WTC Delaware Kicks Off US-Africa Business Summit

Jul 15, 2021

New Castle, DE, 2021—Businesses from Delaware and across the region learned about best practices and opportunities to do trade with Africa yesterday at the virtual Kickoff to the US-Africa Business Summit moderated by World Trade Center Delaware’s President Carla Stone.

The online event featured Ms. Florizelle Liser, President and CEO of the Corporate Council on Africa as Keynote Speaker and presentations by His Excellency Carlos Dos Santos, Ambassador of the Republic of Mozambique to the US, His Excellency Onkokame Kitso Mokaila, Ambassador of the Republic of Botswana to the US and Mahmoud Nadjai, International Relations Manager of World Trade Center Algiers.

Attendees learned about important projects and trade opportunities in a number of strategic African countries directly from their ambassadors and were able to not only ask questions but to make appointments to meet with them individually after the close of the meeting.

Ambassador Liser said businesses of all sizes are welcome to do trade in Africa. “People think about the big guys” when it comes to doing international trade in Africa, she said, “but actually trade for the US in Africa is driven by small companies as well.” She added that trade and business opportunities in Africa are really expanding and “these are new times” as the pandemic is winding down; “countries are coming back from the COVID pandemic, and we are seeing a re-launching of companies and economies.”

The ambassadors agreed that the time is ripe for US companies to form relationships and partnerships with African companies in strategic locations. They said that they would like to meet with Delaware companies in agriculture, food processing, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, and medical devices, fintech and finance, construction, environmental services, IT, port management, and energy.

Mr. Nadjai added that Africa is indeed a “pioneer destination” making up nearly a third of the world’s entire population and urged US businesses to have a “targeted approach in order to be successful. “You need to get the right information, the right support and the right direction,” he said, encouraging them to take advantage of events like this and organizations such as the World Trade Centers Association to do so.

The 13th Annual US-Africa Business Summit will take place July 27-29 virtually. For more information or to register to attend visit: https://cca.glueup.com/event/u-s-africa-business-summit-2021-35917/