michelle Obama on Thursday praised South Africans who had grown up under apartheid, overcome the oppressive system and built a country based on equality that had

U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama and Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu showed off their football skills while visiting Cape Town Stadium

First Family arrives in Botswana

the second leg of the Africa visit in Gaborone, Botswana. They were wel-comed with a performance of tradition-al African dances performed a group of children ages 6 to 18. The children wore traditional costumes of hide and sang to the family in greeting. They were also greeted by a group of chil-dren waving the American fl ag and the blue and black fl ag of Botswana.

While in Gaborone, the First Family joined in to help paint a mural on the wall of a new clinic under construction that treats children living with HIV/Aids.

see First Lady in Southern Africa on page 41


U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama with young women in Johannesburg, South Africa.BELOW: Family portrait with Nelson Mandela. BBC Photos

The disease is a major public health challenge in Botswa-na, a country of 2-million people, including about 300 ,000 people living with HIV/Aids.

The fi rst lady is promoting health and wellness on her visit, with a special emphasis on HIV-prevention.

The fi rst lady then headed to lunch with women lead-ers from different generations. She met with President Ian Khama before taking the family to dinner at a nature park.

It was an African safari for Michelle Obama and her fam-ily. The fi rst lady, joined by daughters Malia, 12, and Sasha, 10, along with her mother, Marian Robinson, and a niece and nephew, climbed into an open-air Toyota Land Cruiser in search of lions, giraffes, elephants and other animals on the sprawling Madikwe Game Reserve in South Africa.

The group were spending the night at a lodge on the re-serve.

allAfrica.comAP Photos

Pool PhotosHuffi ngton Post

White House Photos

ABOVE: U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama and daughter Malia listen to their guide during a safari in Madikwe Game Reserve in South Africa.BELOW: Family enjoys a game drive.

First Lady in Southern Africafrom page 39


U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama With Botswana’s President Lt. Gen. Seretse Khama Ian Khama on Friday


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Albertina Sisulu, Anti-apartheid Warrior1918-2011

Albertina Sisulu, who died on June 2 aged 92, was a veteran of the anti-apartheid movement and

lived to see three of her fi ve children become leading fi gures in a democratic South Africa.

Her husband, Walter Sisulu, who died in 2003, spent 25 years in custody on Robben Island alongside Nelson Mandela, whom he had recruited into the African National Congress (ANC), now South Africa’s governing party. Mandela was the best man when Wal-ter Sisulu married Albertina Nontsikele-lo in 1944.

While her husband was on Robben Island, Albertina Sisulu brought up the couple’s fi ve children single-handedly. She spent months in jail herself and had her movements restricted.

As a campaigner against apartheid and for the rights of women and chil-dren, she became a leader of the United Democratic Front (UDF), a prominent anti-apartheid coalition in the 1980s that brought together religious, labour and community development groups.

For four years Albertina Sisulu also served in Parliament, winning a seat af-ter the fi rst multiracial elections in 1994.

Her daughter, Lindiwe Sisulu, is now t h e S o u t h African D e -f e n c e M in is -ter. Her s o n , M a x S i s u -lu, is Speak-er of the Na-t i o n a l A s -s e m -

bly. Another daughter, Beryl Sisulu, is South Africa’s Ambassador to Norway.

Max Sisulu’s wife, the writer Elinor Si-sulu, described how, at Walter Sisulu’s 90th birthday celebration shortly before his death, he and Albertina listened to tributes by Nelson Mandela and others with “rapt attention, holding hands un-der the table like teenagers”.

Albertina Sisulu was born Albertina Nontsikelelo on October 21 1918 at Tsomo in the Transkei, and trained as a nurse at a hospital in Johannesburg. She joined the women’s league of the African National Congress in 1948.

In 1954 she joined the Federation of South African Women, and was pres-ent at many of the landmark moments of the anti-apartheid movement.

These included the launch in 1955 of the Freedom Charter, which proclaims: “South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white.” In 1956 she was one of the leaders of a march on Pre-toria by 2,000 women, black and white, opposing the extension to women of pass laws, which restricted the move-ment of black South Africans. The marchers’ feminist slogan of resistance was: “You strike a woman, you strike a rock.”

Between 1964 and 1982 she was the subject of several banning orders, and for a time was detained under house arrest. In 1983 she was elected presi-dent for the UDF’s Transvaal region, and the following year was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment for further-ing the aims of the ANC.

Having been elected to the national council of the UDF’s women’s con-gress in 1987, two years later she led a UDF delegation to the United States and Britain, holding talks with President George Bush and Margaret Thatcher. With Gertrude Shope, she was ap-pointed co-convener of the ANC wom-en’s league task force in 1990, and the following year became the ANC’s dep-uty president.

She also witnessed some of the struggle’s darkest days. In 1997 she was called before the Truth and Rec-onciliation Commission, established to help South Africans confront their bru-tal history.

Albertina Sisulu’s fi ve children sur-vive her.

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituar-ies/8562219/Albertina-Sisulu.html


REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic

Th o u -s a n d s of South

S u d a n e s e danced through the night to mark the fi rst hours of their independence on Saturday, July 9, 2011. Af-ter 55 years of struggle, South Sudan has be-come an independent state.

The South is now free from what they see as the “oppressive” North.

Africa, on the other hand, is prepar-ing to receive the 56th state. But how will life be like in an independent South Sudan?

Despite separation, the North will

still remain the South’s most important neighbour.

The bitter rivalry that has character-ized the relations between the two will have to be put aside for the sake of cor-dial bilateral relations.

Yet, there is anxiety about the unre-solved post-referendum issues which

include, Abyei, citi-zenship, oil wealth and infrastructure, the North/South bor-der, currency and external debt. Africa through the conti-nental body, African Union (AU), has been trying to en-sure that the seces-sion is smooth and that there will be no call to arms. How-ever, the emerging economy in the re-gion provides a wide range of opportuni-ties for investment and trade. In par-ticular, Kenya, that played a key role on the Sudanese peace

process, is looking up to the South as a new market for its manufactured goods and a source of employment for her citizens.

The sectors open for foreign invest-ment include, mining, quarrying, en-ergy and electricity, petroleum and gas industry, transport and ICT, tourism and hotel industry develop-ment, security services, freight and logistics and risk analysts.

