An estimated amount of US$5.7billion is expected to result from two-way trade and investments between the United State of America and African countries, says Under-Secretary of Commerce for International Trade of the United State of America, Marisa Lago.
The projected figure will be achieved from 75 new transactions between the U.S. and some African countries, she said.
“I am pleased to report that if we look just in terms of trade and investment since December’s Leader Summit and US-Africa Business Forum that the Commerce Department organised, the Biden-Harris administration has helped close 75 new deals between the United States and African countries. We estimate that the total value of these deals result in US$5.7billion of two-way trade and investment,” she said.
She made the disclosure during a virtual press briefing on the Global Diversity Export Initiative Trade Mission to Ghana, South Africa and Nigeria. The briefing centred on ongoing efforts to deepen the US-Africa trade and investments relationship, as well as identify new commercial opportunities as part of the U.S. commitment to the African continent.
The Global Diversity Export Initiative (GDEI) trade mission to Africa is focused on building commercial bridges between U.S. owned or led businesses beteen underserved communities and business communities in South Africa, Ghana and Nigeria.
To underscore the Commerce Department’s role, she mentioned that the vision for deepened engagement with Africa entails a lot more than just high level visits – emphasising that the focus is on delivering tangible results across all dimensions of the bilateral relationship, as well as partnerships with sub-national and Pan-African institutions.
She noted that: “The engagements and trade mission form part of the important steps in continuing to deliver on the commitments we made at last December’s US-Africa Leaders’ Summit and Business Forum in particular. This trade mission has brought over 20 US companies and organisations – mostly owned by members of the African diaspora in the United States. These companies are active in a wide range of sectors, starting with the information and communications technology sector, cybersecurity, electric vehicles, energy, trade facilitation and consumer goods”.
As part of the GDEI, Ms. Lago indicated that the Commerce Department has arranged for a robust series of tailored opportunities with potential business partners in the three countries. This trade mission also serves as an example of how the U.S. government is intentionally working to deepen and sustain connections between U.S. and African companies.
To achieve its mission, Ms. Lago said, they will not only stick to the current countries participating but continue on to visit other African countries and explore more opportunities for the underserved business. She added that the GDEI is very new but poised to create a robust system for businesses.
“When we selected the particular countries for this trade mission, we were looking to ensure that we included some of the largest economies on the African continent. We wanted to make sure we selected countries whose economies had a strong presence in sectors that had strong prospects for U.S. companies; where there was an ability to match up the U.S. companies on this trade mission with companies in those countries,” she concluded.
