Global Summit for African business leaders to connect with the United States

Africa.com (news portal) is convening thousands of leaders of African businesses, and the highest ranks of U.S. agencies that support African business, to present opportunities for growth through trade, investment and technical assistance. This virtual summit is making headlines, Africa's Portal to Doing Business with the United States, will take place virtually on October 14, 2020.

The virtual summit, unprecedented in terms of scale, breadth and depth, will convene thousands of c-suite executives and decision-makers at African businesses, large and small, from across the continent. Designed specifically to serve African business leaders, this Virtual Summit is a portal, a one-stop-shop, into the United States Government's resources at the highest levels. The summit is structured as four sessions taking place in one day.

The Summit kicks off with keynote remarks by the highest-ranking U.S. government official responsible for relations with Africa, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, The Honorable Tibor Nagy. Then, the Chairman of the U.S. President's Advisory Council on Doing Business in Africa (President and CEO of GE Africa) Farid Fezoua, will deliver keynote remarks from the private sector perspective.

Following the keynote remarks will be a panel discussion featuring the Chief Operating Officer of Prosper Africa, a new U.S. Government initiative that brings together the resources of over 17 U.S. Government agencies to connect the U.S. and African businesses with new buyers, suppliers, and investment opportunities. Joining this panel are the 'Africa heads' of some of the key U.S. Government agencies that do business with Africa, International Development Finance Corporation (formerly OPIC); The Export/Import Bank; USAID; and the U.S. Africa Development Foundation.

The third session of the summit is a panel of very senior African business leaders who have done business with the U.S., who will provide their perspectives on their experiences and guidance to those who seek to follow their footsteps.

The fourth session of the summit is a panel of U.S. Ambassadors to several key African countries who will speak about the resources available specifically in their markets to support African businesses.

For decades, The United States Government has funded a number of agencies and platforms to support African companies to do business with both the U.S. Government itself and with the U.S. private sector. This is a unique opportunity for African business leaders to hear from these resources together, at one time, in one place, and to hear from other African business leaders themselves who have engaged with the United States.

Free registration is available at this link:

https://virtualconferenceafrica.com/africas-portal-to-doing-business-with-the-united-states/

 

25,000 Kenya MSMEs to Benefit from Zero-Fee Loans

Kenya National Chamber of Trade and Industry (KNCCI) and Mastercard Fund have established a partnership with Kenya which, through the COVID-19 Mastercard Foundation Recovery and Resilience Programme, will see 25,000 micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) benefit from short-term concessional loans free from interest. KNCCI will incorporate the COVID-19 recovery and resilience initiative throughout its county chapters in 47 counties. The KNCCI programme will target companies that are owned by youth (18-35 years old), women (18-70 years old) and help significant numbers of youth (18-35), who have been affected by the COVID-19 Pandemic through Mastercard Foundation COVID-19 Recovery and Resiliency programme. The purpose of this program is to help MSMEs ensure stability and sustainability in business. For at least one year in East Africa, the target companies have had to be running and the COVID-19 pandemic affected. The companies are primarily focused in the hawker, Jua Kali, retail, fashion and restaurant industries. 

The facility is a revolving fund, which can be retailed within two months after repaying the loan. The funds will not be available to companies that distribute, generate and participates in war-related activities in drug-related products, including alcohol and tobacco, gambling and betting, gender, or state and parastatal players. The KNCCI will submit eligible applicants' pre-screen applications in East Africa. Prior to the acceptance and disbursement of funds, applications received from the companies affected will be pre-screened against specified eligibility criteria. The loans will be managed by the Grassroots Business Fund (GBF) and 4 G Money. 

In order to protect the economic and industrial interests of the Kenyan commercial community, the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industries (KCCI) is a membership-based Trade Support Agency. KNCCI is in favour of the establishment of a favourable climate for industry, commerce and investment that encourages business growth. KNCCI is a member of the KNCCI SMEs, medium-sized and large businesses. In the Youth Africa Works initiative of Kenya-Technical Vocational Education and Training ( TVET), Humber College has been selected to lead one of the critical components, Prior Learning Awarding. The project will last for four years in collaboration with the MasterCard Foundation, Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan). 

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Humber College, an institution of membership of CICan, gives students a structured credit for their academic experience and expertise. The acquisition of structured loans would improve recruitment, retention and transition to job opportunities for young people. This initiative, part of the Young Africa Works Strategy of the Mastercard Foundation, is expected to support an estimated 10,000 students. The strategy of the foundation aims to enable the dignified and effective jobs of 5 million young people in Kenya to be achieved by 2030. 

Previous learning recognition (PRL) is the first of its kind in East Africa under the Young Africa Works Initiative in Kenya-TVET. In Kenya's 25 TVET institutions and Excellence Centres, Humber will support national government efforts for complete implementation of the RPL. 

In collaboration with the Kenyan leading affiliate, the Kenya National Qualifications Authority, Technical and Vocational Education and Training Authority and the Minister of Education, the Humber's International Development Institute (IDI) will lead a consortium including NorQuest College and Red River College. This consortium is committed to engaging government, institutional and community stakeholders in RPL initiatives, including the creation of standards and instruments, the training of assessor-trainers and growing access to youth services. 

The MasterCard Foundation partners with groundbreaking organisations to promote the dignified and satisfying work of young people in Africa and the indigenous communities of Canada. It is one of the world's largest private foundations with a goal to encourage learning and to foster financial inclusion to build a culture of inclusiveness and equity. The foundation was established with its own Board of Management and management by Mastercard in 2006 as an autonomous organisation.    GBF's aim is to grow businesses that produce incomes or saves costs for people of lesser incomes in Africa, Asia and Latin America that are competitive, sustainable and inclusive. In order to source and reinforce its investors GBF leverages seasoned in-country investment teams as well as local technical assistance providers.