US President Barack Obama’s ‘Doing Business in Africa’ campaign, aimed at increasing US investment in Africa, is gaining momentum ahead of an August Summit with African leaders.Senior Obama administration officials, however, said while the US’ commitment to engage in business is clear, achieving the desired goals would require serious groundwork. “America’s commitment to this issue is clear,” said Ernest Moniz, the US Energy Secretary.
“I hope our discussions can begin to answer…basic questions. What has to happen for US private business to increase their investments in Africa’s energy sector?”Secretary Moniz, who met 30 ministers of energy from across Africa during an Energy Ministerial meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 3-4 June, called for a review of potential obstacles to energy financing in Africa.
The US official said addressing the shortfalls and creating a system to enable US government agencies and African governments to work together will break the barriers.Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, currently constructing electricity projects with an installed capacity of 8,400 Megawatts, said Ethiopia had experienced the energy investment challenges.
