THIS IS AN ARCHIVED SITE
This site contains information from January 2009-December 2014. Click HERE to go the CURRENT commerce.gov website.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker Delivers Remarks at U.S.-Africa Business Forum

AS PREPARED FOR DELIVERY
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
CONTACT OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS
202-482-4883

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker delivered opening remarks today at the U.S.-Africa Business Forum, a day focused on trade and investment opportunities on the continent. In her remarks, Secretary Pritzker stated that the U.S.-Africa economic relationship is fundamental to our mutual peace and prosperity. She discussed the work that the Commerce Department is doing to advance President Obama’s vision for the future of U.S.-Africa relations, including expanding the Foreign Commercial Service presence across the continent. She announced that the Department of Commerce and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency will lead 10 new trade missions to Africa and 10 reverse trade missions to the United States by 2020. She also announced the start of NIST’s Global Cities Challenge to catalyze the development of “smart cities,” as well as the launch of a new web portal for American businesses to explore opportunities in Africa. We want to make doing business in Africa easier for every business. Noting that increased trade and investment in Africa will spur growth on both sides of the Atlantic, Secretary Pritzker expressed her hope that the business and government leaders will keep the U.S.-Africa partnership open for more growth and success. 

Co-hosted by the U.S. Department of Commerce and Bloomberg Philanthropies, the U.S.-Africa Business Forum is bringing together heads of state and business executives from both sides of the Atlantic to focus on U.S. private sector engagement in Africa and strengthening commercial ties between the United States and Africa. The Forum is part of the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, the first event of its kind and the largest event any U.S. President has held with African heads of state and government. 

Remarks As Prepared for Delivery 

Good morning. Welcome to all of the heads of state and leaders of business with us here today. 

Thank you to Michael Bloomberg for your leadership and thank you to Bloomberg Philanthropies for your partnership in organizing this forum. 

I also want to acknowledge my Deputy Chief of Staff, Theo LeCompte, who played the lead role on behalf of our Department in organizing this extraordinary event. 

I have known Mike Bloomberg for over a decade. He has been a great source of wisdom and advice. And I have admired the way he led New York City, the way he has run his business, and the way he has committed himself and his organization to Africa and its people. 

It is always a great pleasure to work with him. And as part of the largest gathering of African heads of state ever hosted by an American president, we are both excited to welcome you to this historic event, bringing together a remarkable number of CEOs of major American companies to discuss business opportunities in Africa. 

Last year, President Obama traveled to the University of Cape Town to usher in "a new chapter in U.S.-Africa relations." He called on the students there, along with leaders across the 54 distinct countries of the African Union and leaders from the United States, to embrace the key tenets of his vision for our alliance: to advance progress in democratic institutions; to strengthen peace and prosperity; to encourage opportunity and development; and to spur economic growth, trade, and investment.

As America's Chief Commercial Officer, I feel strongly that this last pillar – the U.S.-Africa economic relationship – is fundamental to our mutual peace and prosperity. We know that businesses serve as key bridges between our continents, but we also share the conviction that these ties of commerce can be stronger, deeper, and more lasting.  

When I led a trade mission to Nigeria and Ghana this past May, I heard a variation of this message from public and private sector leaders alike: The U.S.-Africa commercial partnership is essential; and, the time to do business in Africa is no longer 5 years away. The time to do business there is now.

Today, on both sides of the Atlantic, there is a clear, mutual desire to deepen our ties of trade and investment – because doing so will spur growth across the United States and the countries of Africa.

Investing in Africa will create jobs in Charlotte, North Carolina, and expand the power supply in Ghana – because of the $175 million deal signed by SEWW Energy to upgrade Accra's electricity grid – a direct result of our recent trade mission.

Investing in Africa will support workers in California and strengthen the health of patients in Nigeria – because of the MOU signed by the Environmental Chemical Corporation to construct a state-of-the-art cancer institute in Ibadan.

Investing in Africa will spur job growth in Cincinnati through P&G's $300 million investment in a new manufacturing plant near Lagos – because when P&G expands in Nigeria and elsewhere, it supports thousands of jobs at home.

These deals and investments demonstrate that the time is ripe to work together as partners, in a spirit of mutual understanding and respect – to raise living standards in all of our nations and to address the challenges that impede our ability to develop closer economic bonds.