While the oil resource in South Su-dan has been given undue attention by the rest of the world, the new republic has even bigger potential in mining and agriculture. With about 80 percent of its land being arable, South Sudan is ca-pable of ensuring food security in the entire Eastern African region that com-prises 12 countries.

Although South Sudan is currently a net importer of agricultural products, the region has an outstanding natural resource base for the production of a wide range of crops, timber and other forest products, fi sheries and livestock.

Key constraints that face the devel-opment of the agricultural sector in-clude inadequate fi nancial services, low use of improved technologies, poor

“The liberation itself is a very vast terminology; there is liberation from the domination

of the people who had ruled the Sudan since independence. Then we are moving now to a

different level of liberation - that is to liberate our people from

backwardness, from ignorance, from illiteracy, from poverty, from

diseases and all these need an effective government,”

Jonglei state governor Kuol Manyang Juuk

South Sudan:South Sudan:the World’s Newest the World’s Newest

NationNation

see New Nation on page 46


rural infrastructure that hampers access to markets, weak or no agricultural and livestock research and extension services, and shortage of skilled labour.

Thus, the following sectors have the potential for domestic and international investors: rain-fed mechanized schemes for grains and cash crop production, irri-gated sugarcane farms, fruit and vegetable pro-duction and process-ing, Gum Arabic, timber and wood production and processing, dairy and poultry farming, veterinary services and pharmacies, fi sh pro-duction, agrochemicals and machineries.

The new independent South has expressed willingness to join the

New Nationfrom page 45

“They (South Sudanese) did

not learn to take initiative. They just copy. Some classes

in business for adults would do wonders

for them.”AllAfrica.com

Rehearsing the National AnthemREUTERS/Goran Tomasevic

East African Community (EAC) trade block, given that 90 percent of her trade is with the East African region. South Sudan provides a ready market to consumer products and services. Still, infrastructure and markets need to be developed and equitable access to essential services must be put in place. For instance there is only one tele-com company based in South Sudan. People need health services and yet there is only one main hospital. Educa-tion, especially primary, vocational and other tertiary institutions need to be de-veloped.

However, the biggest challenge for the new republic will be assuring for-eign investors of the security of their investment and human life. Being a region emerging from two decades of war, there are still too many weapons in the wrong hands, a development that has the potential of scaring away would-be investors. President Salva Kiir has a huge task ahead of him. For one, he has to assure the North that an independent South Sudan will not be a hostile neigbour. He also has to disarm the militias that still possess arms con-trary to the peace agreement.

But the most important thing for an independent South is how it is likely to deal with her other neigbours, Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia. Kenya is upbeat that an independent South Sudan will expand the markets for her goods and services. Indeed, part of Kenya’s Vision 2030 economic blueprint is pegged on the emerging market in South Sudan.

Uganda on the other hand is seek-ing a stable buffer zone on its northern border to ensure that the rebel Lord’s

Resistance Army (LRA) does not return into active in-s u r g e n c y. U g a n d a n trade with South Su-dan has tripled in re-cent years, with South Sudan being t h e la rg-e s t

importer of U g a n d a n goods.

Ethiopia, on the other hand, is both optimis-tic and luke-warm towards South Sudan’s independence. While Ethiopia has embraced South Sudan with many of her nationals doing busi-ness in Juba, especially in the hospi-tality and transport industry, the Addis Government is a bit jittery that an in-dependent South Sudan will give ideas to separatist movements in the south (Oromo Liberation Front) and east (Ogaden).

Although a school has been built in Lankien, South Sudan there are no tables and chairs to furnish it. The teachers haven’t been formally

trained and only gained employed because they went to school, mainly in refugee camps in

countries in the region. They teach in English, the new offi cial language of South Sudan. Hardly

anyone else has a good command of English in Lankien, where people speak Nuer, the language

of their tribe with the same name.allAfrica.com

“We need mobile phones”, he says pointing to a mast

without an antennae. “To go somewhere on the off chance

of fi nding a good deal is a waste of time. Telephones can help to decide where to fi nd the best deals,” explains the

young man.AllAfrica.com

allAfrica.commsnbc.com

reuters photosnationalpost.com

www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNinFWXAM1E&feature=play

er_embedded


Top 25 Global Cities of 2011

The dominance of Western cities is being challenged by up-and-coming centers in Brazil, Russia,

India and China, according to a new study.

The Knight Frank Global Cit-ies Survey (www.knightfrank.com/wealthreport/2011/global-cities-sur-vey), published by Citi Private Bank, monitors “city-level power shifts” by as-sessing global markets for investment opportunities and infl uence on busi-ness leaders worldwide.

This year’s survey, the fourth, shows major movement in the study’s “Eco-nomic Activity” category, with 14 cit-ies slipping down the rankings and 16 rising up.

Author Liam Bailey writes: “The on-going West-to-East shift in economic might is highlighted by the fact that eight of the 13 jumps in this area were by Asian cities, led by Shanghai and Kuala Lumpur. But the West is not with-out its successes. Munich’s rise in this category points to the new confi dence in Germany – its star has been rising strongly during the Euro crisis.”

In the “Political Power” category, North America dominates, with San Francisco and Toronto leading the charge (but a strong showing from Singapore nonetheless). Meanwhile, ”Quality of Life” boosts in Sydney, Zur-ich and even London demonstrate pos-itive infrastructure investment.

But most interesting is the survey’s “Knowledge and Infl uence” ranking, with signifi cant volatility. Bailey writes that it may be “an indication of the level of competition between cities that are seeking to exert power through invest-ment in knowledge industries,” includ-ing Boston, Munich, Milan, Mumbai and Rio de Janeiro. (New York and London remain tops, however.)

Here’s the list of the top 25 global cities, according to the Citi index:

1.New York 2.London3.Paris 4.Tokyo

5.Brussels 6.Los Angeles7.Singapore 8.Beijing9.Toronto 10.Berlin11.Chicago 12.Washington, D.C. 13.Seoul14.Frankfurt 15.Sydney16.San Francisco 17.Hong Kong18.Shanghai 19.Mexico City 20.Bangkok21.Moscow 22.Zurich23.Munich 24.Taipei25.Sao PauloThe remaining city rankings include,

in descending order: Buenos Aires, Is-tanbul, Milan, Boston, Miami, Cairo, Dubai, Kuala Lumpur, Tel Aviv, Bogota, Rio de Janeiro, New Delhi, Mumbai, Jakarta and Johannesburg.

