Corporate and Investment

Later this month, Gabon will host two major African investment forums: the AGOA Forum and the New York Forum AFRICA.

Established by the African Growth and Opportunity Act, the AGOA Forum is an annual gathering that brings together high-level African and U.S. government officials to discuss strengthening economic ties between the U.S. and the continent.…

Nigerian government officials are once again contemplating legislation that would require certain private companies to list on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (“NSE”).  According to Speaker of the Nigerian House of Representatives Yakubu Dogara, the listing requirement would apply to companies in the oil, gas and telecommunication sectors and is necessary “in order to deepen the…

The nation of Kenya was gripped by a palpable sense of excitement and outsized expectations prior to President Obama’s arrival on Friday, July 24. On the day the president arrived, offices in Nairobi were closed, banks shut down early, and the city’s emptied streets were adorned with American flags and ubiquitous posters conveying the message,…

If the U.S. Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) is not reauthorized, U.S. efforts to deepen commercial ties to Africa will be significantly impeded. Not only would this put U.S. companies at a commercial disadvantage to companies from the European Union, China, Russia, India and elsewhere, it would impact negatively on the contribution that many American companies make…

The expanding middle class has been one of the cornerstones of the “Africa rising” narrative.  Discussion of that topic has been particularly lively over the past few weeks.  From a private sector perspective, this debate presents an interesting lesson about doing business in Africa’s consumer goods sector.

As an initial matter, it is important to…

Over the past few years, Nigeria has reformed its transfer pricing regulations, introduced mechanisms to tackle tax evasion and pursued other revenue enhancing initiatives.  With revenue from petroleum taxes at its lowest point in fifteen years, the country is under even more pressure to increase its tax enforcement efforts.  At the same time, there…

The election of a new president to head the African Development Bank captured the headlines out of Abidjan last week, but the Annual AfDB Programme and meetings were more than electing Africa’s new leading voice on development and inclusive economic growth.  Thousands of people attended this year’s Annual meetings from government, the private sector, and…

On Thursday of last week and with a vote of 97-1, the U.S. Senate approved the “Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015,” which includes reauthorization of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). With this action, the Senate seeks to reaffirm the “centerpiece of trade relations between the United States and sub-Saharan Africa,”…

Earlier this week, the Corporate Council on Africa’s Health Working Group hosted a World Bank presentation of The Global Financing Facility (GFF), a broad $4 billion facility that aims to promote reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health (RMNCAH) in low- and middle-income countries.  The GFF–which was announced in September 2014 and currently consists…

Power shortages in India, transportation costs in Africa, the poor grades given to US infrastructure, pollution in China, and the devastation to old and sub-par infrastructure in places like Nepal when disaster strikes are clear reminders that the world needs more and better infrastructure.   Infrastructure is the talk of governments, of bodies such as the…