Make no mistake: our economic and commercial partnership is a two-way street. Goods and services exports from the United States to African markets support roughly 250,000 jobs here at home. 

As Africa's middle class continues to expand, we hope to see our export numbers grow, too. And through SelectUSA, the Administration is actively encouraging African companies to increase their presence in the United States.  

Closer economic ties and rising demand create ample opportunities for businesses in the U.S. and Africa to build new partnerships, reach new markets, and support new jobs in the years to come. 

It is a virtuous circle. When Africa's businesses grow, they deploy American expertise, purchase American technologies, and learn from our best practices. This lays the groundwork for sustained, long-term growth – and we all share the benefits.

With each passing day, our commercial connections are deepening, our business bonds are increasing, and our trade partnership is maturing. Yet we have only begun to scratch the surface.

President Obama and the Commerce Department are ready to write the first pages of the new chapter of our relationship by taking our alliance to the next level.
To advance the President's vision for Africa, we are expanding our Foreign Commercial Service presence – these are our economic diplomats on the ground, helping American businesses navigate each African market. We are doubling the number of commercial offices in Africa, with new sites in Angola, Ethiopia, Mozambique, and Tanzania. We are expanding existing offices in Ghana, Kenya, Libya, and Morocco. And we are returning a Foreign Commercial Service presence to the African Development Bank for the first time in three years.

The Department of Commerce, along with our partners at the U.S. Trade and Development Agency, is today announcing 10 new trade missions to Africa and 10 reverse trade missions to the United States by 2020.

Our National Institute of Standards and Technology is launching the Global City Teams Challenge to create teams of cities and innovators working together on issues like air quality, resource management, health care delivery, and modern energy grids – to utilize the best technology to build "smart cities."

And to promote U.S. industry engagement in Africa, we have created a one-stop shop web portal – www.trade.gov/dbia – where American businesses can learn about African markets, find financing tools, and discover potential projects, contacts, and resources.

We want to make doing business in Africa easier for every American company.

This is a moment of opportunity. A decade from now, we will look back at this moment as the start of something important, or see a missed opportunity. The choice is up to all of us here today.

Today's agenda features conversations on financing and development, energy and infrastructure, good governance and public-private partnerships – all meant to highlight the choices before us.  

This historic forum will spotlight successful business models and give you a chance to explore new partnerships with colleagues on the other side of the Atlantic.
This gathering marks only a beginning – a catalyst for each of us to pursue new deals and new investments, as we build the next phase of partnership between the United States and Africa.

One of the highlights of my trade mission to Africa this spring was visiting the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology in Ghana, where young innovators receive the training, mentorship, and guidance needed to take their ideas and turn them into vibrant businesses.

These intrepid young Africans want to learn how to build thriving enterprises. If they had access to capital, there could be no limit to their potential. 
With the speed of technology and the global reach of communication, these entrepreneurs can build their businesses using only a cell phone – then sell their products around the world.

Any young person with a good idea can bring their products to the rest of the globe.

At Meltwater, I witnessed what the future of Ghana and the entire continent will look like if we do everything we can to support young entrepreneurs and build lasting partnerships.

These aspiring entrepreneurs are living proof of what Robert F. Kennedy described nearly 50 years ago at the University of Cape Town: they represent "ripples of hope."

Indeed, every entrepreneur in Ghana, Nigeria, Angola or elsewhere who starts a business and embraces a new idea represents a ripple of hope for the prosperity of a community.

Every student in Morocco, Ethiopia, or elsewhere who earns a degree and joins the workforce represents a ripple of hope for the future of a family.
Every business owner in Mozambique, Kenya, or elsewhere who decides to reach new customers by exporting more goods represents a ripple of hope for the growth of a country.

Every African leader who embraces greater transparency and market access, speeds business processes, and roots out corruption represents a ripple of hope for greater prosperity for their people – and for ours.

 Together, those ripples of hope will form a torrential current that lifts up all of us on a wave of opportunity.

That is our mission today: to work together to promote a future of shared prosperity for both the United States and the nations of Africa.

As Faith Mangope, one of the Mandela Fellows, told other Young African Leaders – and President Obama – last week: “Africa is no longer a sleeping giant but is awake and open for business.”

With the leadership in this room, we will keep the U.S.-Africa economic partnership open for more growth and success. We will keep the United States and Africa open for business – your business.

Thank you.