The survey also offered Top 10 breakouts in other categories.

Economic Activity1.New York2.London3.Tokyo


4.Paris5.Shanghai6.Singapore7.Hong Kong8.Seoul9.Beijing10.Los AngelesHow it’s measured: output, income

per head, fi nancial and capital market activity, market share, number of inter-national corporate headquarters.

Political Power1.Washington, D.C.2.New York3.Brussels4.Beijing5.London6.Paris7.Tokyo8.Cairo9.Istanbul10.Mexico CityHow it’s measured: number of NGO

and political organization headquar-

ters, embassies and think tanks.

Quality of Life1.Paris2.Berlin3.Toronto4.Frankfurt5.London6.Zurich7.Tokyo8.Munich9.New York10.Los AngelesHow it’s measured:

assessing personal and political freedom, censorship, personal security, crime, politi-cal stability, health fa-cilities, public services and transport, culture and liesure, climate, quality of environment.

Knowledge and Infl uence

1.New York2.London3.Tokyo4.Paris5.Hong Kong6.Chicago7.Los Angeles8.Singapore9.Sydney10.Washington D.C.How it’s measured:

number and ranking of educational facilities, number of news me-dia organizations, international market share of media.

The top 10 list of “hot,” up-and-coming locations:

Maputo, MozambiqueMacau, ChinaRio de Janeiro, BrazilBaku, AzerbaijanIstanbul, TurkeyTaipei, TaiwanSuzhou, ChinaUlan Bator, MongoliaAstana, KazakhstanDoha, QatarAdditional top 20 global cities of 2020

predictions are:Top 10 cities for entrepreneursTop 10 cities for hedonistsTop 10 cities for romantics

Bailey sums up Knight Frank’s fi nd-ings thusly: “Tried-and-tested markets with security of infrastructure and po-litical and legal stability will outperform in the longterm. No market is immune from a crisis, but these tend to have a depth of demand that creates a true liq-uid investment.”

www.smartplanet.comwww.knightfrank.com/wealthreport/2011/global-

cities-survey


Mamputo, Mozambique

China to Launch Lunar Rover, Mine Moon for

Nuclear Fuel

A top Chinese offi cial has con-fi rmed that the world’s most pop-ulous nation plans to send robots

to the moon. Ziyuan Ouyang, chief scientist of

the Chinese lunar exploration program, made the announcement at the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), held in Shang-hai. The missions, scheduled for launch in 2013 and 2017, will serve as a tune up for a more challenging goal: putting a man on the moon by 2025.

“But why?” you ask. Well, beyond obvious bragging rights, the China National Space Administration’s am-bitious foray into lunar exploration is part of a grander scheme to exploit the moon’s vast iron reserves and its abun-dance of Helium-3, a rare but heav-ily sought-after fuel for nuclear fusion plants.

This elaborate operation to mine the moon for these coveted natural re-sources was set in motion back in 2007 when the agency launched into space its fi rst lunar orbiter Chang’e-1 (named after the moon goddess of Chinese folklore) to scan the landscape and pro-

duce a detailed 3-D map of the moon’s surface. This was followed in 2010 by the successful launch of another probe, Chang’e-2, which was equipped with a higher-resolution camera and orbited at an even closer distance of 100 kilo-meters. The data is being used to pin-point an ideal landing spot for a rover.

Ouyang says it’s been decided that Chang’e-3’s spacecraft, which in-cludes an unmanned lunar lander and autonomous lunar rover, will be sent to explore the Sinus Iridium region. Equipped with a solar-powered battery, sensors, cameras, x-ray and infrared spectrometers, as well as a radar, the robots will navigate and explore the terrain. The rover will be the fi rst to launch, while the lander will be sent later to drill, conduct experiments and collect samples.

But if past interplanetary unmanned missions are any indication, China’s engineers have their work cut out for them. IEEE Spectrum, which hosted the event, explains in detail the kinds of challenges the researchers are facing:

One of the (many) tricky parts of operating on the moon is designing a rover that can stay alive during the lu-nar night, which is a half-month long, making solar power an impracticality. To help keep itself alive, the Chinese rover will have a supplementary nucle-ar battery powered by plutonium 238, which will give the rover a lifespan of 30 years, although its mission life will be only three months. This is the same type of radioisotope thermoelectric generator system (RTG) being used on the Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity.

And when it comes to colonizing the moon, other nations have their own ideas, too. Japan hopes to have a moon base by 2030. India is thinking the same thing. Russia and the Euro-pean Space Agency are targeting an earlier date: 2025.

In the U.S., however, the timeline for a return to the moon is up in the air now that NASA’s Constellation Program has since been canceled due to budget constraints.

Image: slide from Chinese lunar exploration program presentation /

IEEE Spectrum


UN: Renewable Energies can Meet World’s Power Needs

The United Na-tions has found that renewable

energy alone can meet global power needs - countering the bur-geoning belief that nu-clear power is the only viable solution.

Recently, the United Nation’s Intergovern-mental Panel on Cli-mate Change (IPCC) released its Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Miti-gation (SRREN). The report painted a rosy future for renewable energy tech-nologies.

IPCC’s working group of 120 re-searchers determined that nearly 80 percent of electricity could be gener-ated through renewable sources by mid-century, eliminating between 220 to 560 Gigatonnes of carbon dioxide pollution by 2050.

This shift would hold the world’s tem-perature down two degrees Celsius, which meets the goal of the UN’s Can-cun Agreements. The energy mix stud-ied by IPCC includes forms of bioen-ergy, geothermal energy, hydropower, solar, and wind.

“With consistent climate and ener-gy policy support, renewable energy sources can contribute substantially to human well-being by sustainably supplying energy and stabilizing the climate,” said professor Ottmar Eden-hofer, the group’s current co-chair.

The report acknowledged political disagreement among developed econ-omies vis-à-vis developing economies, and seeks to help policy makers under-stand that there are solutions for a col-lective way forward.

