Biden’s diaspora council pushes for more engagement with Africa

From left: Senior Vice President, Strategic Alliances & Outreach from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Rick Wade; Founder of Shea, Yeleen Rahama Wright; Council member of the President’s Advisory Council on African Diaspora Engagement, Almaz Negash; and Chief Regulatory Affairs and Government Relations Officer of Flutterwave, Oluwabankole Falade at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce forum discussion in Atlanta on Monday.

As part of activities to expand cultural and education exchange between Africa and the United States, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce yesterday held a special forum for their Advance With Africa program in partnership with the President’s Advisory Council on African Diaspora Engagement (PAC-ADE) at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia.

At the session, the PAC-ADE discussed its 2024 priorities and review proposed recommendations, including programs to foster economic engagement through Diaspora business ties and opportunities to increase participation of members of the African diaspora in the United States related to trade, investment, economic growth, and development programs in Africa.

According to the Council on Foreign Relations, by the end of the century, one in three people in the world will be African, inhabiting a huge consumer market with vast growth potential. The United Nations (UN) also projects that Africa’s population is set to double by 2050, reaching 2.5 billion people. This will create a massive demand for goods and services, presenting businesses with historic opportunities to build profitable, sustainable enterprises.

The forum was broken into two panels: the first panel, “Advancing with Africa as an Export and Investment Destination”, included Senior Advisor of U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Dana Banks; Council member of the PAC-ADE, C.D. Glin;, Ambassador of Mozambique to the United States, Alfredo Fabião Nuvunga; and Director of Public Engagement U.S. Trade and Development Agency, Brandon Bradford.

In the second panel, “Making a Dream a Reality – How Diaspora can build business linkages to African Markets”, included Senior Vice President, Strategic Alliances & Outreach from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Rick Wade; Founder of Shea, Yeleen Rahama Wright; Council member of the PAC-ADE and founder African Diaspora Network (ADN), Almaz Negash; and Chief Regulatory Affairs and Government Relations Officer of Flutterwave, Oluwabankole Falade.

This panel focused on how diaspora can help build business linkages between American businesses to African Markets, as well as building connections between businesses in the African market.

Negash said in terms of opportunities, it’s about getting people from both sides together and collaborating. “What I found is when we get people together and collaborate, it will hopefully make building that connection much easier,” she said.

Falade noted that there are many opportunities to get involved in conversations at the African Union level, most especially on the oppositions/bottlenecks around Africa’s continental free trade agreements.

Advance with Africa aims to advance Africa’s commercial profile, increase U.S. exports and investment, showcase tools to support new market entrants, and foster commercial opportunities for businesses in the United States and Africa.

This year’s campaign is targeting cities across the U.S. with a significant African diaspora and minority business communities, existing business linkages with Africa, and high interest from elected officials.

Through road shows, webinars, community engagement, and social media, the program seeks to develop momentum for U.S. enterprises to conduct business with African partners and highlight regionally relevant African investment opportunities.