Dr. Sanders Keynotes Morgan State University First Africa Business Conference

Baltimore's Morgan State University (MSU) held its first Africa Business Conference at the University 's new Earl Graves Business Center. Dr. Sanders served as the event's scene setting keynote speaker to highlight current trends in Africa's consumer markets, middle class growth, entrepreneurship and best sector for US companies, especially small business, to engage in the Africa Region.

Dr. Hu (l) organizer of the event

Her remarks were followed by her 34th book signing event for her recent book "The Rise of Africa's Small and Medium Size Enterprises: Spurring Development and Growing the Middle Class."

The conference was attended by small businesses, domestic and international academics, students and non-governmental organizations.

Below left Sanders is with MSU students, professors and international participants of the conference.


On right Dr. Sanders highlights the growing number of African consumers with disposable income, and the impact of the new African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA), which will make the region have a $USD 2.4 trillion dollar market, the largest in the world. The new AfCTA agreement was signed by 44 African countries and is now making the ratification rounds in each country. The goal is to seek ratification by 22 countries in order for the treaty to come into affect. South Africa, although it did not sign initially said it plans to once it is reviewed so it is in line with its constitution. Nigeria has not yet signed the agreement. (A FEEEDS BlogSpot)

FEEEDS-GALLUP Africa SME Forum Photo Gallery

Ms. Catherine Byrne,

President Obama's

Special Assistant for Africa, at the

National

Security Council at  the White House

Panel One Discusses Key Business Sectors
 & President Obama's Doing Business in
Africa Council

 Click link below for more from the Photo Gallery of FEEEDS-Gallup-Allafrica.com July 14, 2016,

event on Africa Diaspora SMEs Forum.

http://bit.ly/FEEEDs-GallupPhotoGallery

 

 The Forum was held a Gallup's Washington, D.C Headquarters and focused on the importance and contribution of Africa Diaspora  SMEs, which was underscored by polling data from Gallup.

Event hosts were FEEEDS Advocacy Initiative  and Gallup, with event partners Allafrica.com and GB Group Global and attend by some 200 invitees from the Africa Diaspora SME business community, U.S. Government officials, with President Obama's Special

Assistant on Africa serving as the event's special guest.

 

Photos below are from left to right: Ambassador Sanders, as mistress of ceremonies providing scene setter for the Forum, Gallup Managing Partner Jon Clifton and Sanders prepare for introduction of Ms Byrne,  and Lightening Round Experts USAID's Nicholas Bassey,  U. S. Small Business Agency's Nogzi Bell and Gallup's Africa Director  Magali Rheault take questions from the  audience of Africa SME Businesses following their presentations which are on the cloud at:

bit.ly/FEEEDS-GALLUP7-14-16

Allafrica.com Reports on the FEEEDS-Gallup Africa SME Forum

See Allafrica.com for full story: http://allafrica.com/stories/201607181038.html



FEEEDS-Gallup-Allafrica.com Africa Diaspora SME Forum.

Panel Members (l-r) Nicholas Bassey, USAID Director Frontier Partnership,

 Ngozi Bell, Region III Advocate, U.S. SBA, & Magali Rheault,

Gallup Regional Director. Ambassador Sanders served

as Mistress of Ceremonies

Ahead of President Obama's second U.S.-Africa Business Forum planned for New York on September 21, 2016, the FEEEDS Initiative —Food Security, Education, Environment-Energy, Economics, Democracy-Development and Self-help— in partnership with GALLUP, hosted the third annual forum on Africa in Washington, D.C. to discuss the importance and impact of Africa Diaspora small and medium size Enterprises (SMES) in the development of the Continent. Managing Partner, Gallup, Jon Clifton, introduced the featured special guest, Catherine Byrne, President Obama's Special Assistant and Senior Director for African Affairs at the White House.

 

Other speakers included Alicia Robinson-Morgan, Deputy Director of the Africa Office at the U.S. Department of Commerce; Leila Ndiaye, Africa Policy Director, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Rahama Wright, member President's Doing Business in Africa Council (PAC-DBIA) & CEO-Shea Yeleen, with Allafrica.com CEO, Reed Kramer, as moderator.

The hosts for the Africa Diaspora SME Business Forum were Jon Clifton, Managing Partner, GALLUP, and Ambassador Robin Sanders, CEO-FEEEDS.  AllAfrica.com and GB Group Global led by Dr. Gloria Herndon were this year's featured partners. This is the third year Allafrica.com has been the media partner and the first that GB Group Global participated.

 

In her opening remarks, Ambassador Sanders said the FEEEDS-GALLUP Africa Diaspora SME Business Forum represents an important step forward for high-level meetings in sharing practical and useful information to Africa SMEs, the state of the current U.S.-Africa business relationship, and Gallup's important data of the state of the Sub-Saharan Africa Region.  "It also provides for a unique platform to highlight the role that Africa Diaspora SMEs are playing in the region's economic development, GDP growth, and spurring the middle class," Sanders said.

 

In her speech, President Obama's Special Assistant for Africa, Catherine Byrne, noted that despite huge security challenges, democracy and business growth have taken root in Africa and "there is progress."  She said progress can be seen in several countries in Africa including places such as Zambia and Nigeria where exemplary general elections were held with winners and losers embracing peace or violence.  She said the second U.S.-Africa Business Forum planned for New York in September 21, 2016 will solidify the Obama Administration's effort to not only increase US-Africa business ties, but strengthen the US-Africa relationship. Byrne identified some of the economic policies that have achieved results in Africa as the Security Governance and Trade Africa Initiatives, Power Africa, FEED the Future program, The Young Africa Leaders Initiative (YALI), the U.S.-Africa Business Forum, assistance setting up an Africa-like Center for Disease Control (which is already underway as a result of the Ebola outbreak), the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES), efforts to fight corruption, and the extensions of the  African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) for another 10 years – all will be part of President Obama's Africa legacy. She highlighted these examples that we can all build on in response to questions about: what has been achieved; where is the US-Africa relationship going, and, what was next in the relationship.

 

The Africa Diaspora SME business forum had two sessions.  The first session, moderated by AllAfrica.com's CEO Reed Kramer, had Alicia Robinson-Morgan, Leila Ndiaye and Rahama Wright. The panel discussed Africa's current investment opportunities, key sectors for SME participation, the role of President Obama's PAC-DBIA, and his upcoming U.S.-Africa Business Forum. Click here to read full Allafrica.com story http://allafrica.com/stories/201607181038.html