“What is unique about this assess-ment is that the IPCC allows us to draw on and bring together a broad spectrum of experts on each of the technologies reviewed in collaboration with scientists studying energy systems as a whole. It represents a systemic, broad, impartial and state of knowledge report on the present and future potential of a low carbon, more resource effi cient energy path,” Edenhofer said.

Other key fi ndings were:• The energy potential of renewable

technologies exceeds current global demand.

• Renewable energy capacity grew in 2009 across also categories in spite of the global economic downturn.

• Developing nations account for over 50 percent of the world’s current re-newable energy capacity.

• Most reviewed scenarios showed that renewables would exceed the low carbon energy provided by nuclear power or fossil fuel power plants equipped with carbon capture technologies.

• There is no “one size fi ts all” policy for encouraging renewable power

development.• Some renewable power technolo-

gies can stand on their own today.• Renewable energy solutions are not

the only solution to reduce carbon emissions.

The IPCC working group also offered projection for different forms of renew-able energy. See here There’s also a brief video overview of the fi ndings.

“What is unique about this assess-ment is that the IPCC allows us to draw on and bring together a broad spectrum of experts on each of the technologies reviewed in collaboration with scientists studying energy systems as a whole. It represents a systemic, broad, impartial and state of knowledge report on the present and future potential of a low carbon, more resource effi cient energy path,” Edenhofer said.

The report stands in contrast to re-cent comments made by public fi gures such as Microsoft CEO Bill Gates who endorsed nuclear power at a confer-ence in New York last week. Gates dismissed renewable technologies as “cute,” but unable to meet energy de-mands.

Gates noted that there is a lot of room for innovation in nuclear reactor designs. “The room to do things differ-ently is quite dramatic,” he said. Gates is not a disinterested party: He has in-vested in nuclear power company Ter-raPower.


China Begins to Look Away From Africa, Maybe

Jasmine blossoms’ fall from grace in the Chi-nese fl ower industry is

not the only blow Chinese businesses have suffered as a result of the North Af-rican and Middle Eastern democratic uprisings this spring. China is evaluating the impact of the Jasmine revolution on its overseas investment and outward business ex-pansion strategy.

Africa - once considered the lab for Chinese companies’ reach outside - is being relegated into a destination with too many risk factors. Safer political destinations and countries closer to home are likely to benefi t from the shift.

The readjustment has been in the works for some time but the uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya have made those subtle shifts more pronounced.

“North Africa’s unrest and Libya’s sit-uation in particular are testing China’s ‘go out’ strategy,” says Wang Jinyan, research fellow at the Beijing Foreign Studies University. “This will have a defi nite impact on the future direction of our overseas investment.”

According to press reports, China’s Ministry of Commerce new fi ve-year plan, which is being fi nalised at the mo-ment, makes Asia and the new emerg-ing economies the centrepiece of the country’s “go out” investment strategy.

“The political risk aside, investment in Africa is no longer what it used to be,” the Economic Observer quoted an un-named offi cial from the ministry in May. “Opening a mine there is not so easy any more, now you need to take into account the environment, local employ-ment and benefi ts to local economy.”

By contrast, Asia is perceived as a mature market full of economic poten-tial and fewer political risks.

Determining the direction of China’s future investment remains a full-time

occupation of ana-lysts the world over. Flush with cash from years of exports-driven eco-nomic expansion and sitting on top of the world’s larg-est foreign exchange reserves, China has been on a shopping spree of late for commodities, oil, energy and agri-cultural land.

A study released in May by the Asia Society in New York forecast that by 2020 China’s overseas direct invest-ment could reach 2 trillion dollars. Last year the United States’ foreign invest-ment amounted to 300 billion dollars.

The fi nancial crisis of 2008 has pro-vided Chinese companies with impetus and opportunities to channel some of their money into most remote corners of the world, snapping minerals, secur-ing oil fi elds and acquiring stakes in major companies.

But before spreading their wings further afi eld many companies, in-cluding major state oil fi rms like Petro China, have used Africa as their testing ground. Entering as contractors to build railways, roads and telecommunica-tions, Chinese companies now boast a sizeable presence on the continent. By the end of 2010, some 2,000 Chinese companies operated in Africa with an accumulated investment of 32 billion dollars.

Last year China became Africa’s larg-est trading partner, and its march into the continent seemed unstoppable.

Not surprisingly, this has been met with criticisms by some that China is acting as a neo- coloniser, stripping Africa of its rich resources.

But the Arab spring has cast doubts over this relentless expansion. The fi g-ures of China’s economic losses suf-fered during the civilian unrest in North Africa and Libyan confl ict are begin-ning to emerge, giving offi cials cause to pause.

In Libya where China’s involvement is quite recent, the losses suffered and the cost of repatriating some 36,000 Chinese employees is set to surpass 3 billion dollars. Since 2007 Libya had contracted some 50 engineering proj-ects to Chinese companies, including several image projects to mark the 40th anniversary of the 1969 revolution.

Although China’s role as a contractor has limited its exposure to direct losses in the unrest, some Chinese assets like Sinopec refi neries in Libya were raided and destroyed. Experts say that on the whole Beijing has been left to deal with a messy aftermath of compensation claims, third party debts and the re-em-ployment of all returned workers.

And Libya’s fallout is only one piece in the big picture of Arab revolutions that have derailed Chinese business

Left, a textile factory. Above, a bridge construction site in Angola. In exchange for access to Africa’s resources, China is investing in infrastructure projects on the continent (fi le photo). IRIN

see China Looks Away on page 55


The Tiger and the Dragon in a Hot Race to Woo Africa, New Delhi Off ers $5 Billion

East African nations have become the latest benefi ciaries of the battle heating up between India

and China for control of Africa’s eco-nomic landscape.

The region raked in a huge chunk of the $5 billion from New Delhi last week as a loans package to fi nance key in-frastructure projects.

While India has lagged behind its

Asian rival China in bagging deals and projects in Africa, the funding deal an-nounced in Addis Ababa has awakened many observers to the fact that the for-mer is harbouring a grand agenda for the continent.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who announced the funding was on a six-day trip to Africa, attending the India-Africa summit in Addis Ababa Ethiopia as he sought to deepen eco-nomic ties with African nations.

