Our Projects
The Chamber is proud of its role in the successful increase of trade and business relationships between the Pacific Northwest and Africa. ACCPNW has been instrumental in increasing exports to Africa by Washington State companies by 17%.
The Following are a few of our Recent Accomplishments:
On his visit to Seattle, Ambassador of Ghana Gets Tour of Boeing
Pictured below, on the second to the left, is the Ambassador of Ghana His Excellency Daniel Ohene Agyekum who attended the 13th Annual African Business Day Forum and Dinner. To his right is Larry Tolliver, Sales Director of Boeing Commercial Airline, and to his left is President & CEO of ACCPNW, Peter Gishuru. To Peter Gishuru's left are Tony Carroll, Vice President at Manchester Trade, and Ebenezer Padi Adjirackor, Minister/Commercial at the Embassy of Ghana.
The group was given a tour of The Boeing Company. The airline industry is one of the fastest growing industries in Africa, and Boeing is a major partner in the African airline space.
On March 29th, 2010, ACCPNW was awarded a Certificate of Appreciation for Achievements in Trade by Mr. Suresh Kumar, the Assistant Commerce Secretary and Director General of the U.S. Commercial Service.
12th Annual Africa Day Business Forum
On Saturday, November 13th, nearly 200 people gathered at the Red Lion Hotel for the 12th Annual Africa Day Business Forum. The day-long conference seeks to promote business in Africa and trade relations between Africa and the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Attendees included local African business owners, business professionals pursuing business opportunities in Africa, non-profit leaders doing work in Africa, and experts on international commerce.
The theme of the event was “Africa is open for business”, and many of the speakers gave evidence to support this assertion. Haddis Tadesse, a manager at the Gates Foundation, cited statistics from the McKinsey Global Institute saying that Africa has a collective GDP of $1.6 trillion, expected to grow to $2.6 trillion by 2020. John Brislin, President of the Export Finance Assistance Center for Washington, spoke about the Export Import Bank of the United States. Since 1999, the Ex-Im bank has supported over $5 billion in transactions to sub-Saharan Africa. Kagnew Asfaw, the regional director for Ethiopian Airlines, mentioned his company’s recent purchases of Boeing long haul jets. Kevin Boyd, of the US Department of Commerce, addressed the perception of corruption in Africa. He referenced Transparency International’s transparency index to point out that countries such as China and India have a transparency rating similar to many countries in Africa. Mrs. Kgopotso John, Vice Consul from South Africa, spoke of investor confidence of South Africa, specifically referencing investments totaling over $15 billion from ICBC, Barclays, Vodafone, and GM. Though there certainly are obstacles in the way of doing business in Africa, the evidence points to a fast growing, profitable market that is open and ready to do business with the rest of the world.
Other speakers during the event included Tony Carroll, Vice President of Manchester Trade, Ltd; Gary Ryan, President of Airport Brokers Corporation; Rob Holland, a commissioner of the Port of Seattle; and Anthony Newton, of the US Department of State’s Bureau of African Affairs. Besides speaking of the opportunities in Africa, several of the speakers went into more specific detail about how to do business in Africa. They spoke of assistance available from the US government, specific regulations to be aware of, and pitfalls to avoid.
The highlight of the morning was Bill Gates, Sr., a co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, who was the keynote speaker during lunch. Highlighting the evening was a performance by African dance group ADEFUA and a post-dinner gift presentation from Mrs. John of South Africa to Peter Gishuru, President/CEO of the ACCPNW, as a gesture of gratitude and in the hopes of a strong ongoing relationship between the South African Consulate General of Los Angeles and the ACCPNW.
Zambia International Fair Trade Trade Mission
The African Chamber of Commerce led a Trade Mission to Zambia from June 30th
to July 8th, 2008. During the trade mission, ACCPNW represented Washington
State Companies at the Zambia International Fair Trade (ZITF) in Ndola, Zambia.
ACCPNWs Trade Mission was funded through a grant from the Washington
State Department of Community Trade and Economic Development.
The theme of this year's Fair is "Infrastruture Key to Development." Participating companies have a wide range of products and services to offer, from magnet powered transportation systems from LEVX to Targhee Fire Services' Fire equipment and training services.
Please follow these links for more information on Participating Companies:
Olympia Africa Trade and Cultural Promotion Day
In 2007, 2008 and 2009, ACCPNW organized and hosted the Olympia Trade and
Cultural Promotion Day at the Washington State Legislative building in Olympia.
The most recent one was held on January 29th 2009. This event is free to the
public and draws in close to 100 participants. The event offers a unique
opportunity for Washington companies and NGO’s to showcase the work they are
doing in Africa to both State legislatures and the public.
Distinguished speakers for 2009’s event included the Lieutenant Governor Brad
Owen, Senator Rosa Franklin, Mr. George Ndyamuba from the Ugandan Embassy
in D.C., Mr. Etienne Van Straaten and Mrs. Kgopotso John from the South African
Consulate in L.A.
Other speakers included Mr. Edward Wright of Targhee Fire Services who spoke
about the business project he is developing for Zambia and Mr. Robert Smith of
Earthwise Ventures discussed the ferry project his company, Thain Boatworks
was developing in Everett WA to service Lake Victoria in Uganda, East Africa.
