The summits, which are organized by the Corporate Council on Africa, a trade association focused on strengthening commercial relationships between the United States and Africa, serve as the primary platforms for bringing together African heads of state, senior US and African government officials, and top African and American business executives.
According to Keletsositse Olebile, CEO of the Botswana Investment and Trade Centre (BITC), the organization is prepared to attract the attention of various institutional investors who are looking to invest capital in Botswana. He stated, “Our value proposition is straightforward: as we engage investors, we encourage them to choose Botswana as a destination for their investments and position Botswana as an investment hub for their capital.” Olebile emphasized that Botswana’s value proposition has been further strengthened by the country’s ratification of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement, which is the largest free trade area in the world developed under the African Union (AU) to facilitate the unrestricted flow of goods and services across the continent. He added, “The recently ratified AfCFTA agreement enhances our communication and should attract investors to come to our country so that they can expand their operations into the rest of Africa from a stable jurisdiction.”
Olebile also mentioned that BITC has taken steps to ensure fair representation and participation in the summit. He stated, “When it came to services like catering, we made sure to engage not just one company but multiple locally owned companies to ensure fair distribution of opportunities.”
According to officials from the Corporate Council on Africa, the event has attracted over 1,000 delegates, including up to eight institutional investors from the United States managing funds worth hundreds of billions of dollars.