With the support of their government, Indian fi rms are increasingly making more and strategic entries into East Africa and the Continent in general, targeting the expected windfall in tele-coms, mineral extraction, engineering and consumer goods markets, a fi eld Chinese fi rms have previously domi-nated.

“Its clear India like China has re-alised Africa is the next frontier for their growth. What we are seeing is a com-petition for new markets and resources between the two, “ said Kuria Muchiru, Senior Partner and Country Leader for Kenya at audit fi rm PricewaterhouseC-oopers (PwC).

“There is a lot of investor inter-est in Africa by Indian fi rms, “ said Mr Muchiru.

Trade fi gures have been telling of the strengthening ties between India and Africa, a co-operation 16 African Heads of State agreed to support in the com-

ing years, as they turned to South-to South relations to grow their econo-mies. Statistics show total bilateral trade between India and African coun-tries stood at $46 billion in 2010, up from the $3 billion in 2000 and it is es-timated to clock $70 billion by 2015.

Compara t i ve l y China’s bilateral trade with Africa stood at about $200 billion back in 2009.

The new funding will be disbursed as credit to countries, in addition to the $5.4 billion that India offered Africa at the fi rst India-Africa summit in New Delhi in 2008, said Singh.

Among the key projects to have re-ceived a boost is the proposed Ethio-pia-Djibouti railway to be contracted at a cost of $300 million. The African Union mission in Somalia would also benefi t from the fi nancing with a pledge of $2 million while African airlines will get increased access to Indian cities in what Singh said was a unique partner-ship between the two regions. Singh said India would offer an additional $700 million for new institutions and training programmes.

India is not hiding its intentions. “The people of Africa and India stand at the threshold of a historic opportunity. There is a new economic growth story emerging from Africa. Africa possesses all the prerequisites to become a major growth pole of the world,” Singh told Af-rican Union leaders in Ethiopia.

“The India-Africa partnership is unique and owes its origins to history and our common struggle against co-

lonialism, apartheid, poverty, disease, illiteracy and hunger. But African states do not only expect from India, but we believe we are able to give back. India is able to count on the support of Af-rica,” said Singh.

Leading Indian technology compa-nies including Bharti Airtel, Mahindra Satyam, Infosys and Tata are among the fi rms ramping up efforts in Africa to increase their presence in the region. Bharti has presence in 15 African coun-tries, after it acquired the African assets of Kuwait’s Zain mid last year at nearly $10 billion. This has delivered rivalry to the doorsteps of European mobile tele-phone giants, Vodafone and Orange which have previously dominated the market.

African countries have also been reaching out to Indian investors as they seek to boost their economies. In October last year, Rwanda sent a 25-member business delegation to In-dia scouting for partners and investors to give a boost to the soft and physical infrastructure sectors back home.

Rwanda’s interestSeveral Indian fi rms have shown in-

Indian Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, left, was briefed about a super computer at the India-Tanzanian Centre in Information and Communication Technology, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania PIB

see Tiger/Dragon Woo Africa on page 55


China Looks Away

interests.At a working conference in Shanghai

in May, Sinosure, China’s offi cial ex-port credit insurance agency, revealed that in the fi rst three months of 2011 its reported loss claims from North Africa and the Middle East have risen by 167 percent over the same period of last year.

According to fi gures from the Ministry of Commerce, new Chinese contracts in North African countries in the fi rst quarter have dropped dramatically, by 70.8 percent in Algeria and by 46.9 per-cent in Libya over the same period of last year.

The civil unrest and safety con-cerns have made the Chinese even more invisible in Africa, adding fuel to accusations that Chinese contractors are isolating themselves from the local population behind high walls, and re-main aloof to local grievances.

But even as Beijing takes a closer look at its investments in Africa, Chi-na’s involvement there is far from over.

“You may not see the Chinese but you can see the stadiums and the roads and everything they have built,” says Lawrence Brahm, a Beijing-based political columnist. “The jury on their role in Africa’s development is out. I still think that the great game between China and the West will be played out in Africa.”

www.allAfrica.com

from page 52

Tiger/Dragon

Woo Africa

terest in investing in Kigali promising to start big projects worth millions of dol-lars in information technology, mining, agro-processing, education, pharma-ceuticals and energy. Rwanda Devel-opment Board (RDB), a government agency created to facilitate investments says at least 26 Indian companies--in-cluding Essar Group, Tata Group and Karox Company--had shown interest towards the end of last year.

“The whole world is looking at In-dia, China and Brazil. Even American investors want to go to India,” RDB chief executive John Gara said.In No-vember, Chinese Vice President Xi Jin-ping visited South Africa, Angola and Botswana signing deals worth millions of dollars to build a power plant, solar panel factory and to increase South Af-rican exports to China.

Chinese state-owned fi rms led by China National Offshore Company (CNOOC) have of late been major players in the oil exploration business in EAC region. In Kenya for example two Indian-based companies -- Gleen Investment and Sanghi Cement-- were given a green light to construct cement plants in Ortum and Sebit area in Po-kot respectively. Sanghi cement of In-dia which manages one of the world’s largest single stream cement plants--producing over 20 million tonnes annu-ally--is to invest over $80 million in its cement plant in Kenya, giving it a foot-print it plans to use to supply the region market such as in South Sudan.

from page 53

Gleen Investment, a unit of conglom-erate Mehta Group plans to put up a 1.2 million-metric tonne cement plant in West Pokot, to cost about $200 million in a programme that will be scaled up depending on the available limestone deposits. Indian Reliance Group as-sociated with the Ambani brothers to-gether with Bharti Airtel and the Tata Group had bid for a 51 per cent stake in monopoly Telkom Kenya but lost out to France Telecom’s Orange. Indian sec-ond largest mobile phone service pro-vider Essar Group has already made one foray in Africa with the launch of the Yu brand in Kenya in 2008. Essar Energy which owns a 50 per cent stake in Kenya’s oil refi nery in Mombasa, having invested $600 million is said to be looking for opportunities in Uganda following recent discovery of oil re-serves in the Lake Albertine rift basin.

