Venue:

 

OMNI RICHMOND HOTEL

100 S 12th Street

Richmond, VA 23219

U.S.A

 

 

 

 

 

 

I. ABOUT THE FORUM

 

The 2019 US-Africa Business Forum & Expo will bring together African and American entrepreneurs, executives, investors, decisionmakers and other stakeholders as to learn about investment opportunities in both Africa and the United States, match their interests, and build mutually beneficial relationships. In doing so, the forum shall help strengthen multi-faceted partnerships between the two sides of the Atlantic.

 

Slated to take place in Richmond, Virginia, while the Commonwealth of Virginia is celebrating the 4th centennial (400 years) of legislative assembly, this 3-day forum will start on 2nd October and end on 4th October 2019. While the first two days of the forum will focus on business and investment opportunities, the third day will be dedicated to guided tours of companies, political institutions and museums in the Richmond area as well as visits to Virginia’s finest wineries.

 

The panels will be made of entrepreneurs, top business executives, academics, diplomats and government officials.

 

 

 

II. PROBLEM STATEMENT

 

While small business owners and big corporations from other continents are heavily investing in Africa, US entrepreneurs have not yet seized the business opportunities offered by Africa – a continent with a large young population and growing middle class, and that is undergoing unprecedented technological transformation. In the same context, while small enterprises from other continents are developing business ties with the US, many African businesses have not yet taken advantage of possibilities that offer the US market, the World’s largest economy and leader in innovation and entrepreneurial creativity.

 

It is our ambition to fill this gap by organizing this forum in Richmond, the capital of the Commonwealth Virginia – a state that has many times been voted the Best Place to Do Business in the United States.

 

 

III. PURPOSE 

 

The US-Africa Business Forum’s goal is three-fold:

 

1. To bring together entrepreneurs, investors, diplomats, civic leaders, decisions-makers, development experts, academics, community activists artists, from Africa and the United States to reflect on the best ways to develop stronger business partnerships between US and African companies, promote investment opportunities in Africa, and expand commercial ties between the two sides of the Atlantic.

 

1. 1. To showcase the critical role played by business leadership and innovation in transforming Africa’s untapped potentials into profitable ventures that create jobs, help lift more people out of poverty and contribute to moving the continent’s national economies toward achieving UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

 

1. 1. To provide a space for attendees to network with each other both socially and professionally, and develop business opportunities in the future.

 

IV. PROGRAM AGENDA

 

 

DAY 1: WEDNESDAY, 2ND OCTOBER 2019:

 

 

2:00 – 3:00PM: Registration & Networking

 

3:00 – 3:05PM: Introduction by Mr. Nzogu Kulya - Managing Director, NICOGER Group LLC (Fairfax, Virginia, USA).

 

3:05 – 3:10PM: Welcoming remarks by Mr. Jacques Mushagasha, CEO, BOSS LLC & Founder, Africa Network Initiative,Inc (Harrisonburg, Virginia, USA).

 

3:15 – 3:45PM: Keynote Address:

 

 

By Professor Van Hood – Philip Morris Chair in International Business & Director of the Centre for International Business Advancement, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Business (Richmond, Virginia, USA)

 

3:45 – 5:00PM: Conversation

 

“Africa 3.0: How Women Leaders Are Shaping the Continent and Improving the Continent’s Development Prospects” – examples in Education, Business Management, Community Leadership, and Social Innovations” 

 

• Moderated by Ms. Sombo M. Chunda – PhD Candidate & Graduate Teaching Assistant, L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs, Virginia Commonwealth University (Richmond, Virginia, USA).

 

• Followed by a Q&A session.

 

 

5:00 – 6:00PM: Light refreshment & Networking

 

 

DAY 2: THURSDAY, 3RD OCTOBER 2019:

 

 

8:30 – 9:30AM: Continental Breakfast, Registration & Networking

 

9:30 – 9:35AM: Introduction by Ms. Sombo M. Chunda – PhD Candidate & Graduate Teaching Assistant, L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs, Virginia Commonwealth University (Richmond, Virginia, USA).

