Commissioner Fatima Haram Acyl, for Trade and Industry participates in the Inaugural U.S. – Africa Institutional Investor Roadshow

The Commissioner for Trade and Industry of the African Union (AU), Mrs. Fatima Haram Acyl, represented, the Commission on September 29, 2015 in New York in the launch of the U.S.-Africa Institutional Investor Roadshow.

Co-hosted by the U.S. Department of Commerce and McKinsey & Company, Inc , the U.S. - Africa Institutional Investor Roadshow, which was chaired by U.S. Under-Secretary of Commerce for International Trade Mr. Stefan Selig, witnessed the participation of their Excellencies Hailemariam Desalegn and Anerood Jugnauth, respectively Prime Minister of Ethiopia and Mauritius, government representatives of Kenya, Mozambique and Cote d'Ivoire and business delegations from African countries and U.S investment firms. In-depth presentations about the investment climate and key infrastructure development projects were made by each African delegation.

In her remarks at the high level segment of the dialogue among heads of delegations and U.S. CEO's, Commissioner Acyl underscored the importance of convening such an event in order to improve the perception of doing business in Africa, address the obstacles that stand before the enhancement of U.S. investment in the Continent and highlight the tremendous opportunities Africa offers in infrastructure.

Commissioner Acyl indicated that Africa faces an imperative for structural transformation needed to ensure economic growth and the creation of sustainable jobs that will improve the wellbeing of our people. She added that the AU is looking for partnerships that can support the continent's structural transformation, in line with Agenda 2063 and its 10 Year Implementation Plan. In this regards, American institutional investors can be key partners through private sector investments to facilitate innovation and technology transfer.

Highlighting the AU leading efforts to enhance regional economic integration in the continent, Commissioner Acyl underscored that the establishment of the Continental Free Trade Area by 2017, one of the flagship projects of Agenda 2063, will contribute significantly in accelerating growth of intra-Africa trade and use trade more effectively as an engine of development. It will also provide a good incentive to invest and partner in Africa.

Commissioner Acyl also made reference in her intervention to the extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Ac till 2025, which will provide certainly and predictability to U.S- Africa economic partnership and ensure that the flow of trade and investment is occurring in a reliable and secure basis.

It is worth mentioning that the Institutional Investor Roadshow concept originated at the 2014 U.S.-Africa Business Forum in recognition of the need many African countries have for long-term, smart, private capital investment to build major infrastructure. In April 2015, President's Obama Advisory Committee on Doing Business in Africa submitted the Roadshow as an official recommendation to the U.S President as a new pathway to improve doing business in Africa.

The Institutional Investor Roadshow program will include a series of events to be held throughout Africa.