India - TanzaniaIndian companies and businesses in

Tanzania are valued at about US$1.3 billion, creating about 32,000 jobs through direct investments and joint venture projects. In total, the India-Tan-zania bilateral trade stood at US$1.1 billion up to the end of 2010.

Early this year, Tanzanian Industry, Trade and Marketing minister Cyril Chami said at least seven Indian com-panies are expected to build factories at a cost of $250 million and create over 6,000 jobs.

Mr Singh held discussions with President Kikwete on various protocols aimed at strengthening India-Tanzania co-operation in various economic and social sector projects. Last year, Tan-zania’s exports value to India stood at $132.5 million while imports hit $596.7 million.

www.allAfrica.com

JULY 18, 2011

International Trade Calendar

Apps WorldJune 1-2, 2011www.apps-world.net/africa

Cape TownConvention Center

In Africa, the potential for Apps go far beyond games, entertainment and publishing. With a total population

of just over one billion, infrastructure is lacking throughout the continent especially in the areas of health, agriculture, banking, education and

more. Apps are being touted as one of the solutions.

T h e p o t e n t i a l of apps to change the l a n d s c a p e of Africa is b o u n d l e s s . I n c r e a s e d l i t e r a c y , w idesp read access to hea l t hca re ,

farming and a g r i c u l t u r a l aids and more is being facilitated by mobile apps.

H u r d l e s do exist in development of the nascent industry – p a r t i c u l a r l y c h a l l e n g e s within billing infrastructure n e e d e d

to monetise this market.


However, the implementation of mobile money is providing a solution that is becoming an integral to the business of mobile apps in Africa.

Apps World Africa 2011 will explore the potential of applications to assist in the development of the globe’s second largest continent. Bringing together the telcos, handset manufacturers, government ministries and organisations, marketing houses and more, this event will thoroughly explore whether APPs are the answer for Africa, and allow all the stakeholders to build pertinent partnerships in the industry.

Topics covered at the show include:• Operator case studies – models

and business models of app related own labels, and app store partnerships and liaisons

• Handsets – which has the most compelling offering in this market

• Developers in the region – challenges and success stories

• Mobile money - rise of mobile money apps and how these interact with the banking sector

• Apps for public services and health – is this really the answer for Africa?

• m-Commerce for agriculture – mobilising the farming community through apps

• m-Education – increasing literacy through apps-

• Apps for marketing & brand building - experiences of leading African brands with app related campaigns

•

Export.govTrade

Mission to

South Africa

9/19-23/2011

The United States Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration, U.S. and Foreign

Commercial Service (CS) is organiz-ing a Trade Mission to South Africa, September 19-23, 2011 (www.export.gov/eac/show_detail_trade_events.asp?EventID=31747&InputType=EVENT). Led by a senior Department of Commerce offi cial, the mission is in-tended to include representatives from a variety of U.S. industry suppliers and service providers with targeted indus-tries being energy equipment and tech-nologies, agricultural equipment, and educational services and skills devel-opment.

South Africa is a country of 50 million people, rich in culture, people and natural her-itage. With remarkable macroeco-nomic sta-bility and a pro-busi-ness envi-

ronment, South Africa is a logical and attractive choice for U.S. companies to enter Sub-Saharan Africa. Growth of South Africa’s consumer base also provides ample opportunity for U.S. exporters. With stops in Johannesburg and Cape Town, this trade mission will introduce U.S. companies to potential buyers and allow them to explore new business opportunities in the dynamic South African market. The mission will include one-on-one business appoint-ments, briefi ngs and evening recep-tions.

The cost for a SME (fewer than 500 employees) is $2,125.00. The cost for a large company is $2,565.00. Each additional representative is $450.00.

Pre-Register for this mission at: https://emenuapps.ita.doc.gov/ePublic/ne-wRegistration.jsp?SmartCode=1R1G

see Trade Calendar on page 57


Contacts for this mission:Larry Farris, JohannesburgSenior Commercial Offi cerPhone: 27 11 290 [email protected] Teresa Yung, Trade Event ProgramsInternational Trade SpecialistPhone: [email protected].

Nigeria Infrastructure

www.cwcnif.comEko Expo Centre on

Victoria IslandNovember 1-2, 2011

Developed by the industry, for the industry, this strategic business conference will bring together the

thought-leaders in Nigeria to find solutions, raise awareness and create the right framework for the development of a much needed infrastructure, construction of rail and road transport, waterways and intensification of efforts for increased and reliable power supply.Key Topics Include:•Power & Its Central Role in Industrial Diversification •Delivering Affordable & Power – Strategies & Implementation •Engaging the Private Sector in Real Projects with Real Security on Returns •Ports & Transport Maturity – Investing in Getting Nigeria Moving

Trade Calendarfrom page 56

ASSIST THE PEOPLE OF SOUTH SUDANSudan Sunrise

Help Build Schools in the South Sundan www.sudansunrise.org

South Sudan is the most underdeveloped region of the world today. 85% of the population in South Sudan is illiterate. Only about 7% of teachers in the south have any professional training, and it is not uncommon to visit a school where

the teachers themselves have not been educated beyond fourth grade. Some 1.5 mil-lion children who should be in school are not, due to lack of schools. The majority of schools that do exist consist of a chalkboard under a tree. Read about the camapign and contribute to the program to build over 41 schools at www.sudansunrise.org.

Southern Sudan Literacy Project (SSLP)Build a Primary School • www.thehopealliance.org/?q=node/77

The Southern Sudan Literacy Project (SSLP) is designed to build a Primary school in Dongchak Payam, Duk County, Southern Sudan. Solomon Awan, who was one of the “Lost Boys from Sudan,” now lives in Salt Lake City, Utah. He desires to help the village he is from, Duk Padiet. Villagers are just now returning after so many years of war

and genocide. During the Spring of 2008, Solomon traveled back to his home village where he was reunited with his mother and sister. He met with the village community and agreed that the education of their children is the most critical need. We hope to fi nish building the school before the 2011 rainy season. To further this goal, SSLP has partnered with Hope Alliance, allowing our donors the benefi t of a tax deduction. Please help SSLP accomplish this worthwhile project: send donations to The Hope Alliance (www.thehopealliance.org) For further information please contact: [email protected].