 

9::35 - 9:40AM. Intent and Purpose, By Jacques Mushagasha. CEO, BOSS LLC & Founder Africa Network Initiative , Inc( Harrisonburg , Virginia)

 

 

9:40 AM – 10:00AM: Keynote Address:

 

“Welcome to Richmond, Virginia’s Capital City & Center of Commerce and Innovation” 

 

By Mr. Levar Stoney

Mayor, City of Richmond (Virginia, USA).

 

 

 

                 10:00AM – 11.15 AM: Conversation on “The Resources to Grow Business in the US and Abroad”

 

 

• “SBA’s Technical Assistance and Other Resources to Help You Grow Your Business in Virginia” 

 

US Small Business Administration (Richmond, Virginia, USA).

 

• “Growing Your Business Through Export” 

 

US Commercial Service, US Department of Commerce (Richmond, Virginia, USA).

By Bertozzi, our Assistant Vice President at International Trade.

      Joshua Kaplan.

 

 

• “US EXIM BANK’s Solutions to Finance and Guarantee Your Export” 

 

US Export Import Bank (Washington, DC, USA).

 

• “USAID “Growing your business through AGOA”. 

 

 

• Followed by a Q&A session.

 

 

           11:15 AM – 11:45 AM “: “Agri-Business, Food Security and Development in Africa” 

 

    By Dr. John Ulimwengu – Senior Fellow, International Food Policy Research Institute - IFPRI (Washington, DC, USA).

    & ALAWKINS

    Followed by a Q&A session.

 

 

11:45 AM- 1:00 PM Business Matchmaking – Session 1

One-on-One Meetings to Connect Business and Investment Opportunities in Africa and the USA

 

 

 

 

1:00 – 2:00PM: Lunch Break

 

 

 

2:00 – 2:35PM: “Straight Talk with Africa; A Live Broadcast of Business Opportunities on the Continent, 

 

• By Bismarck Agbemble. CEO PLUGIN

      Followed by “A conversation on the Real state opportunities in Africa”

      By Hector Djibaou

 

2:35 PM- 3:15 PM. “The Potential on African -American Engagement in entrepreneurship and business opportunities in 

                                    Africa “

• By Reverend Jonathan Weaver. Senior pastor at Mt NEBO AME Church and President and Founder of the PAN-AFRICAN COLLECTIVE.

• Followed by a Q&A Session

 

 

3:15 – 4:15 AM “How They Made It in America” - Takes on Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Leadership by African-Born Entrepreneurs and Business Executives.

 

• Moderated by Mr. Nzogu Kulya - Managing Director, NICOGER Group LLC (Fairfax, Virginia, USA).

            Panelists:

 

• Emannuel Kuangu. President and CEO TATEM EXPRESS. 

 

 

          4:15 PM – 5:25 PM. Business Matchmaking – Session 2

One-on-One Meetings to Connect Business and Investment Opportunities in Africa and the USA.

 

          

          5:25 PM – 5:25 PM. A Conversation “Kickstarting an Angel Capital Group for African youth Entrepreneurs ”

                                    

                                      By Jacques Mushagasha. CEO BOSS LLC and Founder of Africa Network Initiative , Inc

                                      Harrisonburg VA 22801

                                       

          

 

 

 

 

 DAY 3: FRIDAY, 4TH OCTOBER 2019:

 

 

 

 

 

10:00 – 11:00AM: Guided visit at site 1 (a Virginia State body – governor’s mansion, general assembly, state senate, etc. – or Richmond City Hall)

 

 

12:00 – 1:00PM: Guided visit at site 2 (a museum or an arts center or a historical site in Richmond)

 

 

3:00 – 4:30PM: Guided visit at sites 3 & 4 (two wineries outside Richmond)