US plans investor roadshow for Africa to boost investment

The US will launch an African investor roadshow later this year to connect entrepreneurs with potential American investors as part of a push for increased trade with the continent, the US Commerce Secretary has said.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Nairobi, which President Barack Obama addressed on Saturday, Penny Pritzker said America was seeking to address the main concern raised by African entrepreneurs, limited access to foreign capital.

"The president and our department are focused on how to improve trade and investment between Africa and the United States. It's really top of our mind. And what we've found is that there is an enormous amount of entrepreneurial activity happening here, noted Pritzker. "It's a really important effort because everybody talks about access to capital here... We listened to the customer." The roadshow will be launched in New York in September during the annual meeting of world leaders at the United Nations. Next year, potential investors will travel to African countries, she said, adding that the specifics have yet been set.

Pritzker said President Uhuru Kenyatta among others have been invited to participate. A wide array of African companies have started in recent years to meet the demands of the continent's fast-growing economy and to add value to the raw goods it traditionally shipped abroad. But access to capital is a common complaint because commercial banks charge high interest rates. –Reuters