•New Infrastructure Development – Mega Projects & Inner-City Transport •Construction, Steel & Cement – Developing Successful Clusters in Nigeria •Case Studies Highlighting Tried, Tested & Successful Projects For The Private Sector •State Led Investment Strategies, Partnerships & Opportunities Benefits of Attending:•Hear first hand about how the Governor’s will spearhead and support your company’s growth •Learn how the new local content regulation will affect your business •Maximise your business opportunities by meeting in one place everyone who matters to your business •Find out how you can deliver a real IPP project and maintain a customer base •Meet face-to-face with the key decision makers •Forge long-term business relationships and new partnerships •Be first in line for fast paced government decisions and contracts to mobile Nigeria’s power sector.


Books to Consider...

Alex: My Life From

Sudanese Refugee to International

Supermodelby Alex Wek

Alek Wek has been the face of ad campaigns for companies rang-ing from Coach to Michael Kors

to Nars and has worked the runways on behalf of designers such as Diane von Furstenberg and Christian Dior. Yet her defining moments extend be-yond the runways of New York, Milan, Paris, and London.

Born to a middle-class family in the Sudan, Wek found her life suddenly in-verted when civil war broke out among outlaw militias, the Muslim-dominated government, and southern rebels. The conflict not only killed two million people, it created an entire community of refugees, including Wek’s family—

many of whom fled to London. Alek was the first black model who

didn’t conform to a Caucasian aesthet-ic, the first with an uncompromising, sub-Saharan beauty. She belongs to the Dinka tribe and grew up in a small town called Wau in the south of the Su-dan, the seventh of nine children.

Supermodel Alek Wek has a sweet style and unique look that has propelled her into one of the most successful models of color. Wek owns the runway with her long legs and piercing gaze. And like the true Aries she is, Wek has also transitioned into the role of design-er with her collection of handbags, Wek 1933 (her father’s birth year).

She has campaigned for aid agen-cies such as Unicef and founded a not-for-profit organisation educating under-privileged children. Modelling gave her the profile to do this.

“So I’ve been lucky. I’ve made good friends, because there are some de-signers, stylists and editors who realise fashion isn’t that important.

“Now I model in moderation, which is much better. “I say to the girls, ‘Nothing

Every day, millions of children throughout Africa struggle to learn while sitting on the fl oor or

on the ground outdoors. Giving them a desk, where they can write and con-centrate, is a great step towards creat-ing an educational system that attracts, and keeps, eager young students.

Support the U.S. Fund for UNI-CEF (www.unicefusa.org) and MS-NBC’s “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell” in an ambitious campaign called K.I.N.D.: Kids in Need of Desks to provide 46,000 desks for 172 schools in UNICEF Malawi’s Schools for Africa network.

By making a tax-deductible dona-

tion to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, you can pick one or more students up off the ground and help pave their way to a better education and brighter future. A gift of:• $24 can pick one student off the fl oor;• $48 will buy a desk and bench for

two students;• $720 will furnish an entire class of

30.The program is a component of the

UNICEF Schools for Africa campaign which aims to accelerate access to quality basic education for children, with a special focus on girls, orphans and vulnerable children.

Donate a Desk to Students in Malawi

should change your soul’.Wek has written her incredible, dar-

ing story of rising from refugee to inter-national supermodel.

www.amazon.comwww.borders.com

This is an offi cial warning from the African Union, an intergovernmental

and continental organization with its

headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

It has come to our attention that an organization calling itself the AF-RICAN UNION CHAMBER OF

COMMERCE is using the name AF-RICAN UNION (AU) AND THE AF-RICAN UNION LOGO AND WEB-SITE and claiming to be part of or an institution of the African Union. The said organization has been alleged to have solicited money from the wider public in order to render cer-tain services or to provide access to identifi ed goods or services.

We would like to warn people worldwide that the AFRICAN UNION has no connection whatsoever with the so called African Union Chamber of Commerce. The said organization is not part of or an institution of the African Union and is not recognized by the African Union. The use of the name, logo and website of the Afri-can Union by the said organization is not authorized by the African Union and is therefore illegal. The African Union disassociates itself from any misrepresentations, statements or communication in whatever form and manner made by this organization purporting to be an agent of or part of the African Union.

The African Union will not accept any liability in respect of any repre-sentation or misrepresentation, com-munication, transaction, losses or damages incurred by any member of the public arising from any act of commission or omission or utterance perpetrated by the so called African Union Chamber of Commerce.

The AU as the copyright holder will take appropriate action against the said organization.

Strategic ObjectivesAfrican Union CommissionStrategic Plan 2009-2012

1. Reduce confl icts to achieve continental security and stability;2. Achieve the necessary continental security and stability as a prerequisite for Africa’s development and integration;3. Promote sustainable economic development;4. Promote sustainable social and human development;5. Formulate frameworks for developing and sharing Africa’s Statistics, and Research & Development capacities;6. Enhance continental integration;7. Build and foster continental and global cooperation;8. Promote good governance, democracy and human rights;9. Strengthen the Africa-wide humanitarian response and action;10. Promote Inter-African solidarity;11. Promote African Cultural Renaissance and the protection of Africa’s cultural heritage;12. Promote the active participation and contribution of all segments of the African society in Africa’s development and integration;13. Promote the ratifi cation and entry into force of all outstanding legal instruments adopted by the Assembly of the Union;14. Promote gender equality;15. Strengthen the capacity and enhance the operational effi ciency and effectiveness of the African Union Commission;16. Promote synergies, linkages and good working relations with all Africa Union Organs;17. Promote effective cooperation and collaboration with Member States and the Regional Economic Communities;18. Promote strategic partnerships for leveraging sustainable sources of funding and comparative advantages.

www.african-union.org



Watch & Support the Africa Channel!Time Warner

Don’t have the Africa Channel in your area? Call Time Warner at: 1-888-892-2253 and ask that the Africa Channel be broadcast to ALL regions of California.

For information on the Africa Channel visit www.theafricachannel.com or send an e-mail inquiry to [email protected].

Continental Africa Chamber of Commerce

(CACC)

Export - Import Opportunity Seminar

July 20, 2011 8:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.

