Editor’s Note: Acting U.S. Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank and Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade Francisco Sánchez on Wednesday announced the launch of the “Doing Business in Africa” campaign at an event in Johannesburg, South Africa. This campaign is part of a larger U.S. Strategy Toward Sub-Saharan Africa, which President Obama issued earlier this year. This campaign will leverage the federal government’s trade promotion, financing and strategic communications capabilities to help U.S. businesses identify and seize opportunities in Africa, and to help them overcome any challenges they face to establishing business relationships with Africa. This is a cross post from the International Trade Administration's blog.
Now is a great time to do business in Africa. Consider these stats, highlighted this week in remarks given by Acting Secretary Rebecca Blank:
- Sub-Saharan Africa is home to 6 of the 10 fastest growing markets in the world.
- Economic growth in the region is predicted to be strong – between 5 and 6 percent – in coming years.
- And – most importantly – millions of Africans are finding a path from poverty to greater opportunity and prosperity.
This progress is good news for our friends in Africa; it’s also good news for American businesses. As these numbers show, the growing African market is an increasingly attractive destination for quality products and services. It just so happens that goods that are “Made in America” are the best in the world. Now, we just need to link this supply with the demand, and make it easier for U.S. firms to operate in the dynamic African market.
One important effort towards achieving this goal: the “Doing Business in Africa” (DBIA) campaign which I launched with Acting Secretary Blank in South Africa this week.
