Rwanda: Regional Business Organization Signs Agreement to Attract More US Investments

Posted on : Monday , 10th January 2022

The East African Business Council (EABC) and the Africa Global Chamber of Commerce (AGCC) inked a Memorandum of Understanding to entice greater US investment into the six-member East African Community.

The agreement outlines several areas of collaboration, including showcasing trade and investment opportunities in the EAC bloc, industrial exchange programmes and trade missions to the United States, joint exhibitions and conferences, training programmes and certifications, and joint exhibitions and conferences.

"The EABC and AGCC cooperation is aimed to boost joint ventures, production capacity, and technology transfer between enterprises in East Africa and the United States," stated EABC CEO John Bosco Kalisa.

The new partnership is expected to increase trade and attract more US investment in industrial parks, special economic zones, and export processing zones in the EAC, as well as unlock market access to the United States through AGOA, environmental and climate change innovations, and co-organizing the East African Business and Investment Summit 2022.

"AGCC is firm in kicking-off this collaboration as USA investors are keen to visit and explore commercial potential in the East Africa region," stated Olivier Kamanzi, Chairman of AGCC.

According to AGCC Chairman Olivier Kamanzi, the agreement sets the path for the African diaspora and US investors to cooperate with Africa's private sector and move the African Continental Free Trade Area forward (AfCFTA). The AGCC has enlisted the help of the diaspora to invest in and establish a smart city in Malindi, Kenya.

The United States of America (US) will be the world's largest economy in 2019. Kenya (stock) received $353 million in foreign direct investment (FDI), Tanzania ($1.5 billion), Uganda ($42 million), Rwanda ($11 million), and Burundi ($1 million).

To boost the continent's economic recovery amid Covid-19, Kalisa recommended the AGCC to engage the African diaspora to invest in East Africa in attractive industries such as agribusiness and digital technology.

The African Growth and Opportunity Act provides the EAC with preferential market access to the United States (AGOA).

The EAC and the US inked a Trade Facilitation, Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS), and Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement in 2015. (TBT). In addition, the EAC began negotiations on an EAC-US Investment Treaty and launched the EAC-US Commercial Dialogue.

According to the International Trade Centre, EAC imports from the United States totaled $1.124 billion in 2019, while exports totaled $704 million.

Due to the Covid-19 epidemic, this value dropped to $963,010 and $681,299, respectively, in 2020.

In order to encourage additional investment into East Africa, Kalisa urged for collaborative advocacy efforts to achieve the continuation of the AGOA and the start of discussions on the EAC-US Free Trade Agreement. AGOA, according to Kalisa, has connected the EAC bloc's garment industry into global value chains.

The AGCC is a non-profit organisation established in Chicago that promotes global trade, investment, educational exposes, and cultural exchanges for Africa's economic interests and partners, beginning with the United States of America.

The firm aims to assist enterprises and professionals looking for new business prospects, as well as facilitate cross-border trade between the United States and Africa.