The fourth edition of the USAfrica Business Expo, held at the United Nations Headquarters from Monday, 12, September to Saturday, September 17, 2022, was a hybrid event on the margins of the 77th Session of the U.N General Assembly (UNGA77), featuring a U.N High-Level Roundtable, Conference, Exhibition, & Award Gala.
The event, which was themed “Facilitating Export-Import Opportunity for US-Africa MSMEs for Sustainable Development,” brought together 100+ small business owners, Investors, CEOs, Entrepreneurs, Top Government Leaders & Senior Execs, top business executives, Franchisors, Exporters, Manufacturers, and Senior Business, Political, and Diplomatic leaders. Also in attendance were New York Elected Officials.
The USAfrica Business Expo 2022 commenced on Thursday, September 15, 2022, and with our mission being to support the development of the African market by facilitating the trade agreement between Africa and the United States, kicked-off the event with a U.N High-level roundtable symposium at the United Nations Headquarters where panel members discussed AfCFTA, the African Continental Free Trade Area, a market of 1.3 billion people without any borders, restrictions, or barriers and how African businesses and organizations can leverage it to break into international markets.
The Expo and Conference, which was held on Friday, September 16, 2022, offered an experience of the same unrivaled energy and quality that the USAfrica Business Expo has become known for since its inception in 2019, specifically in networking experience, expo booths, demo presentations, and workshops. Participants had the opportunity to network and visit exhibitor booths where they conversed and exchanged ideas, as well as sector-specific breakout sessions. The organization highlighted a few companies, and exhibitors discussed the advantages of doing business with them and the products they offered. Among them were Jonathan Sellers, CEO of Sparks Outbound Digital Marketing, Julie Yeo, Bora of Supreme Hairs, and Bernhard Poitevien, Founder of the International Association of Moringa, originally from Haiti.
The first session in the line-up was “Enhancing Us-Africa Trade Through Export Compliance And Standardization” by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. After that, a second session was presented by Andreas Deutschman, Senior Vice President of Palladium Capital Group, with the topic, “Venture Capital As An Investment Tool For MSMEs.” The third session was on “Business Incubator – How to Start, Grow & Scale Export-Import Business” by the Small Business Development Corporation (SBDC), an arm of the Small Business Administration (SBA). Each session featured an interactive panel session which was open to questions from participants.
The keynote address delivered by Mayor Eric L. Adams – 11th Mayor of New York, on the “New York Open for Business: Trade and Investment Opportunities with Africa,” and the speeches by New York City’s Commissioner for International affairs, Edward Mermelstein, and his Deputy, Mr. Dilip Chauhan positioned New York City and the State of New York as favorable destinations for Africa’s business & political leaders looking to create new trade partnerships. “Africa has been ignored…every other country allows people to leave their country, come to America, use their political strength, economic strength, and know-how to go back to their country and build that country. We have not done that. That day ended on January 1, 2022, when I became the mayor of New York City,” declared Mayor Eric Adams in agreement with the remark made by the Commissioner for International Affairs and his Deputy that New York City as the largest home for the diplomatic community, is ready to engage the international community, especially with Mayor Adams’ interest with respect to the continent of Africa, and now open for business.
Gbenga Omotayo, Executive Director USAfrica Trade and Business Network, gave a quick overview of the Import and Prosper Program of the USAfrica Hub and stated that the primary goal of the USAfrica Trade and Business Network is to increase trade and investment in Africa by giving Africans the tools they need to access the global market. He asserted that African enterprises struggle with a lack of visibility because they have limited market access. “There are no infrastructures, retail chains, global retail brands, and distributor networks. The diaspora is Africa’s secret weapon, and for Africa to thrive, we have to leverage the power of the diaspora. Many African diaspora want to do business on the African continent but have challenges doing this. Hence, the Hub, with the help of its veritable partners, provides this market access for the African diaspora to import products from verified and reliable businesses in Africa looking to scale and, in turn, prosper through white labeling, building equity in the long run,” said Gbenga Omotayo.
Notable also was the speech by the lead Pastor of Rise Church in New York, Rev. Dennis Dillion, who applauded Gbenga Omotayo for his vision and the initiative for the USAfrica Business Expo, expressing that it is time for an African and economic revival. Furthermore, Adeoye Owolewa, United States Representative for the District of Columbia (Shadow), who was the first Nigerian to enter the chamber, revealed in a speech to the participants that he was enthralled by the mayor’s speech and said that it was “a testament to the work of Gbenga Omotayo and a testament to the African community donating and supporting the mayor’s candidacy.” The event recorded testimonials by representatives of governments, business owners, and other participants, speaking to the impact the event has had on them and how they will put it into practice to grow and expand their businesses across borders.
Following a successful event, the USAfrica Trade and Business Network, in partnership with relevant agencies such as the Small Business Development Center, had its Export & Prosper Program discussion on Monday, September 19, 2022. The organizations went to U.S. shopping malls with some exhibitors who were given a tour of prospective retail outlets; this set the ball rolling for establishing market access for African products in the United States Malls.
