The largest ever contingent of African heads-of-state assembled in Washington, D.C. the week of Aug. 4 for the U.S.-Africa Summit, the first time the United States has ever hosted a summit of that magnitude for representatives from Africa.
More than fifty African leaders and hundreds of corporate executives and entrepreneurs descended on the nation’s capital looking to increase private sector investment and expand trade.
Though the event is being hailed as an unprecedented success and a defining moment in U.S.-Africa relations, there was a glaring omission in the massive turnout that has turned into a key narrative about the summit: the limited representation of African-American businesses and entrepreneurs. The prevailing thought is that entrepreneurs of color are reluctant to engage the continent as a prime location for generating revenue—a notion that is mind-boggling when one considers the shared bonds of history and heritage.
Another underlying thread was the nagging suspicion that the U.S may be joining the “invest in Africa” party a little late.
BlackEnterprise.com spoke with four people with unique insight on these two key issues: Valerie Jarrett, senior White House adviser; Olusegun Aganga, Nigeria’s minister of industries and trade; Danladi Verheijen, managing director at Verod Capital; a leading investment firm in Lagos, Nigeria and Rosa Whitaker, the first ever Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Africa in the George W. Bush and Clinton administrations.
On the issue of whether the U.S should have engaged Africa sooner, Aganga says, “President Obama implied the same thing when he delivered his speech at the Mandarin Hotel. This should have been done years ago. But we have welcomed the United States into the country with open arms. What we should turn our attention to is how to use this momentum to facilitate the process. The U.S can leapfrog other nations doing business in the continent simply because of their reputation for quality products.”
Find out Senior White House Adviser Valerie Jarrett’s insights on U.S. investment in Africa on the next page …
The U.S. may not be as late to the table as some might think. Senior White House Adviser Valerie Jarrett tells BlackEnterprise.com that the Obama administration has been at work behind the scenes laying the foundation for the mega event. “We’ve been working, five-and-a-half years, building toward this summit. This is the first time any U.S. president has ever convened a summit of this magnitude with over 50 African heads of state in attendance. It takes a while to build up to that.”
Danladi Verheijen concurs. He doesn’t believe the U.S. is any later than other countries. “The U.S. is just a little less aggressive than a China or India,” he says. “However, I think it’s just early days for everybody literally. A lot of these investors particularly the Chinese are looking at infrastructure and commodities, which is fine, but the real wealth to be made in Africa is providing goods to the African consumer.”
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Whitaker maintains the U.S. shouldn’t be comfortable leading from behind. “Africa has been in America’s blind spot for far too long,” she says. “In 2009, China overtook the US as Africa’s largest trading partner and China now has a a $200 billion trade relationship in Africa compared to America’s $85 billion.”
It’s impossible to underestimate the importance of getting the word out to African American entrepreneurs to make sure they don’t get left out on what could be the opportunity of a lifetime. The true challenge is how to spread the word.
“Any initiative like this usually starts with a few people taking a leadership role and others following suit,” Jarrett says. “We are confident that with all of the attention that
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Whitaker says she was disappointed not to see more African-American companies around the rooms. “African-American firms were either not engaged with Africa or were not invited to the summit. It’s likely a combination of both. I hope we can change this paradigm. We cannot afford to ignore the region with the fastest growing consumer class and the fastest growing consumer market. More than one trillion dollars in consumer spending is African.
But with Chinese and Indian companies already heavily established on the continent it could be an uphill battle for American corporations looking to get in the game, especially when many believe the US is coming in during the fourth quarter. And if getting in is a hard sell for big corp what hope is there for the black small business owner?
Jarrett disagrees. “Big or small we are very confident that US companies have the ability to compete with china or any other company from any country and what we have to do is demonstrate why we are great partners,” she asserts.
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Verheijen believes African Americans need to consider the big picture. “Entrepreneurs of color should be looking to providing goods and services,” he urges. “That’s an area where we have barely scratched the surface. African Americans have so much products to sell. It makes perfect business sense to consider this untapped market.”
In his opinion, entrepreneurs of color would be better served bringing in products and providing expertise. He says it is alright for big corporations to come down to build a power plant or a refinery or even a bridge but what Africans really need are basic things that sell quickly to tap into the billion dollar market. Things like cereal, matches, toothpaste—basic, everyday commodities that appeal to the one billion plus people living on the continent.