Africa > Americas Africa Relation

Americas Africa Relation in Africa

  • Tougher business for German firms in Africa

    GERMANY, 2016/01/07 Business sentiment part German enterprises operating in Africa is deteriorating, a fresh poll by the German-African Business Association showed Tuesday. Only 10 % of the executives polled say their current business situation is good, compared with 35 % of respondents calling it unsatisfactory. That's completely a deterioration from last year at the same time as only 6 % of those polled felt negative about their business situation in Africa, with 47 % stating they were OK.
  • US President Barack Obama during his visit to Kenya earlier this year.

    UNITED STATES, 2015/11/20 With the success of this year’s World Entrepreneurship Summit in Nairobi, a lot of questions are being raised about how the US has to date engaged with sub-Saharan Africa and the role of entrepreneurship in US-Africa engagement. US engagement in sub-Saharan Africa lags behind that of other nations – in particular that of China. While there is still a sizeable all of funding coming to the continent from the US, majority of it is taking the form of aid rather than investment . In 2015 alone, additional than a quarter of the nations in sub-Saharan Africa are receiving additional than US$150m each as aid (with Nigeria having the lion’s share of $720m), but China dominates the field at the same time as we look at investment as opposed to aid. In 2014, the US government estimated their corporate investments on the whole continent to be $14bn. This figure is significantly dwarfed by the $75bn China invested in the continent in the same year in the form of corporate investments.
  • Great Trade Expectations Behind U.S.-Ethiopia Trade Relations

    ETHIOPIA, 2015/07/29 In 1903, the United States and one of the world's oldest nations, Ethiopia, established a relationship. Emperor Menelik II described the day as "... beginnings of a relationship which will have some place in history", as quoted in a paper presented by Professor Negussay Ayele of Cornell University, to mark the 100th anniversary of that occasion. The historic relationship is, in this week, to witness a rare event with the initial visit of a sitting president of the United States paying a visit to Ethiopia. President Barack Hussein Obama's visit to Ethiopia follows what happens to be his initial visit as President, to his father's homeland, Kenya.
  • Zimbabwe: Obama Out of Touch With Africa

    ZIMBABWE, 2015/07/29 The much vaunted "blunt message" on gay rights by United States President Barack Obama during his visit to Kenya has come and gone as he winds down his tour with a visit to Ethiopia where he is expected to address the African Union Commission.Apart from the fanfare that marked his visit, and the bilateral agreements inked, we hope Obama realises the importance of making this historic visit during President Uhuru Kenyatta's presidency and the significance of Ethiopia as home to the AU and the fight for the continent's total freedom.
  • Africa: U.S. Should Be Backing Real Economic Transformation

    UNITED STATES, 2014/09/27 The focus on business at the U.S.-Africa Leadership Summit last month was a welcome pointer for how to recalibrate policy and bring tangible economic benefits in trade and investment for both Africa and the United States. Recognizing the symbolic backdrop of the summit – President Obama is of African origin, Africa supplied much of the labor that built America's economy in the 19th century, and the continent is a place of opportunity in the world economy- the time has come for the relationship to be focused on the things that really matter. Leading that most-essential inventory are infrastructure, industrialization, venture capital for entrepreneurship, and the development of human capital.
  • What Africa Needs to Boost Trade With the U.S.

    UNITED STATES, 2014/08/06 Ahead of the United States-Africa summit which President Barack Obama is convening next week, southern African trade expert Joshua Setipa outlines what he would say if he was to present Africa's case in Washington. If I was to go to Washington next week, I would tell the government that our relationship with the United States is one which we as Africa cherish very much, but that it is one that could use some refinement; that we need to revisit a few issues to make sure that U.S. priorities and U.S. aspirations in this relationship are consistent with Africa's political priorities. Africa's relations with the United States are of course about additional than trade and investment . There are a whole raft of issues of mutual interest - security being just one. But if we are to focus only on trade and investment , I would begin by providing an overview of where we are presently.
  • US President Barack Obama’s 'Doing Business in Africa' campaign,

    UNITED STATES, 2014/06/11 US President Barack Obama’s 'Doing Business in Africa' campaign, aimed at increasing US investment in Africa, is gaining momentum ahead of an August Summit with African leaders. Senior Obama government officials, however, said while the US' commitment to engage in business is clear, achieving the desired goals would require critical groundwork. “America’s commitment to this issue is clear,” said Ernest Moniz, the US Energy Secretary. “I hope our discussions can begin to answer...basic questions. What has to happen for US private business to increase their investments in Africa’s energy sector?” Secretary Moniz, who met 30 ministers of energy from across Africa during an Energy Ministerial conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 3-4 June, called for a review of potential obstacles to energy financing in Africa.
  • United States seeks to expand business opportunities in Africa

    UNITED STATES, 2014/05/30 United States Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker over the weekend rounded off her visit to Africa in Ethiopia, where she said US companies were looking for business opportunities across the continent. 'My trip was to discuss US commitment to Africa and what we can do to spur trade and investment in Ethiopia. President Barack Obama sees tremendous opportunities for trade and investment in Ethiopia,” Pritzker told reporters in Addis Ababa. US companies are seeking opportunities to invest in Africa’s aviation, construction, health, agriculture and energy sectors, according to the Commerce Secretary who before visited Ghana and Nigeria.
  • Mozambique’s farmers will be given access to a US$5.3 million credit line

    MOZAMBIQUE, 2014/03/16 Mozambique’s farmers will be given access to a US$5.3 million credit line as part of Finagro, a three-year programme funded by the United States government for investments in the sector, the Mozambican press reported. The programme’s managers hope that the programme and its credit line will increase the competitiveness of Mozambique’s private sector for some cash crops and food price chains. The focus will be tropical fruits (mango, bananas and pineapples), legumes (bean varieties), oilseeds (peanuts, soy and sesame), cashew nuts and other crops such as maize, rice, potatoes and cassava.
  • Bright Schools Improve Girls' Education

    BURKINA FASO, 2014/03/14 This story was originally published on the Millennium Challenge Corporation's website March 12 as "From all Angles: BRIGHT Schools Improve Girls' Education." Just a decade ago, one could walk into a primary school classroom in Burkina Faso and see only a few girls sitting alongside 50 or 60 boys. Girls rarely attended middle school, let alone finished secondary school. Through its five-year, $480.9 million compact with Burkina Faso, the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), USAID and other partners are working together to find solutions to this problem.