The State Department, in collaboration with several U.S. Government agencies, hosted the U.S.-Africa Business Conference in Cincinnati, Ohio, June 21-22, following the annual African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum in Washington, DC June 14-15. The AGOA Forum is the U.S. Government’s premier high-level event with sub-Saharan African countries and provides an opportunity to advance U.S. trade and economic policy goals. The U.S.-Africa Business Conference aims to expand on the AGOA Forum by providing an opportunity to both showcase U.S. business expertise to potential African clients, and to highlight trade and investment opportunities in Africa to U.S. exporters and investors. Cincinnati was selected as the conference location for its potential to increase commercial partnerships with Africa at local, state, and regional levels.
Program Agenda
The U.S.-Africa Business Conference included structured networking opportunities for African government officials and business leaders with U.S. state and local government officials and business leaders; informational sessions on U.S. Government opportunities and services from various federal agencies; and site visits to companies and organizations. Echoing the theme of the AGOA Forum, the event focused broadly on infrastructure development, including energy, transportation, and water and sanitation.
Participating agencies include: Departments of State, Transportation, Energy, and Agriculture, U.S. Agency for International Development, Millennium Challenge Corporation, Export-Import Bank of the United States, U.S. Trade and Development Agency, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, U.S. Commercial Service – Cincinnati, and Environmental Protection Agency.
Target Audience
We expect the conference to attract a number of AGOA Forum participants, including African ministers of trade, infrastructure, and energy, as well as relevant African business leaders and entrepreneurs, U.S. private sector representatives, and U.S. Government officials.
For more information, please visit http://www.state.gov/p/af/rt/agoa/2012/usabc/index.htm or contact USABC2012@state.gov.
Released by: U.S. Department of State, Bureau of African Affairs; May 2012
