US identifies investment challenges in Africa

The President of the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA), Mr Stephen Hayes, on Wednesday identified some challenges faced by foreign investors in African countries.

Hayes made the identification in a transcript of a U.S.-Africa Business Summit news conference, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

“If companies are going to invest in Africa, they are going to have to find partners.

“And if they are going to have partners, that means also they are going to have to a trained workforce.

“And if they are going to have partners, that means also they are going to have to a trained workforce,’’ he said.

Hayes added that it was not easy to invest in Africa without making commitment to capacity building and added value.

He said that U.S. companies would be more interested in building partnerships with African countries on an equal basis.

Hayes said that the companies would be ready to compete with other countries when capacity building and training of the workforce is
guaranteed.

The CCA’s president also said that Africa would not benefit from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) until the countries in the continent strengthens their internal mechanisms.

“Again, this goes back to capacity building, it goes back to job training, it goes back to improving the supply chain, and it goes back to the issues of power.

“AGOA, I think, is a great piece of legislation, but it is not going to work until Africa addresses its internal issues,’’ he said.