Northeastern Illinois UniversityJacob H. Carruthers Center

for Inner City Studies700 East Oakwood Boulevard

Lower LevelChicago, IL 60653

***FREE PARKING***

The Seminar will cover:•New Regulations, •Identifying Markets, •Products, •Financing,

•Payments, •Documentation, •Insurance, •Shipping and Clearing Procedures. •Plus gather Essential

Information on Export-Import Opportunities in Africa.

DEADLINE FOR REGISTRATION: JULY 15, 2011

Registration FeeCACC Members-Free

NON Members: $20 per personMake Check Payable to:

Continental Africa Chamber of Commerce

Mail To: CACC28 E. Jackson Boulevard, Suite 600

Chicago, IL 60604For information contact us:Telephone: 312-987-1892

E-mail:[email protected]

Sponsored by: CACC in cooperation with:Northeastern Illinois University

Cook County Bureau of Community Development

U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP)U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)

ACCION - Chicago • Chase Bank Illinois Black Chamber of Commerce

NORBIC/Alliance for Illinois ManufacturingUnited African Organization (UAO)


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The Journal of CommerceONLINE

Breaking News Every Business Day

www.joc.com

The KARIDERM products for hair care, body care and facial

careare made from certified

organic shea butter, offering all the benefits of

this African green treasure.Rich in nutritious fatty acids and regenerating vitamins, KARIDERM’s shea

butter nourishes and balances the skin, giving a superior level of protection,

revitalization and hydration.Available in Canada and Africa.

Order directly fromwww.kariderm.com

CARADORE.COMthe FREE, SAFE & EASY

way to buy - sellcars online in Africa

www.caradore.com

http://angola.org/newsletter/Imbondeiro.pdf

Kasamore International Calling Card

Low Rates for International Calls &

Domestic CallsNo Contract • No Fees

QuaranteedHigh Quality Sound

www.kasamore.com1-866-507-7144


An Export Ready Product.Available in Natural and Lime

Call 323-964-1111or send an e-mail inquiry to ask.energyplus.com

Online Videos Offer Businesses the Basics of Exporting

A new series of 12 online videos offer export-ers another tool in learning about the technical aspects of exporting and dealing with the intri-cacies of trade rules and paperwork.

In these videos, viewers see Trade Informa-tion Center (TIC) trade specialists, explaining how to fi ll out a NAFTA Certifi cate of Origin. The presenters in the videos all do customer-facing work for their Department of Commerce agen-cies and, thus, are intimately familiar with the subject matter of each video.

The 12 export training videos are available on the Web at www.census.gov/foreign-trade/aes/exporttraining/videos. Each video runs about three or four minutes and can be viewed online or downloaded for off-line viewing.

For additional sources of export counsel-ing, contact the Trade Information Center at 1-800-USA-TRAD(E) (1-800-872-8723); www.export.gov.

Pan-AfricanCHILDREN’S FUND

people-to-people, church-to-churchinitiative to contribute

to a better futurefor the children of Africa

Please send your contribution to:Pan-African Children’s Fund

P.O. Box 8386Los Angeles, CA 90008

[email protected]

UPS WorldShip™Your Desktop Guide

Through International Shipping PreparationDownload Free Software

www.ups.com

A Royal Blend of all naturalWest African herbs & fi ery spices

Before you grill,before you bake,

Buy King’s Pepperand Shake, Shake, Shake!

www.kingspepper.com 323.291.4267


Focused on ways the African Diaspora can partici-pate and support the African Union’s Sixth Region

initiative.For participation information contact:David J. Saunders, Program Director

202-371-0588; or [email protected]

Zizini Safaris provides the traveller with an unsurpassed and memorable experience of a lifetime in Tanzania. We share with you the beauty of Tanzania; its rich natural resources, warm, friendly people, and a wealth of cultural experiences; offer the opportunity to gain an appreciation of the fl ora and fauna of these beautiful lands, which will evoke the need to protect and enhance these experiences for today and future generations.

ZiziniSafaris, Inc.466 Old Craigville RoadCenterville, MA 02632866-948 ZIZI (9494)[email protected]

Reach Thousands of Leaders in World Business and Government

Black Business News


Advertising Opportunities (1x, 2x, 3x, 4x)Full Page Color w/Feature StoryFull Page ColorHalf Page Color w/Feature StoryHalf Page ColorQuarter Page ColorBox Ad Color

Website Advertising Opportunity (1x, 3x, 6x, 12x)Webpage, Link & Marketing MessageE-Blast Advertising OpportunityIssue Dedicated Marketing Message

For detail advertising rate information contact: Advertising Services at 323-291-9334 E-mail: [email protected]

Ad Type MeasurementsFull Page 7.50”x10”Half Page 7.50”x5”Half Page 3.75”x10”Quarter Page 3.75”x5”Eighth Page 5”x3”Box 2.25”x3”

YOUR LINK TO THE GLOBAL AFRICAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY (GAEC)

The Black Business Association, SBA 2007 Journalist of the Year, is pleased to invite you to be an integral part of our publication. Black Business News - International. The BBN-I is the o cial voice of the BBA through which public and private entities advertise business and investment opportunities to gain access to a highly a uent target market via outreach and advertising opportunities.

•Outreach to Black Businesses in the USA and around the world•Advertorial/Feature Story Advertising•Pro les and Business Listings•Classi ed Ads and Bid Opportunities

Our readers are BBA members, business owners, corporate buyers, investors, prime contractors, importers/exporters, trade specialists, and government o cials, who all turn to the Black Business News International for business development news and information to take their businesses and programs to the next level of pro tability and success!

Don’t be left out of this door-opening publication.

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Special Offer:50% Discount for Regular Financial BBA Members

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ContentsCorporate Giving: EOY charitable

opportunities in health, education, hous-

ing, and more.

Tourism: Investment in Africa’s tour-

ism industry is active, vital and is evident

all across the continent.

Feature Articles: “Strategies For Constructisve Engagement with the African Diaspora”

“Diaspora Engagement: Remittances & Beyond”Investment Pro le: Moyo District

of the Republic of Uganda

Professional DirectoryCharitable Investments


Rev. Leon R. Perry, III in Ghana with recently orpaned twins

see Corporate Giving page 21

zambia hosts agoa

Documents